February 1, 1964 Indiana Governor Matthew Walsh bans the Kingsmen's version of "Louie Louie," calling it "pornographic" and making (literally) a federal case out of it.More
January 3, 1964 A month before The Beatles make their iconic live debut in the US on the Ed Sullivan Show, Americans get their first look at the Fab Four when Jack Paar shows a film clip of the band performing "She Loves You" on his TV show. More
January 1, 1964 BBC-TV premieres a new musical variety show entitled Top Of The Pops, kicked off by The Rolling Stones' "I Wanna Be Your Man," followed by lip-synced performances from Dusty Springfield, The Dave Clark Five, The Hollies and The Swinging Blue Jeans.More
December 26, 1963 Drummer Lars Ulrich is born in Gentofte, Denmark. Transfixed by seeing Deep Purple in concert at age 9, he makes music his life when he moves to America in 1980 at 17. A year later, he forms Metallica with singer/guitarist James Hetfield.
December 7, 1963 The Singing Nun's "Dominique" hits #1 for the first of four weeks.More
November 22, 1963 Phil Spector (who is Jewish) releases A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector, which he worked on all summer with his best musicians. US president John F. Kennedy is killed the same day, and the album suffers dismal sales, although some of the songs, including The Ronettes' version of "Frosty The Snowman," later become holiday favorites.
November 8, 1963 Dick Clark begins his latest "Caravan of Stars" tour in Teaneck, New Jersey, featuring The Ronettes, Little Eva, Bobby Vee, Brian Hyland, and the Dovells.
November 4, 1963 Newsweek runs a story on Bob Dylan insinuating he stole the song "Blowin' In The Wind" from a high school student. Dylan never comments on it, and the rumor slowly grows into an urban legend.More
November 2, 1963 The female UK duo The Caravelles reach the Hot 100 at #84 with "You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry," starting a run of 38 years when at least one British act is on the American chart.
September 16, 1963 The Beach Boys release their third album, Surfer Girl. Five of the tracks have the word "surf" in the title.
August 22, 1963 Myra Ellen Amos is born to a religious family in Newton, North Carolina. She changes her name to Tori and becomes an alt-rock icon of the '90s with empowering tunes about women, right-wing politics, and religious oppression.More
August 10, 1963 Stevie Wonder's "Fingertips (Part 2)" becomes the first live recording to hit #1 in the US. It holds the position for three weeks.More
June 12, 1963 Along with "Little Deuce Coupe," The Beach Boys record "Surfer Girl" at Western Recorders in Hollywood. They first recorded the song in February 1962 with terrible results.
May 17, 1963 The very first Monterey Folk Festival begins at the Monterey Fairgrounds in California. Over the weekend, Bob Dylan makes his first West Coast performance, Jerry Garcia's band wins an amateur competition, and Janis Joplin draws a crowd on the second stage.More
April 8, 1963 Julian Lennon is born John Charles Julian Lennon, the first child of John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia. Imbued with many of his father's talents for music, he releases his debut album, Valotte, in 1984 with the hit "Too Late for Goodbyes"
March 5, 1963 Having ironically just finished a tribute concert for the family of a country music DJ who'd been killed in a car crash, country legend Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins fly back to Nashville, with Cline's manager, Randy Hughes, at the controls. Bad weather postpones the flight an extra day, however, and, anxious to get going, Hughes phones his wife in Nashville, who informs him that the weather is clearing there. Unfortunately, she is actually in the storm's eye, and when the four proceed on, Hughes, who is not rated "on instruments," loses all visibility and attempts to land on a nearby highway. Instead, he skirts some trees, which bring the plane down in a nearby swamp. Cline, her other fellow stars, and Hughes are all killed in the accident.
December 28, 1962 Michel Petrucciani is born in Orange, France. Despite suffering from a genetic condition that stunts his growth and leaves him with brittle bones, he becomes a renowned jazz pianist.
October 24, 1962 In the thick of the Cuban Missile Crisis, James Brown records his electrifying stage show for the album Live at the Apollo.More
August 23, 1962 Happy Mondays frontman Shaun Ryder is born in Lancashire, England. He likens his lyrics to comic-strip stories, with different narratives pieced together. You'll hear it on songs like "Kinky Afro" and "Loose Fit."
August 18, 1962 The Beatles perform at the 17th annual fete for the Birkenhead, England, Horticultural Society at the local Hulme Hall, a gig notable as the first time Ringo Starr will play onstage with the band. Ringo had prepared for two hours with the group beforehand.
July 15, 1962 Héctor Angulo, a Cuban student attending the Manhattan School of Music, plays the song "Guantanamera" for Pete Seeger during the Folk Festival of the Catskills at Camp Woodland in Phoenicia, New York, where Angulo is working as a counselor for the summer. Seeger learns the song and adds it to his repertoire, introducing it to American audiences.
April 10, 1962 Stu Sutcliffe, original bass guitarist for The Beatles, dies at age 21 of a brain aneurysm.
February 7, 1962 Garth Brooks is born Troyal Garth Brooks in Tulsa, Oklahoma; he's raised in Yukon, Oklahoma.More
January 20, 1962 Dick Dale's guitar instrumental "Let's Go Trippin'" hits #60, becoming the first Surf Rock song to chart. Many groups, including The Beach Boys, subsequently cover the song.More
January 1, 1962 The romantic comedy If A Man Answers, starring real-life husband and wife Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee, debuts in US theaters. Darin writes and performs the hit title theme.
December 18, 1961 "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," with a chorus in poorly translated Zulu, tops the Hot 100 for The Tokens.More
October 18, 1961 Mirisch Pictures releases the film version of the Broadway musical West Side Story, starring Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, and Rita Moreno. The soundtrack features music by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim - including the song "Somewhere," later recorded by Tom Waits, Aretha Franklin, Josh Groban, Kylie Minogue, and others.
July 8, 1961 Toby Keith is born Toby Keith Covel in Clinton, Oklahoma. He works in the oil fields and for a rodeo company before launching his music career in his 30s. His pre-music life informs many of his songs, including "Beer For My Horses," inspired by his rodeo days.
April 5, 1961 On The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet episode "A Question of Suits and Ties," Ricky Nelson sings "Travelin' Man" in what could be considered the first music video.More
March 12, 1961 Elvis Presley records "I'm Coming Home," "Gently," "In Your Arms," "Give Me The Right," "I Feel So Bad," "It's A Sin," "I Want You With Me," "There's Always Me"
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