Tomorrow's Almanac

Rock 'n' Roll Almanac for Tuesday, March 17, 2026

109 years ago 1917The late, great Nat “King” Cole is born.
82 years ago 1944John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful is born.
64 years ago 1962The Shirelles' Soldier Boy is released on Scepter Records. The tune becomes the girl group's biggest hit, climbing to #1, selling over a million copies and earning a gold record.
64 years ago 1962Billboard reports Ray Charles has started his own record label, Tangerine records.
59 years ago 1967Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins is born.
59 years ago 1967Van Conner of Screaming Trees is born.
58 years ago 1968The Bee Gees make their U.S. television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. They perform To Love Somebody and Words.
54 years ago 1972Melissa Auf der Maur, bassist with Hole, and her own band, Auf der Maur, is born in Montreal.
53 years ago 1973Caroline Corr of The Corrs is born.
44 years ago 1982Samuel George Jr., lead singer of the Capitols who had a 1966 hit Cool Jerk, dies in Detroit after being stabbed with a knife in a family argument. He was 39 years old.
31 years ago 1995Madonna holds the “world's biggest pajama party” as 1,500 guests gather with pj's and teddy bears. This is all for the premiere of her new Bedtime Stories video.
28 years ago 1998Van Halen releases their latest album, Van Halen 3, which is their first album with new lead singer Gary Cherone. That night they hold a record signing for fans at the Virgin Megastore in Times Square.
16 years ago 2010The lead singer for The Boxtops and Big Star, Alex Chilton, dies of heart problems in New Orleans, where he lived on and off since the 80's. The Memphis native was 59, and was only 16 when The Letter hit #1 in 1967.
7 years ago 2019Dick Dale, known as “King of The Surf Guitar,” passes away. He'd been quietly suffering health issues for many years, and was 81.

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