Prepare to be enlightened on the history of your favorite music genre. Whether it’s chart-topping songs and hit albums or major recordings and memorable performances, the facts from May 29 in rock history are all right here.
Breakthrough Hits and Milestones
These were some of the biggest hits and milestones for their time on May 29:
- 1965: “Help Me, Rhonda” by The Beach Boys reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This was the group’s second song to make it to the top, and the song stayed at No. 1 for two weeks.
- 1982: Paul McCartney started a three-week run on top of the Billboard 200 albums chart with Tug Of War. The album was his first solo release since he split with his band Wings.
Cultural Milestones
A few cultural milestones that impacted the rock ‘n’ roll genre on May 29 include:
- 1962: “Let’s Twist Again” by Chubby Checker won Best Rock and Roll Recording at the fourth annual GRAMMY Awards. Billboard magazine later named the song one of the biggest chart hits of all time.
- 2024: A Framus 12-string Hootenanny acoustic guitar that John Lennon used when recording both the film and album Help! became the most expensive Beatles instrument ever sold at auction. It brought in $2.9 million through a telephone bid at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City.
Notable Recordings and Performances
Some recordings happened on this day in rock history that would be hard to forget, such as these:
- 1942: At a recording session for his Holiday Inn album, Bing Crosby recorded “White Christmas” in just 18 minutes. The song has now sold more than 50 million copies worldwide and is one of the best-selling singles of all time
- 1969: Atlantic Records released the self-titled debut album from Crosby, Stills & Nash. It was the only album from the group without Neil Young, who joined them later that year.
Industry Changes and Challenges
While rock ‘n’ roll has had its moments to shine, it’s also endured these industry changes and challenges from May 29:
- 1999: The mysterious disappearance of Iron Butterfly bassist Philip Taylor Kramer was finally solved by photographers in Malibu, California. The photographers found the remains of the bassist’s body in his Ford minivan at the bottom of Decker Canyon while they were taking photos of wrecked cars.
- 2009: Record producer Phil Spector was sentenced for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson. He was given 19 years to life in prison, and he died while incarcerated in 2021.
Rock ‘n’ roll never dies, and these moments from May 29 of years gone by are proof that the genre will be remembered forever through its hit songs, recordings, performances, and events that continue to shape its sounds.
