On This Date In Music

1956 - Elvis Presley started a five-week run at No. 1 on the US charts with 'Don't Be Cruel'. The track went on to become Presley's biggest selling single, with sales over six million by 1961. This “double-sided hit” which had 'Hound Dog' on the B side, became the most successful on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. One side reached No. 1 on the chart, the other No. 2. The two titles spent a combined 55 weeks in the Top 100 in 1956-1957.

1961 - A group from Hawthorne, California called The Pendletones attend their first real recording session at Hite Morgan's studio in Los Angeles. The band recorded 'Surfin', a song that would help shape their career as The Beach Boys.

 

1962 - The Four Seasons started a five week run at No. 1 on the US singles chart with 'Sherry'. They became the first American group to have three No. 1's in succession.

 

1965 - The Ford Motor Company became the first automaker to offer an 8-track tape player as an option for their entire line of (1966) vehicles on sale in the US. Tapes were initially only available at auto parts stores, as home 8-track equipment was still a year away.

 

1979 - Led Zeppelin scored their sixth US No. 1 album when In Through The Out Door started a seven-week run at the top of the charts. The eighth studio album by Zeppelin, was their final album of entirely new material.

1983 - Huey Lewis and the News release the album Sports, which sells over 7 million copies. The album features the singles "I Want a New Drug," "The Heart of Rock 'n Roll" and "If This Is It."