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ROCK MUSIC TIMELINERock • Pop • Soul • History
ROCK MUSIC
TIMELINE
1959
- An Iowa plane crash kills three of rock music's biggest stars, Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper.
- Tamla Records, which eventually includes the Motown record label, is founded in Detroit.
- A fresh group of teen idols grab the spotlight, while instrumental hits continue to impact the charts.
- Congressional hearings investigating "payola" begin, with pioneering rock & roll DJ Alan Freed targeted.
- Rock and Roll accounts for 43 percent of all records sold as the decade comes to a close.
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