Month: May 2022

May 4, 1937 – Surf rocker Dick Burns (of The Hondells) is born in Buffalo, New York. #ROCkabillyHop #TheHondells #HappyBirthday #DickBurns #RocHop
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May 3, 1962 – Yvonne Baker and the Sensations perform “Let Me In” on “American Bandstand.” It was the group’s highest-charting and most successful single, going to #2 on the US R&B singles chart and #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. #ROCkabillyHop #RocHop @dickclarkprod #DickClark #AmericanBandstand #YvonneBaker #TheSensations #LetMeIn
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May 3, 1960 – Charlie Rich sings “Lonely Weekends” on “American Bandstand.” This was his third single for the Sun subsidiary, Phillips International Records, and charted at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100. #ROCkabillyHop #RocHop @dickclarkprod #DickClark #AmericanBandstand #CharlieRich #TheSilverFox #LonelyWeekends
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May 3, 1958 – The popular disc jockey Alan Freed hosts the “Big Beat Show” at the Boston Arena (a hockey rink) featuring Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly. Accounts vary, but the crowd rushes the stage at various times, and Freed keeps imploring them to sit down – not easy to do when Lewis is playing “Great Balls of Fire.” Freed is forced to stop the show, telling the crowd, “It looks like the Boston police don’t want you to have a good time.” Violence erupts, spurned on by gang members at the show, and spills over to the streets. A Navy sailor is stabbed, others are injured, and arrests are made outside of the concert hall. Alan Freed is charged with inciting a riot, but the charges are later dropped. The incident, which becomes known as the “Boston riot,” results in the cancellation of scheduled shows in Troy, NY; Providence, RI; New Haven, CT; and Newark, NJ. Rock and roll becomes demonized in Boston, and the city does not host another rock concert until 1964, when The Beatles come through. @buddyholly @BuddyHollyCtr #ROCkabillyHop #buddyholly #TheCrickets @ChuckBerry @jerryleelewis #AlanFreed
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May 3, 1957 – Elvis records “(You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care”, written in 1957 by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for the film Jailhouse Rock starring Elvis Presley. #ROCkabillyHop @ElvisPresley #Elvis #theKing #BabyIDontCare #RocHop #JailhouseRock
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May 2, 1960 – Production begins on Elvis Presley’s first post-Army movie, G.I. Blues. #ROCkabillyHop @ElvisPresley #Elvis #theKing #GIBlues #RocHop
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May 2, 1929 – Rock and roll guitarist Link Wray is born “Fred Lincoln Wray Jr.” in Dunn, North Carolina. Wray is best known for the 1958 instrumental “Rumble” which he improvised when asked to play a “stroll.” A Native American who identified as “Shawnee,” Wray was placed at #45 of the top 100 greatest guitarists by Rolling Stone Magazine. #ROCkabillyHop #LinkWray @Link_Wray #Rumble #RocHop
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May 1, 1972 – “The London Chuck Berry Sessions” album is released, including the novelty song “My Ding-a-Ling.” The album became Berry’s best seller, reaching #8 on the Billboard chart. @ChuckBerry #ROCkabillyHop #ChuckBerry #RocHop
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May 1, 1961 – Neil Sedaka sings “Little Devil” on “American Bandstand.” His follow up single to “Calendar Girl,” “Little Devil” falls sinfully short of the Top Ten, peaking at #11 on Billboard’s charts. #ROCkabillyHop #RocHop @dickclarkprod #DickClark #AmericanBandstand #NeilSedaka #LittleDevil
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May 1, 1961 – Jerry Lee Lewis’ last Top Forty hit of the rock and roll era, a blistering version of Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say,” peaks at #30. @jerryleelewis #ROCkabillyHop #WhatdISay #JerryLeeLewis #TheKiller #RocHop
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