Discover how a George Harrison masterpiece brought Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra peace with the Beatles, plus heartwarming moments between Paul McCartney and George. Robert Plant announces 2026 tour dates with Saving Grace, while Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and more…
Have a Rockin Day,
Hippy Pete
TODAY IN CLASSIC ROCK
1949 – Fats Domino recorded his first tracks for Imperial Records at Cosimo Matassa's J&M Recording Studio in New Orleans. One of those songs, "The Fat Man," sold over a million copies and is widely regarded as one of the first rock and roll records ever released.
1965 – Grateful Dead performed their second concert overall and their first show at Bill Graham's Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco as part of a benefit for the San Francisco Mime Troupe. They shared the bill with Jefferson Airplane, The Great Society, and others.
1966 – Beach Boys hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Good Vibrations," the group's third chart-topper. At a cost of $16,000, it was the most expensive single ever produced in music history at that time and became their first million-selling single.
1967 – Steve Miller Blues Band signed with Capitol Records for an unprecedented $750,000. The label later convinced the group to drop "Blues" from their name. They would go on to record 15 albums that reached the Billboard 200 and nine Top 40 singles.
1969 – Elvis Presley received his 48th Gold Record for "Suspicious Minds" after songwriter Mark James had released his own unsuccessful version. It became The King's 17th and final #1 single in the United States.
1971 – Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention were performing at London's Rainbow Theatre when an angry fan named Trevor Howell pushed Zappa off the stage into the concrete orchestra pit. Zappa suffered a broken leg, fractured skull, crushed larynx, and other serious injuries that left him in a wheelchair for nine months. The attack occurred during an encore performance of The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand."
1976 – Paul McCartney and Wings released the triple live album "Wings Over America," which peaked at #1 in the US and Canada, eventually selling over four million copies in America.
1976 – Queen released their fifth studio album "A Day at the Races" in the UK. The album, which took its name from a Marx Brothers film (like their previous album "A Night at the Opera"), reached #1 in the UK and #5 in the US, featuring hits "Somebody to Love" and "Tie Your Mother Down."
