Today in rock history: On this date in 1954, during his very first recording session at the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, Elvis Presley made music history. Accompanied by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, the trio started to play an impromptu, upbeat version of “That’s All Right,” a song originally recorded in the 1940s by Delta blues singer Arthur Crudup. Studio owner and producer of the sessions Sam Phillips overheard the three musicians running through the song and asked them to play it one more time. He recorded the track and, subsequently, it became the first single Presley would release for the Sun Records label, and a hit. Other songs recorded during that very first session included “I Love You Because,” “Harbor Lights” and a version of Bill Monroe’s bluegrass classic, “Blue Moon of Kentucky.”

DARKNESS BETWEEN THE STARS
XXXTentacion, Elvis and both sides of the criminal-star debate

Today in rock history: On this date in 1986, the youngest member of the famed musical Jackson family, Janet, began the first of a two-week run at the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s pop albums chart with her blockbuster third album, Control. The album eventually went on to sell in excess of 10 million copies worldwide and featured a slew of hit singles including “Nasty,” “What Have You Done For Me Lately,” “The Pleasure Principle,” “Let’s Wait Awhile,” “When I Think of You” and the title track. The album paved the way for Janet to become one of the most successful and popular artists of the 1980s and was the first in a long line of hit albums she’d score. Jackson will play Tampa's MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre on August 7, and more information on the show is available here.

Today in rock history: On this date in 1969, a free concert that was held in London’s Hyde Park featuring The Rolling Stones as the headliners. The show, which was intended to honor Brian Jones, the band’s founder who’d died two days prior to the event, drew more than 250,000 fans. The concert also marked the very first time the band’s newest member, guitarist Mick Taylor, would play live with the band. During the performance, lead singer Mick Jagger released thousands of butterflies and read an excerpt from a Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem “Adonais." Other acts on the bill included Family and King Crimson.

Today in rock history: On this date in 1950, Hugh Anthony Cregg III, better known by his stage name, Huey Lewis, was born in New York City. Lewis was a member of the 1970s California-based country rock band Clover which is most famously remembered as serving as the backing band for Elvis Costello’s stupendous 1977 debut album, My Aim is True. Lewis, an accomplished harmonica player, also provided harmonica parts on Live and Dangerous, the renowned live album by Irish rock and roll band Thin Lizzy. Huey Lewis and the News drew a large following after forming in Northern California, its home base, but record sales were slow to catch on. It wasn’t until the group’s third album, 1983’s Sports, that big success came their way. The multi-platinum album became one of the best-selling albums of the decade and produced monster hits like “Heart and Soul,” “ I Want a New Drug” and “The Heart of Rock & Roll,” which dominated singles charts throughout 1983 and into 1984. Several more hit albums and singles would follow and Lewis and his band became a bona fide box office draw throughout the globe. Recently, Lewis, who has also done plenty of acting work throughout his career, has gone public regarding severe hearing loss brought on by Ménière's disease which has caused him to cancel all of his previously scheduled concert appearances for the year.