Rock 'n' Roll History for
May 29


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1942 - ClassicBands.com

May 29
Bing Crosby records "White Christmas" at Radio Recorders in Los Angeles, California. The song would top the Billboard chart for eleven weeks and would go on to become the biggest selling single of all time, moving an estimated fifty million copies.

1961 - ClassicBands.com

May 29
Ricky Nelson made a comeback when he reached the top of the Billboard and Cashbox music charts with "Travelin' Man". He had placed eight consecutive singles in the Top 10 between 1957 and 1959, but his next four releases had failed to get that far. Singer-songwriter Jerry Fuller wrote "Travelin' Man" with Sam Cooke in mind, but Cooke's manager was not impressed and did not keep the demo. It was eventually passed along to Nelson by his bass player Joe Osborn.

1962 - ClassicBands.com

May 29
Chubby Checker wins a Grammy Award for Best Rock and Roll Recording for "Let's Twist Again", and Ray Charles is given the nod for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording for "Hit The Road Jack".

1965 - ClassicBands.com

May 29
The Beach Boy's "Help Me Rhonda" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of two weeks. The song, originally spelled "Help Me Ronda" on the LP "Today!", began to receive radio airplay and was soon re-recorded and issued as a single with the new spelling. It was the first Beach Boys' hit to feature the voice of rhythm guitarist Al Jardine. The record made the Top Ten in eight other countries, but only managed to climb to #27 in the UK.

1971 - ClassicBands.com

May 29
Canada's 5 Man Electrical Band enters the Hot 100 with what would prove to be their biggest hit and signature tune, "Signs". The song reached #5 and is still a staple of oldies radio in the US.

May 29
"Brown Sugar", The Rolling Stones' first release on their own label, became their sixth US number one single. Speculation on the meaning of the title has ranged from a sexist racial slur to Mexican heroin.

May 29
Three dozen Grateful Dead fans are treated for hallucinations caused by LSD after they unwittingly ingested the drug while drinking spiked apple juice served at San Francisco's Winterland. Although members of the group are suspected of supplying the drug, they are not accused.

1972 - ClassicBands.com

May 29
Paul McCartney releases his version of the nursery rhyme, "Mary Had A Little Lamb" as kind of tongue-in-cheek joke to get back at the BBC for banning his earlier single "Give Ireland Back To The Irish". It reached the US Top-30.

1976 - ClassicBands.com

May 29
Diana Ross reaches the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for the fourth time in her solo career with "Love Hangover". With that achievement, she passed Connie Francis, Helen Reddy, Roberta Flack, and Cher, each of whom had three number one hits. The song made it to #10 in the UK.

1977 - ClassicBands.com

May 29
Columbia Records president Goddard Lieberson died of cancer at the age of 66. Lieberson was responsible for the introduction of the LP record and for popularizing soundtracks and original cast albums.

1982 - ClassicBands.com

May 29
Paul McCartney started a three week run at #1 on the Billboard album chart with "Tug Of War". With contributions from Stevie Wonder, George Martin, Carl Perkins and Ringo Starr, the LP featured "Ebony And Ivory" and McCartney's ode to John Lennon, "Here Today".

1987 - ClassicBands.com

May 29
Press reports began to surface that Michael Jackson offered $50,000 (£29,412) to buy the remains of Joseph Merrick, aka the Elephant Man. Jackson would later deny the claims.

1989 - ClassicBands.com

May 29
John Cipollina, guitarist for Quicksilver Messenger Service, died after a lifelong battle with emphysema caught up with him at the age of 45. Between 1968 and 1975, the band placed eight albums on the Billboard 200 chart.

May 29
Lisa Marie Presley gives birth to Elvis' granddaughter, Danielle Riley Keough (pronounced KEE-oh). By the time she reached the age of 14 she was working as a fashion model and has since become an accomplished actress, co-starring in the 2010 film The Runaways with Dakota Fanning, Kristen Stewart and Tatum O'Neal.

1999 - ClassicBands.com

May 29
The skeleton remains of former Iron Butterfly bassist Phil Kramer were found by photographers looking for old car wrecks at the bottom of Decker Canyon near Malibu, California. He had been missing since February, 12th, 1995, when he was 42-years-old. Police ruled his death a probable suicide. Kramer took Lee Dorman's place when Iron Butterfly re-formed in 1975.

2009 - ClassicBands.com

May 29
69-year-old music producer Phil Spector was sentenced to nineteen years to life in prison for the murder of 40-year-old Lana Clarkson. The actress died of a gunshot to the mouth, fired from Spector's gun in the foyer of his castle-like home outside Los Angeles on February 3rd, 2003. The two had met just hours earlier at a Hollywood nightclub. Spector would die in a hospital on January 16th, 2020 at the age of 81.

2010 - ClassicBands.com

May 29
Paul McCartney feared for his safety after his tour bus came under attack from a group of thugs following a concert at the Foro Sol arena in Mexico City. The bus driver was forced to stop when a mob ran up to the vehicle and began jumping up and down on its roof. Police were eventually called and McCartney's entourage escaped unharmed.

2012 - ClassicBands.com

May 29
Lisa Marie Presley intervened to stop a letter written to her by ex-husband Michael Jackson from being auctioned. The handwritten note by the late King Of Pop was of a personal nature and was reportedly penned between 1993 and 1996. Auction house owner Darren Julien stated "We wanted to honor the request and continue our good relationship with Ms. Presley."

2013 - ClassicBands.com

May 29
Marvin Junior, vocalist for The Dells who co-wrote their first hit, "Oh, What a Nite", died from kidney and heart problems at the age of 77. He was with the group for fifty-seven years.

2014 - ClassicBands.com

May 29
72-year-old Aretha Franklin received an honorary doctor of arts degree at Harvard University's 2014 Commencement.

2021 - ClassicBands.com

May 29
B.J. Thomas Thomas, the Pop, Country and Gospel singer who placed fourteen songs on the Billboard Top 40 between 1966 and 1977, died of lung cancer at the age of 78. His 1969 hit, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" topped the chart for four weeks and was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2014. He also holds the record for the longest title of a song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 during the Classic Rock era with "Hey Won't You Play Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song".

May 29
Elvis Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie, finalized her divorce from her husband of ten years, Michael Lockwood, with whom she shared twin, 12-year-old daughters. The event marked Presley's fourth failed marriage as she was previously wed to Danny Keough from 1988 to 1994, Michael Jackson from 1994 to 1996, and Nicolas Cage from 2002 to 2004.

2022 - ClassicBands.com

May 29
Ronnie Hawkins, the Rockabilly singer who scored a Billboard #26 hit in 1959 with "Mary Lou", passed away at the age of 87. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, his backing band, The Hawks, included Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, and Richard Manuel. In 1963, they split from Hawkins and eventually became Bob Dylan's backup band. Later still, they were just The Band.

2024 - ClassicBands.com

May 29
John Lennon's 12-string Hootenanny acoustic guitar broke the record for the highest-selling piece of Beatles memorabilia when it was sold for £1.5 million by Julian's Auctions at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York. The instrument, which sounds like a sitar, was used by Lennon during the recording of "Norwegian Wood", which was featured on the band's "Rubber Soul" album.



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