Rock 'n' Roll History for
September 17


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1931 - ClassicBands.com

September 17
The first long-playing record, a 33 1/3 rpm recording, was demonstrated at the Savoy Plaza Hotel in New York by RCA-Victor. The venture was doomed to fail however due to the high price of the record players, which started around $95, and wasn't revived until 1948.

1955

September 17
Actor James Dean made a public information film for TV, urging teenagers to drive safely. At the end of the month he would be killed in a high speed car crash.

September 17
After radio stations complained to Capitol Records that Les Paul and Mary Ford's "Magic Melody" ended too abruptly with just the first part of "shave and a haircut, two bits", the record company issues the shortest record in audio history. "Magic Melody Part II", supplied only to radio stations, contained only the "two bits" part and lasted exactly one second.

1956 - ClassicBands.com

September 17
The BBC announces the removal of Bill Haley And His Comets' "Rockin' Through The Rye" from its play list because they felt the song went against traditional British standards. The record, based on an 18th century Scottish Folk tune, stood at #5 on the UK chart and included the lyrics "All the lassies rock with me when rockin' through the rye."

1960 - ClassicBands.com

September 17
Sam Phillips officially opens the Sam C. Phillips Recording Studio at 639 Madison Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee with a lavish party attended by close to two hundred people. The state-of-the-art facility was meant to replace the original Sun Studio at 706 Union Avenue and would be the home of the Sun stable of artists until 1969, when it was sold to Mercury Records producer Shelby Singleton of Nashville.

1962 - ClassicBands.com

September 17
Dot Records releases Arthur Alexander's self-penned, "Anna (Go To Him)". It was written with Arthur's girlfriend, Ann, in mind, and despite the song's title, the lyrics say "go with him" rather than "go to him". The two would eventually marry, but the union would end in divorce. Alexander also wrote "You Better Move On", and Steve Alaimo's "Every Day I Have to Cry".

1964 - ClassicBands.com

September 17
On what was supposed to be their day off, The Beatles were paid a then record $150,000 by Charlie Finley, owner of the Kansas City Athletics, for a concert at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.

1967 - ClassicBands.com

September 17
The Doors perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. Even though he agreed to change some of the words to "Light My Fire", Jim Morrison sings "Girl, we couldn't get much higher" anyway. A furious Sullivan vowed that the band would never appear on his show again. Morrison reportedly just shrugged and said, "We just did the Sullivan show."

1968 - ClassicBands.com

September 17
Diana Ross records "Love Child" without the other two Supremes, Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson. The record would top the Billboard Hot 100 and sell 500,000 in its first week and 2 million copies by the end of the year.

September 17
The Fifth Dimension are awarded their second Gold record for their rendition of Laura Nyro's "Stoned Soul Picnic". The song reached #3 on the Billboard Pop chart and #2 on the R&B chart.

1969 - ClassicBands.com

September 17
Radio and print media on both sides of the Atlantic are full of stories that say Paul McCartney is dead. He was supposedly killed in a car accident in Scotland on November 9th, 1966 and that a double has been taking his place for public appearances. In fact, Paul and his girlfriend Jane Asher were on vacation in Kenya at the time. When a reporter contacted Paul at his Scottish farm, McCartney's reaction was, "Do I look dead? I'm fit as a fiddle." You can read more about The Paul McCartney Death Hoax in our Rock and Roll Mysteries section.

September 17
Tiny Tim announces his engagement to Victoria May Budinger. Forty million viewers would watch him tie the knot with 17-year-old Miss Vicki on The Tonight Show on December 17th, 1969. The union produced a daughter named Tulip, but ended when Vicki filed for a divorce on March 6th, 1972 and was granted in 1977.

1977 - ClassicBands.com

September 17
"20 Golden Greats" by Diana Ross And The Supremes started a seven week run at #1 on the UK album chart. The compilation included two tracks that had never been hit singles in the UK: "My World Is Empty Without You" and "Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart".

1991 - ClassicBands.com

September 17
The MC5's lead singer, 47-year-old Rob Tyner, suffered a fatal heart attack in the front seat of his parked car in his hometown of Berkley, Michigan. MC5, (shortened from the Motor City Five), formed in Detroit in 1965 and released their first album, "Kick Out the Jams" in 1969. The single of the same name peaked at #90 in early March of that year.

1997 - ClassicBands.com

September 17
Fleetwood Mac kick off their reunion tour in Hartford, Connecticut, in support of their LP, "The Dance". The three month trek would include dates across America, but none overseas.

2007 - ClassicBands.com

September 17
Barry Manilow canceled his plans to appear on the TV talk show The View because he did not want to be interviewed by its conservative co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck, an abortion opponent and supporter of the Iraq war. Manilow had requested to speak only with co-hosts Joy Behar, Barbara Walters or Whoopi Goldberg, but the show's producers refused to comply with what they called Manilow's "completely disrespectful" demands.

2011 - ClassicBands.com

September 17
The estate of Jimi Hendrix gave the go-ahead for another round of archival releases nearly forty-one years to the day after the singer's death. The four new products included an expanded version of his landmark Winterland concerts in 1968, a revamp of a 1972 live compilation, an upgraded DVD of his final UK festival gig, and a DVD reissue of some old talk- show appearances.

2014 - ClassicBands.com

September 17
Country music star George Hamilton IV died in Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 77. The singer and guitarist, who began performing as a teenager in the 1950s, had suffered a major heart attack a few days earlier. In 1956, Hamilton had a number six hit on the Billboard Pop chart with "A Rose and A Baby Ruth", which led to tours with Buddy Holly and The Everly Brothers. Over the next six years he enjoyed five more Top 40 hits, including "Why Don't They Understand", which reached number ten in early 1958.

2015 - ClassicBands.com

September 17
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that Glen Campbell had moved from an Alzheimer facility and was being cared for by his wife Kim in their own home. The singer was listed as being in stage six of the seven stages of Alzheimer's where his communication skills are severely limited and he is prone to lashing out physically.

2016 - ClassicBands.com

September 17
The Kennedy Center responded negatively to a petition that sought to include former Eagles Don Felder, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner when the band received the Kennedy Center Honors later in the year. The Center's president, Deborah Rutter, issued a statement that read, "The Kennedy Center consulted with the Eagles and through that discussion, it was determined that the four band members who 'carried the torch', Don Henley, the late Glenn Frey, Timothy B. Schmit, and Joe Walsh, will be awarded the Honors. We appreciate that there will be some debate about who constitutes the Eagles. This determination does not discredit the contributions of former band members."

2022 - ClassicBands.com

September 17
Looking Glass and Blondie reached Billboard's Top TV Songs chart after their tunes were included in the series Better Call Saul. "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)", with 12.2 million streams and 2,000 downloads, reached number one, while "The Tide Is High" came in at #3 with 2 million streams and 2,000 downloads.

2024 - ClassicBands.com

September 17
Singer / songwriter J.D. Souther, who co-wrote a series of songs for the Eagles, passed away at the age of 78. He had collaborated with the band on their hits, "Best of My Love", "James Dean", "New Kid in Town" and "Heartache Tonight". As a solo act he released eight albums between 1972 and 2015, scoring hit singles in 1979 with "You're Only Lonely" and again in 1981 with "Her Town Too" with James Taylor. When asked if he was ever upset by the Eagles having success with his songs, he would respond, "Would you like to see the checks?"



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