Today In Oldies Music History: March 26

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Births

1917: Rufus Thomas
1921: Joe Loco
1936: Freddie Parris (The Five Satins)
1936: Alan Arkin (The Tarriers)
1940: Rod Lauren
1944: Diana Ross
1946: Johnny Crawford
1948: Richard Tandy (Electric Light Orchestra)
1948: Steven Tyler (Aerosmith)
1949: Vicki Lawrence
1949: Fran Sheehan (Boston)
1950: Teddy Pendergrass
1950: Ronnie McDowell
1953: William Lyall (Pilot)

Deaths

1968: Little Willie John
1976: Duster Bennett
1980: Jon-Jon Paulos (The Buckinghams)
2004: Jan Berry (Jan and Dean)

Events

1962: Elvis Presley begins filming his 11th motion picture, titled Girls! Girls! Girls!

1963:Funny Girl, a musical about Ziegfeld Follies star Fanny Brice, opens on Broadway, starring Barbra Streisand. It features the hits "Don't Rain On My Parade" and the song that would become her trademark, "People."
1964: Tonight's guest on CBS-TV's "panel show" I've Got A Secret is former Beatles drummer Pete Best, whose "secret" occupation is guessed almost immediately. When host Gary Moore asks Best why he "left" the group (Best was fired), he replied: "I thought I'd like to start a group of my own."
1965: The Walker Brothers make their first UK television appearance, performing on ITV's Ready Steady Go!
1969: Pat Boone guest-stars as himself on tonight's "Collard Greens An' Fatback" episode of CBS-TV's Beverly Hillbillies.
1970: Mere days after winning a Grammy for Best Recording for Children with their album Peter, Paul and Mommy, Peter Paul and Mary are scandalized when group leader Peter Yarrow is arrested in Washington, DC for "taking immoral liberties" with a 14-year-old girl. He would spend three months in prison and would later be given clemency by President Jimmy Carter.

1972: Mott The Hoople are about to call it quits when friend of the band David Bowie offers to produce their next album, even offering them two new songs he's written: "Suffragette City," which the band turns down, and "All The Young Dudes."
1975: The movie musical Tommy, directed by Ken Russell and based on the Who album of the same name, premieres in London, starring Who lead singer Roger Daltrey in the title role, as well as Ann-Margret and Jack Nicholson. Guest stars include Elton John and Tina Turner.
1976: Keith Richards and model girlfriend Anita Pallenberg become the proud parents of a son, Tara. Sadly, he would die ten weeks later from pneumonia.
1976: Riding near the scene of a multi-car pileup in Memphis, Elvis Presley jumps out of his limo, displays his honorary police captain's badge from the city, and attempts to help the victims before police and rescue teams arrive.
1980: Pink Floyd's landmark 1973 LP Dark Side Of The Moon surpasses Carole King's Tapestry as the album with the longest consecutive stay on the Billboard 200 album chart. It would remain on the chart until 1988.
1985: After Stevie Wonder's Oscar speech the previous night, at which he dedicated his Best Song Award to Nelson Mandela, South Africa bans all Wonder records from its nation's radio stations.

Releases

none

Recording

1957: Ricky Nelson: "I'm Walkin'," "A Teenager's Romance"
1958: Dee Clark, "Hey Little Girl"
1958: Eddie Cochran, "Summertime Blues"
1964: Chuck Berry, "No Particular Place To Go"
1974: Dionne Warwick and The Spinners, "Then Came You"

Charts

1955: Bill Hayes' "The Ballad Of Davy Crockett" hits #1
1977: Daryl Hall and John Oates' "Rich Girl" hits #1

Certifications

1974: David Essex's "Rock On" is certified gold