Early January
Senate subcommittee begins to look into payola. The committee looks into deejays who took gifts from record companies in return for playing their records on their shows. The record companies begin announcing that they has given money to deejays. Twenty five deejays and program directors are caught in the scandal. Among the more popular ones are Joe Niagra (WBIG, Philadelphia), Tom Clay (WJBK, Detroit), Murray "The K" Kaufman (WINS, New York) and Stan Richards (WILD, Boston) Alan Freed and Dick Clark are in the spotlight.. Freed's broadcast alliances quickly desert him.
Chuck Berry opens his own night club in his hometown of St. Louis. As a tribute to Dick Clark's influence on his career he names it Club Bandstand
January 9
Dion and the Belmonts
sing "Don't Pity Me" on "American Bandstand"
Mid-January
Jerry Lee Lewis makes a court appearance in Memphis where he is charged with being
$1,000 behind in alimony and child support payments to Jane Mitchum Lewis of Natchez,
Mississippi.
Ricky Nelson ends filming "Rio Bravo" with John Wayne and Dean Martin
January 23
Buddy Holly,
Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) are the headliners of "The Winter
Party Dance Tour"
February 2
Following the "Winter Dance Party" show Buddy Holly books a private plane to fly
himself and Cricket's Waylon Jennings and Tommy Allsup to the next
city
on the tour. The Crickets give their seats to Valens and Richardson. Holly, Valens and
Richardson drive to Mason City, rent a plane to take them to
Fargo, North Dakota, the nearest airport to the tours next stop in Moorhead, Iowa. The
plane takes off just after midnight.
February 3
It is
reported that the plane carrying Holly, Valens and Richardson never reached the airport in
Moorhead. At 9:30 a search party discovers the wreckage
5 miles
from the mason city airport. There are no survivors. A group called the Shadows, from
Fargo, led by 16 year old Bobby Veeline, who would
change his
name to Bobby Vee, are recruited to fill in.
February 4
Frankie Avalon and Jimmy Clanton join "The Winter Dance Party". The Shadows
remain the opening act.
February 7
The
funeral for Buddy Holly is held in Lubbock, Texas at the Tabernacle Baptist Church.
Members of the Crickets and Phil Everly serve as pall bearers.
February 9
Frankie
Avalon comes down with pneumonia. Paul Anka and Fabian are brought in as replacements
February 27
Jerry
Lee Lewis' wife gives birth to their first (his second) child. The boy is named Steve
Allen Lewis after Steve Allen who gave Lewis his first national
exposure.
Late-February
Clyde McPhatter leaves Atlantic Records and signs with M-G-M for a reported $50,0000 guarantee.
March 3
Chuck Berry sings
"Almost Grown" on "American Bandstand."
March 4
After 10 months in the Boston
court system, the most serious charge against Freed is dropped.. He still faces the
misdemeanor charge of inciting a riot.
March 14
The Everly Brothers appear on
"The Perry Como" on NBC-TV.
March 18
"Rio Bravo"
with Ricky Nelson, John Wayne and Dean Martin opens nationally.
June 1
Dion and the Belmonts lip-sync
"Teenager In Love" on American Bandstand.
June 29
Sam Cooke sings "The Cha Cha Cha on
American Bandstand.
June 30
The Drifters sing "There Goes My Baby" on
"American Bandstand."
Late June
A Boston municipal judge postpones indefinitely any further hearings on charges filed against Alan Freed as the result of the May 3, 1958 riot.
July 4
Clyde McPhatter is spotlighted on "the Dick
Clark Show."
July 10
The latest rock and roll movie "Go,
Johnny, Go" opens nationally.
August 1
Bill Haley and His
Comets appear on The Dick Clark Show.
August 8
The Dick Clark Show is
broadcast live from Loa Angeles and the rest of August as Clark films "Because They
Are Young."
August 10
Four male members of
the Platters are arrested and charged with aiding and abetting prostitution and
"lewdness" after police raid their hotel room. It is
reported that there are
four nineteen old women, three which were white. Four months later on December 2, the men
are acquitted of morals charges.
Early-September
Early September following and outbreak of teen violence in New York City, including the knifing of two boys, WBBS bans "Mack the Knife."
September 13
At his home in Bad Nauheim, Germany Elvis Presley meets the fourteen year old daughter of
an air force captain stationed at nearby Weisbaden Air
Force Base
September 25
Sam Cooke appears at the Apollo Theater
September 26
Dion and the Belmonts, Dee Clark and Skip and Flip appear on "The Dick Clark
Show."
September 30
The Everly Brothers are special guests on the season premier of NBC-TV's "The Perry
Como Show" as it moves from Saturday to Wednesday nights.
October 4
Dick
Clark's "World of Talent" premiers on ABC-TV at 10:30 p.m. No Rock and Roll
stars will ever appear.
October 13
Dion
DiMucci leader of Dion and the Belmonts, is ordered by his doctor to take a leave of
absence from touring. The Belmonts cross country tour for later
in the
month is cancelled.
Mid-October
Sam Cooke marries his high school sweetheart, Barbara Campbell, in
Chicago.
October 16
Sam Cooke
begins three days at the Copacabana in New York
November 10
Fats Domino appears on "America Bandstand and sings "Be My Guest."
Mid-November
ABC-Paramount announces the signing of Ray Charles. Charles had been with
Atlantic Records since June, 1952 but, is unable to match the three year contract, which
includes Charles ownership of his recordings and the establishment of his own Tangerine
publishing company.
RCA offers Sam Cooke a guaranteed $100,000 contract. Cooke will accept the offer on
January 23, 1960
November 25
Senate investigators complete two days of questioning Alan Freed about payola. Freed had
been recently fired from his deejay jobs at WABC radio and
WNEW-TV.
November 26
The Coasters sing "What About Us" on "American Bandstand."
November 29
At the Second Annual Grammy Awards, Bobby Darin's "Mack The Knife" wins record
of the year and Darin is named Best New Artist. Atlantic
Records owner and producer of "Mack The Knife" Ahmet Ertegun receives the
Special Trustees Award for Artists and Repertoire Contributions.
December 1
Chuck Berry following a show in El Paso meets a 14 year old Apache woman. He agrees
to bring her to work as a hat check girl at Bandstand Club
December 5
Gene Vincent begins touring England.
December 12
Gene Vincent appears on the weekly television show "Boy Meets Girls" in
London.
December 21
As a result of hiring the 14 year old woman, Berry is arrested in St. Louis for violating
the Mann Act forbidding the transportation of a female male
across state lines for prostitution He is convicted and sentenced to five years in prison
and fined $5,000. The original verdict is thrown out because of
racial comments made by the presiding judge.