Rock 'n' Roll History for
March 7


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1951 - ClassicBands.com

March 7
Ike Turner And His Kings of Rhythm record "Rocket 88" with producer Sam Phillips at his Memphis Recording Service. When the up-tempo combination of Swing and Jazz is released, it is credited to Jackie Brenston And His Delta Cats and is now said by many music historians to be the first true Rock 'n' Roll record, even though that term was not yet widely used. Brenston enjoyed to a brief period of stardom, and toured across America in 1951 and 1952, Unfortunately for him, he sold his rights to "Rocket 88" to Phillips and never had another hit record. He would rejoin Ike Turner's band as a sideman, but eventually left the music business. Brenston died on December 15th, 1979.

1955 - ClassicBands.com

March 7
Carl Perkins becomes the first Country artist to have a hit on the Billboard R&B chart when his "Blue Suede Shoes" makes the list. The song also appeared on the Cashbox Best Selling Singles list for 16 weeks and spent two weeks at the number two position.

1957 - ClassicBands.com

March 7
The Woburn, Massachusetts quartet, The Tune Weavers record what would prove to be their only Billboard Top 40 hit, "Happy, Happy Birthday Baby", which would climb to #5. The lyrics to the song were written by group member Margo Sylvia, to express how she wanted to stay with her boyfriend, Donald, after he broke up with her.

1962 - ClassicBands.com

March 7
The Beatles recorded their radio debut at the Playhouse Theatre, Hulme, Manchester. Wearing suits for the very first time, the band performed three cover tunes: "Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream?)", "Memphis, Tennessee", and "Please Mister Postman". The show was broadcast on the BBC Light Program the following day between 5 and 5:30 pm.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

March 7
Capitol Records is swamped with requests for heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay's album "I Am the Greatest" after he defeated Sonny Liston on February 25th. The comedy LP had been issued six months earlier and contained one single release, "I Am The Greatest" b/w "Will The Real Sonny Liston Please Fall Down". The song went on to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Performance at the 6th Annual Grammy Awards, but lost to Allan Sherman's "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp)". Selling 500,000 copies, the album reached #61 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart.

1966 - ClassicBands.com

March 7
Brian Wilson released "Caroline No", the first solo single by a Beach Boy. Before it evolved into the final number we know today, the song was originally written as "Carol I Know".

March 7
Tina Turner laid down vocal tracks for the Phil Spector produced "River Deep Mountain High", which would go on to reach #3 in the UK and #88 in the US. Although the song was credited to Ike and Tina, she was the only one that was actually on the recording. The story goes that Spector was leery of working with Ike, and paid him $20,000 to stay away from the studio. Session musicians, including Leon Russell (keyboards), Glen Campbell (guitar), and Hal Blaine (drums) were used instead of Ike's band.

1968 - ClassicBands.com

March 7
Elvis Presley records the Mac Davis tune, "A Little Less Conversation" at Western Recorders, in Hollywood, California. Following the song's use in the 2001 film Ocean's Eleven, it was released as a single in June, 2002 and became a Top Ten hit in nearly two dozen countries, reaching #1 in thirteen of them. In the United States, it stalled at #50.

1969 - ClassicBands.com

March 7
Tommy's Roe's single, "Dizzy" earns a Gold record for sales of over one million. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and also topped the charts in the UK and Canada.

1970 - ClassicBands.com

March 7
Actor Lee Marvin, whose vocal skills were questionable at best, topped the UK singles chart with a song called "Wand'rin' Star", which was featured in the film Paint Your Wagon. Not a natural singer, Marvin never released a follow-up single.

March 7
Simon And Garfunkel's album "Bridge Over Troubled Water" hits #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. It will stay there for a total of ten weeks, longer than any other LP in 1970.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

March 7
A song from the movie Deliverance called "Dueling Banjos" by Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandel becomes one of the few 1970s instrumentals to be awarded a Gold record. The song had topped the Cash Box Magazine Best Sellers list and reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1976 - ClassicBands.com

March 7
Elton John becomes the first Rock star since The Beatles to be immortalized at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London. The figure was dressed in a black rhinestone jumpsuit and a pair of silver shoes.

1983 - ClassicBands.com

March 7
Stevie Wonder and Neil Sedaka are inducted into the Songwriter's Hall Of Fame during a ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York.

1987 - ClassicBands.com

March 7
Now that Beatles albums are finally being released on CD, the Fab Four returned to the UK charts with "A Hard Day's Night" at #30, "Please Please Me" is #32, "With The Beatles" sits at #40 and "Beatles For Sale" is #45.

1991 - ClassicBands.com

March 7
The readers of Rolling Stone magazine voted George Michael as the best male singer and sexiest male artist.

1999 - ClassicBands.com

March 7
Marvin Inabnett of The Four Preps died of a heart attack at the age of 60. The group placed seven songs on the Billboard Top 40 between 1958 and 1961, including "26 Miles (Santa Catalina)", a number 2 hit in 1958.

2001 - ClassicBands.com

March 7
The Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts announced that Judy Garland's "Over The Rainbow" had been selected as their Song Of The Century. Rounding out their Top Ten were (#2) "White Christmas by Bing Crosby, (#3) "This Land Is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie, (#4) "Respect" by Aretha Franklin, (#5) "American Pie" by Don McLean, (#6) "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by The Andrews Sisters, (#7) "West Side Story" (album) by the original cast, (#8) "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" by Billy Murray, (#9) "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" by The Righteous Brothers, and (#10) "The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin.

2006 - ClassicBands.com

March 7
A US federal judge ordered Rod Stewart to pay Harrah's casino in Las Vegas more than $3 million for a canceled show in December 2000.

2009 - ClassicBands.com

March 7
Jimmy Boyd, the child vocalist best known for singing the 1952, Christmas novelty hit "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", died at age 70. After that song, he would go on to a successful acting career in both TV roles and movies.

2012 - ClassicBands.com

March 7
Funeral services were held for Davy Jones at Holy Cross Catholic parish in Indiantown, Florida. The three surviving Monkees, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz, did not attend so as not to draw more attention to the grieving family. Instead, they attended memorial services in New York City as well as organizing their own private memorial in Los Angeles along with Jones's family and close friends.

March 7
Sales of albums by The Monkees soared following the death of singer Davy Jones. "Best Of The Monkees" re-entered the Billboard album chart at #20 with sales of over 17,000 units, followed by "Flashback With the Monkees", coming in at #125, selling over 5,000 copies.

2024 - ClassicBands.com

March 7
Crooner Steve Lawrence passed away at his home in Los Angeles from complications from Alzheimer's disease at the age of 88. Between 1957 and 1963, Lawrence placed ten songs on the Billboard Top 40, including "Pretty Blue Eyes" (#9 in 1960), "Footsteps" (#7 in 1960) and "Go Away Little Girl" (#1 in 1963).



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