Sixteen-year-old Harry Webb, later Cliff Richard, joined the Dick Teague Skiffle Group while working days at Atlas Lighting; the group began playing around Hertfordshire.

Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” topped Billboard for one week and returned to No. 1 in January 1962, the first single to lead the chart in two separate runs.

Chad and Jeremy’s “A Summer Song” entered the Top 40 and reached No. 7, their only U.S. Top 10 among seven Top 40 hits.

Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass performed for Princess Grace at Monaco’s palace after already placing nine songs in America’s Top 40.

Steppenwolf received Gold for million-selling No. 2 “Born to Be Wild,” also No. 18 UK. Mars Bonfire originally wrote it as a slow ballad, and its lyrics never explicitly mention motorcycles.

Tiny Tim announced his engagement to seventeen-year-old Victoria Budinger on The Tonight Show. Their televised wedding drew more than forty million viewers; daughter Tulip followed, but divorce proceedings began in 1972 and ended in 1977.

ATV won 54 percent control of the Beatles’ Northern Songs after defeating Lennon and McCartney’s counterbid. The pair then sold their remaining shares for £3.5 million.

Freda Payne’s initially unwanted “Band of Gold” began six weeks at No. 1 UK, reached No. 3 U.S., and sold more than a million.

After twelve Supremes chart-toppers, Diana Ross earned her first solo U.S. No. 1 with “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” also No. 6 UK.

ABC aired the Jackson 5’s Goin’ Back to Indiana special with Tommy Smothers, Bill Cosby, Bobby Darin, and Diana Ross; its soundtrack included “I Want You Back.”

Police seized five cannabis plants from Paul McCartney’s Scottish farm after a Swedish drug case. He pleaded guilty in 1973, paid £100, and encountered U.S. visa trouble.

Gram Parsons died from an overdose at 26. Manager Phil Kaufman and roadie Michael Martin stole and burned his coffin in Joshua Tree to honor his wishes, receiving suspended terms and $300 fines for casket theft.

Linda Ronstadt released Living in the U.S.A. with two million advance orders, making it double Platinum before sale; singles included “Back in the U.S.A.,” “Ooh Baby Baby,” and “Just One Look.”

Simon and Garfunkel reunited before a huge Central Park audience eleven years after splitting. The success produced a year-long world tour, but renewed tensions ended the partnership again.

The Rolling Stones’ outtake-based Tattoo You began nine weeks at No. 1 behind “Start Me Up,” becoming their final U.S. chart-topping album.

A Senate hearing prompted by the PMRC examined music lyrics. Despite testimony from John Denver, Frank Zappa, and others, labels later adopted parental-advisory stickers.

Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett’s “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” topped pop, R&B, and adult-contemporary charts and went Gold after Whitney Houston and Barbra Streisand declined the duet.

Pasadena hosted Ray Charles: 50 Years in Music with duet partners Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, Michael Bolton, Randy Travis, Michael McDonald, and James Ingram.

Michael Jackson voiced Leon Kompowsky in The Simpsons under the credit John Jay Smith. Contract restrictions prevented him singing, so Kipp Lennon performed the musical parts.

Michelle Phillips surrendered her purse to armed robbers outside a West Hollywood restaurant after they pointed a gun at friend Aloma Ichinose; neither woman was hurt.

Antares released Auto-Tune, adapted by Andy Hildebrand from oil-field mapping algorithms. Designed as discreet pitch correction, extreme settings on Cher’s “Believe” created its influential robotic sound.

Fabian married Andrea Patrick at Nemacolin Woodlands. A disputed $4,000 balance led the resort to sue, then drop the case and apologize in 2001.

Four Preps singer Ed Cobb died from leukemia at 61 after hits including “26 Miles” and a songwriting career that produced “Dirty Water” and “Tainted Love.”

Grand Ole Opry member Skeeter Davis died from breast cancer at 72 after a sixteen-year illness; she was known for “The End of the World” and “I Can’t Stay Mad at You.”

Guinness named Status Quo the band with the most UK hit singles at sixty-one; the total later reached sixty-eight, ahead of Queen and the Rolling Stones.

Danny Flores, saxophonist and voice on the Champs’ No. 1 “Tequila,” died from pneumonia at 77. Credited as Chuck Rio, he lost U.S. rights but retained international royalties.

Randy Bachman entered Canada’s Walk of Fame for a second time, having already been inducted with the Guess Who in 2001.

The Recording Academy named Carole King its 2014 MusiCares Person of the Year for music and environmental philanthropy.

The Beatles’ 1961 Tony Sheridan contract sold for $75,000. Signed by Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Pete Best, it paid only a flat eighty marks and no royalties for “My Bonnie.”

British television aired footage of John Lennon mocking disabled people onstage, shocking Beatles viewers with his exaggerated speech and movements.

“Seasons in the Sun” singer Terry Jacks was hospitalized after a second stroke within a year and was later reported recovering.

Elton John said he was considering ending recording because audiences already owned enough of his catalogue, though he still enjoyed making albums.

Metallica’s Black Album returned to Billboard’s Top 10 for the first time in twenty-nine years after its thirtieth-anniversary reissue moved more than 37,000 units.

Crickets guitarist-songwriter Sonny Curtis died at 88. After returning following Buddy Holly’s death, he wrote “I Fought the Law,” “More Than I Can Say,” and The Mary Tyler Moore Show theme.