2008: To celebrate April Fool’s Day, soon-to-be disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich declares the day “Cheap Trick Day,” honoring the band that originally hailed from that state.

No word on how much the band had to pay the governor for that honor.

1949: While rock ‘n’ roll was still a few years away, a development crucial to its success takes place on this day.

RCA Victor introduces the 45 rpm “single.” The disc is said to give greater fidelity than the then-standard 78 rpm discs. Not to mention, “45’s” are smaller and lighter.

The format catches on quickly and 78’s soon become an outdated relic.

1967: The most famous album cover in history was photographed by Michael Cooper on this day. The Beatles arrive at Chelsea Manor Studios in London dressed in matching satin marching band uniforms and pose amidst an extensive array of wax figures, flowers and cardboard cutouts for the cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

BTW – A life size mock-up of that photo session can be seen today at the Beatles Museum in Liverpool.

Our photo is obviously an alternate shot from that session.

1973: Well, that’s one way to do it.

The band, Dr. Hook lands their picture on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine on this day. They did it by recording the song “The Cover of Rolling Stone,” which became the band’s biggest hit.

1964: In the face of the BBC’s continued reluctance to play much rock music, England’s first 24 hour a day “pirate station” begins broadcasting. Radio Caroline signs on from a former Danish ferry, the Federicia, anchored off shore in the North Sea.

The station adopts the tone (and even the same jingles) that were popular in the United States.

1979: Eric Clapton finally gets “Layla.” It was on this day that the guitarist married Pattie Boyd, ex-wife of his best friend George Harrison in a ceremony in Tucson, Arizona.

Harrison attends the wedding as do Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney.

Eric and Pattie would divorce 9 years later.

On this day, recording studios were busy. Here’s who was recording what:

1957: Ricky Nelson “I’m Walkin’”

1958: Eddie Cochran “Summertime Blues”

1964: Chuck Berry “No Particular Place to Go”

1974: Dionne Warwick & the Spinners “Then Came You”

Happy Birthday to two legendary figures in pop music:

1942: Aretha Franklin

1947: Elton John

1962: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards play their first gig in Ealing, England as part of a rock band. The band calls themselves (we are not making this up) Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys. (Insert your own smutty joke here.)

1955: A “daring” Hollywood expose of the surging problem of juvenile delinquency, The Blackboard Jungle opens in movie theaters across the U.S.A. A pretty good film featuring Glenn Ford and a very young Sidney Poitier gains more notoriety for the music playing behind the opening titles.

Bill Haley & the Comets‘ “Rock Around the Clock” had been released on its own a year earlier, but hadn’t really attracted much airplay. The movie’s popularity sends “Rock Around the Clock” to the top of the charts, kicking off the rock ‘n’ roll era in earnest and establishing a link between Hollywood and the sales of rock music that continues to this day.