Category: On This Day…

March 23, 1956 – RCA ships Elvis Presley’s self-titled first album. The King’s album full of early Elvis songs soon goes to #1 on Billboard’s pop album chart where it rules for 10 weeks before being dethroned by the Original Broadway Cast album of “My Fair Lady.” It is the first Elvis album to reach over $1 million in sales, thus earning Elvis his first gold record. #ROCkabillyHop @ElvisPresley #Elvis #theKing #TCB #OTD #RockNRoll #RocHop
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March 22, 1960 – The Playmates appear on “American Bandstand” and sing “Beep Beep.” This #4 US novelty hit became a perennial favorite on radio request shows on both sides of the Atlantic – the song had to be re-recorded for the UK to cut out the mention of commercial car brands so that the record could be played by the BBC. #ROCkabillyHop #RocHop @dickclarkprod #DickClark #AmericanBandstand #Playmates #BeepBeep #OTD #RockNRoll
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March 21, 1956 – The movie “Rock Around The Clock” opens in theaters. DJ Alan Freed plays a concert promoter who brings Rock and Roll to the masses. The film stars Bill Haley and His Comets and is named after their hit song. It is one of the first movies based on rock music and aimed at teenagers. #ROCkabillyHop #AlanFreed @billhaleymusic #BillHaley #RocHop #RockAroundTheClock #OTD #RockNRoll
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March 21, 1956 – Carl Perkins headlines a show at Norfolk, VA Auditorium. After the show in route to a March 24 appearance on the Perry Como Show on NBC-TV, Perkins was injured seriously in an auto accident in Dover, Delaware, suffering a fractured skull and broken shoulder. Jay, his brother and rhythm guitarist’s neck is broken, Carl will be in the hospital until April 10. Jay will never recover fully. By the time Perkins gets out of the hospital, Elvis Presley has already had a hit with Perkins’ “Blue Suede Shoes.” #ROCkabillyHop #BlueSuedeShoes @SunRecords #CarlPerkins #OTD #RockNRoll #RocHop
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March 21, 1952 – The Moondog Coronation Ball, the first Rock and Roll stage show, is held at the Cleveland Arena. Acts include the Dominoes, Tiny Grimes, and Paul Williams. Crowds attended in numbers far beyond the arena’s capacity, and the concert was shut down early due to overcrowding and a near-riot. Alan Freed gained priceless notoriety from the incident. WJW immediately increased the airtime allotted to Freed’s program, and his popularity soared. #ROCkabillyHop #AlanFreed #MoondogCoronationBall #OTD #RockNRoll #RocHop
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March 20, 1968 – Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick, and Tich were at #1 on the UK singles chart with “The Legend Of Xanadu,” the group’s only UK #1. Dave Dee was a police officer on duty the night of Eddie Cochran’s death and learned to play on Cochran’s impounded guitar. #RocHop @EddieCochran_ #ROCkabillyHop #DDDMBT #RedDwarf #OTD #RockNRoll
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March 20, 1960 – Elvis Presley has his first post-Army recording session. Some of the recording work is for the album “Elvis is Back!,” which will hit #2 on the Billboard pop chart. The album includes the single “Stuck On You,” which is rushed to the pressing plant and packaged in a generic sleeve without waiting for orders. Debuting at #84, it took only three weeks to hit #1. Scotty Moore and Bill Black, who had quit Presley’s touring band in 1957, were in the studio with him for the last time. Sessions will continue in early April. #ROCkabillyHop @ElvisPresley #Elvis #theKing #TCB #ElvisIsBack #OTD #RockNRoll #RocHop
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March 19, 1960 – Bobby Darin appears on “The Dick Clark Show” singing “Beyond The Sea” and dances with a couple of young ladies from the audience. Freddy Cannon, Dorsey Burnette, and The Contours also appear on this day. #ROCkabillyHop #RocHop @dickclarkprod #DickClarkShow @bobby_darin2 #BobbyDarin #BeyondTheSea #OTD #RockNRoll
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March 18, 2017 – Chuck Berry died aged 90 at his home in suburban St. Louis. The American guitarist, singer, and songwriter was one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as “Maybellene” (1955), “Roll Over Beethoven” (1956), “Rock and Roll Music” (1957), and “Johnny B. Goode” (1958), Berry refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive. @ChuckBerry #ROCkabillyHop #ChuckBerry #Maybellene #RollOverBeethoven #RockandRollMusic #JohnnyBGoode #RocHop #OTD #RockNRoll
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March 18, 1959 – The movie “Rio Bravo” with Ricky Nelson, John Wayne, and Dean Martin opens nationally. Nelson plays a young gunslinger who teams up with a drunken former deputy, played by Dean Martin, and the Sheriff, played by John Wayne, to bring law and order to a frontier town. #ROCkabillyHop #RocHop #RioBravo #RickyNelson #JohnWayne#DeanMartin #OTD #RockNRoll
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