Rock 'n' Roll History for
September 19


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1957 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
16-year-old Cliff Richard, still known by his real name, Harry Webb, joins the Dick Teague Skiffle Group, which will soon begin playing at UK venues around Ware, Cheshunt and Hoddesdon. During the day, he was still holding down a job at the Atlas Lighting Company.

1960 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
Chubby Checker's version of "The Twist" reached the top of the Billboard Pop chart for a one week stay. The same record would make a return to number one in January, 1962, becoming the first single in history to accomplish that feat.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
"A Summer Song" by the British duo of Chad And Jeremy enters the Billboard chart on its way to #7. Although they would place a total of seven hits in the US Top 40, this will be their only Top 10 entry.

1966 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass perform for Princess Grace (Kelly) at her Monaco palace. At that point, the band had placed nine songs on the Billboard Top 40.

1968 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
Steppenwolf earn a Gold record for sales of one million copies of their US #2 hit, "Born to be Wild". It reached #18 in the UK. Although the song is often used in films about biker gangs, it never specifically mentions motorcycles, and was originally written by Mars Bonfire as a slow ballad. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine placed "Born to Be Wild" at #129 on their list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

1970 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
Freda Payne tops the UK chart for the first of six weeks with "Band Of Gold", a song that she was reluctant to record because she thought it was more appropriate for a much younger woman. The record would go on to reach #3 in America and sell over a million copies.

September 19
After scoring twelve US number one hits with The Supremes, Diana Ross has her first solo US chart topper with "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". It made #6 in the UK.

1971 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
The Jackson 5's Goin' Back To Indiana TV special aired on ABC-TV. With guests Tommy Smothers, Bill Cosby, Bobby Darin and Diana Ross, the show also produced a live soundtrack album that featured the hit single "I Want You Back".

1973 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
26-year-old Gram Parsons, formerly of The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, died under mysterious circumstances in Joshua Tree, California. His death was attributed to heart failure, but later was officially deemed as due to a drug overdose. His coffin was stolen by two of his associates, manager Phil Kaufman and Michael Martin, a former roadie for The Byrds, and is taken to Cap Rock in the California desert where it's set afire, they say in accordance to Parson's wishes. The two were later arrested by police and were given 30-day suspended sentences and fined $300 each.

1978 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
Linda Ronstadt's latest release, "Living in the U.S.A." is issued with advance orders of two million units, making it a Double Platinum LP before it even hit the stores. Singles from the album included "Back In The USA" (US #16), "Ooh Baby Baby" (US #7) and "Just One Look" (US #10).

1979 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
The New York Post runs a front-page headline reading "The Beatles Are Back!" and reports that the Fab Four will play a benefit concert for the Kampuchean boat people. Paul McCartney was reported as saying that "If the Beatles ever did reform, we'd have to rehearse for six months." The reunion of course, never takes place.

1981 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
Simon And Garfunkel got back together for a concert in New York's Central Park, eleven years after splitting up. The concert was so successful, the duo decided to embark on a year-long, world tour. During the tour, tensions mounted between the pair and they split again after it was completed.

September 19
On the strength of the single "Start Me Up", The Rolling Stones album "Tattoo You" started a nine week run at #1 on the Billboard album chart. Primarily composed of out-takes from previous recording sessions, some dating back a decade, it is the last Rolling Stones album to reach the top position of the US charts.

1985 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
A US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation convenes to discuss the "contents of music and the lyrics of records" following pressure from the Parents Music Resource Center. Despite passionate pleas from John Denver, Frank Zappa and many others, the recording industry will eventually agree to implement parent advisory stickers on certain records.

1987 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett teamed up to have the top song on the Billboard Hot 100 with "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", the first release from Michael's album "Bad". The tune, which also went to number one on the R&B Singles and Adult Contemporary charts, would later be awarded a Gold Record for sales of one million copies.

1991 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
Pasadena, California hosts Ray Charles: 50 Years in Music, Uh-Huh!, a benefit concert that features Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, Michael Bolton, Randy Travis, Michael McDonald and James Ingram in a series of duets with Ray Charles.

September 19
Michael Jackson is a guest voice on the first episode of the third season of The Simpsons called "Stark Raving Dad". He plays a mental patient named Leon Kompowsky, a man who claims to be pop star Michael Jackson. Being unfamiliar with the real singer, Homer believes and quickly befriends him.

1993 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
Michelle Phillips of The Mamas And The Papas was robbed while sitting in a car outside a West Hollywood restaurant. With a gun pointed at the head of her friend, Aloma Ichinose, Phillips gave her purse to two men who fled on foot. Neither of the women were injured.


1998 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
Fabian Forte marries his third wife, Andrea Patrick, a former Miss Pennsylvania and Miss West Virginia. The couple were later sued by the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa where they were wed for unpaid bills. The Fortes said the amount they were billed was almost four times more than the original price the resort had quoted them for a wedding reception. The resort later dropped the suit and issued an apology.

1999 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
Ed Cobb of The Four Preps died of leukemia at the age of 61. The group placed seven songs on the Billboard Top 40 between 1958 and 1961, including "26 Miles (Santa Catalina)" (#2 in 1958), "Big Man" (#3 in 1958) and "Down By The Station" (#13 in 1960).

2004 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
Skeeter Davis, most often remembered for a pair of 1963 Top Ten hits, "The End Of The World" and "I Can't Stay Mad At You", died of breast cancer after a sixteen year battle with the disease. She was 73.

September 19
The Guinness World Records released figures that showed that Status Quo have had more hit singles on the UK chart than any other band history. The group made the chart sixty-one times, dating from "Pictures of Matchstick Men" in 1968 to "You'll Come Around" in 2004. Queen was second with fifty-two hits, while The Rolling Stones and UB40 had fifty-one each.

2006 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
Danny Flores, who played saxophone on The Champs' 1958, number one hit, "Tequila", died from complications of pneumonia at the age of 77. After he left the band, he signed away his rights to the song, and ultimately did not receive any royalties from the highly successful tune.

2012 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
Randy Bachman, of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, was named to Canada's Walk of Fame for the second time. He was also inducted in 2001 as a member of The Guess Who.

2013 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
The Recording Academy named Carole King as the MusiCares person of the year. The presentation would be made during the 2014 Grammy Awards week.

2015 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
The Beatles' first recording contract, signed in 1961 by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Pete Best, sold at a New York auction for $75,000 (£48,000). The contract led to the recording of "My Bonnie" under the name Tony Sheridan And The Beat Brothers, which would later catch the attention of Brian Epstein.

September 19
The UK TV show It Was Alright in the '60s shocked Beatles fans when it broadcast black and white footage of John Lennon ridiculing disabled people during a performance. In the clip Lennon encourages the screaming crowd to clap their hands and stomp their feet, while he speaks with a speech impediment and makes awkward clapping and stomping movements.

2016 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
A Facebook posting announced that 72-year-old singer-songwriter Terry Jacks, most often remembered for his 1974, Billboard #1 hit "Seasons in the Sun", had been hospitalized after suffering his second stroke in less than a year. It was later reported that he was recovering.

2021 - ClassicBands.com

September 19
Metallica's 1991 self-titled album surged back into the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart for the first time in twenty-nine years, following the set's 30th anniversary reissue. Often referred to as "The Black Album", the unit moved over 37,000 copies in one week.



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