June 9th - This Day In Rockabilly
June 9th, 1958 - Ritchie Valens' first single "Come On Let's Go" is released on the Del-Fi record label
June 7th - This Day In Rockabilly
June 7th, 1954 - Bill Haley And His Comets record "Shake, Rattle and Roll" at Decca Records in New York. The cover of Big Joe Turners hit becomes the first rock n' roll song to sell a million copies.
June 5th - This Day In Rockabilly
June 5th, 1956 - Gene Vincent releases "Be-Bop-A-Lula" in America where it will hit No. 5 and sell over a million copies.
June 2nd - This Day In Rockabilly
June 2nd, 2008 - American guitarist and singer Bo Diddley dies of heart failure at his home in Archer, Florida aged 79. The legendary singer and performer was known for his homemade square guitar and his shave and a haircut, two bits' rhythm, which influenced artists like Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix.
May 31st - This Day in Rockabilly
May 31st, 1961 - Chuck Berry opens an amusement called “Berry Park” near St Louis. Features included at the park were a zoo, a golf course and a ferris wheel.
May 27th - This Day in Rockabilly
May 27th, 1957 – Buddy Holly & The Crickets release the hit single “That’ll Be the Day”.
May 26th - This Day in Rockabilly
May 26th, 1963 - Elvis Presley records "(You're The) Devil In Disguise", which will reach No. 3 on the Billboard Chart and No. 1 in the UK by next August and be certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of more than 500,000 units in the US.
May 25th - This Day in Rockabilly
May 25th, 1954 - The Starlite Wranglers, a country dance band which includes Scotty Moore on guitar and Bill Black on standup bass, record a single "My Kind of Carryin' On" for Sun Records. Scotty & Bill would go on to be in Elvis Presley's band also on Sun Records.
May 24th - This Day in Rockabilly
May 24th, 1955 - Chuck Berry is No. 2 on the R&B chart with the Chess Records single "Thirty Days."
May 23rd - This Day In Rockabilly
May 23rd, 1963 – Roy Orbison performed at The Odeon Cinema, Nottingham, England. Also on the bill were The Beatles.
May 22nd - This Day In Rockabilly
May 22nd, 1958 – Jerry Lee Lewis arrives in London's Heathrow Airport with his 14 year old bride Myra Lewis. He is cornered by the press and answers all their questions concerning his bride, who is his third cousin. The arrival was meant to kick off his British tour, but the news was so and shocking to the public that Jerry Lee was forced to cancel the tour.
May 21st - This Day In Rockabilly
May 21st, 1951 - Roy Brown hits #6 on the R&B chart with "Bar Room Blues". Brown had a significant influence on the early development of rock and roll. His original song "Good Rocking Tonight" was covered by Wynonie Harris, Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis and James Brown.
May 20th - This Day In Rockabilly
May 20th 1961 - Cliff Richard made his TV debut on the UK TV show "Thank Your Lucky Stars". His song "Move It' which went to No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart was credited by John Lennon as being the first British rock record.
May 19th - This Day In Rockabilly
May 19th, 1957 - LaVern Baker hits number 7 on the R&B chart with the Atlantic single "Jim Dandy Got Married."
May 18th - This Day In Rockabilly
May 18th, 1978 - The Buddy Holly Story, the film biography starring Gary Busey in the title role, is released. Busey is nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his performance. Twelve years later, the actor pays a quarter of a million dollars at auction for an acoustic guitar that belonged to Holly.
May 17th - This Day In Rockabilly
May 17th, 1963 – In England, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and Little Richard appear on the same concert bill for the first time.
May 16th -This Day In Rockabilly
May 16th, 1950 - Ray Condo, Canadian rockabilly singer, is born. He released a total of seven albums from 1986 through 2000 with his two bands The Hardrock Goners and The Ricochets which played rockabilly, western swing, country, jazz and blues. He passed away at age 53 of a heart attack.
Ray Condo And His Ricochets singing "High and Wild" in Edmonton, Canada. April 2nd, 2000
May 15th - This Day In Rockabilly
May 15th, 2003 – June Carter Cash (singer, wife of Johnny Cash and member of The Carter Family), dies at Nashville’s Baptist Hospital of complications following heart surgery she underwent the previous week. She was 73 years old.
May 14th - This Day In Rockabilly
May 14th, 1993 - The acoustic guitar Elvis Presley used to make his first recordings in 1954, "That's All Right Mama" and "Blue Moon of Kentucky", sold for £130,285, ($152,000) at an auction at Christies of London.
May 13th - This Day In Rockabilly
May 13th, 1941 - Ritchie Valens (Richard Steven Valenzuela) is born in Pacoima, California. His biggest hit is "Donna" in 1959. The flip side is “La Bamba”, which Los Lobos cover, and hits #1 on the charts in 1987.