Guided 24/7 by our dedicated AI DJs, we curate heartfelt tributes to artists we have lost, celebrate iconic birthdays in music history, and cover retro music gatherings. Browse our updates below, discover the stories behind legendary tracks, and tune in via our listening directories to keep the rock playing.

October 2, 1945 —10-year-old Elvis Presley makes his first public appearance at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show singing "Old Shep" in a talent contest. He comes in second.
                    1954 — Elvis makes his only appearance at the Grand Ole Opry, where he sings "Blue Moon Of Kentucky." It doesn't go over well with the crowd, which does not approve of his take on traditional country music. The Opry's talent director, Jim Denny, reportedly tells Presley he should go back to driving a truck. Elvis swears never to return.
                                                           1977 — After a plot is uncovered to steal Presley's body, it is moved from its Memphis, Tennessee, mausoleum to its final resting place in the Meditation Garden at Graceland.
                                                           2002 — Twenty-five years after his death, an Elvis album reaches #1 in 17 countries, including the United States, when Elv1s — 30 No. 1 Hits debuts.

October 3, 1901 — The Victor Talking Machine Company is created in Camden, New Jersey, out of the Berliner Gramophone Company (which produced the flat 78 r.p.m. discs invented by owner Emile Berliner) and Eldridge Johnson's Consolidated Talking Machine Company (which made machines for playing the discs). The new company becomes the major force in the fledgling record industry, assuring the ascendancy of the disk format over the cylinder. It is purchased in 1927 by the Radio Corporation of America and becomes RCA Victor.
                   1961 — The Beach Boys record their first single, "Surfin'," at World Pacific studios in Los Angeles. It peaks at just #75 in winter 1962 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart on the small Candix label, but the group's fortunes improve when they move to Capitol Records later that year.
 October 5, 1958 — Cliff Richard and The Shadows perform their first concert, appearing on a bill with the Kalin Twins ("When," 1958) and Eddie Calvert, the Man with the Golden Trumpet ("Oh Mein Papa," 1953) at Victoria Hall in Hanley, England.
                   1959 — The Miracles chart for the first time with "Bad Girl," but reach only #93 pop and don't appear on the R&B chart. Fourteen months later, they are at or near the top of both charts with "Shop Around."
  1978 — Dolly Parton becomes the first country music singer to pose for Playboy. She keeps her costume on.
 October 7, 1952 — The Philadelphia teenage dance show Bandstand debuts on WFIL-TV, hosted by Bob Horn. His tenure ends in 1956 when he's fired after his arrest for drunk driving. WFIL Radio disc jockey Dick Clark takes over and the program is eventually renamed American Bandstand when it goes nationwide on the ABC-TV network in 1957.

October 8, 1957 — Jerry Lee Lewis records his biggest hit, "Great Balls Of Fire," at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee.

                    1962 — Little Richard, who gave up show business for the ministry in 1957, returns to rock with a European tour after being coaxed by a concert promoter who tells him his records sell well there. The tour includes Sam Cooke, Billy Preston, and the fledgling Beatles, who open for him on some of the dates.
                    1985 — Richard is seriously injured when he falls asleep driving and crashes a car into a telephone pole in West Hollywood, California. The accident nearly kills him and his right leg is so badly broken it requires two operations to repair. He credits God with saving his life and continues to preach.