Events in 1958
- Elvis Presley arrived at Fort Hood, Texas, and began basic and advanced military training with the 2nd Armored Division. He was assigned to Company A, 2nd Medium Tank Battalion, 37th Armor, and remained at Fort Hood for about six months before being transferred to Germany.
- Billboard combined the existing sales, jukebox, and radio charts into the unified Hot 100. The first song to top the new chart was “Poor Little Fool” by Ricky Nelson.
- “Splish Splash” by Bobby Darin reached No. 3 on the U.S. chart.
- Ian Broudie, English singer, songwriter, musician, and producer best known for The Lightning Seeds, was born in Liverpool.
- Ricky Nelson became the first artist to top the newly created U.S. Billboard Hot 100 with “Poor Little Fool.”
- The Coasters remained at No. 1 on the R&B chart for an eleventh week with “Searchin'.”
- Bruce Dickinson, anglický zpěvák, skladatel a frontman heavy metalové skupiny Iron Maiden, se narodil ve Worksopu v Nottinghamshire v Anglii. V roce 1981 se stal zpěvákem Iron Maiden.
- Elvis Presley absolvoval vojenský výcvik ve Fort Hood v Texasu v rámci pokročilého výcviku obsluhy tanků u 2. obrněné divize.
- Bing Crosby and his second wife Kathryn had their first child together, Harry Lillis Crosby III.
- Chris Foreman, guitarist for Madness, was born in London, England.
- Cliff Richard signed a recording contract with EMI Records that would last for the next 45 years. He also began a four-week engagement at Butlins Holiday Camp in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, as Cliff Richard and the Drifters. His debut single “Move It” followed in the UK on August 29, reaching No. 2.
- Bill Haley attempted to follow up his hit “Skinny Minnie” with “Lean Jean.” The recording reached only No. 67 on the Billboard Hot 100.
- Elvis Presley's “Hard Headed Woman” became the first rock'n'roll single to receive RIAA Gold certification. At the time, a Gold single required documented US sales of at least one million copies.
- Elvis Presley was granted emergency leave from Fort Hood and arrived in Memphis on August 12 to be with his seriously ill mother, Gladys, who was hospitalized at Baptist Memorial Hospital with acute hepatitis. After her death on August 14 and her funeral on August 15, his leave was extended. He remained in Memphis until reporting back to Fort Hood on August 24, visiting his mother's grave during his leave.
- During his military service in Memphis, Elvis spent most of the day and evening at the hospital with his mother, Gladys Presley.
- Northern Irish singer and frontman of The Undertones Feargal Sharkey was born. As a solo artist, he later reached No. 1 on the UK chart with “A Good Heart”.
- While staying at home at Graceland, he received a telephone call from his father telling him that his mother Gladys had died. She died at the age of 46. At the time, he was a private in the US Army stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, and was home on emergency leave. At her funeral two days later, he was so overcome with grief that he could not stand and had to be supported. More than 500 police officers supervised the service to keep the enormous crowd from gaining access.
- At the age of 21, Buddy Holly married Maria Elena Santiago in a private ceremony at his parents' home in Lubbock, Texas.
- At his mother Gladys Presley's funeral at Graceland, Elvis was so devastated that friends had to hold him up to keep him on his feet. More than 500 police officers supervised the funeral because of the huge crowd of fans. Fans sent more than 100,000 letters and postcards, approximately 500 telegrams and more than 200 floral arrangements.
- The father of Elvis's longtime friend and Memphis Mafia member Red West died.
- After being drafted into the US Army, Elvis Presley was assigned to the 3rd Armored Division in Friedberg, West Germany.
- Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone was born in Bay City, Michigan.
- Belinda Carlisle, co-founder and lead singer of The Go-Go's, was born in Los Angeles, California. She also became famous for solo hits such as “Heaven Is a Place on Earth”.
- Domenico Modugno's Italian classic "Nel Blu, Dipinto di Blu (Volare)" reached No. 1 on the newly established US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It spent a total of 5 non-consecutive weeks at the top, becoming the first foreign-language song to conquer the chart and ending up as Billboard's Song of the Year.
- Elvis was granted another five days of leave while serving in the military in Germany. During his stay in Memphis, Texas DJ Eddie Fadal visited him, and police took Elvis on a helicopter flight over the city to entertain and cheer him up.
- Perez Prado's song “Patricia” was awarded a gold record by the Recording Industry Association of America. It was the last recording to reach No. 1 on the separate Billboard Jockeys and Top 100 charts before they were merged into the Hot 100.
- Ricky Nelson recorded the song “Lonesome Town” at Master Recorders in Hollywood, California.
- Guitarist Ian Mitchell of the Bay City Rollers was born in Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland. In 1976, he joined the group at the age of just 17. Bay City Rollers had the 1975 UK No. 1 hit “Bye Bye Baby”, 11 more UK Top 20 singles, and the 1976 U.S. No. 1 hit “Saturday Night”.
- The Kalin Twins reached No. 1 on the British singles chart with their version of “When”. The song also topped the charts in France and the Netherlands and reached the Top 5 in North America that year.
- British-American guitarist and songwriter Vernon Reid was born in London, England. He grew up in Brooklyn and later founded the rock band Living Colour, in which he serves as guitarist and principal songwriter. The group became famous for its 1988 debut album “Vivid” and the song “Cult of Personality”, which won the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1990. In 1991, they had the UK No. 12 hit “Love Rears Its Ugly Head”.
- Ian Mitchell, a member of the Bay City Rollers, was born.
- The Staten Island group The Elegants reached number one on the US singles chart with “Little Star”, a reworking of the melody of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”. For the next 18 months they promoted the song through television appearances and concerts, but their subsequent recordings “Please Believe Me”, “True Love Affair” and “Little Boy Blue” failed to repeat its success.
- Tommy Edwards moved from number 96 to number 40 on the US chart with “It's All In The Game”.
- English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams died in London at the age of 85. He became known for works such as “A Pastoral Symphony” and “The Lark Ascending”.
- The Alan Freed's Big Beat Show revue began its run at the Fox Theatre in Brooklyn, New York. Frankie Avalon, Jimmy Clanton, Chuck Berry, Bobby Freeman, Bill Haley and His Comets, and The Elegants performed. The program deliberately brought together Black and white performers and brought rock and roll to a large mixed teenage audience at a time of strong racial segregation in the United States.
- Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, and was later known as the "King of Pop". He was a singer, songwriter, and member of Jackson 5 and The Jacksons, as well as a successful solo artist. Guinness World Records recognized him as the most successful entertainer of all time. His music videos for "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller" helped break down racial barriers and transformed the music video into an art and promotional form. His 1982 album "Thriller" is the best-selling studio album of all time. Jackson died on June 25, 2009, at the age of 50 after suffering cardiac arrest at his home in Beverly Hills.
- English drummer and keyboard player Martin Jackson was born. He became known as a member of Magazine and Swing Out Sister. Magazine had the UK No. 41 single “Shot By Both Sides” in 1978, while Swing Out Sister had the UK No. 4 single “Breakout” in 1986.
- Ricky Nelson began his concert career with a performance at Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Over two days, his concerts set an attendance record for the venue, drawing 44,221 people. His fee was $10,000, and the opening acts were comedian Henny Youngman and The Four Preps.
- Fritz McIntyre of Simply Red was born. In 1986, the group had the US number-one and UK number-two hit “Holding Back The Years” and achieved five number-one albums in the UK.
- American musician Jerry Augustyniak was born in Sloan, New York. He became best known as the longtime drummer of the rock band 10,000 Maniacs.
- Jerry Butler & the Impressions made their first national television appearance on American Bandstand.
- The Betty Freezor Show on WBTV-TV in Charlotte, North Carolina, became the first television program to be broadcast in color from videotape.
- English singer Douglas Trendle, known as Buster Bloodvessel, was born in London. He became famous as the frontman of Bad Manners, who had the 1981 UK hit "Can Can", which reached No. 3. He took his stage name from a bus conductor played by Ivor Cutler in The Beatles' 1967 film "Magical Mystery Tour".
- Georgia Gibbs performed "The Hula-Hoop Song" on The Ed Sullivan Show, helping to fuel the craze surrounding the hula hoop. Twenty-five million plastic hoops were sold in less than four months, and sales exceeded 100 million within two years.
- Forty-year-old Georgia Gibbs performed “The Hula-Hoop Song” on The Ed Sullivan Show, helping fuel the hula-hoop craze that swept North America. The recording reached No. 32 on the Billboard Pop chart and was her final Top 40 entry. It followed a successful run of 1950s hits including “Kiss of Fire” (No. 1 in 1952), “Tweedle Dee” (No. 2 in 1955) and “Dance With Me Henry” (No. 1 in 1955).
- Elvis Presley completed his military service at Fort Hood in Texas, where he spent six months training with tanks as part of the 2nd Armored Division.
- Elvis Presley completed his basic and advanced military training at Fort Hood, Texas, and departed with his unit on September 19 for Germany, where he continued his service with the 3rd Armored Division.
- The USS Randall arrived in Bremerhaven, West Germany, where more than 1,500 fans were waiting for Elvis Presley and where he gave his first European autograph. He then traveled with his unit by military train to Friedberg, where he joined the US Army’s 3rd Armored Division; his time in Germany lasted until early 1960.
- Little Anthony and the Imperials recorded Neil Sedaka’s song “The Diary”. The songwriter was dissatisfied with their version and decided to record it himself, giving him his first chart hit.
- Painter and multi-instrumentalist Martin Cooper was born in Liverpool. He is best known as a keyboardist and member of the British electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.
- Tommy Edwards reached No. 1 on the US Billboard chart with “It’s All in the Game”.
- During an official U.S. Army press conference at Ray Kaserne barracks in Friedberg, West Germany, 23-year-old Elvis Presley was asked by reporters whether he feared that fans would forget him during his two-year military service. Presley admitted that it was possible but said that he had already achieved success. Meanwhile, his management arranged for pre-recorded singles to be released regularly, keeping him on the charts during his service.
- American pop singer and songwriter Robbie Nevil was born on October 2, 1958, in Los Angeles. He became known for the hits “C'est la Vie,” “Dominoes,” and “Wot's It to Ya” and later worked as a songwriter and producer of music for Disney projects such as The Cheetah Girls, High School Musical, and Hannah Montana.
- 1958?lang=en" class="rmh-link">The Biggest Show Of Stars 1958 tour opened at Worcester Auditorium in Worcester, Massachusetts, as the fall continuation of the tour. Performers included Buddy Holly, Frankie Avalon, Bobby Darin, The Olympics, Dion & The Belmonts, Bobby Freeman, The Elegants, Jimmy Clanton, The Danleers, Duane Eddy, Clyde McPhatter, and The Coasters.
- American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Barbara Kooyman, also known as Barbara K. MacDonald and Barbara K, was born in Wausau, Wisconsin. She co-founded the duo Timbuk 3 with her then-husband Pat MacDonald; their best-known song was The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades.
- During his military service in Germany, after arriving at the hotel in Bad Homburg, Elvis had dinner with Vernon, Minnie, Red West, and Lamar Fike. A crowd of fans gathered outside the hotel.
- Cliff Richard and The Shadows played their first concert together at Victoria Hall in Hanley, England, alongside the Kalin Twins and Eddie Calvert. Their collaboration lasted ten years, until 1968.
- Billboard published an article warning that the payola scandal, involving secret payments by record companies to disc jockeys for playing their records, was rapidly getting out of control. The scandal soon ended the career of pioneering rock'n'roll radio personality Alan Freed.
- “Rockin' Robin” by Bobby Day reached No. 1 on the rhythm and blues chart.
- During his military service in Germany, Elvis Presley received permission to live off base with his family. The Presleys moved into the Hilberts Park Hotel in Bad Nauheim, and Elvis left for the base every morning and returned at 6:00 p.m.
- Johnny Mathis released his first Christmas album, Merry Christmas. The album later became one of the most successful Christmas recordings, receiving 5× Multi-Platinum certification and selling more than 5 million copies.
- “Tom Dooley” by The Kingston Trio climbed from No. 83 to No. 37 on the U.S. chart.
- Tim Mooney, American drummer, multi-instrumentalist, producer and sound engineer, was born in Las Vegas. He became known for his work with The Sleepers, Toiling Midgets, Negative Trend and American Music Club.
- Georgia Gibbs performed “The Hula-Hoop Song” on The Ed Sullivan Show, helping to further popularize the hula hoop.
- Elvis Presley was staying at the Grunwald Hotel in Bad Nauheim, Germany, during his military service.
- Al Jourgensen, singer with Ministry and Revolting Cocks, was born.
- Eddie Cochran recorded the classic song "C'mon Everybody," which became a 1959 UK No. 6 single for Cochran and a 1979 hit for The Sex Pistols.
- Eddie Cochran recorded the song “C'mon Everybody” for Liberty Records. It was released as the B-side of the single “Don't Ever Let Me Go.” Radio DJs soon flipped the record and favored the energetic, rebellious song. It became Cochran's final U.S. Top 40 hit, reaching number 35.
- Elvis Presley was serving in the military in Germany and staying at the Grunwald Hotel in Bad Nauheim.
- American country singer and songwriter Tanya Tucker was born on October 10, 1958, in Seminole, Texas. She became famous with her debut hit “Delta Dawn,” released in 1972 when she was 13. Her other successful songs include “What's Your Mama's Name” and “Blood Red and Goin' Down.” She reached number one on the U.S. country chart ten times.
- Elvis Presley's album King Creole reached No. 2 on the US album chart.
- Frank Sinatra's album Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely reached number one on the US album chart.
- The single "Tears on My Pillow" reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Little Anthony and the Imperials' biggest hit. Over the following seven years, the group scored six more hits, including "Goin' Out of My Head" and "Hurt So Bad", both of which reached the Top 10.
- Billboard magazine published an article about the vocal group The Teddy Bears, noting that 18-year-old Phil Spector, writer and arranger of their hit “To Know Him Is to Love Him,” was studying to become a court stenographer. The same issue featured the Best Sellers in Stores chart for the last time, as retail sales data had been incorporated into the new Hot 100 chart.