Eighteen-year-old Richard Penniman, already calling himself Little Richard, made his first RCA Camden recordings at Atlanta station WGST. His early style closely followed gospel-influenced jump-blues singer Billy Wright, a friend who helped arrange the session.

Two weeks after a poorly received Grand Ole Opry appearance, Elvis Presley performed live on Shreveport’s Louisiana Hayride. The audience response earned him a year-long weekly booking at $18 per show, while Scotty Moore and Bill Black received $12 each.

Joan Baez and dozens of peaceful demonstrators were arrested for blocking an Oakland military-induction center. Sentenced to 45 days but serving eleven, Baez later said she had gone to jail for disturbing the peace because she was trying to disturb the war.

Jay and the Americans recorded “This Magic Moment” at O.D.O. Recorders in New York. Their version reached No. 6 on Billboard and No. 5 on Cashbox the following spring, improving on Ben E. King and the Drifters’ No. 16 original.

Reprise released the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Electric Ladyland. The group’s most commercially successful album topped Billboard and reached No. 6 in Britain, while “All Along the Watchtower” climbed to No. 20 in America and No. 5 in the UK.

Chess Records co-founder Leonard Chess died from a heart attack at 52. Born Lejzor Szmuel Czyż in Poland, he and brother Phil recorded foundational work by Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, the Moonglows, the Flamingos, and Fontella Bass; he entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame posthumously in 1987.

Creedence Clearwater Revival formally announced its breakup after Tom Fogerty’s 1971 departure and mounting personal and creative conflict during Mardi Gras. John Fogerty later revived his solo career, while the surviving rhythm section eventually toured as Creedence Clearwater Revisited.

Jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer Gene Krupa died from heart failure at 64. Celebrated by Modern Drummer as a founder of the modern drum set, his work with Benny Goodman brought drumming new national prominence and inspired the 1959 film The Gene Krupa Story.

Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life debuted at No. 1 and remained there for thirteen weeks. The rare chart-topping debut generated the No. 1 singles “I Wish” and “Sir Duke,” plus “Another Star,” “As,” and the unissued-as-a-single radio hit “Isn’t She Lovely.”

Rick Dees’s novelty “Disco Duck” spent one week at No. 1 and then four at No. 2. It also reached the soul Top 20 and No. 6 in Britain and went Platinum for two million sales.

Diana Ross and Lionel Richie’s “Endless Love” was certified Platinum. Ross’s eighteenth No. 1 became the biggest-selling single of her career, including her Supremes recordings.

Dolly Parton topped Billboard’s country chart with a new recording of “I Will Always Love You.” Ten years later Whitney Houston transformed the composition into a worldwide pop and R&B phenomenon for The Bodyguard.

Chuck Berry’s 60th birthday was celebrated with an all-star concert featuring Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Linda Ronstadt, and Julian Lennon. The performances became the 1987 documentary and soundtrack Hail! Hail! Rock ’n’ Roll.

Paul Simon released The Rhythm of the Saints. The album reached No. 4 in America and No. 1 in Britain, though “Proof,” “Born at the Right Time,” and “The Obvious Child” all missed the U.S. Top 40; the latter reached No. 15 in the UK.

Sinéad O’Connor was booed at Madison Square Garden’s Bob Dylan tribute because of her recent Saturday Night Live protest. After singing Bob Marley’s “War” a cappella over the crowd, she left the stage in tears and was comforted by Kris Kristofferson.

Aretha Franklin sang the American national anthem at Toronto’s SkyDome before a World Series game between the Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies.

Ella Mae Morse, Capitol Records’ first Gold-selling artist, died from respiratory failure at 75. Her “Cow-Cow Boogie” had become a major seller in 1942.

Two Medford, Oregon, security guards initially refused Bob Dylan entry to his own concert because he lacked the required credential. Dylan had demanded unusually strict access control for the Love and Theft tour, and the guards admitted him only after management intervened.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced nominees including Nirvana, Kiss, Peter Gabriel, Hall & Oates, Linda Ronstadt, Deep Purple, Yes, the Zombies, Chic, N.W.A., LL Cool J, the Replacements, Link Wray, the Meters, Cat Stevens, and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.

Tim Hauser, founder and leader of the Manhattan Transfer, died from cardiac arrest at 72. The vocal group placed four singles in Billboard’s Top 40, including 1981’s “The Boy from New York City.”

A 1967 petition signed by all four Beatles and other friends of Mick Jagger, proposing him for the role of Alex in a British A Clockwork Orange, went to auction with an $18,000–$25,000 estimate. That production was abandoned before Stanley Kubrick made the film in 1971.

Original Kiss lead guitarist Ace Frehley died at 74 after a fall caused brain bleeding and several weeks of life support. After leaving Kiss in 1982 he formed Frehley’s Comet, while his 1978 solo debut achieved Platinum status.