| - ROCK N' ROLL HISTORY: |
THE FIFTIES
1951 - "Rocket 88," considered the first Rock record, is released.
1952 - Little Richard's first records are released.
1953 - Elvis Presley makes his first (private) recordings.
1954 - Ray Charles forms his own band.
1955 - The movie Blackboard Jungle is released featuring Bill Haley & The Comets' "Rock Around The Clock." RCA signs Elvis Presley. The Everly Bros. make their first studio recordings.
1956 - Elvis' first film, Love Me Tender. An impromptu recording session at Sun Studios for Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, the million dollar quartet.
1957 - Chuck Berry releases the hits "School Day" and "Rock And Roll Music"
1958 - Elvis is drafted into the U.S. Army
1959 - Buddy Holly is killed in a plane crash.
THE SIXTIES
1960 - Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show following his Army stint.
1961 - Big soul hits for groups like The Shirelles, The Marvelettes. Dion splits from The Belmonts.
1962 - The Supremes have their first record released by Motown. The Twist takes off.
1963 - Surf music rules the airwaves.
1964 - The Beatles hit America leading the British Invasion.
1965 - Bob Dylan plugs in at the Newport Folk Festival spawning Folk-Rock.
1966 - The Monkees TV series begins. The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album arrives.
1967 - Monterey Pop Festival begins the open air Rock festival concept. The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper is unleashed. Cream issues their first two albums.
1968 - Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention release We're Only In It For The Money.
1969 - Woodstock Music & Arts Festival draws half a million fans to Max Yasgar's farm in New York. The Who's rock opera Tommy is introduced.
THE SEVENTIES
1970 - Deaths of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin within a month of each other. The Grateful Dead release both Workingman's Dead and American Beauty. The Beatles break up.
1971 - Deaths of Jim Morrison (The Doors) and Duane Allman (Allman Bros. Band). Songwriter Carole King releases her Tapesty album.
1972 - Smokey Robinson leaves The Miracles to go solo.
1973 - Led Zeppelin's tour is a record breaker. Pink Floyd release Dark Side Of The Moon.
1974 - Bob Dylan & The Band tour together.
1975 - Rod Stewart officially quits The Faces. Bruce Springsteen releases Born To Run.
1976 - Stevie Wonder's album release Songs In The Key Of Life would win five Grammy awards. Frampton Comes Alive is released.
1977 - The Disco influence is felt as Saturday Night Fever becomes a best selling album. Meatloaf's Bat Out Of Hell is released. Elvis Presley dies.
1978 - Van Halen release their first album.
1979 - The Who release two movies, go on tour, and eleven fans are trampled to death at their Cincinnati concert.
THE EIGHTIES
1980 - John Lennon is murdered in front of his New York apartment.
1981 - Paul McCartney's Wings disbands after over 20 hits.
1982 - The Eagles disband until hell freezes over. Michael Jackson's Thriller album is released late in the year.
1983 - David Bowie's "Let's Dance" hits Number One with Stevie Ray Vaughan on guitar.
1984 - Jackie Wilson succumbs to a long illness.
1985 - "We Are The World" is recorded by 46 U.S. artists in support of suffering people in the USA and Africa.
1986 - The Rolling Stones are awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy.
1987 - Billy Joel tours and records an album in Russia.
1988 - Whitney Houston earns her seventh consecutive Number One single. Superstar ensemble The Traveling Wilburys release an album, just before Roy Orbison's passing.
1989 - Milli Vanilli wins 1989 Best New Artist Grammy, only to have the award taken back when it is revealed that they did not sing on their own debut album.
THE NINETIES
1990 - Curtis Mayfield (The Impressions) is paralyzed preparing for a stage concert. Stevie Ray Vaughan is killed in a helicopter crash.
1991 - Cardinal O'Connor asks The Pope to excommunicate Madonna. Guns N' Roses release Use Your Illusion I and II. Queen's Freddy Mercury dies from complications related to AIDS.
1992 - Seattle becomes the core of Grunge Rock with groups like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Prince changes his name.
1993 - U2 finishes up a two year Zoo/Zooropa '93 world tour.
1994 - Kurt Cobain's death is shared by a new generation of rock fans. Sheryl Crow flies with her Tuesday Night Music Club, and a tour opening for the reunited Eagles. Hootie & The Blowfish debut Cracked Rear View Mirror.
1995 - The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame And Museum opens in Cleveland. Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill is a multi-million seller. Neil Young and Pearl Jam perform and record together.
1996 - Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men team up for "One Sweet Day," which tops the charts for an unprecedented 16 consecutive weeks.
1997 - Lillith Tour spotlights female headliners.
1998 - "Ginger Spice" Geri Halliwell exits the popular Spice Girls. The Rolling Stones give concerts in Russia, followed shortly by Ringo Starr's Fourth All-Starr Band.