The Victor Talking Machine Company was incorporated. After merging with the Radio Corporation of America in 1929, RCA Victor became a dominant manufacturer of both phonographs and records for decades.

Ten-year-old Elvis Presley made his public singing debut at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show talent competition. Standing on a chair to reach the microphone, he sang Red Foley’s “Old Shep” a cappella, finished fifth, and received five dollars in ride tickets that he promptly used despite his mother’s objections.

Pat Boone, 23, began hosting The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom on ABC. The musical-variety program welcomed many leading recording stars but ended after three seasons when it lost its ratings contest with NBC’s Bachelor Father; ABC replaced it with My Three Sons.

The Animals’ American self-titled debut entered Billboard’s album chart and eventually reached No. 7, powered by “House of the Rising Sun.” A substantially different British edition followed a month later and climbed to No. 6 in the UK.

Woody Guthrie died from Huntington’s disease after spending his final decade at Creedmoor State Hospital. The writer of “This Land Is Your Land” and interpreter of traditional songs such as “Cumberland Gap” profoundly influenced Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, and generations of folk musicians.

Aerosmith offered to post bail for concertgoers arrested on marijuana and other minor charges at the Fort Wayne Coliseum. As many as 28 fans accepted, and the band’s tour accountant ultimately paid approximately $4,200 in bail and fines through separate court appearances.

Paul Simon’s film One Trick Pony opened in U.S. theaters and became a critical and financial disappointment, earning under $150,000 against a budget of roughly $8 million. Its soundtrack fared better: the title song reached No. 40 and “Late in the Evening” climbed to No. 6.

During Saturday Night Live’s season premiere, Rod Stewart brought out Tina Turner for an energetic duet on his 1978 hit “Hot Legs.” Stewart used the national appearance to highlight Turner’s solo potential while her career was rebuilding after her divorce.

Lithonia, Georgia, proclaimed Brenda Lee Day and named a street for its hometown star, born Brenda Mae Tarpley. Lee placed 29 songs in Billboard’s Top 40 between 1960 and 1967, including “Sweet Nothin’s,” “I’m Sorry,” “Fool #1,” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”

Twenty-year-old Lisa Marie Presley married musician Danny Keough. They had two children, Riley and Benjamin, before divorcing in May 1994, and remained close friends and committed co-parents afterward.

Sinéad O’Connor ended her Saturday Night Live performance by tearing up a photograph of Pope John Paul II and urging viewers to “fight the real enemy,” an unscripted protest against abuse in the Catholic Church. She had concealed the plan during rehearsal, and the broadcast prompted thousands of complaints, a lifetime ban from SNL, and years of controversy before the moment was later restored to retrospectives and streaming.

Tom Jones returned to No. 1 on Britain’s album chart with Reload. At 59 he became the oldest performer to top the UK ranking with newly recorded material; the album sold more than six million copies worldwide, and Jones broke his own age record with Surrounded by Time in 2021 at 80.

A New York parole board denied John Lennon’s killer, Mark David Chapman, release after twenty years in prison, ruling that parole would diminish the seriousness of the crime. Letters from Yoko Ono strongly supported keeping him incarcerated.

Cars bassist and vocalist Benjamin Orr died from pancreatic cancer at 53. His lead vocals powered several of the band’s best-known recordings, including “Just What I Needed,” “Bye Bye Love,” “Drive,” and “Let’s Go.”

The Rolling Stones’ A Bigger Bang trek became the highest-grossing tour yet recorded, earning $558,255,524 between autumn 2005 and August 2007. It surpassed U2’s Vertigo tour, which had generated about $389 million.

David Cassidy was charged with leaving an accident scene and driving with an expired registration following a September collision in Florida. Police alleged that he sideswiped a truck, obscured his license plate, and drove away on a flat tire; Cassidy later pleaded no contest and received two years’ probation in March 2016.

Joan Marie Johnson, a founding member of New Orleans trio the Dixie Cups, died in her hometown at 72. The group topped the chart with “Chapel of Love” in 1964, but sickle cell anemia forced Johnson to leave after only a few years.

Britain’s Royal Mail announced twelve stamps honoring the Who. Eight displayed album covers from My Generation through WHO, making the band the seventh musical act celebrated by the service after the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Queen, the Rolling Stones, Iron Maiden, and the Spice Girls.

Sony acquired Pink Floyd’s recorded-music catalogue together with the band’s name-and-likeness rights for a reported $400 million, or approximately £301 million.