Rock 'n' Roll History for
May 1


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1942 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
The American War Production Board commandeers all facilities for the production of jukeboxes, turning them over to the manufacture of war materials.

1955 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
Leonard Chess signs Chuck Berry to a recording contract after he came highly recommended by Muddy Waters. Most of Berry's hit records would be recorded for Chess between 1955 and 1966, including "Maybellene", "Roll Over Beethoven", "School Day", "Rock And Roll Music", "Sweet Little Sixteen", Johnny B. Goode" and "No Particular Place to Go".

1956 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
Sun Records releases Johnny Cash's "I Walk The Line". The song will become the first of his fifteen Billboard Top 40 hits, reaching #17. It will go on to sell over two million copies and is included in "The 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll", a permanent exhibit at Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1957 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
The first issue of 16 magazine hit the newsstands, with Elvis Presley on the cover. Despite fierce competition from Tiger Beat and other teen oriented publications, 16 remained the top-selling periodical of its kind for many years. In 2001, it became part of Primedia's Teen Magazines groups and later developed into a special issue that focuses on a specific topic or act.

1962 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
Britain's first Cinebox, a device that showed 16mm color film of musicians performing their hits on a 21 inch screen, is installed in London, England. As you might expect, the device flashed paid advertising messages whenever the machine was idle.

1965 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
Herman's Hermits have the top tune on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter". The song had entered the chart at #12, the highest debut in chart history up to that time. The Beatles "Hey Jude" (1968) and "Get Back" (1969) would start at #10. "Mrs. Brown", which was recorded in just two takes, was not released in the band's native Britain.

May 1
The Supremes release "Back In My Arms Again", which will become their fifth consecutive US number one hit starting the following June 6th. The record could only manage to reach #40 in the UK

1966 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
The Beatles made their final live, paid appearance in the UK when they played a 15 minute set at the NME Poll Winners concert at Empire Pool, Wembley. Also appearing were The Spencer Davis Group, The Fortunes, Herman's Hermits, Roy Orbison, Cliff Richard, The Rolling Stones, The Seekers, The Small Faces, Dusty Springfield, The Walker Brothers, The Who and The Yardbirds. The Fab Four were not filmed because a financial agreement could not be reached.

1967 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
32 year old Elvis Presley married 21 year old Priscilla Beaulieu, a girl he first met in 1959 when she was just 14 years old. When Elvis got out of the army in 1960, Beaulieu moved into the King's Graceland mansion with her family's blessing. The wedding ceremony took place at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas and although the marriage license was only $15, the wedding cake cost $3,500. Elvis gave his new bride a $4,000 ring that featured a three karat diamond surrounded by twenty smaller diamonds. She gave him a plain gold band. Priscilla's maid of honor was her sister, Michelle. Joe Esposito and Marty Lacker were duel best men, but the rest of the "Memphis Mafia" were conspicuously absent because they hadn't been invited. The ceremony was followed by a reception for eighty guests.

May 1
The F.B.I. arrests The Beach Boys' Carl Wilson on charges of avoiding the military draft and refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance. He is later released and joins the rest of the band in Ireland for a European tour. Claiming to be a conscientious objector, Wilson was ultimately allowed to perform alternative service by playing for free at prisons and hospitals.

May 1
The Hollies record "Carrie Anne" at Abbey Road Studios in London. Recorded in just two takes, the thinly disguised tribute to British singer Marianne Faithfull would peak at #3 in the UK and #9 in America.

1971 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
A Pennsylvania based group called The Buoys saw their biggest hit record, "Timothy", peak at #17 on the Hot 100. The Rupert Holmes written tune stayed in the Top 40 for eight weeks, and may very well be the only hit song ever written about cannibalism.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
Bachman-Turner Overdrive, featuring former Guess Who guitarist Randy Bachman, release their first album. The LP would take six months to hit the charts and over a year before the hard rockin' single "Let it Ride" became a Top 25 hit.

1976 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
The Bellamy Brothers topped the Cashbox Best Sellers list and the Billboard Hot 100 with "Let Your Love Flow". The song was a #7 hit in the UK and reached the Top Ten in twelve other countries.

1978 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
Boney M's double sided hit, "Rivers Of Babylon / Brown Girl In The Ring" is certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. "Babylon" had topped the UK's Official Chart for five weeks, and reached #9 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.

1979 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
Elton John becomes the first Pop music star to perform in Israel when he performs at the Philharmonic Hall in Jerusalem for the first of a three night stay.

1982 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
Barry Manilow scored his first UK #1 album when "Barry Live In Britain" went to the top of the chart. The LP was recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall in London in January and would go on to reach Platinum status.

1984 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
Mick Fleetwood filed for bankruptcy. The founder of Fleetwood Mac had released a solo album called "The Visitor" in 1981, and although the critics loved it, the LP ended up losing a lot of money, as did his real estate investments, leading to eventual financial ruin.

1988 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
Billy Joel escapes punishment for defamation charges brought against him by Jack Powers, whom he called a "creep" during an interview with Playboy magazine. The judge cited the 1st Amendment and dropped all charges.

May 1
Pink Floyd's, "The Dark Side of the Moon" finally dropped off the Billboard 200 chart after a run of 736 nonconsecutive weeks. Although it only held the top spot for one week, worldwide sales have been estimated at over forty-five million copies.

1989 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
Police in California are called to a jewelers store after employees reported a suspicious person. He turned out to be Michael Jackson, who had donned a wig, fake moustache, false teeth and eyelashes to go shopping. Officers had him remove his disguise and show his identification.

1993 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
Cliff Richard went to #1 on the UK album chart for the seventh time in his career with a cleverly titled LP called "The Album". It featured five UK top 40 hit singles: "I Still Believe in You" (#7), "Peace in Our Time" (#8), "Human Work of Art" (#24), "Never Let Go" (#32) and "Healing Love" (#19).

1995 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
54-year-old Nancy Sinatra appears on the cover of Playboy magazine. Inside was a seven-page pictorial, for which she reportedly was paid more than $50,000. For her centerfold, she wore only a pair of lavender boots.

2000 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
A $1.8 million civil fraud suit is filed against Neil Young in Los Angeles Superior Court by a former Village Voice writer who claims Young reneged on an agreement to have a biography written about him when Young blocked the book's publication.

2003 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
58 year old Barry White suffered a stroke that affected his speech and the right side of his body. He was forced to retire from public life and would pass away on July 4th. Between 1973 and 1995 he placed twenty-eight songs on Billboard's R&B singles chart, to go along with eighteen albums on the R&B LPs chart.

2006 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
Guinness certifies a new world record for most guitarists playing at the same time when 1,581 of them simultaneously perform the Jimi Hendrix version of "Hey Joe" in Wroclaw, Poland.

2009 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
A anonymous fan won a two hour, one on one guitar lesson with Queen's Brian May after bidding more than £7,500 at a charity auction in London. The auction was held in support of the Action for Brazil's Children Trust, of which May is a patron.

2011 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
Former Village People vocalist Victor Willis launched a $1.5 million lawsuit against his old band mates over back royalties. The singer, who portrayed a policeman in the group, had left the line-up in 1979. He would be awarded a 50% writing credit to thirteen of the band's songs in a 2015 ruling.

2012 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
Former teen Pop star Bobby Vee revealed on his website that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. "Needless to say it was a moment that stunned my family and myself to the core," the 69-year-old singer wrote. "Since this time I have chosen to remain private and to focus on what is most important to me: my family and my music." Sadly, he would die from complications of the disease on October 24th, 2016 at the age of 73.

2018 - ClassicBands.com

May 1
Gibson Brands Inc., maker of Gibson guitars, filed for bankruptcy protection after wrestling with debt for years. Founded in 1894, the Nashville based company also makes the Epiphone guitars and Wurlitzer pianos.

2023 - ClassicBands.com

Gordon Lightfoot, a Canadian folk icon, died of natural causes at the age of 84. Along with having his compositions covered by dozens of other artists, he placed six songs on the Billboard Hot 100, most notably "If You Could Read My Mind" (#5 in 1971), "Sundown" (#1 in 1974) and "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" (#2 in 1976).

2024 - ClassicBands.com

Richard Tandy, longtime keyboard player for Electric Light Orchestra, passed away at the age of 76. He appeared on every ELO album since joining the band in 1971, with the exception of 2015's "Alone in the Universe".



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