On This Day, March 1 in Music History
EVENTS ON MARCH 1 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day March 1 in 1941 – WSM-FM became the first fully licensed commercial FM radio station in the United States.
1958 – Buddy Holly and The Crickets kicked off their first tour across the UK with a show at the Trocadero Cinema in London. They played 25 venues in total.
1968 – Elton John released his debut single ‘I’ve Been Loving You’ through Philips Records on this day March 1 in music history. The single failed to chart and it didn’t feature on any album until the 1992 ‘Rare Masters’ box set.
1968 – Country music singer-songwriters Johnny Cash and June Carter got married in Franklin, Kentucky. The couple stayed together until death did them part.
1969 – Jim Morrison was arrested after a The Doors concert at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Miami because of indecent exposure during the show. He was sentenced to eight months of hard labor. However, Morrison didn’t serve a day as he sadly died in France on July 3rd 1971 while the sentence was under appeal.
10 Interesting Jim Morrison Facts
1973 – Pink Floyd released their eighth and most successful studio album ‘The Dark Side of The Moon’ on this day March 1. The album became a chart-topper in several countries and as of March 2024 it has sold over 45 million copies worldwide.
1974 – Rock band Queen kicked off their first United Kingdom tour as the headlining act with a show at Winter Gardens, Blackpool.
1974 – Canadian rock band Rush released their eponymous debut studio album through Moon Records on this day March 1 in music history.
1975 – With his fifteenth studio album ‘Blood on the Tracks’, Bob Dylan topped the US Billboard 200 on this day March 1. The album also reached No.1 in Canada and New Zealand while in the UK it peaked at No.4.
1975 – Rock band Status Quo started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK Albums chart with their eighth studio release ‘On the Level’.
1975 – Rock band the Eagles scored their first US Billboard Hot 100 number one single with ‘Best of My Love’ on this day March 1.
1980 – New wave band Blondie hit number one on the UK Singles chart with ‘Atomic’ for the fist of two weeks straight.
1980 – With their greatest hits compilation ‘String of Hits’, instrumental rock band The Shadows topped the UK Albums chart on this day March 1.
1986 – With ‘Kyrie’, rock band Mr. Mister hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for the first of two consecutive weeks. They also reached No.1 on the Billboard 200 with their second studio album ‘Welcome to the Real World’ on this day.
1994 – The 36th Annual Grammy Awards were held at the Radio City Music Hall in New York on this day March 1 in music history. Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton, Sting, BB King, Kenny G, Ray Charles, Ozzy Osbourne, Meat Loaf, Sade and Aerosmith among the winners that night. Frank Sinatra received a Living Legends Award while Aretha Franklin received a Lifetime Achievement Award.
1994 – Grunge pioneers Nirvana played their last concert at an old airplane hangar in Munich, Germany in front of 3,000 people. Kurt Cobain took his own life a few weeks later on April 5.
1995 – The 37th Annual Grammy Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on this day March 1. Tony Bennet, Eric Clapton, Soundgarden, Salt-N-Pepa, Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, Boyz II Men, Sheryl Crow, among the winners that night.
1997 – Country music singer LeAnn Rimes topped the US Billboard 200 with her compilation album ‘Unchained Melody: The Early Years’.
LeAnn Rimes – Unchained Melody
1997 – Alternative rock band Mansun had the number one album in the United Kingdom on this day March 1 with ‘Attack of the Grey Lantern’.
2009 – With their second full-length album ‘Join with Us’, pop rock band The Feeling reached the top spot on the UK Albums chart.
2014 – Country music singer Eric Church went to number one in the US on this day March 1 in music history with his fourth studio album ‘The Outsiders’.
2014 – Indie pop rock band Bastille reached No.1 on the UK Albums chart on this day with their debut studio LP ‘Bad Blood’.
2016 – American record producer, music executive and songwriter Fred Foster died on this day March 1 at the age of 87. Best remembered for his work musicians such as Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, and Dolly Parton.
2019 – English singer and multi-instrumentalist Paul Williams died at the age of 78. Best remembered for his work with the bands Big Roll Band, Tempest, and The Bluesbreakers.
BORN ON MARCH 1 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1810 – Polish composer and virtuoso pianist Frédéric François Chopin was born in Zelazowa Wola.
1904 – American trombonist, bandleader, conductor, arranger and composer Glenn Miller was born in Clarinda, Iowa.
1927 – Jamaican-American singer-songwriter and actor Harry Belafonte was born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr in New York City.
1942 – Drummer, vocalist, and founding member of the rock band King Crimson, Michael Giles was born in Waterlooville, England.
1942 – American R&B singer Jerry Fisher was born in DeKalb, Texas. He came to prominence as the lead singer of Blood, Sweat & Tears.
1944 – Singer-songwriter Michael “Mike” d’Abo was born Betchworth, England. Best known as the frontman of the rock band Manfred Mann.
1944 – Co-founder and lead singer of the rock band The Who, Roger Daltrey was born in London, England.
1946 – Singer, composer, producer and instrumentalist Edward Anthony “Tony” Ashton was born in Blackburn, England.
1955 – Country music singer and guitarist Jimmy Fortune was born in Williamsburg, Virginia. Best known as a member of The Statler Brothers.
1958 – Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Nicholas “Nik” Kershaw was born in Bristol, England.
1963 – American drummer Robert “Rob” Affuso was born in New York. He rose to fame as a member of the heavy metal band Skid Row.
1973 – Multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and co-founder of the rock group Nickelback, Ryan Peake was born in Brooks, Canada.
1985 – American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and model Melissa Reese was born in Seattle, Washington. Best known as a member of the hard rock band Guns N’ Roses.
1987 – American singer and songwriter Kesha Rose Sebert was born in Los Angeles, California. Best known for hit songs such as ‘Tik Tok’, ‘We R Who We R’, ‘Right Round’, ‘My First Kiss’, etc.
1994 – Canadian singer and former teen idol Justin Bieber was born in London, Ontario.