Rock 'n' Roll History for
March 29


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1958 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
Connie Francis enjoys her first chart success as "Who's Sorry Now?" reached Billboard's #4 spot. Over the next ten years she will place 55 more songs on the Billboard hit parade.

1969 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
A baby boy is born that will be adopted by Ronnie and Phil Spector, who will name the child Donte Phillip Spector.

March 29
Blood, Sweat And Tears' self-titled, second album hits number one on the Billboard Hot 200 chart. The LP featured the singles "You've Made Me So Very Happy" (US #2), "Spinning Wheel" (US #2), and "And When I Die" (US #2).

1972 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
A few weeks after his February separation from his wife, Priscilla, Elvis Presley records his version of "Always On My Mind" at RCA Studios in Hollywood, California. The song would reach #9 in the UK and #16 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
Dr. Hook And The Medicine Show got their picture on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine after their hit, "The Cover of Rolling Stone" reached number 6 on the US singles chart. According to members of the group, they really did buy five copies for their mothers, just like the song said.

1975 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
Jeff Beck releases the all-instrumental album, "Blow By Blow" on Epic Records. The LP would peak at #4 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Platinum for sales of one million copies by the RIAA. It remains Beck's highest-charting album.

March 29
Led Zeppelin becomes the first band in Billboard chart history to have six entries make the list at the same time. Their latest release, "Physical Graffiti" was #1, "Led Zeppelin IV" was #83, "House of the Holy" sat at #92, "Led Zeppelin II" came in at #104, "Led Zeppelin" was #116, and "Led Zeppelin III" rounded out the list at #124.

March 29
"Only Yesterday" by The Carpenters entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #74. Composed by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis, the song would peak at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was The Carpenters' final top-ten single on that chart. Richard and Karen were sure the song wouldn't be a hit, and lost a $1,000 bet to their recording engineer Roger Young when they were proven wrong.

1978 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
After fourteen years of marriage, Tina Turner's divorce from her husband Ike became final.

1979 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
Supertramp released their sixth LP, "Breakfast in America". It featured four Billboard Hot 100 hit singles: "The Logical Song" (#6), "Goodbye Stranger" (#15), "Take the Long Way Home" (#10), and "Breakfast in America" (#62). In the UK, "The Logical Song" and the title track were both Top 10 hits, the only two the group had in their home country. "Breakfast in America" won two Grammy Awards in 1980, and holds an RIAA certification of Quadruple Platinum. In France, the LP became the biggest-selling English-language album of all time, and the third biggest seller overall.

1980 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
Ronald Selle, a Chicago antique dealer and part-time musician and songwriter files suit against The Bee Gees, Paramount Pictures and Polygram Records. Selle alleged The Bee Gees' "How Deep is Your Love" plagiarized two sections of a song he wrote called "Let it End". Selle won the case even though the Bee Gees claim they never heard Selle's song and the whole thing was a coincidence. The group would successfully appeal the decision in 1983.

1982 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
"Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do)", as sung by Christopher Cross, wins the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

March 29
"Ebony and Ivory" by Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney is released. The single reached number one on both the UK and the US charts, and was among the top-selling songs of 1982. It also topped the charts in ten other countries around the world. However, in 2007, BBC 6 Music listeners voted the song "the worst duet in history." Two years later, Blender magazine named it as the tenth worst song of all time.

1985 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
The Singing Nun, whose given name was Jeanine Deckers, committed suicide after the center for autistic children in Belgium that she helped found had closed due to lack of funds. Her 1963 hit "Dominique" went to number one in the US and sold over 1.5 million copies, winning a Grammy Award for the year's best Gospel song. Even sadder is the fact that she was unaware that on the day of her suicide, the Belgian association that collects royalties for songwriters awarded her $300,000. At the time of her death, she was 52 years old.

1986 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
Beatles records officially went on sale in Russia. Before that, only tapes were available on the black market, but most Soviet music lovers could not afford them. There was little information about The Beatles in the USSR and official Soviet publications about the band were mainly critical and condemnatory.

1996 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
Two former members of the 1950's vocal group, The Teddy Bears, filed suit in Los Angeles against producer Phil Spector and several labels. Carol Connors and Marshall Lieb alleged they had not received royalties from re-issues of their 1958 number one hit "To Know Him Is To Love Him".

2001 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
Brian Wilson was honored in a three hour tribute at New York's Radio City Music Hall. Guest performances included Billy Joel singing "Don't Worry Baby", while Paul Simon sang an acoustic version of "Surfer Girl". Wilson - Phillips made a rare appearance, as did The Go-Gos and the trio of Carly Simon, David Crosby and Jimmy Webb. Also singing Beach Boy songs were Ann and Nancy Wilson, Elton John and Aimee Mann. Brian Wilson himself joined the fun when he took the stage for the final three songs, "Barbara Ann", "Surfin' U.S.A." and "Fun, Fun, Fun".

2005 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
Jonathan King, most often remembered for his 1965 hit "Everyone's Gone To The Moon", was freed from a UK prison after serving half of his seven-year term for four indecent assaults and two serious sexual offenses on boys aged 14 and 15. As he left Maidstone Prison King said: "I'm innocent of the charges against me. There is no issue of the acts being consensual, there were no acts."

2006 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
Tom Jones was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace for his services to music. At that time, Jones had placed 37 songs on the UK Top 40 chart.

2011 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
Ray Herr, guitarist for The Ides Of March on their 1970 hit "Vehicle", died of esophageal cancer at age 64.

2012 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
A TV ad for Madonna's new perfume, Truth or Dare, was deemed too racy for ABC network television. Dressed in leotards, fish nets and harnesses, the Material Girl was shown licking her lips while wearing black lingerie and a mask, rolling around on the floor.

2013 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
A letter from John Lennon to Paul McCartney, written in 1971 during the aftermath of The Beatles' breakup, was announced as being one of the items being put up for sale on May 30th as part of an online auction organized by Profiles in History.

2015 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
72-year-old Norman Greenbaum, who wrote and sang the 1969 hit "Spirit in the Sky", was critically injured when the car he was riding in turned left, crossing into the path of an on-coming motorcycle. The 20-year-old motorcyclist was killed and his passenger was severely injured. After a lengthy recovery, Greenbaum returned to the stage in Santa Rosa, California on November 15, 2015.

2016 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
Patty Duke, who placed two songs on the Billboard Pop chart in 1965 with "Don't Just Stand There" (#8), and "Say Something Funny", (#22), died of sepsis from a ruptured intestine at the age of 69.

2017 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
After a three month delay, George Michael of Wham! was finally laid to rest in a small, private ceremony, attended only by friends and family. Michael died of natural causes at his home in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, on Christmas Day, 2016. He was just 53 years old.

March 29
The United States Library of Congress added Don McLean's 1971 hit "American Pie" to their National Recording Registry of 2016. "American Pie" joins Judy Garland's "Over The Rainbow", N.W.A.'s album, "Straight Outta Compton" and the Eagles' 1976 "Their Greatest Hits" as treasures worthy of preservation.

2021 - ClassicBands.com

March 29
Jerry Burgan, guitarist and vocalist for We Five passed away at the age of 76. The group reached #3 in 1965 with "You Were On My Mind".



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