Calendar Search Results: i he w
July 17, 1955 Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California with a parade broadcast live on ABC. Walt Disney introduces their new group of young performers, the Mouseketeers, who star in the upcoming series The Mickey Mouse Club. Annette Funicello is the breakout star.
July 9, 1955 Bill Haley & His Comets' "Rock Around The Clock" becomes the first Rock song to hit #1 on the Billboard Pop chart, where it stays for eight weeks. The song was originally released as a the B-side of "Thirteen Women," but became a massive hit after it appeared in the film Blackboard Jungle.More
July 4, 1955 Gene Vincent's leg is crushed when his motorcycle is struck by a car in Franklin, Virginia.
July 2, 1955 The Lawrence Welk Show premieres on ABC.
June 26, 1955 Mick Jones (lead guitarist, vocalist of The Clash) is born in Wandsworth, London, England.
June 22, 1955 Walt Disney's Lady and the Tramp premieres in theaters. The canine cartoon features music from Peggy Lee, including "He's a Tramp," "La La Lu," and "The Siamese Cat Song." Lee also voices Darling (Lady's owner), Peg the dog, and the ornery Siamese cats.
June 13, 1955 Jorge Santana (guitarist for Malo), younger brother of Carlos Santana, is born in Autlán, Jalisco, Mexico.
June 7, 1955 Joey Scarbury is born in Ontario, California. Known for the 1981 hit "Believe It or Not," the theme from the popular TV series The Greatest American Hero.
June 3, 1955 Buddy Holly opens for Elvis Presley at a matinee concert in Lubbock, Texas. After the show, they sign autographs in a promotional appearance at the Johnson-Connelley Pontiac car dealership.
June 2, 1955 Michael Steele (bass guitarist for The Bangles) is born Susan Nancy Thomas in Pasadena, California. She is an early member of The Runaways, an all-girl punk rock group.
May 28, 1955 "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" has four different versions on the charts, including a #1 hit for Bill Hayes. The other three are by Fess Parker, Walter Schumann and Tennessee Ernie Ford.
May 24, 1955 Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian, welcome their daughter, Rosanne Cash. She grows up to be a country singer like her dad.
May 22, 1955 Police cancel a Fats Domino show at the Ritz ballroom in Bridgeport, Connecticut, fearing his music will lead to a riot.
May 14, 1955 Les Baxter's "Unchained Melody" hits #1 in America, the first of many renditions of the song to chart. The most enduring version is by The Righteous Brothers, which goes to #4 in 1965 and then to #13 in 1990 after featuring in the movie Ghost.
May 13, 1955 Elvis Presley's performance in Jacksonville, Florida, is the first Presley show at which a riot ensues. After Elvis tells the audience, "Girls, I'll see you backstage," he has some of his clothes ripped off, but escapes unharmed.
May 13, 1955 Johnny Tillotson is the opening act and sees fans rip the shirt off Elvis Presley's back after their Jacksonville, Florida, concert.
May 10, 1955 Danny Kustow, guitarist in the Tom Robinson Band, is born in London.
May 7, 1955 Buzzcocks guitarist Steve Diggle is born in Manchester, England. Starting with their groundbreaking indie EP Spiral Scratch, he's in every lineup of the pop-punk trailblazers, taking over on vocals after frontman Pete Shelley dies in 2018.
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.
April 30, 1955 Perez Prado's "Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White" hits #1 in America, where it stays for 10 weeks.
April 17, 1955 Singer/guitarist Pete Shelley is born Peter McNeish in Leigh, Lancashire, England. In 1976 he forms the Buzzcocks, a pioneering band that melds pop and punk, influencing bands like The Smiths, Green Day, and even The Go-Go's.
April 16, 1955 Kool Herc is born in Kingston, Jamaica. Born Clive Campbell, his stage name is based on "Hercules," a nickname he earns for his strength. When he is 12, his family moves to the Bronx, where Herc becomes a DJ, throwing dance parties where MCs talk over extended breakbeats he creates with two turntables, one of the most important developments in hip-hop.
April 13, 1955 Louis Johnson (bass guitarist for The Brothers Johnson) is born in Los Angeles. Also a session musician, he plays on Michael Jackson's Thriller and Off The Wall albums.
March 31, 1955 Angus Young is born in Glasgow, Scotland. He later moves to Australia and forms AC/DC with his brother Malcolm.
March 30, 1955 Singer/songwriter Randy VanWarmer ("Just When I Needed You Most") is born in Indian Hills, Colorado.
March 28, 1955 Reba McEntire is born in McAlester, Oklahoma. After a slow start in the '70s, she becomes one of the top country singers of the next three decades. "I was always afraid if I didn't use my gift, God would take it away from me and give it to somebody else," she says.
March 25, 1955 The movie Blackboard Jungle is released, giving new exposure to the song "Rock Around The Clock," which is featured in the film. A few months later, the song becomes the first ever #1 rock song.
March 15, 1955 Dee Snider (lead singer of Twisted Sister) is born in Astoria, Queens, New York.More
March 10, 1955 Trumpeting their new signing, RCA Victor places a half-page ad in Billboard announcing Elvis Presley as the "new singing rage."
March 5, 1955 Elvis Presley makes yet another appearance on the Shreveport radio show Louisiana Hayride, which is this time also carried over the TV airwaves by local station KWKH, making this Presley's first television appearance.
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