ALSO THIS MONTH

GENE SCENE

6 Capitol release the first single from their would-be Elvis Presley, Be-Bop-A-Lula by Gene Vincent (above), a singer they hail as “the screaming end!” The record becomes a hit in both the US and UK charts.

RAM JAMS

9 Manager Buck Ram, writer of The Great Pretender and Only You, joins forces with DJ Alan Freed for a campaign to make teenage tearaways become responsible citizens. To launch it, Ram’s written Don’t Be A Bunny – meaning, in hip-speak, don’t be a wise guy or troublemaker.

LONNIE OK’D

10 Lonnie Donegan is rapturously received in New York. The skiffling superstar’s current release, Lost John, is almost booted off NBC’s National Radio Fan Club Show after accusations of racial stereotyping, but is soon cleared.

BOONE IDOL

15 Clean-cut Pat Boone notches a UK Number 1 with his cover of The Flamingos’ I’ll Be Home. It will be the American star’s only UK chart-topper.

PEARLY PLATES

23 Sunset Records ship out a special 45 rpm clear vinyl recording of a Pearl Bailey interview that allows DJs to ask questions and then cue in Pearly Mae’s answers.

FAREWELL, BROWNIE

26 Clifford Brown, one of the most influential trumpet stars ever to grace the world of jazz, dies in a car crash at the age of 25.

STAN SQUIBS

30 Satirical singing advertising man Stan Freberg releases a double-sided send up of two current chart hits, Heartbreak Hotel and Rock Island Line. The backup combo on the latter are billed as Freberg’s ‘Sniffle Group’.