Elvis Presley met in Memphis with manager Bob Neal, his father Vernon, and Colonel Tom Parker to sign an agreement making Parker his “special adviser” with sweeping control over Elvis’s career. Parker was actually Dutch immigrant Andreas Cornelius van Kuijk; his honorary colonel title came from Louisiana governor Jimmie Davis, and his earlier promotional work included carnivals, medicine shows, pony circuses, and dancing-turkey acts.

When Columbia Records was urged to offer $20,000 for Elvis Presley, executive Mitch Miller refused, declaring that no singer was worth that amount. The rock-and-roll critic also passed on Buddy Holly and the Beatles, making the decision one of music history’s most famous missed opportunities.

Buddy Holly, 21, married 25-year-old Maria Elena Santiago only two months after meeting her. The ceremony took place at his parents’ home in Lubbock, Texas, shortly after “Think It Over” entered the U.S. Top 40.

At his mother Gladys’s funeral, Elvis Presley was so devastated that friends had to hold him upright. More than 500 police managed the enormous crowd, while fans sent over 100,000 letters and cards, roughly 500 telegrams, and more than 200 floral tributes.

Ben E. King led the Drifters to No. 1 on Cashbox and No. 2 on Billboard with “There Goes My Baby.” One of the earliest records to combine orchestral strings with a Black vocal group, it was later ranked No. 196 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs list.

Elvis Presley’s “It’s Now or Never” began a month-long run atop Billboard’s singles chart. The recording sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and remained one of Presley’s personal favorites.

Dean Martin displaced the Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” from No. 1 with “Everybody Loves Somebody,” his biggest hit and a UK No. 11. The song dated to 1949 and had failed for several earlier performers; Martin celebrated by sending telegrams to Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.

Warner Bros. signed the Dave Clark Five for the feature film Having a Wild Weekend, attempting to follow the Beatles’ movie success. Released in Britain as Catch Us If You Can, it premiered there in July 1965.

The Beatles opened their third North American tour at Shea Stadium before a record 55,000 fans and approximately 2,000 security personnel. The show grossed $304,000, with the band receiving $160,000.

The Woodstock Music and Art Fair opened on Max Yasgur’s 600-acre farm near Bethel, New York. More than 500,000 people attended the landmark three-day rock and folk festival, during which three deaths, two births, and four miscarriages were reported.

Three Dog Night’s self-titled debut album earned a Gold record for one million sales. After modest results for “Nobody” and “Try a Little Tenderness,” the label issued “One,” which climbed to No. 5; later copies of the album highlighted the hit in the title, and the LP was certified Platinum in 2008.

Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” entered the Top 40 on its way to No. 2. Although its surreal imagery encouraged drug interpretations, John Fogerty said he wrote the song for his three-year-old son Josh.

Robin McNamara’s “Lay a Little Lovin’ on Me” peaked at No. 11 after eight weeks on the Hot 100. Its follow-up received little radio play, leaving McNamara remembered as a one-hit artist.

Singer Thomas Wayne, known for the 1959 No. 5 hit “Tragedy,” died at 31 after his car crossed four lanes and a median into oncoming traffic. By then he was chiefly working behind the scenes as a Nashville recording engineer and producer.

Rod Stewart released Atlantic Crossing, his sixth studio album. It became his fourth UK No. 1 album and reached No. 9 in America; its singles included the UK chart-toppers “I Don’t Want to Talk About It” and “Sailing,” plus “This Old Heart of Mine.”

Boston released Don’t Look Back. The album topped Billboard, reached No. 9 in Britain, sold more than one million copies in ten days, and eventually went seven-times Platinum; the title song reached No. 4 and “A Man I’ll Never Be” No. 31.

George Harrison became the first Beatle to publish an autobiography with I, Me, Mine. John Lennon later complained that the book almost completely omitted his influence on Harrison’s life.

Diana Ross and Lionel Richie’s “Endless Love” began nine weeks at No. 1 in America. Because of scheduling problems, they completed the duet at 5 a.m. in a Reno studio after a Ross concert while Richie was also working with the Commodores and Kenny Rogers.

The BBC album documenting the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer reached No. 1 in Britain. Featuring the procession, vows, speeches, and hymns, it preserved the celebrated ceremony even though the marriage later ended in separation and divorce.

Lew DeWitt, tenor singer for the Statler Brothers and writer of their No. 4 hit “Flowers on the Wall,” died from heart and kidney disease at age 52.

Paul Simon gave a free Central Park concert reported at the time to have drawn 600,000 people, although later capacity estimates were far lower. The performance became Paul Simon’s Concert in the Park, which briefly reached No. 60 on Billboard’s album chart.

Ed Roberts of Ruby and the Romantics died of cancer at 57. The Akron vocal group scored three Top 40 hits, led by the 1963 No. 1 “Our Day Will Come.”

A Long Island women’s shelter refused a $10,000 donation from a James Brown benefit concert because of domestic-violence allegations associated with the singer. The organization maintained its decision even though Brown denied the claims and charges were later dismissed.

A John Lennon memorial was unveiled in Durness, Scotland, where Lennon vacationed between ages seven and 15. Three stones were inscribed with words from “In My Life.”

Sly Stone made his first significant public appearance in 12 years at Hollywood’s Knitting Factory, where he watched his sister Vet perform with the Sly and the Family Stone tribute group Phunk Phamily Affair.

Deana Martin released her debut album, Memories Are Made of This, featuring songs associated with her father Dean Martin as well as Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. Produced by her husband John Griffeth, it remained in the iTunes Top 10 for 40 weeks across 2006 and 2007.

The Osmond Brothers reunited with Donny, Marie, and Jimmy to record a PBS 50th-anniversary special. It was the first time at least seven singing Osmonds had shared a stage in more than two decades.

Producer Jerry Wexler died of heart failure at 91. He helped shape modern R&B through recordings by Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett, Percy Sledge, and Solomon Burke; as a Billboard journalist in 1949, he coined “Rhythm and Blues” as a replacement for the industry term “Race Records.”

Gap Band bassist Robert Wilson died from a heart attack at 53. Beginning in the late 1970s, the group earned four Platinum albums and placed 30 songs on Billboard’s R&B chart.

KISS was removed from a Michael Jackson tribute concert after organizers revisited Gene Simmons’s public comments about allegations against Jackson.

Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley surprised fans at Graceland on the eve of the 35th anniversary of Elvis’s death. Lisa Marie told the crowd she had previously avoided the occasion because it was emotionally difficult but felt it was important to attend.

Joe Jackson withdrew his wrongful-death lawsuit against Dr. Conrad Murray, who had been convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson’s death. Murray’s lawyer said the dismissal would let the family concentrate on Jackson’s life rather than his final circumstances.

Elton John bassist Bob Birch died at 56 from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. A member of John’s band since 1992, he had also played with Bryan Adams, Lionel Richie, George Michael, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, and Phil Collins despite lasting injuries from a 1995 traffic accident.

Arlo Guthrie opened a weekend marking Woodstock’s 50th anniversary at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. Carlos Santana and John Fogerty also participated after plans for a much larger anniversary festival collapsed.

George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass returned to the Billboard 200 Top 10 for the first time since 1971 following its 50th-anniversary reissue. It also debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums, Catalog Albums, and Tastemaker Albums charts.