Calendar Search Results: y o u t u b e r
October 28, 1961 Construction begins on Shea Stadium in New York City, musically significant as the location of the first stadium rock concert in America: The Beatles in 1965.
October 26, 1961 Bob Dylan signs with Columbia Records, his first recording contract. Behind the deal is famed Columbia A&R man John Hammond, who is impressed by Dylan's songwriting talents, unique voice and harmonica playing.
October 25, 1961 Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, who haven't seen each other since primary school, run into each other at the Dartford train station in England - Keith is on his way to Sidcup Art College; Mick is headed to the London School of Economics. Noticing the Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry albums Mick is carrying, Keith strikes up a conversation. They later form The Rolling Stones.
October 22, 1961 Chubby Checker performs a medley of "The Twist" and "Let's Twist Again" on TV's Ed Sullivan Show, sparking chart revivals for both tunes ("The Twist" even returns to #1).
October 18, 1961 Wynton Marsalis, jazz trumpeter, composer and teacher, is born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Music for Blood on the Fields, a three-and-a-half hour jazz oratorio telling the story of a couple finding freedom from slavery.
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.
October 4, 1961 Alvin & The Chipmunks, who already have #1 hits with "The Chipmunk Song" and "Witch Doctor," get their own TV show on CBS called The Alvin Show.
September 29, 1961 The New York Times publishes a glowing review of a Bob Dylan performance, giving the 20-year-old upstart his first press in a major publication.More
August 25, 1961 Billy Ray Cyrus is born in Flatwoods, Kentucky. The "Achy Breaky Heart" singer is also known as dad to Hannah Montana alum Miley Cyrus.
August 12, 1961 Roy Hay (guitarist/keyboardist for Culture Club) is born in Southend, Essex, England.
July 29, 1961 Dick Clark presents his very first Caravan of Stars revue at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey, featuring The Jive Five, The Shirelles, and Clarence "Frogman" Henry.
July 26, 1961 Singer-songwriter Gary Cherone is born in Malden, Massachusetts. Best known for his work in the band Extreme, he joins Van Halen for one album: Van Halen III, released in 1997.
June 18, 1961 Would-be riders of the Hudson Belle, a popular excursion boat that travels up and down the Hudson River, break into a stampede after learning that some of them are holding fraudulent tickets. The next day, a young Bob Dylan hears about the story and writes "Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues."
June 18, 1961 Alison Moyet is born Geneviève Alison Jane Moyet in Billericay, Essex, England. After singing in blues bands, she teams with Vince Clarke to form Yazoo, which has hits with "Only You" and "Situation." In 1984 she puts out her first solo album, Alf, which goes to #1 in the UK.
June 14, 1961 Culture Club lead singer Boy George is born George Alan O'Dowd in Eltham, London, England. He starts wearing makeup and women's clothes in secondary school, a look he adapts with Culture Club to provide a striking visual presence that gets lots of attention on MTV. The band has a run of hits in the early '80s that includes "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?," "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" and "Karma Chameleon."
June 14, 1961 Patsy Cline gets in a nasty car accident in Nashville, when she is thrown through the windshield. She is hospitalized for about a month, during which time she is visited by the woman who will become her protégé: Loretta Lynn.
May 31, 1961 Jimi Hendrix enlists in the Army and is stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, as a member of the 101st Airborne Division. He signs up for three years, but is honorably discharged a little over a year later, ostensibly because he hurt his ankle in a parachute jump, but really because he is a lousy soldier, constantly thinking about or playing his guitar.
May 29, 1961 Melissa Etheridge is born in Leavenworth, Kansas. Her 1988 self-titled debut album makes an impact with songs like "Bring Me Some Water" and "Like the Way I Do," but her fourth album, Yes I Am, takes her to a new level in 1993 with the hits "I'm the Only One" and "Come to My Window."
May 19, 1961 The Everly Brothers form their Calliope Records label (its first release is Don performing "Pomp And Circumstance" as "Adrian Kimberly").
May 12, 1961 Billy Duffy (guitarist for The Cult) is born in Hulme, Manchester, England.
April 13, 1961 At the third annual Grammy Awards, the comedy album The Button-Down Mind Of Bob Newhart wins Album Of The Year, beating out albums by Frank Sinatra, Harry Belafonte and Nat King Cole. The Grammys, which have yet to introduce a rock category, choose another comedy album for the award two years later: The First Family by Vaughn Meader.
April 12, 1961 Ray Charles is the big winner at the third annual Grammy Awards, winning four trophies, including the award for Best Male Vocal for "Georgia On My Mind."
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
April 3, 1961 Eddie Murphy is born in New York City. In 1985, he has a hit with "Party All The Time," written and produced by Rick James. Murphy also makes the charts with the novelty song "Put Your Mouth On Me" and the Michael Jackson collaboration "Whatzupwitu."
March 25, 1961 Elvis Presley plays a benefit for the USA Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, which turns out to be his last concert for eight years as he shifts his focus to movies.
March 11, 1961 Big Country guitarist Bruce Watson is born in Timmins, Ontario, Canada, but soon moves to Scotland with his family, where the group is formed.
March 10, 1961 Jeff Barry, later half of the famous Brill Building songwriting team Barry-Greenwich, lands his first big gig with a publisher, signing to Trinity Music.
February 16, 1961 Andy Taylor (guitarist for Duran Duran) is born in Cullercoats, Northumberland, England. He later joins supergroup The Power Station while Duran Duran are on hiatus. The success of his new venture persuades him to leave the band he helped form as a teenager.
February 13, 1961 Henry Rollins is born Henry Garfield in Washington, DC. A die-hard punk fan from an early age, he becomes Black Flag's lead singer in 1981. When that group dissolves in 1986, he launches the Rollins Band and builds a second career as a writer, spoken-word artist, and actor (catch him on Season 2 of Sons of Anarchy).
February 11, 1961 The front page headline in Melody Maker reads: £80,000 Lost On Pirate Juke Boxes. This is a report of a nationwide swoop on bars, cafés, restaurants, clubs, amusement arcades and public houses.
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