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Hear Today In Rock and Roll History
Today In R&R History May 31st
Daily Rock and Roll History, Birthday and short music clips.
A year long, day by day look back at this date in Rock History in 3-5 minute segments. Now airing WRGG in Greencastle, PA.
Rock and Roll Birthdays
May 31st
- May 31st Birthday, Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary, born in 1938 in Manhattan, New York City.
- May 31st Birthday, Mott The Hoople and Bad Company guitarist Mick Ralphs, born in 1944 in Stoke Lacy, Herefordshire, England. Ralphs passed away on June 23rd, 2025 at the age of 81, bedridden after a stroke several years earlier.
- May 31st Birthday, Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, born in 1948 in Redditch, Worcestershire, England. He died on September 25th, 1980 at the age of 32.
- May 31st Birthday, ELO cellist Mike Edwards, born in 1948 in West London, England. He passed away on September 3rd, 2010 at the age of 62.
- May 31st Birthday, Session guitarist and solo artist Tommy Emmanuel, born William Thomas Emmanuel in Muswellbrook, New South Wales, Australia in 1955.
- May 31st Birthday, Lifesigns keyboardist John Young, who has worked with Asia, Uli Jon Roth, Jon Anderson, The Strawbs and others, born in Liverpool, England in 1956.
Today In Rock and Roll History
May 31st
- May 31st, 1961 Rocker turned entrepreneur, Chuck Berry opened his Berry Park in Wentzville, Missouri. The thirty-acre complex featured a swimming pool, miniature golf course, a Ferris wheel, a children’s zoo and a picnic area with barbecue pits.
- May 31st, 1964 The Dave Clark Five appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first of eighteen appearances.
- May 31st, 1969 Joe Cocker’s “With A Little Help From My Friends” album enters the charts, six months after the record’s title track was issued as a single in November 1968. Recorded at Olympic and Trident Studios in London with producer Denny Cordell. Tony Visconti, Jimmy Page, Henry McCullough, Steve Winwood, Carol Kaye and members of Procol Harum were among the many who played and sang on sessions for the LP. Cocker’s appearance at The Woodstock Festival would drive the album sales that year and the record was certified Gold for a million copies sold, peaking at No. 35 on July 26th.
- May 31st, 1969 RCA records re-release Nebraska natives Zager and Evans “In The Year 2525.” Out a year earlier on the independent Truth record label, the song entered the charts in June and went to No. 1 on July 12th, the beginning of a six-week run at the top and became a No. 1 record in Britain as well. The single sold over four million copies but the duo never had another chart record.
- May 31st, 1969 Reprise Records release “Clouds,” the second LP by Joni Mitchell. The album featured two songs Mitchell wrote and became hits for Judy Collins, “Both Sides Now” and “Chelsea Morning.” The record, co-produced by Mitchell and Paul A. Rothchild at A&M Studios in Hollywood, peaked at No. 31 on July 19th. To promote the LP, DJ copies of “Chelsea Morning” were sent to radio stations but Mitchell’s version was never given a commercial single release.
- May 31st, 1969 Buddah Records release “Moonflight” by Vic Venus Alias; Your Main Moon Man. A cut-in record in the style of Dickie Goodman, interspersing snippets of popular songs with written dialogue, the record featured New York City DJ Jack Spector as Vic Venus. All twenty-one songs referenced were from the Buddah Records catalog. The script was written by Barry Siegal and the track was produced by Lewis Merenstein. The record entered the singles charts two weeks after its’ release and peaked at No. 38 on August 9th.
- May 31st, 1969 Roulette Records release “Crystal Blue Persuasion” by Tommy James and The Shondells on 45. Co-written by Shondells members Eddie Gray and Mike Vale with Tommy James, the single version differs from the album version of the song with horn overdubs added to the mix and a longer bongos overdub before the third verse. The record entered the singles charts a week later and became one of the biggest hits of the band’s career. “Crystal Blue Persuasion” went to No. 2 on July 26th and No. 1 in Canada.
- May 31st, 1969 Decca Records release “Don’t Wake Me Up In The Morning, Michael” by Baltimore, Maryland group Peppermint Rainbow on 45. Written by Al Kasha and produced by Paul Leka, the record entered the singles charts in June and peaked at No. 54 on July 26th.
- May 31st, 1969 “The Popcorn” by James Brown enters the singles charts on King Records. The instrumental was “written” by James Brown, although it is essentially a reworking of “Bringing Up The Guitar” by Brown’s bandleader Alfred Ellis and borrows its bass line from the earlier hit “Cold Sweat.” The record peaked at No. 30 on July 19th.
- May 31st, 1969 Mercury Records release “And She’s Mine” by Spanky And Our Gang on 45. The track was written by group bassist Kenny Hodges. The group had already broken up by the time this record was released. The record entered the singles charts for one week, on June 21st and peaked at No. 97, the band’s last charting single.
- May 31st, 1969 “The Minotaur” by Dick Hyman and His Eclectic Electrics enters the singles charts. Hyman worked as a jazz pianist, organist, arranger, music director, electronic musician and composer. Originally released in January as the B-side of “Topless Dancers Of Corfu,” an edited version of “The Minotaur” went to No. 27 on the R&B Charts, No. 20 in Canada and No. 38 on the Pop Singles charts on July 5th, becoming the first hit single to feature the Moog synthesizer.
- May 31st, 1972 Philadelphia International Records release “Back Stabbers” by The O’Jays on 45. Co-written by Leon Huff, Gene McFadden and John Whitehead and co-produced by Huff with Kenny Gamble, the song became part of the soundtrack to the 1977 film Looking For Mr. Goodbar. The record entered the charts in July and went to No. 1 on October 7th.
- May 31st, 1973 Steely Dan picked up a Gold Record for a million copies sold of their first album “Can’t Buy A Thrill.”
- May 31st, 1974 Columbia Records release “Call On Me” by Chicago on 45. Co-written by group trumpet player Lee Loughnane (Lock-nane) with uncredited help from Peter Cetera, Chicago were again working with long time producer Jim Guercio. The 45 entered the charts on June and peaked at No. 6 on August 10th.
- May 31st, 1975 “Disco Queen” by Hot Chocolate enters the singles charts on Big Tree Records. The song was co-written by Hot Chocolate’s Errol Brown and Tony Wilson. Produced by Mickie Most, the record peaked at No. 28 on July 19th.
- May 31st, 1975 “Dixie Rock” by Wet Willie enters the singles charts on Capricorn Records. Co-written by Jimmy and Jack Hall and Ricky Hirsch and produced by Tom Dowd, the record peaked at No. 96 on June 7th.
- May 31st, 1975 “Jive Talkin’” by The Bee Gees enters the singles charts. Taken from the band’s “Main Course” LP, the record signaled the evolution of The Bee Gees into an R&B phenomenon. Produced by Arif Mardin and co-written by the three brothers Gibb, the single charted for seventeen weeks and peaked at No. 1 on August 9th.
- May 31st, 1976 Capitol Records release “Got To Get You Into My Life” by The Beatles on 45. Originally from the 1966 “Revolver” album, Capitol began aggressively repackaging Beatles music with thematic marketing. “Got To Get You Into My Life” was part of a new collection of old Beatles tracks called “Rock And Roll Music.” The record entered the singles charts in June and peaked at No. 7 on July 24th.
- May 31st, 1976 ABC Records release “The Royal Scam,” the fifth studio album by Steely Dan. The record was the product of five months of sessions that the band recorded beginning in November 1975 at ABC Studios, Los Angeles and A&R Studios in New York City. Session artists on the record include Timothy B. Schmit, Michael McDonald, Clydie King, Jim Horn, Bernard Purdie, Denny Dias, Larry Carlton, Elliot Randall and others. The record peaked at No. 15 in the US on July 10th.
- May 31st, 1977 After finishing their ambitious “Works, Vol. 1” album, Emerson, Lake and Palmer hit the road on a tour of the US, accompanied by a seventy-piece orchestra.
- May 31st, 1977 Dark Horse Records in Britain release George Harrison’s “It’s What You Value” on 45. Written by Harrison, who co-produced the record with Tom Scott, the song came from the album “33 and 1/3.”
- May 31st, 1979 Supertramp perform at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where they receive a Gold Record for their million selling album “Breakfast In America.”
Miscellaneous May
- May 1949 “Back Home Blues” backed with “Rock Awhile” by Goree Carter and His Hep Cats is released as a 78 rpm record on the Freedom Records label. Influenced by the guitar work of T Bone Walker, “Rock Awhile” stakes a legitimate claim as the first rock and roll record released. Eighteen years old when he recorded the song, the overdriven guitar tone and pentatonic lead predated rock and a style similar to Chuck Berry.
- May 1966 White Whale Records release “If You Gotta Go, Go Now” backed with “I’ll Go On,” the second single by Lyme & Cybelle, the folk rock duo of Warren Zevon and Violet Santangelo. Bob Dylan wrote “If You Gottsa Go, Go Now,” and the B-side was a Zevon/Santangelo co-write. The record was produced by Bones Howe.
- May 1968 Parlophone Records in Britain release “(The Autobiography Of) Mississippi Hobo,” the second single by Hans Christian. Hans Christian was future Yes singer Jon Anderson. The single was arranged and produced by Paul Korda.
- May 1970 Viking Records press promotional copies of “From Denver To L.A.” on 45. Credited with a vocal by “Elton Johns,” it was taken from the movie soundtrack from the 20thCentury Fox film The Games. Original copies of the record are considered one of the rarest Elton John singles.
- May 1972 Bearsville Records release “Wonder Girl,” the debut single by Sparks. Written by Ron Mael, the record was produced by Todd Rundgren. Rundgren signed the band to Bearsville and produced their first album when the band was known as Halfnelson. The band changed its’ name to Sparks after the LP came out in October 1971. The name change led to a new cover and re-release of the album in February 1972.
- May 1973 Chrysalis Records release “Grand Hotel” by Procol Harum on 45. Co-written by Keith Reid and Gary Brooker, the song served as the title track of Procol Harum’s sixth studio LP, produced by Chris Thomas.
- May 1975 Harvest Record release “HQ,” the eighth studio album by Roy Harper. Recorded in March at Abbey Road Studios in London with producer Peter Jenner, when the LP came out in America, the cover art and the title changed to “When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease.” David Gilmour, Chris Spedding, Bill Bruford and John Paul Jones played sessions on the LP.
- May 1976 MCA Records release “Gimme Back My Bullets” by Lynyrd Skynyrd on 45. The song was co-written by Gary Rossington and Ronnie Van Zant. The studio track was produced by Tom Dowd.
- May 1977 CBS Records in Britain release “Ian Hunter’s Overnight Angels” album. Recorded at several different studios in the US, Canada and England with producer Roy Thomas Baker, Hunter’s US label, Columbia Records refused to release the LP with Hunter’s business management in disarray and no tour scheduled to support the album. Featured on the album sessions were guitarist Earl Slick.
- May 1984 Passport Records release “Russians & Americans,” the tenth studio album by Al Stewart. The LP was produced by Mike Flicker at four different studios, three in California and Abbey Road Studios in London. British and US issues on the record had different tracks. A 2007 reissue collected all the songs on one CD.
- May 1985 EMI Records in Britain release remixed versions of “Loving The Alien” backed with “Don’t Look Down” on 45, originally from from the David Bowie LP “Tonight.” Bowie wrote the AS-side. “Don’t Look Down” was a song co-written by David Bowie and The Stooges’ guitarist James Williamson.
- May 1985 Legacy Records in Britain release “Under Fire” backed with “On Top Of The World” by Roy Wood on 45. Both songs were written and produced by Roy Wood from the LP “Starting Up.”
This Week In Rock and Roll History
This Week In Rock and Roll History week of May 31st
This Week In Rock and Roll History is a weekly one hour look back at the songs, the artists, and the stories behind the music of the rock and roll era.
The Cool Song Of The Week
Cool Song Of The Week 5/31 Moby Grape
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