1957Buddy Holly released “Peggy Sue,” later No. 3 U.S., No. 6 UK, and a sixteen-week chart record. Crickets Joe Mauldin and Jerry Allison played despite lacking label credit; it entered the Grammy Hall of Fame.
1964The Beatles ended their first North American tour with a New York Paramount charity concert for 3,682 fans, raising money for children’s health through tickets costing up to $100.
1969Ron Dante and studio musicians took fictional Archies single “Sugar, Sugar” to No. 1 for four weeks. Already Gold, it later led Britain for eight weeks and became bubblegum pop’s defining hit.
1969John Lennon privately told McCartney and Starr he wanted a Beatles divorce. Allen Klein secured silence to protect a new EMI/Capitol deal, leaving the public unaware until McCartney’s April 1970 announcement.
1969Creedence Clearwater Revival earned its only UK No. 1 with “Bad Moon Rising,” previously a U.S. No. 2.
1969Blind Faith’s debut topped U.S. and UK album charts and sold half a million in a month; the supergroup comprised Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Ric Grech.
1970Jim Morrison was acquitted of lewd behavior but convicted of exposure and profanity over the Miami Doors concert. He appealed sentences totaling eight months’ hard labor and died before retrial; Florida pardoned him posthumously in 2010.
1973Jim Croce, guitarist Maury Muehleisen, and four others died when their charter plane struck a tree after a Louisiana concert. Croce had just completed I Got a Name; investigators cited darkness, fog, and pilot disorientation.
1975David Bowie’s “Fame,” co-written with Carlos Alomar and John Lennon, topped Billboard; Lennon also supplied guitar and falsetto backing vocals.
1975Bay City Rollers debuted on American television during Howard Cosell’s variety premiere with a Les McKeown remake of “Saturday Night,” which reached No. 1 in January 1976.
1976ABC premiered Captain and Tennille’s variety show; after twenty episodes the duo left television to concentrate on music.
1977Ringo Starr released critically rejected Ringo the 4th, which reached only No. 162 U.S., missed Britain, produced no chart singles, and contributed to Atlantic dropping him.
1955The Platters ' "Only You" entered the Billboard Top 100 chart at No. 24, where it eventually peaked at No. 5 while simultaneously becoming a seven-week No. 1 hit on the US R&B chart. The record later became the first single to sell over one million copies in France. Celebrating its cultural impact, it entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
1957Guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black resigned from Elvis Presley's band over a bitter salary dispute with Colonel Tom Parker, while drummer D.J. Fontana chose to stay on. After leaving, Black successfully formed Bill Black's Combo, placing eight instrumental tracks in the US Top 40 before his untimely death from a brain tumor in 1965.
1959A guitar and steel guitar instrumental called "Sleep Walk" by Santo And Johnny reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. While a major success in the United States, the original rendition was held to a No. 22 peak on the UK Singles Chart due to heavy competition from British artists releasing localized cover versions of the track.
1963Bobby Vinton's second US Top Ten entry, a cover of Tony Bennett's 1951 hit, "Blue Velvet", reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was a song that Bobby recorded in two takes as a filler for an album of all "blue" songs. Session musicians on the track included Floyd Cramer ("Last Date") and Boots Randolph ("Yakety Sax").
196326-year-old Trini Lopez scored his biggest hit when "If I Had A Hammer" reached No. 3 on the Billboard Pop chart. He later had three more Top 40 hits and co-star in the Oscar winning film The Dirty Dozen in 1967.
1968The Grass Roots ' "Midnight Confessions" entered the Billboard Top 40 chart where it eventually peaked at No. 5, becoming their most successful record. The music was recorded by The Wrecking Crew, with The Grass Roots' Rob Grill singing the verses and Warren Entner, the choruses.
1968It was rare that a Country tune could top the Billboard Pop chart, but Jeannie C. Riley's "Harper Valley P.T.A." did just that. The record sold over 1,750,000 copies in the first two weeks after its release. Although she never cracked the Top 50 on the Hot 100 again, Riley went on to have several big Country hits, including five that made the Top Ten.
1968Jimi Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower" entered the Billboard Hot 100 where later became his only Top 40 hit single, topping out at No. 20. In the UK the song later reached No. 5 and be awarded a Platinum Record for sales of 600,000.
1971Paul McCartney's first post-Beatles US No. 1 hit, "Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey" earned an RIAA Gold certification.
1974Canada's Bachman-Turner Overdrive entered the Billboard Hot 100 with "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet", which later became their third US Top 30 entry and their only number one.
1974At three hundred pounds, he didn't look like a Rock star, but Barry White scored his first US number one and third of six Top Ten singles with "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe". It made No. 8 in the UK.
1974Iconic character actor Walter Brennan died at age 80 from emphysema. Twelve years earlier, the three-time Oscar winner scored an unexpected musical triumph when his spoken-word release "Old Rivers" reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. That 1962 chart run temporarily made the 67-year-old Brennan the oldest living artist to secure a Top 5 Pop hit in American history.
1956Billboard magazine prints an article which says, "With new experiences to their credit, such as calling in riot squads, and with scars such as damaged seats, some arena and stadium officials have turned their thumbs down to Rock and Roll."
1958After receiving special permission from the US Army, Elvis Presley gives one last press conference at the Military Ocean Terminal in Brooklyn. He then joins the rest of the 3rd Armored Division on the USS General Randall for a voyage to the seaport town of Bremerhaven, Germany to begin his overseas military service.
1958"To Know Him Is To Love Him" by The Teddy Bears entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 88. Lead singer Annette Kleinbard was backed by Phil Spector on guitar, Marshall Leib on bass and last minute addition Sandy Nelson on drums. Although the recording session lasted only twenty minutes and cost just $75, the single later reached No. 1 in early December and sell over 1.4 million copies.…
1963The Jaynetts' version of "Sally Go Round The Roses" peaks at No. 2 on the Hot 100. Although it has been widely reported that future Electric Flag drummer Buddy Miles played on the track, producer Artie Butler said that he played all of the instruments on the recording except the guitars. The song's B-side was the instrumental track to "Sally Go Round The Roses"…
1965The Supremes record "I Hear A Symphony", which later became their sixth US number one. In the UK however, it could only reached No. 39. The single moved one million copies in America, with worldwide sales totaling twice that number.
1966The Lovin' Spoonful are awarded a Gold record for their fifth US Top Ten single and first number one hit, "Summer in the City". The record had topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Cashbox Best Sellers list, while reaching No. 7 in the UK.
1967A cartoon image of The Beatles wearing colorful outfits appears on the cover of Time magazine, along with the line "The Beatles / Their New Incarnation." The accompanying feature story detailed how the success of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" solidified their role as leaders of the 1960s counterculture movement.
1969The Band released their self-titled, second album, which later went on to peak at No. 9 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart. The critically acclaimed record featured "Rag Mama Rag", "Up on Cripple Creek", and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". The United States Library of Congress would select the album for preservation in the National Recording Registry in…
1974Sonny Bono's solo variety series, The Sonny Comedy Revue, premiered on ABC-TV. It immediately stumbled in the ratings by ranking 41st out of 61 programs during its debut week. Plagued by an uncompetitive time slot, the show saw its viewership decline even further as it failed to contend with powerhouse network rivals Kojak and The Wonderful World of Disney. Due to consistently low ratings…
1976Bob Dylan's live album "Hard Rain" achieved RIAA Gold certification just nine days after its initial release. Receiving mixed reviews, the LP eventually peaked at No. 17 in the US and No. 3 in the UK.
1980John Lennon signs with Geffen Records after David Geffen promises to release his next album without even hearing any of the songs. Sadly, only one LP, "Double Fantasy" came to fruition before Lennon's death the following December.
1982The Who launched their 40-date North American farewell tour in Maryland, grossing a massive $23 million before wrapping up in December. While intended to permanently conclude their touring career, the band's retirement proved temporary. They officially reunited just three years later to perform at Live Aid in July 1985.
