1956 – Elvis Presley released his self titled studio album in mono on RCA Victor. The album spent 10 weeks at No.1 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart in 1956, the first rock and roll album ever to reach the top of the charts, and the first million selling album of that genre. The iconic cover photograph was taken at the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory in Tampa, Florida on July 31, 1956
1964 – John Lennon’s book of verse and rhyme ‘In His Own Write’ was published in the UK. Some of the content was first published in Lennon’s ‘Beachcomber’ column in the Liverpool weekly paper Mersey Beat
1972 – The film for the Concert For Bangladesh featuring George Harrison, Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton premiered in New York. The event was the first benefit concert of this magnitude in world history. The concert raised $243,418.51 for Bangladesh relief, which was administered by UNICEF. Sales of the album and DVD continue to benefit the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF
1985 – Former Creedence Clearwater Festival frontman John Fogerty went to No. 1 on the US Album chart with his third solo album Centerfield. This was Fogerty’s first album in nine years after he decided to take a long break from the music business because of legal battles with his record company
1995 – British singer Alan Barton died at the age of 41 from injuries incurred when Smokie’s tour bus crashed during a hailstorm in Cologne, Germany. With Black Lace, he had the 1984 UK No.2 single ‘Agadoo.’ Black Lace represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1979 in which they finished in seventh position. ‘Agadoo’ earned them the dubious accolade of being voted as the worst song of all time by a panel of music writers for Q Magazine. Barton replaced Chris Norman in Smokie in 1986, recording six albums with them
