Today in Oldies Music History: March 31

Today In Oldies Music History: March 31

--

Births

1908: Red Norvo
1921: Lowell Fulson
1928: Lefty Frizzell
1933: Ina Anita Carter (The Carter Family)
1934: Shirley Jones
1934: John D. Loudermilk
1935: Herb Alpert
1944: Rod Allen (The Fortunes)
1944: Mick Ralphs (Mott The Hoople)
1946: Allan Nichol (The Turtles)
1947: Jon Jon Poulos (The Buckinghams)
1948: Thijs Van Leer (Focus)
1947: Al Goodman (The Moments)
1954: Tony Brock (The Tubes, The Babys)
1955: Angus Young (AC/DC)
1958: Pat McGlynn (Bay City Rollers)

Deaths

1986: O’Kelly Isley (The Isley Brothers)
1993: Mitchell Parish

Events

1949: After nine years of development, the first 45 rpm record is introduced by the RCA Victor label, a 7-inch wonder promising better sound and easier playability than the current standard, the 12" 78 rpm record.
1956: Brenda Lee makes her US television debut, singing an unrehearsed version of Hank Williams' "Jambalaya" on ABC-TV's Ozark Jamboree.
1957: Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins begin their first and only tour together, a Southern swing that begins tonight in Little Rock, AK.
1959: NBC-TV's Jimmie Rodgers Show -- featuring a regular performer by the name of Connie Francis -- debuts.
1967: Jimi Hendrix plays his first British concert, on a bill with Cat Stevens, The Walker Brothers, and Englebert Humperdinck at the Rainbow Theatre in Finsbury Park, England. (Seriously.) On a whim, Hendrix sets fire to his guitar with lighter fluid for the first time, but burns his hands so badly he is admitted to a nearby hospital.
1969: George Harrison and his wife, Pattie, appear in court in Surrey, England, to answer recent charges of marijuana resin possession. Both are fined 250 pounds. On the same day, John Lennon and new wife Yoko Ono leave their "bed-in" at the Amsterdam Hilton in order to "make a lightning trip" to Vienna and premiere Yoko's new film Rape. During their stay, they enjoy the Hotel Sacher's famous chocolate cake, the Sachertorte. The Viennese trip is detailed in the next Beatles single, "The Ballad Of John And Yoko."
1972: The official Beatles Fan Club disbands.
1977: During intermission at Elvis Presley's latest show in Baton Rouge, LA, the King becomes too ill to return to the stage. The concert is canceled and Elvis is admitted to Baptist Hospital in Memphis the next day, suffering from "fatigue" and "intestinal flu."
1982: After twelve years together, the Doobie Brothers announce their breakup.
1995: An audience member rushes the stage at a Jimmy Page/Robert Plant concert at The Palace in Auburn Hills, MI, determined to stab the guitarist to end his "Satanic" music. Two security guards that apprehend him are stabbed instead, but recover.
2002: Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees buys his childhood home in Manchester, England.

Releases

1958: Chuck Berry, "Johnny B. Goode"
1962: The Shirelles, "Soldier Boy"

Recording

1960: Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, "Finger Poppin' Time"
1967: The Beatles, "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!"

Charts

1962: Connie Francis' "Don't Break The Heart That Loves You" hits #1
1972: America's LP America hits #1

Certifications

none