Category: On This Day…

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, spurred 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 the concert hall. Alan Freed is charged with inciting a riot, but the charges are later dropped. The incident, which became known as the “Boston riot,” resulted in the cancellation of scheduled shows in Troy, NY; Providence, RI; New Haven, CT; and Newark, NJ. Rock and roll became 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 Presley 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 singer and musician Elvis Presley. Presley’s version, one of the only songs in which he plays the electric bass, was recorded on May 3, with the vocal track added on May 9, 1957, and released on his Jailhouse Rock EP. It reached number fourteen on the R&B charts. #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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May 1, 1955 – A St. Louis guitarist named Chuck Berry is signed to Chess Records in Chicago after bluesman Muddy Waters recommends him to the label. @ChuckBerry #ROCkabillyHop #ChuckBerry #ChessRecords #RocHop
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April 30, 1957 – Elvis Presley records “Jailhouse Rock” and “Young And Beautiful,” the title and closing songs for the movie “Jailhouse Rock.” The song “Jailhouse Rock hit #1 in the US, UK, and South Africa. #ROCkabillyHop @ElvisPresley #Elvis #theKing #TCB #JailhouseRock #YoungAndBeautiful #RocHop #OTD #RockNRoll
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April 30, 1943 – Pop singer Bobby Vee is born “Robert Thomas Velline” in Fargo, North Dakota. Vee got his big break at age 15 when he and his brother threw together a band and volunteered to fill in for one night on the Winter Dance Party tour after the fatal plane crash that took Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper. The show was a success! #ROCkabillyHop #BobbyVee #WinterDanceParty @RocHop #OTD #RockNRoll
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