1952 Music History: Key Events, Band Formations & Album Releases
Acts Formed
The Checkers
New York, New York, USA
Doo Wop
The Crew-Cuts
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Doo Wop
The Du Droppers
New York, New York, USA
Rhythm & Blues
The Gallahads
Seattle, Washington, USA
Rhythm & Blues
Gladys Knight
& the Pips
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Rhythm & Blues
The McGuire Sisters
Middletown, Ohio
Pop
March 7th
The NME (New Musical Express) is launched as a newspaper in the UK.
March 21st
Alan Freed's Moondog Coronation Ball, the first significant rock and roll concert, takes place in Cleveland, Ohio. The show was shut down during its first act due to a riot caused by extraordinary demand for tickets.
April 1952
Bud Powell releases The Amazing Bud Powell.
October 7th
The first Bandstand is aired in the US. The television show, later renamed American Bandstand, would platform emerging talent until 1989, and make the harder edges of rock and roll more palatable to a mainstream audience by enforcing strict dress codes.
November 14th
The NME publishes the first ever UK singles chart. 'Here in My Heart' by Al Martino holds the top spot.
1952
Billie Holiday releases Billie Holiday Sings.
1952
Louis Armstrong releases Satchmo Serenades.
1952
Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespire release Bird and Diz.
1952
The Gibson Les Paul electric guitar is released to compete with Fender.
1952
The first programmable electronic music synthesizer, the RCA Mark 1, is invented by Harry F. Olson and Herbert Belar.
1952
The Payola Scandal. Independent labels begin paying DJs for radio airplay to compete with the majors. The practice was exposed in 1960 to great controversy.
