This Date In Music History- July 28

Birthdays:

Rick Wright of Pink Floyd was born in 1945.

Jonathan Edwards ("Sunshine") is 62.

Mike Bloomfield, of the Butterfield Band and a memorable appearance on Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited, was born in Chicago in 1943.

Drummer Simon Kirke (Free/Bad Company) entered the world in 1949.

History:

The Crew Cuts reached the top spot of the Billboard pop singles chart in 1954 with "Sh-Boom", a song that many consider to be the premier forerunner of 1950s Rock and Roll. Certainly up for debate (anyone remember Chuck Berry?)

Also in 1954, the first press interview with 19 year old Elvis Presley was published in the Memphis Press-Scimitar.

In 1973, The Band, the Grateful Dead, and the Allman Brothers Band performed before a crowd of 600,000 (larger by half than Woodstock!) in upstate New York at the Watkins Glen "Summer Jam."

In 1987, the Beatles sued Nike over the use of their song "Revolution" in a TV commercial for the athletic company. Good, I say.

In 1956, "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" by Elvis Presley topped the charts and stayed there for a week.

Jerry Lee Lewis made his national TV debut on The Steve Allen Show in 1957. The exposure helps sales of his single "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" jump from 30,000 copies to 6 million. Lewis proves so popular he is invited back on the show two more times.

In 1956, Gene Vincent made his first appearance on national TV by performing on The Perry Como Show. His first single, "Be-Bop-A-Lula" was still climbing the charts and would eventually make it into the Top 10. Vincent bought the song from a fellow hospital patient while he was recovering from leg injuries. A demo was sent in to Capitol Records as part of an Elvis sound-alike contest and a re-recorded version gave Vincent his first big hit.

Wango Tango! In 1978, in response to a fan's request, Ted Nugent autographs his arm. With a Bowie knife.

In 1995, control of Jimi Hendrix's estate was passed on to his father, James Al Hendrix, who fought a long legal battle for the rights to his son's likeness and music.

The Who made their first appearance on British TV's Ready Steady Go! in 1965. Their managers packed the audience with mods, ensuring a rapturous reception as the band rips through "I Can't Explain."

The first singing telegram was sent in 1933. It was given to Rudy Vallee on his 32nd birthday.

Judy Garland recorded "Over the Rainbow" in 1939.

In 1958, Billboard reported on a claim from the Esso Research Center "...tuning in Rock 'n' Roll music on a car radio can cost a motorist money, because the rhythm can cause a driver to unconsciously jiggle the gas pedal, thus wasting fuel." So that’s where all the gas went!

The Tokens recorded "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in 1961, which will reach the US pop chart in November and climb to number one by Christmas. The song was originally a hit in South Africa in 1939 for its writer, Solomon Linda under its original title "Mbube" (pronounced EEM-boo-beh) which means "Lion.”