Category: On This Day…

December 31, 1952 – When his original guitarist had a stroke just before a New Year’s Eve gig, popular St. Louis boogie-woogie pianist Johnnie Johnson hired a 26-year-old hairdresser named Chuck Berry to play guitar for his group “The Sir John’s Trio.” @ChuckBerry #ROCkabillyHop #JohnnieJohnson #ChuckBerry #RocHop #SirJohnsTrio #OTD #RockNRoll
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December 31, 1937 – Alvis Wayne was born “Alvis Wayne Samford” in Paducah, Texas. #HappyBirthday #OTD #ROCkabillyHop #RocHop #AlvisWayne
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December 30, 1957 – Bing Crosby’s album Merry Christmas claims the #1 spot from Elvis Presley’s Elvis’ Christmas Album, but Elvis returns to the top spot a week later. #ROCkabillyHop @ElvisPresley #Elvis #TCB #theKing @Bing_Crosby #BingCrosby #RocHop #OTD #RockNRoll
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December 30, 1934 – Del Shannon of “Runaway” fame was born “Charles Weedon Westover” in Grand Rapids, Michigan. #ROCkabillyHop #DelShannon #HappyBirthday #RocHop #OTD #RockNRoll
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December 30, 1928 – Bo Diddley is born “Ellas Otha Bates” in McComb, Mississippi. He grew up on the South Side of Chicago, where he and his friends perform music on street corners. #ROCkabillyHop @bodiddley #bodiddley #HappyBirthday #RocHop #OTD #RockNRoll
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December 29, 2004 – Beyond the Sea, a musical about the life of Bobby Darin, debuts in US theaters. Darin superfan Kevin Spacey, who co-wrote, directed, and starred in the film, does his own singing. 45-year-old Spacey is a little old to be playing Darin, who was only 37 when he died. #ROCkabillyHop @bobby_darin2 @KevinSpacey #BobbyDarin #RocHop #OTD #RockNRoll
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December 29, 1957 – Buddy Holly and The Crickets performed “Peggy Sue” on the “Arthur Murray Show.” @buddyholly @BuddyHollyCtr #ROCkabillyHop #buddyholly #TheCrickets #RocHop #OTD #RockNRoll
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December 29, 1956 – Elvis Presley made chart history by having 10 songs on Billboard’s Top 100 for the week ending Dec 19th. This includes “Love Me Tender” at #2, “Love Me” at #7, “Don’t Be Cruel” at 26, “When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again” at #38, “Old Shep” at #47, “Hound Dog” and “Poor Boy” tied at #54, “Any Way You Want Me” at #70, Paralyzed” at #78, and “Blue Moon” at #93! #ROCkabillyHop @ElvisPresley #Elvis #TCB #theKing #RocHop #OTD #RockNRoll
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December 29, 1951 – “Cry” by Johnnie Ray and The Four Lads hit #1 and wailed there for 11 tearful weeks. Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what would become rock and roll, for his jazz and blues-influenced music and his animated stage personality. #ROCkabillyHop #JohnnieRay #RocHop #OTD #RockNRoll
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December 28, 2000 – Waylon Jennings kicks off a three-day estate sale at his Dixon, Ill., home after the country star decides to move to Arizona. Among the goods on sale are a customized black Cadillac, knives and guns from his personal collection, and a motorcycle that used to belong to Buddy Holly. The motorcycle was later auctioned at Guernsey’s Auctioneers and ended up on permanent loan to the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, Texas. @buddyholly @BuddyHollyCtr #ROCkabillyHop #buddyholly @OfficialWaylon #TheCrickets #RocHop #OTD #RockNRoll
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