Today In Rock History

On This Day:

In 1956 Elvis Presley made his second appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," performing "Love Me Tender," "Don't Be Cruel," "Hound Dog," and "Love Me."

In 1957 After a show at the Pan Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles, local police told Elvis Presley that he was not allowed to wiggle his hips onstage. The local press also ran headlines saying Elvis would have to clean up his act. The next night, the L.A. Vice Squad filmed his entire concert to study his performance.

In 1958 Buddy Holly appeared on "Dick Clark's American Bandstand," where he lip-synced "It's So Easy" and "Heartbeat." It would be Holly's last major TV appearance.

In 1972 Stevie Wonder released his fifteenth studio album "Talking Book." The album featured a guest appearance from Jeff Beck on the track "Superstition." Also, the album's first track, "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," hit number one on the Billboard charts and earned Wonder his first Grammy Award.

In 1974 David Bowie played the first of seven sold-out nights on his Diamond Dogs Tour at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

In 1977 Neil Young released his compilation album, "Decade," containing 35 of Young's songs recorded between 1966 and '76. It included five tracks that had been unreleased up to that point.

In 1978 The live-action movie "KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park," premiered on NBC. The four rock stars had to deal with a mad scientist who went crazy in an amusement park. All four members of Kiss had just released their individual solo albums.

In 1985 ZZ Top released the album "Afterburner."

In 1991 Genesis released their fourteenth studio album "We Can't Dance."

In 2003 Paul McCartney and wife Heather Mills became parents to a healthy baby girl, Beatrice Milly, despite her being born three weeks premature. She was named after Heather's mother, Beatrice, and Paul McCartney's Aunt Milly.

In 2007 The Bob Dylan exhibit "The Drawn Blank Series" opened at a museum in Germany. The exhibition showed 200 watercolor and gouache paintings by Dylan based on drawings and sketches published in the Drawn Blank book.

In 2008 AC/DC began a world tour behind the album "Black Ice" in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It was the group's first trek since 2001. In addition, "Black Ice" entered the Billboard 200 albums chart at number one, becoming only the second number one album for the group and the band's first chart-topping debut.

In 2009 The film "Michael Jackson: This Is It," featuring the late King of Pop's rehearsals for his ill-fated comeback at London's O2 arena, opened in theaters.

In 2011 Guns N' Roses launched a fall trek in Orlando, Florida, marking the group's first U.S. tour in five years. Axl Rose was the only remaining original member of the band.

In 2016 Nearly 40 years after his death, Elvis Presley broke the record for the most number one albums by a solo artist with his newest album, "The Wonder of You." Before then, Elvis and Madonna were tied record holders with 12 number one albums each. The King is now second only to The Beatles, who have 15 number one albums to their name.

Bob Dylan said he accepted his Nobel Prize in literature, ending a silence since being awarded the prize earlier in the month. He was given the award "for having created new poetic expressions within great American song tradition." Dylan said the honor had left him "speechless."

In 2022 Rock 'n' Roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis died at the age of 87. Some of his most well-known songs were "Great Balls of Fire," "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On," and "Breathless."

Drummer D.H. Peligro died at the age of 63. He was the drummer for the band Dead Kennedys.