Rock 'n' Roll History for
May 3


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1958 - ClassicBands.com

May 3
Alan Freed has trouble on his hands when a brawl breaks out following a Big Beat Show at the Boston Arena. Several of the estimated 5,000 teens in attendance are injured and Freed will later be charged with incitement of a riot and destruction of property. After Freed sued the Boston Police for brutality and libelous reporting of violence, the charges against him were dropped, but his career was severely damaged.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

May 3
Gerry And The Pacemakers make their US television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show where they perform "I'm The One" and "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying".

1965 - ClassicBands.com

May 3
The Beatles were kept busy filming scenes for their forthcoming film Help! on Salisbury Plain with the British Army's Third Tank Division.

1968 - ClassicBands.com

May 3
The Beach Boys begin a seventeen date tour of the US with a show in New York. The second half of the concert featured the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who lectured the audience on "spiritual regeneration." The reaction was so negative, more than half of the remaining tour dates were canceled.

May 3
The theme song to TV's to Hawaii 5-0 was recorded at Western Recorders in Hollywood. The song was written by Morton Stevens, arranged by George Tipton, and produced by Dave Pell. Although it was credited to The Ventures, who eventually did record it, this version was recorded by session musicians Ray Pohlman - bass, John Guerin - drums, Jim Horn - woodwinds, Tom Scott - sax, Pete Condoli - trumpet, Gene Estes - percussion, Tommy Tedesco - lead guitar, and Milt Holland - percussion.

1969 - ClassicBands.com

May 3
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrest Jimi Hendrix at Toronto's International Airport for possession of narcotics. He was released on $10,000 bail until his acquittal the following December.

1971 - ClassicBands.com

May 3
Grand Funk Railroad "consent" to meet with members of the press, who have never treated the group with respect despite their string of Gold records. One hundred, fifty reporters were invited to New York's Gotham Hotel. Only six showed up.

1972 - ClassicBands.com

May 3
Guitarist Les Harvey of the Scottish / English soul band Stone the Crows, was electrocuted by a shorted microphone wire during a concert attended by 12-thousand people in Swansea, Wales. He died in a local hospital three hours later.

1975 - ClassicBands.com

May 3
Tony Orlando And Dawn scored their third and final US #1 hit with "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)". The tune was written as "He Will Break Your Heart" by three R&B heavyweights, Jerry Butler, Clarence Carter and Curtis Mayfield, and had reached #7 in 1960 for Butler.

May 3
The English Glam-Rock band Mud attain their third and final UK number one with a cover of Buddy Holly's 1957 hit, "Oh Boy".

May 3
Chicago's LP "Chicago VIII" hits #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Three singles from the album reach the Hot 100, "Brand New Love Affair, Part I & II" (#61), "Harry Truman" (#13) and "Old Days" (#5).

1976 - ClassicBands.com

May 3
Paul McCartney makes his first concert appearance in America in almost ten years as Wings commence their Wings over America tour in Fort Worth, Texas.

1978 - ClassicBands.com

May 3
FM, a film about the struggles of a radio station, debuts in Los Angeles. The soundtrack features Steely Dan, Steve Miller, the Eagles, Neil Young, Billy Joel and Warren Zevon. More people would buy the soundtrack than bothered to see the film.

1980 - ClassicBands.com

May 3
Bob Seger And The Silver Bullet Band started a six week run at #1 on the US album chart with "Against The Wind". The LP would go on to win a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Art director Roy Kohara also won for Best Recording Package. Singles released from the album included "The Horizontal Bop" (US #42), "Fire Lake" (US #6), "Against The Wind" (US #5), and "You'll Accompany Me" (US #14).

1986 - ClassicBands.com

May 3
Robert Palmer's "Addicted To Love" tops the Billboard singles chart on its way to becoming a world-wide million seller. Originally recorded as a duet with Chaka Khan, her record company wouldn't grant her a release to work on Palmer's label, Island Records, and her voice was removed.

1997 - ClassicBands.com

May 3
Michael Jackson topped the UK singles chart for the 7th time with "Blood On The Dance Floor". The song peaked at #42 on the US charts.

2012 - ClassicBands.com

May 3
Paul McCartney and his wife Nancy Shavell narrowly avoided a potential deadly helicopter crash when their pilot became disoriented during a flight in bad weather and missed some trees by just two feet. Flying home to their estate in East Sussex, England after a day in London, the McCartneys were not aware of how close they came to crashing at the time. The UK's Department of Transport launched an investigation into the incident the following November.

2014 - ClassicBands.com

May 3
Drummer Bobby Gregg, who played on Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" and Simon And Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence", died at age 78 from unspecified causes.



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