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Louis Jordan
Louis Jordan is “the Father of Rhythm & Blues” and “the Grandfather of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” he was the greatest post-war exponent of jump blues, one of the prototypes of rock and roll, and he paved the way for Roy Brown, Wynonie Harris, Tiny Bradshaw and others. Jordan also strongly influenced Bill Haley & His Comets, Chuck Berry modeled some of his musical approach on Jordan's, also Little Richard. James Brown specifically said Jordan as a major influence because of his multi-faceted talent. -
World War I
World War I, was centred in Europe and began on July 28 1914 it was called simply the World War or the Great War, In America, it was initially called the European War. More than 9 million combatants were killed; a casualty rate exacerbated by the belligerents' technological and industrial sophistication, and tactical stalemate. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, paving the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. -
Early Recordings of W.C. Handy
W.C. Handy published his "Memphis Blues" sheet music in 1912. He introduced the 12-bar blues to the world. This composition, as well as his later "St. Louis Blues" in September 1914 and others, included the habanera rhythm, and became jazz standards. -
Early Recordings of Jelly Roll Morton
in 1915 Jelly roll morten publised his first sheet music called "The Jelly Roll Blues". It was an early jazz fox-trot. He recorded it first as a piano solo in Richmond, Indiana, in 1924, and then two years later with his Red Hot Peppers, in Chicago. -
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Early Recordings of Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith signed a contract with Columbia Records in 1923 and her first session for Columbia was on February 15, 1923. Her records were issued on Columbia's regular A- series; when the label decided to establish a "race records" series, Smith's "Cemetery Blues" in September 26, 1923 was the first issued. -
The Great Flood of 1927
The flood began in the summer of 1926. By September, the Mississippi's tributaries in Kansas and Iowa were getting high. On Christmas Day of 1926, the Cumberland River at Nashville went to 56.2 feet. -
Early Recordings of Charley Patton
Charley Patton made his first recording in 1929, for Paramount Records in Grafton, Wisconsin.
Patton gained notoriety for his showmanship, often playing with the guitar down on his knees, behind his head, or behind his back. even with his teeth. -
The Great Depression
The Great Depression began in August 1929, when the United States economy first went into an economic recession. -
"The Killer"
Jerry Lee Lewis was known as "The Killer" from the way he knocked everyone dead on stage. He is often viewed as "rock & roll's first great wild man." He had little success in the charts following the scandal that his popularity quickly faded. Because of this He was determined to gain some of his popularity back. Lewis has had a dozen gold records in both rock and country, won several Grammy awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. -
Early Recordings of Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson's first recording session was held on November 23, 1936 in room 414 of the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, which Brunswick Records had set up to be a temporary recording studio. In the ensuing three-day session, Johnson reportedly performed facing the wall. -
World War II
World War II started September 1, 1939, It involved the vast majority of the world's nations, including all of the great powers, eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 30 different countries. Marked by mass deaths of 50 million to 85 million civilians. This made World War II the deadliest conflict in human. history. -
Chuck Berry's Prison Term
Chuck Berryin 1944, while still at Sumner High School, was arrested and convicted for armed robbery after robbing three shops in Kansas City and then stealing a car at gunpoint with some of his friends.
In February 1962, Berry spent time in prision for violation of the Mann Act (“transporting an underage female across state lines for immoral purposes”).
In 1979, he did three months for tax evasion. -
World War ll Ends
World War 2 ended on May 8, 1945, when Adolf Hitler committed suicide. News quickly spread about the death of Adolf Hitler and the guns fell silent. Winston Churchill announced Victory in Europe. -
Sun Records
Sam Phillips launched his record company in March 27, 1952. He named it Sun Records because of being like a new day and a new beginning. Sam rented a small space at 706 Union Avenue for his own all-purpose studio. The label was launched amid a growing number of independent labels. In a short while Sun gained the reputation throughout Memphis as a label that treated local artists with respect and honesty. -
Rock'N'Roll
Alan Freed was encouraged to call this mix of music “rock and roll” (a slang word meaning sex) by his sponsor, record store owner Leo Mintz, who was trying to boost sales on race records by getting white shoppers to buy them. Race records weren’t very popular at the time among white people, but by re-branding the music “rock and roll”, the music quickly became extremely popular among teenagers of all ethnicities, largely thanks to this and Freed’s radio show. -
The Starting of Elvis Presley
Presley signed a contract for Sun Records in August 1953, He aimed to pay for a few minutes of studio time to record a two-sided acetate disc: "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin". He later claim that he intended the record as a gift for his mother, or that he was merely interested in what he "sounded like". -
Music Censorship
In 1955 people started complaning about the musics lyrics, and in 1997, the Louisiana house bill 1236 was introduced to prevent the sale of music that contained lyrics that was considered harmful to minors, (unless it had a label saying what was in the song). that advocates prostitution, homicide, unlawful ritual acts, suicide, drugs, alcohol". Any music that fell under those categories was required to have a label stating the material's objectionable content. -
Elvis Signs Contract with RCA
Elvis signed a contract with RCA Records on November 20, 1955. Colonel Parker negotiates the sale of Elvis’ Sun contract to RCA, which includeded his five Sun singles and his unreleased Sun material. Parker paid $40,000 to get Presley RCA soon re-releases the five Sun singles on the RCA label. -
The Quarrymen
The Quarrymen was a British skiffle and rock and roll group, formed by John Lennon in Liverpool in 1956, which eventually evolved into the Beatles. Originally it was Lennon and several schoolfriends, the Quarrymen took their name from a line in the school song of Quarry Bank High School, which they attended. Lennon's mother, Julia Lennon, taught him to play the banjo and then showed him how to tune their guitars like the banjo, and taught them how to play simple songs. -
"I lost My Little Girl"
"I Lost My Little Girl",was the first song paul wrote on his first guitar, when he was 14 years old, after his mother died, in1956 American rhythm and blues influenced him, and Little Richard was his schoolboy idol. -
"Million Dollar Quartet"
"Million Dollar Quartet" is a recording of a jam session with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash made on Tuesday December 4, 1956 in the Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. The recording was first released in Europe in 1981 as "The Million Dollar Quartet" with seventeen tracks. A few years later more tracks were discovered and released as "The Complete Million Dollar Session". -
The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era proxy war that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia started December 1956. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam supported by the Soviet Union, China and other communist allies and the government of South Vietnam supported by the United States and other anti-communist allies. -
Hello Little Girl
"Hello Little Girl" was the first song John Lennen wrote, in 1957. he was 18 years old -
Paul McCartney Joins The Quarrymen
Paul McCartney arrived, St.Peter's church, Ivan Vaughan introduced McCartney to Lennon, who chatted for a few minutes before the band set up in the hall for their performance at that evening's "Grand Dance". McCartney showed how he tuned his guitar then sang "Twenty Flight Rock", "Be-Bop-A-Lula", and other songs.
After the performance, Lennon and Shotton discussed the afternoon encounter with McCartney, and Lennon said that perhaps they should invite McCartney to join the band. He said yes. -
George Harrison Joins The Quarrymen
The Quarrymen played the New Clubmoor Hall McCartney's school friend, Harrison first saw the group perform on 6 February at Wilson Hall. Harrison then auditioned in Rory Storm's Morgue Skiffle Club, playing "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" in March 1958. Lennon thought Harrison who was 15 at the time was too young to join the band, so McCartney made another meeting on the upper deck of a Liverpool bus, where Harrison played "Raunchy" for Lennon. After that Harrison became thier lead guitarist. -
Elvis' Entry into the Army
On March 24, 1958 Presley was inducted into the U.S. Army as a private, at Fort Chaffee, near Fort Smith, Arkansas. -
"The Killer" Burns Paino Down While Sings "Great Balls Of Fire"
While on a tour Jerry Lee Lewis set the piano on fire during "Great Balls of Fire" and played it until it burned to the ground. This was supposedly done because Chuck Berry was following Lewis onstage that night. Jerry Lee used a Coke bottle and filled it with gasolineon and lit it with matches. while the piano was burning, Lewis played it till it burned down and then walked off the stage, telling Berry to top that. -
"The Day the Music Died".
in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, on February 3, 1959. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens. it was known as "The Day the Music Died".
There is a song called "Bye, Bye Miss American Pie" about the plain crash. -
Jimi Hendrix Joins The Army
Jimi Hendrix got into trouble twice for riding in stolen cars. So he was given a choice between spending two years in prison or joining the Army. he chose the latter and enlisted on May 31, 1961. -
Jimi Hendrix Discharge From The Army
On May 24, Hendrix's platoon sergeant, James C. Spears filed a report he stated: "He has no interest whatsoever in the Army ... It is my opinion that Private Hendrix will never come up to the standards required of a soldier. I feel that the military service will benefit if he is discharged as soon as possible." On June 29, 1962, Captain Gilbert Batchman granted Hendrix an honorable discharge on the basis of unsuitability. -
Ringo Starr Joins The Beatles
On August 14, 1962 Lennon asked Starr to join the Beatles, he accepted. Brian Epstein then fired Pete Best. Starr first performed with the band on August 18, at a Society dance at Port Sunlight. After his appearance at the Cavern Club the following day, Best fans, were upset by Best getting fired, held vigils outside Starr's house and at the club. By November Starr had been accepted by Beatles fans, who were now calling for him to sing songs, and getting just as much fanmail as the others. -
Beatles First Album
In February 1963, the Beatles released thier first album "Please Please Me". It reached to #1 on the Billboards Hot 100. -
"Don't Bother Me"
"Don't Bother Me" was the first song written by George Harrison, on September 11, 1963. He wrote the song while sick with the flu in bed in a hotel room in Bournemouth, England, where they were playing in some shows. He considered it an exercise in whether he could write a song, later saying, "at least it showed me that all I needed to do was keep on writing, and then maybe eventually I would write something good." -
Assassination Of John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy, was assassinated at Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Texas. Kennedy was fatally shot by a sniper while traveling with his wife Jacqueline, to smooth over frictions in the Democratic Party between liberals Ralph Yarborough and Don Yarborough (there's no relation) and conservative John Connally. there are a few songs that was about this: "He Was a Friend of Mine" from The Byrds "Brain of J" from Pearl Jam. Even Micky Dolenz sang about it in his song "Mommy and Daddy". -
The Beatles in America
The Beatles arrived in America on February 7, 1964.They were met by lots of reporters and three thousand screaming fans. Upon leaving the plane, The Beatles were pushed to a press conference hosted by Capitol Records in which they playfully answered questions from the media.
One of the questions was “How do you find America?” an Ringo Starr jokingly replied, “Turn left at Greenland'. -
The Beatles First Appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show"
At 8 o’clock on February 9th 1964, 73 million people in America tuned in to The Ed Sullivan Show.
This is also the same show which helped Davy Jones make up his mind about becoming an actor. Jones was performing a song from "Oliver!" after the Beatles he said "I want a bit of this- this is good." he also remember getting into the lift with Ringo Starr and he had a cold at the time and Jones said, "Let me blow your nose for you, I'm closer than you are." Ringo said, "I know." -
Hello Dolly
Kapp Records released "Hello Dolly" sang by Louis Armstong on May 9 1964, and it reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, ending The Beatles' streak of three number-one hits in a row over 14 weeks (they also held the top three spots) and becoming the biggest hit of Armstrong's career. -
Hard Days Night
A Hard Day’s Night"British comedy-musical film, was released on July 6, 1964, it was the Beatles first feature movie.But before "A Hard Day’s Night" was released in America, a United Artists executive asked Lester to dub the voices of the group McCartney angerly replied, “Look, if we can understand a cowboy talking texan, they can understand us talking Liverpool". -
Rolling Stones on "The Ed Sullivan Show"
On October 25, 1964 Rolling Stones appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. Because of the initial uproar the Rolling Stones caused with their hair and their clothes, Sullivan banned the band from his show, though they were booked for subsequent appearances in the years following. -
Ringo and Muareen
Ringo Starr married Maureen Cox on February 11, 1965 there are a few songs about this one is "Treat Him Tender, Maureen" by the Chicklettes, and "Maurreen is a Champ" by Frank Sinatra. -
The Sunset Strip Curfew Riots of 1966
Also known as the "hippie riots," were a series of early counterculture-era clashes that took place between police and young people on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, California, beginning in the summer of 1966 and continuing on and off through the early 1970s.
There was a number of song written about the riot including
"Plastic People," by Frank Zappa and Daily Nightly by The Monkees -
Monkees First Album
In October 10, 1966 the Monkees released their first album "The Monkees" It reached to #1 on the Billboard top 100. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monkees_(album) -
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Discovering Jimi Hendrix
In June 18 1967 Jimi Hendrix gets discovered at The Monterey Pop Festival by Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork (The Monkees) and to help get Promotion for his albums the Monkees invited him to come along on their tour. I'm A Believer by Micky Dolenz The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation by Andrew Sandoval -
Creedance Clearwater Revivel
Creedance Clearwater Revivel started in January 1968, with John Fogerty, Tom Fogerty, Stu Cook, and Doug Clifford. Their musical style encompassed the roots rock and swamp rock genres. they portrayed a Southern rock style, singing about bayous, catfish, the Mississippi River. Creedence Clearwater Revival's music is still a staple of American and worldwide radio airplay. The band has sold 26 million albums in the United States alone. and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. -
Frank Zappa Asks Micky Dolenz to Join The Mothers of Invention
In 1968 Frank Zappa had respect for what The Monkees were doing, and offered Micky Dolenz a position in The Mothers of Invention, but RCA/Columbia/Colgems would not allow Dolenz out of his contract. -
Jimi Hendrix First Album
In august 23, 1968 Jimi Hendrix released his first album "Are You Experienced". in 33 weeks it made it to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. -
Head
Head was a psychedelic adventure comedy film musical starring The Monkees. It was written and produced by Bob Rafelson and Jack Nicholson, and directed by Rafelson.
the movie its self was a flop when it was released getting bad reviews mostly because no one understood it
it was about
1. the Monkees trying to escape their teenybopper image
2. the real vs. the manufactured images
3. an insiders view of hollywood.
But now it is Considered one of the greatest rock'n'roll cult films of all time -
'68 Comeback Special
Recorded in late June in Burbank, California, the special, called "Elvis", was aired on December 3, 1968. It was later known as the "'68 Comeback Special", the show featured lavishly staged studio productions as well as songs performed with a band in front of a small audience, Presley's first live performances since 1961. The live segments saw Presley clad in tight black leather, singing and playing guitar in an the same style of his early rock-and-roll days. -
"33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee"
In April 14, 1969 Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Little Richard, The Clara Ward Singers, and others got together and perform in "33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee" starring the Monkees. -
Elvis Presley Meets Richard Nixon
December 21, 1970, Presley met President Richard Nixon in the White House, where Presley expressed his patriotism and his contempt for the hippie drug culture. He asked Nixon for a Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs badge, Nixon expressed his belief that Presley could send a positive message to young people and that it was therefore important he "retain his credibility". Presley told Nixon that The Beatles, is what he saw as a trend of anti-Americanism and drug abuse in popular culture. -
The Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, on April 30, 1975. This event marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period leading to the formal reunification of Vietnam into a Socialist Republic governed by the Communist Party. -
Elvis Presleys Death
August 16, 1977, in the afternoon, Ginger Alden discovered Elvis Presley unresponsive on his bathroom floor. after tring to revive him but failed, and death was officially pronounced at 3:30 pm at Baptist Memorial Hospital. President Jimmy Carter made a statement that credited Presley with having "permanently changed the face of American popular culture". Thousands of people gathered outside Graceland to view the open casket. -
Assassination of John Lennon
On December 8, 1980, John Lennon and Yoko Ono returned to their New York apartment, Mark David Chapman shot Lennon in the back four times at the entrance to the building. He was taken to the emergency room in Roosevelt Hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival. Earlier that evening, Lennon had autographed a copy of Double Fantasy for Chapman. Chapman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years to life. As of 2014, he remains in prison, having been denied parole. -
George Harrison Almost Killed
On 30 December 1999, Michael Abram broke into the Harrisons' home and attacked George Harrison with a kitchen knife stabing him over 40 times, puncturing a lung and causing head injuries before Harrison's wife got the Strength to strike Abram repeatedly with a poker and a lamp. Harrison was hospitalized. When he recovered he released a statement soon after regarding his assailant: "he wasn't a burglar, and he certainly wasn't auditioning for the auditioning for the Traveling Wilburys." -
George Harrison's Death
George Harrison died on November 29, 2001, 58 years old, from metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. He was cremated at Hollywood Forever Cemetery and his ashes were scattered in the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers near Varanasi, India, by his close family in a private ceremony according to Hindu tradition. -
Fats Domino During Hurricane Katrina
When Hurricane Katrina was approaching New Orleans in August 2005, Fats Domino chose to stay at home with his his wife because she was sick. His house was in an area that was heavily flooded. People thought Domino was dead, painted a message on his home. it was shown in the news. On September 1, Al Embry announced that he had not heard from the musician since before the hurricane had struck. Later that day, CNN reported that Domino was rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter. -
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr reunit
Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr reunited onstage at the 2014 Grammys, for Best Rock Song alongside Dave Grohl for “Cut Me Some Slack.” on January, 26 2014 they performed McCartney’s new song “Queenie Eye,” and Starr performed his solo song “Photograph”.
