We begin with an entry from the It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time Dept.: Today in 1956, Chrysler Corp. launched its 1957 car lineup with a new option: a record player. The record player didn’t play albums or 45s, however; it played only seven-inch discs at 16⅔ rpm. Chrysler sold them until 1961.

Today in 1957, Little Richard was on an Australian tour when he publicly renounced rock and roll and embraced religion and announced he was going to record Gospel music from now on. The conversion was the result of his praying during a flight when one of the plane’s engines caught fire.

Little Richard returned to rock and roll five years later.

The number one song today in 1963:

The number one album today in 1968 was Big Brother and the Holding Company’s “Cheap Thrills”:

The short list of birthdays starts with a British composer familiar to high school band members everywhere: Ralph Vaughan Williams:

Sam Moore, half of Sam and Dave:

The deep-voiced Melvin Franklin was one of the original Temptations:

Pat Dinizio sang for the Smithereens:

Two deaths of note: Gene Vincent died of a perforated ulcer at 36 today in 1971:

Ricky Wilson, who played guitar for the B-52s, died of AIDS today in 1985:

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