On a sweltering day in California, Dean Martin stepped into Capitol Records’ studio at 1750 North Vine Street in Hollywood to lay down his version of “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow.” Lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne had actually written the tune on an equally warm day back in July 1945, and despite never mentioning any specific holiday, its wintry theme has cemented it as a Christmas staple over the years. Martin’s recording wouldn’t actually chart on the Billboard Hot 100 until 2018, when it peaked at #8.

Chubby Checker debuted “The Twist” on television for the first time, appearing on Dick Clark’s Saturday Night Beechnut Show. The song would go on to top the Billboard Hot 100 the following September and reach #2 in Canada, though it never charted in the UK.

Johnny Kidd And The Pirates topped the UK singles chart with “Shakin’ All Over.” The track went largely unnoticed in America until The Guess Who covered it, carrying it to #22 in the US and #1 in their native Canada in 1965.

Bob Dylan walked into Studio A at Columbia Recording Studios in New York City to start work on his third album, “The Times They Are a-Changin’.” Upon its release the following February, it would climb to #20 in the US and #4 in Britain.

Parlophone Records put out The Beatles’ fifth studio album, “Help!” Seven of its fourteen tracks, including the title song and “Ticket to Ride,” appeared in the accompanying film and made up the entire first side of the vinyl release. The iconic cover shot appears to show the band spelling out the title in flag semaphore, but they’re actually signaling the letters “NVUJ” — photographer Robert Freeman opted for a more visually balanced composition over strict accuracy, since the correct lettering simply didn’t look as good.

Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs topped the Cashbox Best Sellers list with “Lil’ Red Riding Hood,” which also reached #2 on Billboard. Within a week, the RIAA certified it Gold for surpassing a million copies sold.

The Troggs pulled off the unusual feat of landing Top Ten hits simultaneously in both the UK and US with two different songs. “With a Girl Like You” topped every major UK chart, while “Wild Thing” led the Billboard Hot 100 stateside. Working with only a sliver of affordable studio time, the band recorded both tracks in just two takes apiece.

Steppenwolf, Janis Joplin, Paul Simon, Poco, and Johnny Winter took the stage at the Concert For Peace at New York’s Shea Stadium, a show timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan.

23-year-old Stevie Wonder suffered serious injuries when the rented car he was riding in crashed into the back of a small logging truck on I-85 near Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He sustained a severe brain contusion and spent four days in a coma, initially losing his sense of smell and taste, with a visible scar left on his forehead from the impact.

Thanks to its placement on the “Dirty Dancing” soundtrack, The Contours’ 1962 hit “Do You Love Me” returned to the Billboard Hot 100, climbing back up to #11. Upon its original release, the song had reached #3 on the pop chart and #1 on the R&B chart.

Domenico Modugno, the Italian singer whose recording of “Volare” had topped North American charts in 1958, died of a heart attack near his home on the island of Lampedusa, south of Sicily, at age 66. Beyond his hits across Europe, Modugno also appeared in forty-four films over his career.

Rick James, best remembered for his 1981 hit “Super Freak” (which peaked at #16), died of natural causes at age 56. He also received a writing credit on MC Hammer’s 1990 smash “U Can’t Touch This” (#8), which heavily sampled his earlier hit. Across his career, James placed thirteen albums on the Billboard 200 and twenty-nine singles on the R&B chart.

61-year-old Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler was airlifted to Rapid City Regional Hospital after falling from the stage during a concert at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Rapid City, South Dakota, an accident that forced the band to scrap the rest of their 2009 summer tour.

Composer and conductor Marvin Hamlisch, whose instrumental “The Entertainer” reached #3 in the US in 1974, died at age 68 from respiratory arrest. He remains one of only a handful of people to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. His first hit as a songwriter came at just 21, when Lesley Gore’s “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows” hit #13 on the Hot 100 in the summer of 1965; he later co-wrote her 1967 hit “California Nights,” which reached #16.

Elvis Presley’s recording sessions at Stax Records in Memphis were compiled and released together for the first time as “Elvis at Stax: Deluxe Edition,” a three-CD box set featuring outtakes and rare photos from sessions recorded in July and December 1973 that originally produced three separate albums. The collection failed to chart on the Billboard 200 or find much traction in the US, though it did reach #70 on the UK album chart.

Swedish streaming service Spotify reported that “The Girl From Ipanema” was streamed more than 40,000 times after it played during supermodel Gisele Bündchen’s walk onstage at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics. The song had first become a hit for Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz back in 1964, peaking at #5 on the Hot 100.

Wayne Fontana, who led The Mindbenders to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1965 with “Game Of Love,” died at age 74. Born Glyn Geoffrey Ellis in the Levenshulme area of Manchester, England, he took his stage name from Elvis Presley’s drummer, D.J. Fontana. After leaving the band in October 1965, he found modest solo success in England, including “Pamela, Pamela,” which reached #11 on the UK charts in 1966, though further hits eluded him.