Music News For The Week 

November 28, 1960 — Elvis Presley's revival of "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" — written by vaudevillians Roy Turk and Lou Handman in 1926 and an Al Jolson hit the following year — reaches #1 in the U.S. for the first of six weeks. It had topped the U.K. Singles Chart earlier in the month. Presley's manager, Col. Tom Parker, who normally didn't become involved in music selection, had suggested the tune because it was a favorite of his wife.

November 29, 1979 — Rockabilly singer Ray Smith, whose fortunes soared with his smash hit "Rockin' Little Angel" in 1959, commits suicide by gun at age 45. According to his Rockabilly Hall of Fame profile, "there were to be no more hits and he was quickly forgotten. He still kept his datebook full of gigs, though, and got many good spots in Las Vegas and Canada. This work was steady enough to keep him afloat for the remainder of his life, but he brought that to a premature end in 1979."

                               2001 — Former Beatle George Harrison ("My Sweet Lord," 1970) dies of cancer at age 58 at Paul McCartney's Los Angeles home. His final hours are spent with his wife, son, and Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar at his side.November 30, 1956 — The Jive Bombers record their immortal version of "Bad Boy" (#36 pop, #7 R&B), based on the 1936 composition “Brown Gal” by Louis Armstrong’s second wife, Lilian. It is an update of their 1952 version and becomes their first hit, ending a 30-year drought for lead vocalist Clarence Palmer, who had been performing since the 1920s.December 1, 1957 — Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Sam Cooke, and the Rays all perform for the first time on U.S national television when they appear on the popular Ed Sullivan Show over CBS-TV.

                            1958 — Rickey Nelson (right) becomes the first rock 'n' roller to appear on the cover of Life magazine, the first major publication to use the phrase "teen idol" to describe its cover subject. His single earlier that summer, "Poor Little Fool," was the first #1 hit on newly-minted Billboard Hot 100 chart.


December 2, 1961 — The Beach Boys' debut single, "Surfin'," gets its first airplay on KFWB Radio in Los Angeles. Issued by the small independent label Candix, it peaks at only 75 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in early 1962, but after Capitol Records signs them, they reach #14 that summer with "Surfin' Safari."
 

Sources:
Eight Days a Week (Ron Smith)
On This Day in Black Music History (Jay Warner)
Chronology of American Popular Music, 1900-2000 (Frank Hoffman)
calendar.songfacts.com
onthisday.com/music