The Rock History Report for May 20th

1954 – Bill Haley and the Comets released “Rock Around the Clock.” Though it would eventually become an early rock n’ roll classic, the song only gained popularity when it was released in 1955 on the “Blackboard Jungle” soundtrack.

1960 – Alan Freed was indicted for income tax evasion. The famous DJ was targeted for taking bribes to play songs.

1967 – Jimi Hendrix inked his first American recording contract with Reprise Records.

1968 – Pete Townshed married Karen Astley.

1970 – The Beatles film “Let It Be” premiered around the world.

1971 – Peter Cetera of Chicago got into a brawl at a baseball game when four men objected to the length of Cetera’s hair. The musician was confined to an intensive care unit for days, and had his jaw wired shut after it was broken in three places.

1979 – Elton John played a show in the Soviet Union city of Leningrad, becoming the first western pop star to play in the U.S.S.R.

1992 – Aerosmith threw their support behind a controversial art exhibition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, giving $10,000 to support a piece called “Corporal Politics.”

1995 – Don Henley married Sharon Summerall.

1998 – Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee began a 6-month sentence for felony spousal abuse.

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