Rock ‘n’ roll fans have a new reason to celebrate! May 30 is the birthday of some famous rock musicians, including Armando Peraza of Santana, Marie Fredriksson of Roxette, and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine. Let’s take a look at the hit songs and milestones that made waves on this day.
1964: The Beatles released their debut single, “Love Me Do,” which hit the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart after a re-release. This song was written by Lennon and McCartney in the late 1950s, before the band was formed.
1970: Ray Stevens topped both the Easy Listening and Billboard Hot 100 charts with “Everything Is Beautiful.” This was his first hit and earned him a GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Male Vocal Performance.
1975: Alice Cooper’s first solo album, Welcome to My Nightmare, was certified Gold by the RIAA for selling over 500,000 copies in the US. It later went Platinum after selling over a million copies.
1992: The Black Crowes debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with their second album, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, which produced four No. 1 singles.
Cultural moments also marked May 30. In 1963, Leslie Gore performed “It’s My Party” on American Bandstand, her first live TV performance. In 1992, Paul Simon married Edie Brickell in a small ceremony on Long Island.
Notable recordings include 1966 when The Beatles released “Paperback Writer” in the US, and 1968 when they began recording the White Album. George Harrison released his fourth studio album, Living in the Material World, in 1973, and David Bowie kicked off his Glass Spider Tour in 1987.
