Songwriter Del Shannon died from a self-inflicted gunshot on this day in 1990

Today in rock history: On this date in 1990, rock and roll songwriter Del Shannon was killed by a self-inflicted gunshot. He was only 55 years old. Suffering from depression in his later years, the singer was born Charles Weedon Westover in Grand Rapids, Michigan and also best known for this unforgettable 1961 no. 1 single “Runaway.” Shannon also scored a hit with his version of the Beatles’ “From Me to You,” which actually charted in America before the Beatles’s own version did. Rumors said that at the time of his passing, Del Shannon was working closely with Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty in hopes of replacing the recently deceased Roy Orbison in the folk-rock supergroup, Traveling Wilburys.

Today in rock history: On this date in 1965, British Invasion band The Dave Clark Five began filming a feature-length major motion picture. The DC5 hoped that Catch Us If You Can — whose plotline was intermingled with DC5 hits like “Time,” “Move On” and, of course, “Catch Us If You Can” — would rival the success the Beatles enjoyed with their debut film, A Hard Day’s Night (released the year prior); the soundtrack was a hit, but the film didn’t make a very large impact. In an odd move, band members didn’t portray themselves in the film, and were cast as characters in the movie’s plot instead. Other British bands like Herman’s Hermits and Gerry and the Pacemakers tried their hand at full-length films, but none duplicated the success of the Beatles’ movies.

Today in rock history: On this date in 1965, the best-selling girl group of all time — The Supremes — released their milestone, Holland-Dozier-Holland-penned single, “Stop! In the Name of Love.” The Grammy-nominated song hit no. 1 on Billboard’s pop singles chart and stayed there for two weeks. Performances of the song are most often equated with the simple, but memorable, choreographed moves which found Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard holding an outstretched arm and emulating a stop gesture during the song’s chorus.

Today in rock history: On this date in 1989, heavy-metal hit its commercial peak thanks to thrash band Anthrax whose fourth LP, State of Euphoria, became its first gold-selling album. The effort cracked the Top 30 of Billboard’s pop albums chart and helped Anthrax reach a new audience. Anthrax had already been praised for earlier records like (Among the Living,  Spreading the Disease), but State of Euphoria singles “Antisocial” and “Make Me Laugh” marked the band’s official arrival after years of playing clubs around New York City. A 1990 follow up, Persistence of Time, was also a hit for Anthrax, which became known as one of the most exciting and energetic metal bands of the era.