This Day In Music History- April 1

In 1961, "Runaway," Del Shannon's first single, hits #1 in both the U.S. and the U.K.

In 1962, Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein meets George Martin to play him a demo tape by the Liverpool group. George Martin signs the Beatles to EMI.

The Beatles held the top five positions in Billboard's singles chart in 1964 and the top two positions on the album chart.

The first Ramones album, entitled Ramones, was released in 1976. Recorded for only $6,000.00, it contained 14 songs, none over two minutes long.

In 1979, "Heart of Glass," by Blondie, becomes the first New Wave song to reach #1 in America.

Rudolph Isley of the Isley Brothers ("It's Your Thing") turns 69.

Happy birthday to Debbie Reynolds ("Tammy") who is 76 today.

Phil Margo of the Tokens ("The Lion Sleeps Tonight") is 65.

In 1984, Marvin Gaye ("I Heard It Through The Grapevine") was shot to death by his father, following an argument. Remarkably, Gaye's father received only probation after pleading guilty to manslaughter.

The "Woodstock" movie premiered in Hollywood in 1970.

In 1971, Led Zeppelin performed a concert for the BBC Radio program Rock Hour at London's Paris Theater. Featuring a bevy of material from their forthcoming fourth album, the concert becomes one of their most-bootlegged performances.

In 1957, the Everly Brothers released their second single, "Bye Bye Love," which later went to No. 2 on the pop chart. Amazingly, more than 30 labels had turned down the song.

Arthur Smith, whose name was so boring most people called him "Guitar Boogie," was born in Clinton, S.C. in 1921. His instrumental work on tunes like "Feudin' Banjos" (later renamed "Duelin' Banjos" for Deliverance) marked him as one of country music's greatest guitarists.

Ronnie Lane, Small Faces and Faces bass player was born in 1946.

The Beatles began a three-month stand at the Top Ten club in Hamburg, Germany in 1961. They play extended sets every night.

The Troggs used 45 minutes of spare studio time to record "Wild Thing" at Regent Sound Studio in London in 1966. The raw, simple little tune would climb to #2 in the UK and #1 in the US, selling over a million copies by the following June.

“Stairway To Heaven” is on the radio for the first time in 1971. The Led Zeppelin song is part of a London concert recording that is played on the BBC’s John Peel Rock Hour. Over the ensuing decades, “Stairway To Heaven” becomes the most played song on the radio.

Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) walked away (actually jumped a six foot wall) from a rehab center in Marina del Rey in 1994 and returned to Seattle. He kills himself four days later.

In 1877, Thomas Edison devised a telephone design that becomes the basis for his later claim to the invention of the microphone.

In 1924, the first gramophone to change records automatically goes on sale in the US.

Only Ringo Starr was present at the final Beatles recording session in 1970, where he overdubs percussion tracks for "The Long and Winding Road,” "Across The Universe" and "I Me Mine.”