Category: On This Day…

February 10, 1956 – Little Richard Records “Long Tall Sally,” a rock and roll 12-bar blues song written by Robert “Bumps” Blackwell, Enotris Johnson and Richard Penniman (known as “Little Richard.”) The record was released March 1956 on the Specialty Records label. #ROCkabillyHop @littlerichard_ #LittleRichard #LongTallSally #RocHop
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February 9, 1981 – American singer and musician Bill Haley who became known as the first Rock ‘n’ Roll star, was found dead, fully clothed on his bed at his home in Harlingen, Texas from a heart attack, aged 55. He scored the 1955 UK & US No.1 single ‘Rock Around the Clock’ as well as ‘See You Later, Alligator’, ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’, ‘Rocket 88’, ‘Skinny Minnie’, and ‘Razzle Dazzle’. Haley was blinded in his left eye as a child due to a botched operation and later adopted his distinctive spit-curl hairstyle to distract attention from his blind eye. #ROCkabillyHop @billhaleymusic #BillHaley #RockAroundTheClock #SeeYouLaterAlligator #ShakeRattleAndRoll #Rocket88 #SkinnyMinnie #RazzleDazzle #RocHop
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February 9, 1957 – Elvis Presley’s “Too Much” hit #1 where it stayed for 3 weeks. It would also reach number 3 on the Country and R&B charts as well. #ROCkabillyHop @ElvisPresley #Elvis #theKing #TooMuch #RocHop
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February 8, 1956 – Buddy Holley receives Decca’s contract from Jim Denny of Cedarwood Publishing. Holley’s name has been misspelled, inadvertently dropping the ‘e’ in Holley. As a result, Holley adopts the Holly spelling for his last name. Source: The Buddy Holly Center, 1801 Crickets Ave., Lubbock. @buddyholly @BuddyHollyCtr #ROCkabillyHop #buddyholly #TheCrickets #Decca #RocHop
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February 7, 1959 – Buddy Holly’s funeral was held at the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Lubbock. The service was officiated by Ben D. Johnson, who had presided at the Hollys’ wedding just months earlier. The pallbearers were Jerry Allison, Joe B. Mauldin, Niki Sullivan, Bob Montgomery, Sonny Curtis and Phil Everly. Waylon Jennings was unable to attend due to his commitment to the still touring Winter Dance Party. The body was interred in the City of Lubbock Cemetery in the eastern part of the city. Holly’s headstone carries the correct spelling of his surname (Holley) and a carving of his Fender Stratocaster guitar. @buddyholly @BuddyHollyCtr #ROCkabillyHop #buddyholly #TheCrickets #RocHop
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February 7, 1959 – Ritchie Valens was buried in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery. #ROCkabillyHop #RitchieValens #RocHop
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March 7, 1962 – Clyde McPhatter sings “Lover Please” on American Bandstand. His final top-10 hit; would peak at #7 on the U.S. pop chart. Overseas, it reached #6 in Norway. #ROCkabillyHop #RocHop #ClydeMcPhatter #LoverPlease @dickclarkprod #DickClark #AmericanBandstand
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February 7, 1932 – Warren Smith was born in Humphreys County, Mississippi. Smith was an American rockabilly and country singer and guitarist. He is best known for the rockabilly songs he recorded in the 1950’s for the Sun Record Company, such as “Ubangi Stomp”, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Ruby” and “Uranium Rock.” #ROCkabillyHop #WarrenSmith #UbangiStomp #RockNRollRuby #UraniumRock #HappyBirthday #RocHop
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February 6, 1957 – The Del-Vikings’ “Come Go with Me” enters the pop charts on its way to become a hit. It would peak at number 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and reach number 2 on the R&B chart. #ROCkabillyHop #DelVikings #ComeGoWithMe #RocHop
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February 5, 1957 – Bill Haley arrives in London for his first British tour. He’s the first American rock star to tour there and is met by about 4,000 fans at Heathrow Airport, mostly thanks to promoters who hyped his coming as “the second battle of Waterloo.” #ROCkabillyHop @billhaleymusic #BillHaley #RocHop
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