Brian Wilson

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1954 Elvis Presley’s “Blue Moon of Kentucky” reached No. 6 in Nashville and No. 3 in New Orleans, becoming his first hit beyond Memphis. Elvis and his band had transformed Bill Monroe’s slow bluegrass waltz into an energetic 4/4 rockabilly performance.
1961 Dion’s “Runaround Sue” reached No. 1 in America and later No. 11 in Britain. Despite the title, the song was not written about his wife, Susan.
1964 J. Frank Wilson was seriously injured and his manager, Sonley Roush, was killed when their car collided head-on near Lima, Ohio. Their tragedy ballad “Last Kiss” was already in the Top 10 on its way to No. 2.
1965 The Temptations’ “My Baby” became their seventh Hot 100 entry, eventually reaching No. 13 on the pop chart and No. 4 on Billboard’s R&B list.
1966 The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded “Hey Joe” at De Lane Lea Studios in London. Their British debut single reached No. 6, though its 1967 American release failed to chart.
1968 MGM released Elvis Presley’s Live a Little, Love a Little, co-starring Rudy Vallee. Its soundtrack included “A Little Less Conversation,” whose remix returned in 2002 to reach No. 1 in Britain and No. 50 in America.
1975 Elton John received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star at 6901 Hollywood Boulevard, arriving in a gold golf cart for the ceremony near the Chinese Theatre.
1976 Chicago’s “If You Leave Me Now” topped both the U.S. and UK charts and became the group’s biggest international seller. It earned Chicago its first Grammy, for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus, and a Record of the Year nomination.
1976 Led Zeppelin made its U.S. television debut on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert through film clips of “Black Dog” and “Dazed and Confused” from The Song Remains the Same. By then the band already had seven Top 10 albums, five of them No. 1.
1978 Sid Vicious attempted suicide by cutting his wrist at New York’s Hotel Seville while free on bail in Nancy Spungen’s murder case. He died the following February from an accidental heroin overdose.
1980 Mark David Chapman left his security job in Honolulu and reportedly signed out using the name “John Lennon.” He murdered Lennon outside the Dakota on December 8.
1988 Michael Jackson visited Detroit’s Motown Museum and donated a fedora, glove, a 1972 costume, and a then-record $125,000 contribution, while praising label founder Berry Gordy.

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1955 Colonel Tom Parker asked Sun Records owner Sam Phillips what it would cost to release Elvis Presley from his contract. Phillips named a price of $40,000.
1960 Neil Sedaka recorded “Calendar Girl” at RCA’s New York studio. The single later reached No. 4 in America and No. 8 in Britain.
1960 Brenda Lee’s “I Want to Be Wanted” became her second Hot 100 No. 1 and fourth U.S. Top 10 hit of the year; it also reached No. 31 in Britain.
1960 Frank Sinatra’s Nice ’n’ Easy began nine weeks atop Billboard’s stereo album chart. It received an Album of the Year Grammy nomination but lost to Bob Newhart’s comedy LP The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart.
1962 James Brown financed a $5,700 recording of his Apollo Theater performance after his label resisted the idea. Live at the Apollo sold a million copies, preserved the show without breaks between tracks, and later ranked No. 24 on Rolling Stone’s 2003 greatest-albums list.
1963 Bob Dylan recorded “The Times They Are a-Changin’” at Columbia’s New York studio. It was not issued as an American single but reached No. 9 in Britain and later placed No. 59 on Rolling Stone’s 2004 greatest-songs list.
1966 Newsweek examined whether the Monkees were a genuine band, quoting Davy Jones as saying they were an act rather than a rock group. Session musicians had played much of the instrumentation on the group’s early recordings.
1970 Pink Floyd’s Atom Heart Mother became the band’s first UK No. 1 album. It reached No. 55 in America and was certified Gold there in 1994, although Roger Waters and David Gilmour later spoke dismissively of it.
1970 Santana’s Abraxas became the group’s first U.S. No. 1 album, powered by “Oye Como Va,” which reached No. 13, and “Black Magic Woman,” which peaked at No. 4.
1971 Don McLean released American Pie. The album later spent seven weeks at No. 1 and went double Platinum; its title song topped America and reached No. 2 in Britain, while “Vincent” reached No. 12 in America and No. 1 in Britain.
1973 Art Garfunkel’s Angel Clare received Gold certification. The No. 5 album included “All I Know,” a No. 9 single, along with “I Shall Sing” and “Traveling Boy.”
1973 John Lennon sued the U.S. government for records showing he had been placed under surveillance. Later Freedom of Information disclosures confirmed that the FBI had monitored him beginning in 1971.

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1962 Paul Petersen sang “My Dad” as Jeff Stone on The Donna Reed Show. The song reached No. 6 the following January, but none of Petersen’s nine later singles through 1968 returned him to the Top 40.
1963 Peter, Paul and Mary held Billboard’s two leading album positions with In the Wind and their self-titled debut. They later placed nine more albums in the Top 25, while their only No. 1 single was 1969’s John Denver composition “Leaving on a Jet Plane.”
1964 The Rolling Stones’ first Ed Sullivan Show appearance triggered such sustained screaming that Sullivan repeatedly demanded quiet before introducing violinist Itzhak Perlman. After the Stones closed with “Time Is on My Side,” he vowed never to invite them back, then relented because of the ratings and booked five more appearances.
1964 While touring, the Beatles accepted four Ivor Novello certificates and statuettes, including a Special Award for Outstanding Services to British Music. “She Loves You” won major honors and “All My Loving” earned a runner-up certificate.
1969 The Archies’ “Sugar, Sugar” began eight weeks at No. 1 in Britain after already topping the Hot 100 and earning an American Gold record. The defining bubblegum-pop hit ultimately sold more than six million copies worldwide.
1973 Rick Nelson guest-starred in The Streets of San Francisco episode “Harem” as a flute-playing drifter who manipulated runaway girls with false promises of protection while secretly operating as a ruthless killer.
1974 Anita, Bonnie, and Ruth Pointer became the first group of Black women to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Their country-flavored “Fairytale” reached No. 13 pop and No. 37 country, then won a Grammy—the first country-category Grammy for Black women.
1975 Art Garfunkel earned his first solo UK No. 1 with the 1934 standard “I Only Have Eyes for You,” which reached No. 18 in America.
1975 Paul Simon released Still Crazy After All These Years. The No. 1 U.S. and No. 6 UK album won Grammys for Album of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and produced four Top 40 singles, led by No. 1 “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.”
1977 Ronnie Van Zant was buried at Jacksonville Memory Garden five days after the plane crash that also killed two Lynyrd Skynyrd bandmates, their assistant road manager, and the flight crew. Injured keyboardist Billy Powell was the only band member able to attend.
1977 Elton John began taping The Muppet Show, performing “Crocodile Rock,” “Bennie and the Jets,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.”
1980 Barbra Streisand’s “Woman in Love,” written by Barry and Robin Gibb, began three weeks at No. 1 in America. It was her fifth chart-topper and came from the multi-Platinum Guilty album.

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October 23 October 24 October 25

KEEP THE ROCK ROLLING