March 12, 1964

For the first time in the history of the UK charts, there are no American acts in the Top 10, as British acts like The Rolling Stones take hold in their home country as well.

The British have not only invaded America, they’ve caught on at home. The UK Top 10, once filled with American acts like Brenda Lee, The Four Seasons and The Ronettes, is now loaded with local talent: nine of the entries are English, and the tenth, The Bachelors, is Irish. Here’s the tally:

1) Cilla Black – “Anyone Who Had A Heart”

2) The Dave Clark Five – “Bits And Pieces”

3) Billy J Kramer And The Dakotas – “Little Children”

4) The Bachelors – “Diane”

5) The Rolling Stones – “Not Fade Away”

6) The Hollies – “Just One Look”

7) The Searchers – “Needles And Pins”

8) The Merseybeats – “I Think Of You”

9) Eden Kane – “Boys Cry

10) Kathy Kirby – “Let Me Go, Lover”

March 13, 1999 

Using the pitch correction software Auto-Tune to distort her vocals, Cher goes to #1 in America with “Believe,” opening the floodgates for many more Auto-Tuned hits.

March 14, 1998 

Weeks after Johnny Cash’s Unchained wins the Grammy for Best Country Album, his producer Rick Rubin takes out a full-page ad in Billboard with a photo of the singer giving the middle finger along with the text, “American Recordings and Johnny Cash would like to acknowledge the Nashville music establishment and country radio for your support.”

March 15, 2006 

Remnants of Fats Domino’s two pianos are discovered and saved by the Louisiana State Museum after attempting to salvage his Ninth Ward home after Hurricane Katrina.

March 16, 1998 

Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” hits #1, becoming the first-ever posthumous #1 hit. Redding died in a plane crash on December 10, 1967.

March 17, !958 

The first “Greatest Hits” compilation is released, and it’s by Johnny Mathis. It’s a huge hit, and the format catches on quickly. The Mathis album stays in the Billboard 200 album chart for over nine years, a record not broken until Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon.

March 18, 2002 

Talking Heads played live for the first time since 1984 when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, The Ramones, Brenda Lee, Gene Pitney and Isaac Hayes.