Elvis Presley’s “I Forgot to Remember to Forget” reached No. 2 on the Memphis record chart. After RCA Victor acquired the recording, it became his first nationally prominent release, spending 39 weeks on Billboard’s country-and-western chart and reaching No. 1 there in February 1956 as well as No. 4 on the Most Played by Jockeys listing.

Chicago radio station WAIT began a twelve-hour Elvis Presley marathon at 7 a.m., repeatedly playing 33 of his recordings. Callers described postponing dental appointments, laundry, and even work to keep listening, while one mother said her normally restless six-month-old slept peacefully throughout Presley’s music.

After arguing with her father, Connie Francis reluctantly recorded the 34-year-old standard “Who’s Sorry Now” in two takes at New York’s Brunswick Studios. Though she disliked the song, it became her breakthrough the following spring, reaching No. 4 in America and No. 1 in Britain.

At an Army press conference in Friedberg, West Germany, 23-year-old Elvis Presley was asked whether fans might forget him during his two-year service. He admitted the possibility but said he could not complain because he had already enjoyed success; meanwhile, a supply of previously recorded singles kept him on the charts throughout his deployment.

East German authorities jailed fifteen teenagers who marched through Leipzig shouting support for Elvis Presley and mocking officially approved local music. Treating the rock-and-roll demonstration as capitalist subversion, the government imposed sentences ranging from six months to more than four years.

Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs entered the U.S. chart with “Stay,” which went on to No. 1. Running only 1 minute 36 seconds, it remains the shortest chart-topper in Billboard Hot 100 history.

The McCoys topped Billboard’s singles chart with “Hang On Sloopy,” replacing Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction.” The record also became a British hit, peaking at No. 5.

ABC’s Shindig! presented the Who’s first American television appearance. The episode also featured Motown stars the Four Tops and Liverpool group Gerry and the Pacemakers.

California narcotics officers raided the Grateful Dead’s communal home at 710 Ashbury Street in San Francisco, seized about a pound of marijuana, and arrested eleven people. Most of the band was away; Bob Weir and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan were the only members taken into custody, alongside crew, managers, and visitors.

Motown sued Holland-Dozier-Holland for $4 million over breach of contract after the songwriting team’s year-long slowdown during a royalty and profit-sharing dispute. Prevented from working under their own names, the trio left to establish Invictus and Hot Wax and wrote new hits under aliases; the competing lawsuits were privately settled in 1977.

Bobby Darin appeared on ABC’s This Is Tom Jones, performing his folk-rock composition “Distractions” and joining Jones for a medley of “A Worried Man,” “Aquarius,” and “Let the Sunshine In.”

Pink Floyd released its fifth studio album, Atom Heart Mother, through Harvest Records in Britain. It became the band’s first UK No. 1; although it reached only No. 55 in America, steady sales eventually brought an RIAA Gold certification.

Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May” backed with “Reason to Believe” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Co-written with Martin Quittenton and inspired by Stewart’s first sexual encounter at a 1961 jazz festival, “Maggie May” later ranked No. 130 on Rolling Stone’s 2004 list of the 500 greatest songs.

John Lennon’s Imagine entered Billboard’s album chart at No. 155 and climbed to No. 1 before the month ended. Early copies included a postcard showing Lennon with a pig, parodying Paul McCartney’s photograph with a sheep on Ram.

Don Cornelius’s weekly R&B showcase Soul Train made its national television debut. The opening broadcast featured Gladys Knight and the Pips, former Temptations singer Eddie Kendricks, and Honey Cone.

Thirteen-year-old Donny Osmond took his remake of Steve Lawrence’s “Go Away Little Girl” to No. 1 on Cashbox. The RIAA certified the single Gold for one million copies shipped several days later.

John Belushi joined Joe Cocker on Saturday Night Live during “Feelin’ Alright,” performing his famously exaggerated impersonation beside the singer himself. Cocker enjoyed the joke and later quipped that Belushi portrayed Joe Cocker better than he did.

Rod Stewart’s “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” debuted at No. 81 on the Hot 100 before becoming his second American No. 1 in November and selling more than a million U.S. copies. Despite British radio bans over its suggestive lyrics, it reached No. 5 there and included whispered French vocals by Britt Ekland.

Following an apparent attempt to steal Elvis Presley’s body from Forest Hill Cemetery, the remains of Presley and his mother Gladys were transferred to the Meditation Garden at Graceland.

Gene Simmons received a Platinum award for his self-titled solo album, one of four individual Kiss-member LPs released simultaneously. Simmons’ record performed best in the United States, reaching No. 22.

John Cougar led the Hot 100 with “Jack & Diane” while “Hurts So Good” remained at No. 10 and American Fool topped the album chart. The combination made him the first solo male performer to hold the No. 1 album and single while simultaneously placing two songs in the singles Top 10.

Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett reunited with their former Genesis bandmates for a one-off benefit at the Bowl in Milton Keynes, England. The concert raised money for Gabriel’s financially troubled World of Music, Arts and Dance project, known as WOMAD.

The Everly Brothers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Between 1956 and 1967, Don and Phil Everly placed 27 singles in Billboard’s Top 40, including four No. 1 hits.

Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell entered the Billboard 200 on its way to No. 1. The album also topped the charts in Britain and Australia and ultimately sold more than 14 million copies worldwide.

John Mellencamp, 42, confirmed that he had recently suffered a mild heart attack linked to an 80-cigarette-a-day habit and cholesterol measured at 300. He stepped away from music for almost eighteen months, changed his diet, adopted a strict exercise routine, and reduced his smoking to three or four cigarettes daily.

Anne Anka filed for divorce from singer and songwriter Paul Anka after 37 years of marriage.

Kevin Spacey hosted Come Together: A Night for John Lennon’s Words and Music at Radio City Music Hall. Marc Anthony, Alanis Morissette, Moby, Stone Temple Pilots, and the Dave Matthews Band were among the performers, and the evening concluded with a collective rendition of “Give Peace a Chance.”

Billy Joel, 55, married 23-year-old culinary student Katie Lee, who was four years older than his daughter Alexa. The couple announced their separation in June 2009.

Britain’s Daily Telegraph claimed that Universal Records had offered Elvis Presley’s 17-year-old grandson Benjamin Keough $5 million for as many as five albums. Universal Music Group quickly called the widely repeated story completely false, and Keough never issued commercial music during his lifetime.

Major U.S. news organizations reported that Little Richard had suffered a heart attack at home with his family on September 30. The rock-and-roll pioneer had not performed since nearly collapsing during a Washington, D.C., concert in the summer of 2012.

Michael Jackson’s family lost its negligence lawsuit against AEG Live. A twelve-member jury concluded that the physician caring for Jackson before his planned concert tour was not unfit for the role, so the promoter had not acted negligently by hiring him.

Cher achieved the highest-charting solo album of her career when Closer to the Truth reached No. 3 in the United States. Her only higher album placement had come with Sonny Bono in 1965, when Look at Us—featuring “I Got You Babe”—reached No. 2.

Priscilla Coolidge, the 73-year-old sister of singer Rita Coolidge, and her husband Michael Seibert, 66, were found dead at their Thousand Oaks home in what police described as a murder-suicide carried out by Seibert. Priscilla had previously been married to Booker T. Jones from 1969 to 1979.

Tom Petty died at 66 from multisystem organ failure. Between 1978 and 1995 he placed sixteen singles in Billboard’s Top 40, including the Top 10 records “Don’t Do Me Like That,” “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” with Stevie Nicks, and “Free Fallin’.”

Geoff Emerick, the recording engineer whose Beatles work included Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road, died from a heart attack at 72.