Artists Rendition of the Haymarket Affair

The Haymarket affair (also known as the Haymarket massacre or Haymarket riot)
was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at what began as a peaceful labor
rally on Tuesday May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago. Workers were
striking for an eight-hour work day when an unknown person threw a dynamite
bomb at police as they tried to disperse the demonstration. The bomb and
resulting gunfire left seven police officers and at least four civilians dead,
and many others wounded. The confrontation is generally considered
significant as the origin of international May Day labor observances.

Haymarket Martyrs Monument in Forest Home Cemetery, Forest
Park, ILL.

 
Dick Dale

The Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on students during an anti-
Vietnam war protest at Kent State University. Four students were killed
and nine others were wounded.

Gene Vincent (center) and the Blue Caps in the recording studio

Gene Vincent first performed “Be-Bop-A-Lula” on a radio show in Norfolk, Virginia
during which time a demo was recorded and passed on to Capitol Records, who
were looking for a singer to rival Elvis Presley. Vincent and the Blue Caps recorded
the song for Capitol in Nashville. It was released in June 1956 and peaked at #7 on
the Billboard pop music chart, #8 on the R&B chart, and also made the top ten on
the C&W Best Seller chart reaching the #5 spot. By the following year “Be-Bop-A-
Lula” had sold over two million copies.