Rock 'n' Roll History for
November 29


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1959 - ClassicBands.com

November 29
At the 1959 Grammy Awards, held just six months after a similar award show, Bobby Darin wins Record of the Year for "Mack the Knife" as well as the Best New Artist of the Year. Jimmy Driftwood, writer of Johnny Horton's hit, "The Battle Of New Orleans", takes home the trophy for Song of the Year.

1960 - ClassicBands.com

November 29
Paul McCartney and Pete Best are deported from West Germany after being arrested on suspicion of arson. The hotel room they were staying in mysteriously caught fire.

1963 - ClassicBands.com

November 29
The Beatles' fifth British single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" is released after being recorded just twelve days earlier. Advance orders exceed 700,000 and within three days the record will have sold one million copies, making it the band's second million seller. It was released in the US on December 26th and spent seven weeks at #1. Worldwide, the song has sold over twelve million records.

1966 - ClassicBands.com

November 29
Elvis Presley hears Tom Jones' "Green Green Grass Of Home" on the radio just outside Little Rock, Arkansas and calls the station several times to hear it again. Nine years later he records his own rendition of the tune and includes it on his album "Today".

1968 - ClassicBands.com

November 29
John Lennon was fined £150 with 20 Guineas costs at Marylebone Court in London after admitting to possessing cannabis. A charge of obstructing police in the execution of a search warrant, to which he pleaded not guilty, was dismissed after the prosecution had offered no evidence. 34-year-old Yoko Ono Cox was cleared of possessing cannabis and obstructing police. She had denied both charges.

1969 - ClassicBands.com

November 29
The Beatles score their 18th Billboard chart topper with the double-sided hit, "Come Together / Something". The record would stay on the chart for an impressive sixteen weeks. In the UK, the disc would top out at #4. In a case of sad irony, "Come Together" features a bass line interwoven with Lennon whispering the words, "shoot me."

November 29
Blood, Sweat And Tears see a third single, "And When I Die", peak at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The Laura Nyro written tune had first been recorded by Peter, Paul And Mary in 1966 for "The Peter, Paul and Mary Album". BS&T's "You've Made Me So Very Happy" and "Spinning Wheel" also topped out at the second spot earlier in the year.

November 29
Elvis Presley's LP "From Memphis to Vegas / From Vegas to Memphis" reaches the Billboard album chart where it will stay for the next twenty-four weeks, climbing as high as #12.

1975 - ClassicBands.com

November 29
Seven weeks after it debuted on the chart, "Fly, Robin, Fly" by Munich, Germany's Silver Convention hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of three weeks. The record would sell over a million copies and was awarded a Gold Record by the Recording Industry Association of America in December. At next year's Grammy Awards, it would be cited for Best R&B Instrumental Performance. The song contained only a few words, "Fly, Robin, fly. Up, up to the sky", as the female trio did not speak English.

November 29
Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" hits #1 in the UK where it would stay for a record nine weeks. In America, the tune reached #9 in 1976, but would gain a new peak of #2 after appearing in the 1992 film Wayne's World.

1979 - ClassicBands.com

November 29
Anita Pallenburg, the common-law wife of Rolling Stone Keith Richards, is cleared of murder charges in the shooting death of 17-year-old Scott Cantrell, a grounds man whose body had been found in her New York state home. The coroner ruled that the lad had committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.

November 29
The four original members of KISS perform for what they say will be the last time. However, they would reunite in 1996 for a tour in full makeup.

November 29
Michael Jackson receives a Gold record for "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough", the first of four Top Ten hits from his album, "Off the Wall". The song became his second Billboard number one after "Ben", which had topped the chart in 1972.

1982 - ClassicBands.com

November 29
After nearly eight months in production, Michael Jackson's milestone album "Thriller" is released. Seven of the album's nine songs were issued as singles and all reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The LP won a record-breaking eight awards at the 1984 Grammys and would become the largest selling album of all time, worldwide.

1986 - ClassicBands.com

November 29
"You Give Love A Bad Name" by Bon Jovi tops the Billboard Hot 100, giving the group the first of their eleven Top Ten hits. The song also went to the top of the Cashbox Best Sellers chart and made the Top Ten in five other countries

November 29
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band's "Live / 1975-85" started a seven week run at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It would eventually be certified 13X Platinum, making it the second-best-selling, live album in US music history. The best selling live LP is Garth Brooks' "Double Live", which has sold over 10.5 million copies and is recognized as 21X Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

1995 - ClassicBands.com

November 29
Van Halen vocalist Sammy Hagar married model Kari Karte in San Francisco. The pair would have two daughters, Kama and Samantha.

1997 - ClassicBands.com

November 29
Whitney Houston backs out of a slated one million dollar performance at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC after finding out the event was a mass wedding for over 1,000 Unificationist couples (informally known as Moonies).

1998 - ClassicBands.com

November 29
Butch McDade, drummer for The Amazing Rhythm Aces on their 1975, US #14 hit "Third Rate Romance", died of cancer at the age of 52.

2001 - ClassicBands.com

November 29
Beatles' guitarist George Harrison passed away at the age of 58 while resting at a friend's home in Los Angeles. His last words were reported to have been, "Love one another." The news came as a shock to the world, despite Harrison's much-chronicled cancer treatments. Speaking outside his home in St John's Wood, north west London, Paul McCartney said: "I am devastated and very, very sad." Ringo Starr, speaking from Vancouver, Canada said: "We will miss George for his sense of love, his sense of music and his sense of laughter."

2004 - ClassicBands.com

November 29
Jim Grant, bassist for Five Americans on their 1967 hit "Western Union", died at his home in Dallas, Texas following a heart attack. He was 61.

2007 - ClassicBands.com

November 29
Former Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle, a convicted sex offender, was arrested for failing to properly register a new permanent address. The 59-year-old Pyle pleaded guilty in 1993 to charges of attempted capital sexual battery by an adult on a victim younger than 12 and being principal to lewd and lascivious behavior on a child younger than 16. He was sentenced to eight years of probation.

2010 - ClassicBands.com

November 29
Sotheby's of New York announced that Bob Dylan's hand-written lyrics to the 1960s anthem "The Times They Are A-Changin'" would hit the auction block. When they did in early December, the scribbled notes were bought by hedge fund manager Adam Sender, who placed the winning bid at $422,500 (£267,400).

2013 - ClassicBands.com

November 29
Dick Dodd, drummer and vocalist for The Standells on their 1966, Billboard #11 hit "Dirty Water", died of cancer at the age of 68.

November 29
Cleveland's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame And Museum opened an exhibit of Elvis Presley memorabilia that included his stylish ID bracelet, custom-made motorcycle, eye-catching rings and military mementos.



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