Feb. 7, 1959, was the day of Buddy Holly’s funeral in Lubbock, Texas, at the Tabernacle Baptist Church. The service was led by the same priest who married Holly just months earlier and was attended by around 1,000 people.
On this day, several music milestones occurred:
In 1970, Led Zeppelin II became the band’s first UK No. 1 album, taking the top spot from The Beatles’ Abbey Road. With hits like “Whole Lotta Love,” it stayed on the UK charts for an impressive 138 weeks. Also in 1970, Shocking Blue became the first Dutch band to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. with “Venus.” They were a one-hit wonder, but Bananarama later took the song to No. 8 on the UK chart in 1986.
In 1976, Paul Simon reached No. 1 in the U.S. for the first and only time as a solo artist with “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover.” The song topped the chart for three weeks. In 1987, the duet “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” by Aretha Franklin and George Michael hit No. 1 on the UK singles chart for two weeks. They also won a GRAMMY that year for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
Cultural milestones on Feb. 7 include the birth of David Bryan of Bon Jovi in 1962 and the arrival of The Beatles in the U.S. in 1964. In 1966, the first rock music magazine, Crawdaddy!, was published. Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit was born in 1975.
Notable recordings include The Who recording “Pinball Wizard” in 1969 and The Clash starting their first U.S. tour in 1979. In 1980, Pink Floyd made history at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
