28 MARCH
In Music History
1964 The Beatles become the first Rock Stars displayed in Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London. They later use their wax versions on the cover of the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album.
1958 Blues musician W.C. Handy dies of bronchial pneumonia at age 84.
1958 Eddie Cochran records "Summertime Blues."
1957 Ral Donner, later to hit with the Elvis-soundalike "The Girl Of My Friend," sees Elvis for the first time, performing at the International Amphitheater in Chicago.
1955 Reba McEntire is born in McAlester, Oklahoma.
1952 Jazz and blues singer Billie Holiday marries mafia strongman Louis McKay.
1948 Milan Williams (keyboardist for The Commodores) is born in Okolona, Mississippi.
1948 John Evan (keyboardist for Jethro Tull) is born in Blackpool, Lancashire, England.
1945 Sally Carr (of Middle of the Road) is born in Muirhead, Scotland.
1945 Chuck Portz (bassist for The Turtles) is born in Santa Monica, California.
1943 Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff dies of melanoma at age 69.
1941 Charlie McCoy (of Area Code 615) is born in Oak Hill, West Virginia. As a session musician, he works with Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and Loretta Lynn, among others.
1939 Hal Kemp records "Three Little Fishies."
1923 Jazz trumpeter Thad Jones is born in Pontiac, Michigan.
1915 Composer Jay Livingston is born in McDonald, Pennsylvania. He teams with lyricist Ray Evans to write a number of popular songs for films, including the Academy Award-winning "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" for The Man Who Knew Too Much.
Blondie Scores The First #1 With A Rap
1981Blondie's "Rapture" hits #1 on the Hot 100, becoming the first chart-topper with a rap.
Read more28 MARCH
Featured Events
1986 Stefani Germanotta enters the world in New York City. She is born this way, but rises to fame under the name Lady Gaga.
1985 Four-year-old Alicia Cook makes her acting debut on the "Slumber Party" episode of The Cosby Show. She'll become famous as Alicia Keys.
1982 On his way to a "no-nukes" rally, David Crosby crashes his car into a divider on the San Diego Freeway. Police find quaaludes, cocaine paraphernalia, and a concealed pistol in the vehicle, but charges against him are plea bargained down to reckless driving and he is sentenced to probation and a $751 fine. A few weeks later he is arrested again, this time for freebasing cocaine.
1975 At an Elvis Presley concert at the Hilton in Las Vegas, Barbra Streisand goes backstage and offers Elvis the lead role in her upcoming film A Star Is Born. Elvis is interested, but on the advice of his manager Colonel Parker, he demands too much money and top billing, so Kris Kristofferson is chosen for the role instead.
1964 Heavyweight boxing champ Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) hits #102 in the US with his cover of "Stand By Me."
©2024 Songfacts®, LLC