Blog

November 14, 1936 – Born on this day, Freddie Garrity, singer and actor who was the frontman and comical element in the 1960s pop band Freddie and the Dreamers. They scored the 1963 UK No.3 single ‘You Were Made For Me’, and the 1965 US No.1 single ‘I’m Telling You Now’. Garrity died on 19th May 2006 aged 69. #ROCkabillyHop #FreddieAndTheDreamers #HappyBirthday
https://amzn.to/3GD6s9B

November 12, 1956 – Johnnie Ray was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Just Walking In The Rain.’ It stayed at No.1 for seven weeks making it this year’s Christmas No.1. Written in 1952 by Johnny Bragg and Robert Riley, two prisoners at Tennessee State Prison in Nashville, after a comment made by Bragg as the pair crossed the courtyard while it was raining. #ROCkabillyHop #JohnnieRay #JustWalkingInTheRain
https://amzn.to/3CtgcB5

November 12, 1955 – Chuck Berry is named the most promising Rhythm & Blues artist in Chart Toppers’s annual DJ’s Poll. #ChuckBerry @ChuckBerry #ROCkabillyHop
https://youtu.be/PRSxvtmtH_I

November 12, 1955 – Fats Domino is named the favorite Rhythm & Blues artist in Chart Toppers’s annual DJ’s Poll. #ROCkabillyHop #TheFatMan @RealFatsDomino #fatsdomino
https://youtu.be/O-YRLdv0NK8

November 12, 1944 – Booker T. Jones (frontman for Booker T. & the MG’s) is born in Memphis, Tennessee. (The “T” stands for Taliaferro.) #ROCkabillyHop #BookerT #HappyBirthday
https://youtu.be/ZgGH6xTaSJg

November 12, 1934 – Clyde Allen “Al” Hendrix was born. Hendrix an American rockabilly singer and songwriter. He began performing in clubs around Bakersfield, California, and met Buck Owens at the legendary Blackboard Cafe. Hendrix and Owens played music together, often with Bill Woods and The Orange Blossom Playboys. #ROCkabillyHop #AlHendrix #HappyBirthday
https://youtu.be/awM495NPLVM

November 11, 1958 – Hank Ballard and the Midnighters record “The Twist,” which later becomes a huge hit for Chubby Checker. #ROCkabillyHop @chubby_checker #twist #HankBallard https://youtu.be/z3t4KPL6XJQ

November 11, 1957 – Buddy Holly releases “Peggy Sue” backed with “Everyday.” It becomes his second hit single, peaking at No. 3. Co-authored by Jerry Allison, the drummer for the Crickets, for his girlfriend (and future wife) after the couple had temporarily broken up. #ROCkabillyHop @buddyholly @BuddyHollyCtr #BuddyHolly #PeggySue
https://amzn.to/3EqPVnq

November 11, 1954 – Bill Haley scored his first US Top ten single with ‘Shake Rattle And Roll’. He had dropped his cowboy image about a year and a half earlier, while renaming The Saddlemen to Bill Haley and His Comets. The song became the theme song for the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League. ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’ was originally made popular by Big Joe Turner. #ROCkabillyHop @billhaleymusic #BillHaley #ShakeRattleAndRoll
https://amzn.to/3nEc5fi

November 10, 1958 – Conway Twitty’s “It’s Only Make Believe” hits #1 in the US for the first of 2 weeks. Before this song hit, Twitty was recording rockabilly and rock and roll songs under his real name Harold Jenkins. #ROCkabillyHop @ConwayTwitty #ConwayTwitty #OnlyMakeBelieve
https://amzn.to/3GCWq8o