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.

1967: The Who perform live for the first time in America. The boys play threes shows in one day at the Paramount Theater in New York City.

The band was not headlining the venue. They were only the opening act for Herman’s Hermits.

Many of the young girls there to see Peter Noone’s group were understandably a little startled by the Who’s much more flamboyant stage act (including the destruction of their instruments at the close of the show).

1952: What many consider the very first rock & roll concert took place on this day in Cleveland. Legendary DJ Alan Freed stages his Moondog Coronation Ball at the Cleveland Arena. Billy Ward and the Dominoes, Tiny Grimes, and Paul Williams and the Hucklebuckers are the featured attractions.

The event draws 20,000 fans to a 10,000 seat venue causing police to shut down the show early. That touches off the first rock concert near-riot as well.

1969: In a ceremony at the Rock of Gibraltar in Spain, John Lennon marries Yoko Ono.

He would later commemorate the event in the lyrics of the Beatles’ song “The Ballad of John and Yoko.”

1966: The final episode of The Donna Reed Show airs on ABC-TV. The episode features Lesley Gore, playing a pop singer named Lesley Gore.

1965: One of the most famous arrests in the history of rock and roll took place on this day when the Rolling Stones are busted for urinating on the side of a gas station.

The arrest cements their reputation as rock’s “bad boys” and makes them definitely the #1 alternative to the far better-behaved Beatles.

Today, many people believe the whole stunt was conceived by the Stones’ manager Andrew Loog Oldham purely as a publicity stunt.

1957: Elvis Presley closes a huge real estate deal on this day when he purchases the Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. He paid $102,500 for the 13-acre estate.

The land was originally purchased by Stephen Toof, owner of a successful printing firm, in the late 19^th Century. Toof named the grounds Graceland Farms, after his daughter Grace. The mansion was built in 1939 by Grace’s niece, Ruth Moore and her husband, Dr. Thomas Moore.

Today, it is an Elvis museum that draws more than 600,000 visitors a year, second only to the White House.

1967: Pink Floyd arrives at the Abbey Road studios in London to record their debut album, Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

Happy Birthday to:

1941: Mike Love (Beach Boys)

1942: Jerry Jeff Walker

1944: Sly Stone

1958: The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) awards its very first gold record for sales of one million copies.

The first gold record goes to hardcore grunge rocker Perry Como for his recording of “Catch a Falling Star.”