Today in 1954, the BBC banned Johnny Ray’s “Such a Night” after complaints about its “suggestiveness.”
The Brits had yet to see Elvis Presley or Jerry Lee Lewis.
The number one British single today in 1955:
The number one single today in 1964 was from a group that had had number one with three different songs for 14 consecutive weeks:
Today in 1965, what would now be called a “video” was shot in London:
The number one single today in 1966:
Today is the anniversary of the last Beatles U.S. single release, “Long and Winding Road” (the theme music of the Schenk Middle School eighth-grade Dessert Dance about this time in 1979):
The number one album today in 1977 was the Eagles’ “Hotel California”:
The number one British album today in 1972 was a Tyrannosaurus Rex double album, the complete title of which is “My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair … But Now They’re Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows”/”Prophets, Seers & Sages: The Angels of the Ages.” Really.
The number one single today in 1956 was this artist’s first, but certainly not last:
The number one single today in 1962:
I’m unaware of whether the soundtrack of “West Side Story” got any radio airplay, but since I played it in both the La Follette and UW marching bands, I note that today in 1962 the soundtrack hit number one and stayed there for 54 weeks:
Today in 1957, Alan Freed hosted the first prime-time rock and roll TV show — called, in a blast of original inspiration, “Rock ‘n Roll Show”:
The number one single today in 1961:
The number one single today in 1967:
Today in 1970, Ohio National Guard soldiers shot and killed four Kent State University students, prompting this song:
Today is the 52nd anniversary of what I used to consider the greatest radio station on the planet in its best format:
The number one single today in 1965:
Today in 1970, the Jimi Hendrix Experience played the first of its 13-show U.S. tour at the Milwaukee Auditorium:
The number one single today in 1960:
The number one British album today in 1966 was the Rolling Stones’ “Aftermath”:
Today in 1976, after a concert in Memphis, Bruce Springsteen scaled the walls of Graceland … where he was arrested by a security guard.
Today in 2003, a $5 million lawsuit filed by a personal injury lawyer against John Fogerty was dismissed.
The lawyer claimed he suffered hearing loss at a 1997 Fogerty concert.
The judge ruled the lawyer assumed the risk of hearing loss by attending the concert. The lawyer replied, “What?”
Steve Prestegard.com: The Presteblog 