This Day in Rock History: March 30

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1957: Buddy Knox's "Party Doll" went to the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It was written by Knox in 1948, and this marked the first time that a rock and roll singer topped the charts with a self-written song.
• 1985: Phil Collins got to No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with "One More Night," spending two weeks at the top. It was taken from his third solo album, No Jacket Required, which was given Diamond status by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 10 million copies in the US alone.

Cultural Milestones

• 1945: Eric Clapton was born in Ripley, Surrey, England. He started his career in the early 1960s and was part of multiple iconic bands, such as the Yardbirds, Cream, Derek and the Dominos, and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, in addition to having a spectacularly successful solo career.
• 1964: Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She released her self-titled debut album in 1987 and has sold over 20 million records worldwide since, having also won 4 GRAMMY awards.
• 1967: The Beatles shot the cover photo for their Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. The photo was taken by Michael Cooper and showed the band dressed in colorful satin, surrounded by cardboard cutouts of famous figures.

Notable Recordings and Performances

• 1968: The Yardbirds recorded their live album, Live Yardbirds: Featuring Jimmy Page, at the Anderson Theatre in New York City. Despite the group not being satisfied with the quality of their performance, Epic Records released it in 1971 to capitalize on Led Zeppelin's fame and success.
• 1974: The Ramones played their first-ever show at Performance Studios in New York City, in front of a group of friends. They played several songs that eventually wound up on their debut album, such as "I Don't Wanna Be Learned, I Don't Wanna Be Tamed" and "I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You."