From Cab Calloway to Frank Zappa: March 3rd is significant in the EVOLUTION OF ROCK 'n ROLL...

March 3, 1931 through 
March 3,1979
in the
Evolution of Rock ‘n Roll…

1931: Cab Calloway records



"Minnie The Moocher"

March 3, 1947: Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens by Louis Jordan reaches No1 in the Billboard R'n'B Singles Chart in the USA.

March 3, 1952: Lloyd Price cuts "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" for Specialty Records in New Orleans. It tops the R&B and Best Seller charts for seven weeks.

Check out Lloyd talkin’ about how this tune came to be:

March 3, 1956: Elvis Presley makes his first appearance on the Billboard charts when "Heartbreak Hotel" debuts at #68. Although many staff members at RCA Victor believed that the release was a mistake, the song would rise to #1 on the US Pop chart for 8 weeks and spend 17 weeks at the top of the Country chart. Many years later, "Heartbreak Hotel" would be ranked #45 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

March 3, 1956: "Please, Please, Please," James Brown's first single for Syd Nathan's Federal label (a King subsidiary), is released, thereby launching the career of this legendary soul singer.

March 3, 1957: So now Lloyd Price is 19 years old, did his stint in the army and he comes up with "Just Because," Lloyd Price's post-Army debut for the ABC-Paramount label, enters the singles charts, peaking at #3 R&B and #29 pop.

AND: "Maybe" by the Chantels hits #15 on that same day...

March 3, 1959: The Drifters, with new lead vocalist Ben E. King, record their breakthrough hit, "There Goes My Baby", at Atlantic's studios in New York. The song will become the group's first of 16 Billboard Top 40 hits.

And on March 3, 1962,
"Twistin' Postman" by the Marvelettes goes to #34…Check out this all the way  live recording!!!

March 3, 1966: Lou Christie's "Lightnin' Strikes" is certified gold

March 3, 1969: Bob Dylan hits #7 with "Lay Lady Lay"

March 3, 1973: The Spinners hit #4 with "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love" and do it live on SOUL TRAIN!

Just about this time, DISCO (sucks!) hits the Scene and Frank takes advantage…

March 3, 1979: Frank Zappa releases 'Sheik Yerbouti,' a double album that contains the disco parody single "Dancin' Fool"

R.I.P. FRANK  

~YOU ALWAYS KEPT US UP ON WHAT’S REALLY HIP!!!

A LOTTA STUFF HAPPENED

 IN THE EVOLUTION OF ROCK ‘n ROLL

ON MARCH 3^RD

OVER THOSE  48 YEARS!!!  

Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band The Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist.  (Wikipedia)

As a kid, I was DJ’ing, mostly R&B, Blues, and Soul, as well as what was known as “The Pittsburgh Sound” when I moved from Pennsylvania to Detroit. That was 1966. One night I decided to quit racing up and down Woodward and caught a Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention  show at the Motor City Roller Rink. The cat (Zappa) was up front putting down an incredibe show—and doing it through a megaphone! But, it was the music that knocked my Argyles off—I’ve been a dedicated Zappa fan ever since, and I miss the cat to the max…

Dig a few (a very few!) of my favorite Zappa tunes:

"You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here"
 ~~Off “Freak Out!”—1966 

"Brown Shoes Don't Make It"
~~Off “Absolutely Free”—1967  

We're Only in It for the Money  
Released: March 4, 1968

Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
~~Released: December 2, 1968

Uncle Meat~~Released: April 1969

Willie The Pimp off Hot Rats ~~Released: October 1969

WPLJ~~Off Burnt Weeny Sandwich




Frank Zappa was an incredible, talented, eclectic man. These few tunes are just a few of my favorites. Go to YouTube and search out the VAST body of work by Mr. Zappa--He produced and/or wrote and/or played on no less that 91 album releases in his short lifetime. R.I.P. Brother Frank Zappa--You da Man!!!

					On December 4, 1993, 52-year-old Frank Zappa died of pancreatic cancer at his Los Angeles home, surrounded by his wife and children. At a private ceremony the following day, Zappa was interred in an unmarked grave at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, Los Angeles. The next day, his family publicly announced: "Composer Frank Zappa left for his final tour just before 6:00 pm on Saturday".  THE USE OF ANY COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL IS USED UNDER THE GUIDELINES OF "FAIR USE" IN TITLE 17 & 107 OF THE UNITED STATES CODE. SUCH MATERIAL REMAINS THE COPYRIGHT OF THE ORIGINAL HOLDER AND IS USED HERE FOR THE PURPOSES OF EDUCATION, COMPARISON, AND CRITICISM ONLY. NO INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT IS INTENDED…