15 OCTOBER
In Music History
1969 Famed blues singer Howlin' Wolf suffers his first non-fatal heart attack.
1969 John Fogerty is inspired to write "Effigy" after President Richard Nixon casually dismisses millions of protesters who show up worldwide for the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam. "Effigy" becomes the final track on Willy and the Poor Boys and is notable for being the lone song on the album that is not upbeat.
1968 Stevie Wonder releases "For Once In My Life."
1966 "Reach Out I'll Be There" by The Four Tops hits #1 in America.
1965 Jimi Hendrix signs his first recording contract. The 3-year deal with PPX productions gives him one dollar plus one percent of his royalties on his records. The deal causes major legal issues in the years to come.
1965 Mike Love of The Beach Boys marries his second wife, Suzanne Celeste Belcher, in Las Vegas.
1964 British singer Screaming Lord Sutch runs for the English Parliament. He goes on to lose 40 elections (mostly by-elections).
1963 The Rip Chords record "Hey Little Cobra."
1961 Elvis Presley records "For The Millionth And The Last Time," "Good Luck Charm," and "Anything That's Part Of You."
1959 Jim Reeves records "He'll Have To Go."
1958 Jackie Wilson records "Lonely Teardrops."
1957 Elvis Presley's first Christmas album, titled Elvis' Christmas Album, is released. It goes on to become the best-selling holiday album of all time by a wide margin.
1956 Little Richard records "Good Golly Miss Molly."
1953 Tito Jackson (of The Jacksons) is born Tariano Adaryll Jackson in Gary, Indiana.
1951 Frank DiMino (lead singer for Angel) is born in Washington, D.C.
Rick Nelson Gets Booed At The Garden Party
1971Rick Nelson (formerly Ricky) plays the "Rock & Roll Spectacular" concert at Madison Square Garden. When he plays some newer songs, the hit-hungry audience boos. Nelson writes the song "Garden Party" about the experience, and it becomes a hit, reviving his career.
Read more15 OCTOBER
Featured Events
2014 At the St. Louis club Blueberry Hill, Chuck Berry performs for the last time. The rocker, who dies in 2017, played monthly gigs at the venue starting in 1996.
2003 The Louis Armstrong House Museum opens its doors to the public. Located in the Corona neighborhood of Queens, New York, the home was the longtime residence of the late singer. He and wife Lucille Wilson moved in as newlyweds in 1943 and stayed until Armstrong's death in 1971.
1995 Paul McCartney and his wife Linda appear on an episode of The Simpsons where they help Lisa become a vegetarian. Paul explains that if you play "Maybe I'm Amazed" backwards, you'll hear a recipe for lentil soup.
1977 Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life" hits #1 for the first of 10 weeks, the longest consecutive chart run in the history of the Hot 100 at the time.
1964 Cole Porter dies of kidney failure at age 73. He had suffered with chronic pain since the late-'30s when he was severely injured in a horseback-riding accident, leading to years of operations and an eventual amputation of his right leg.
1960 The famous lineup of The Beatles records together for the first time when Ringo Starr replaces an ailing Pete Best as the group backs up Rory Storm and the Hurricanes guitarist Wally Eymond on a recording of George Gershwin's "Summertime."
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