(Saturday, January 19, 1957) — “Blueberry Hill” by Fats Domino peaked at #2 on today’s Billboard Most Played in Jukeboxes chart for three weeks.
The Fats Domino version of the song was ranked #82 in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”
(Wednesday, January 16, 1957, 7:00 p.m. GMT) — The Cavern Club, a jazz club that later became a center of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool, England (The Beatles performed there nearly 300 times between 1961 and 1963), opened its doors tonight with the Merseysippi Jazz Band as the first act to perform. Continue reading Cavern Club opens in Liverpool, England 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 16 1957)
(Saturday, January 12, 1957) — “Jamaica Farewell” by Harry Belafonte peaked at #12 on today’s Billboard Best Sellers in Stores chart for one week.
Video: 'Elvis Presley "Medley" plus "Don't be cruel" Ed Sullivan'
(Sunday, January 6, 1957, 8:00-9:00 p.m. EST) — Elvis Presley performed “Hound Dog,” “Love Me Tender,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Too Much,” “When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again” and “Peace in the Valley” on tonight’s live edition of the CBS-TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show from CBS Studio No. 50 in New York City. Continue reading Elvis Presley censored during ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ performance 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 6 1957)
(Saturday, January 5, 1957) — “Love Me” by Elvis Presley peaked at #2 on today’s Billboard Most Played by Jockeys chart for two weeks.
(Saturday, January 5, 1957) — “Mary’s Boy Child” by Harry Belafonte peaked at #12 on today’s Billboard Best Sellers in Stores chart for one week.
Video: 'Blackboard Jungle' trailer
(Saturday, March 19, 1955) — Blackboard Jungle, a social commentary film about teachers in an inner-city school, opened today at Loew’s State Theatre in New York City. The film marked the rock and roll revolution by featuring Bill Haley & His Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock.”
Directed by Richard Brooks, the film starred Glenn Ford, Anne Francis, Louis Calhern and Sidney Poitier.
Image: 'Charlie Parker - Charlie Parker Story'
(Saturday, March 12, 1955, 8:15 p.m. EST) — Legendary jazz musician Charlie “Bird” Parker died tonight in New York City of heart failure. Known as the inventor of bebop, Parker was 34.
Video: '"Producers' Showcase" Peter Pan (7 March 1955)' (4 videos)
(Monday, March 7, 1955, 7:30-9:00 p.m. EST) — NBC-TV presented the full-length Broadway production of Peter Pan live tonight in color (only a black-and-white kinescope recording survived) as part of Producers’ Showcase, with nearly all of the show’s original cast.
The show attracted a then-record audience of 65-million viewers, the highest ever up to that time for a single television program.
Video: 'Rosemary Clooney - Mambo Italiano - 1954 originals'
(Thursday, November 18, 1954) — ABC radio and TV today banned “Mambo Italiano,” a hit by Rosemary Clooney, for so-called “offensive lyrics,” most likely due to the exaggerated Italian vernacular, including the words “goombah” and “gidrool.”
