Music History

Vee-Jay Records released the double album “The Beatles vs. The Four Seasons” shortly before its rights to distribute Beatles recordings expired. The album contained no new material and combined the previously released recordings “Introducing… The Beatles” and “Golden Hits of the Four Seasons”. It remained on the US Billboard chart for three weeks and reached No. 142.

The Shangri-Las' single “Leader of the Pack” was released. Of their six U.S. Top 40 hits, it became the only one to reach number one. In the UK it peaked at number 11.

The Beatles released the single “Help!”, the title song of the film and album of the same name. Its B-side featured the song “I'm Down”. The single went on to reach number one on both the UK and US Singles Charts and became one of the Beatles’ most notable hits of 1965.

Elvis Presley worked at Radio Recorders Studio B in Hollywood on music for the film “Paradise, Hawaiian Style,” including vocal overdubs.

Parlophone Records released The Beatles' fifth studio album, “Help!,” which also served as the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The original UK version contained fourteen tracks, seven of which, including the title track and “Ticket to Ride,” appeared in the film and made up the first side of the vinyl album. The album reached No. 1 in Australia, Finland, the UK and the U.S. that year and also included “Yesterday.”

Decca Records released The Small Faces' debut single “Whatcha Gonna Do About It,” which reached No. 14 in the UK and No. 28 in Canada. The song did not chart in the U.S. Ian Samwell wrote the lyrics to music created by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane. Years later, the band's manager Don Arden admitted that he had spent £12,000 to influence the chart.

The Turtles vydali svou verzi skladby Boba Dylana „It Ain't Me Babe“. Skladba se stala jejich prvním z devíti hitů v žebříčku, do Billboard Hot 100 vstoupila na 76. místě a později dosáhla 8. místa. Stala se také názvem jejich prvního alba pod názvem The Turtles.

British quartet The Silkie recorded the Lennon/McCartney song “You've Got To Hide Your Love Away”, produced by John Lennon; Paul McCartney played guitar and George Harrison played tambourine. The song reached No. 28 in the UK and No. 10 in the US. A planned US tour fell through because the group’s members failed to obtain the necessary visas and work permits. EMI released two more singles in 1966, “Keys to My Soul” and “Born to Be With You”, but neither charted in the UK or US, and the group soon broke up.

“Hang On Sloopy” was released. Three weeks later, it entered the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one in the first week of October. The recording was also successful in the UK, where it reached number 5.

The Beatles released “Yesterday”, featuring only Paul McCartney. More than 2,500 cover versions have made it one of the most frequently recorded songs in history.

The Byrds released the single “Turn! Turn! Turn!” in the United States. Pete Seeger adapted it from the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes, except for the final verse. According to the source, the recording required 78 takes over five days. The song became the group’s second US No. 1 hit and their last single to reach the Top 10.

The McCoys released the single “Hang on Sloopy,” which became their biggest hit and reached No. 1 on the U.S. chart.

The Rolling Stones began a nine-day recording session at RCA Studios in Hollywood for the album “Between the Buttons.” The session continued through August 11.

The Temptations released the Gordy single “Beauty Is Only Skin Deep.” The song later reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 1 on the R&B chart, and No. 18 in the UK.

The Beatles released their seventh studio album, “Revolver,” in the UK on Parlophone. The album reached No. 1 on the UK Record Retailer chart and later topped the U.S. Billboard Top LPs, where it spent six weeks at No. 1. It topped the UK chart for seven weeks. The U.S. release followed three days later.

The Beatles released the double A-side “Eleanor Rigby” / “Yellow Submarine”.

Colgems Records released The Monkees' debut single "Last Train to Clarksville", almost a month before the premiere of the band's television series. Micky Dolenz sang the lead vocal, while studio musicians including guitarist Louie Shelton provided the instrumental backing. The lyrics tell the story of a man called to fight in the Vietnam War who wonders whether he will ever return home.

The Monkees released their debut single “Last Train to Clarksville”, which soon became a major summer hit.

The Beatles released the single "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work It Out", which was among the songs commemorated as part of the musical anniversaries for August 29.

The Monkees released the single “Last Train to Clarksville,” which later reached number one in the US.

The Zombies released the song "She's Not There" in the USA.

The Beach Boys released "Good Vibrations," described by the source as the most expensive 45 ever produced.

The Seekers released the song "Georgy Girl."

The Who spent two days at Talentmasters Studio in New York. Al Kooper joined the group on organ while they recorded two versions of “Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand.” One was released in the U.S. as the B-side of “I Can See For Miles,” while the other remained in the archives until the expanded version of “The Who Sell Out” was released in 1995. They also recorded a studio version of “Summertime Blues,” an organ overdub for “Relax,” and new vocals for “I Can See For Miles.”

Jackie Wilson vydal skladbu „(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher“.

Paul Revere And The Raiders vydali album „Revolution!“ u Columbia Records. Album dosáhlo 25. místa v Billboard 200 a obsahovalo singly „Him or Me – What’s It Gonna Be?“ a „I Had A Dream“. Na nahrávání se podílelo více než padesát hudebníků.

The Box Tops vydali singl „The Letter“.

The Beatles released the single “Baby You’re a Rich Man” in the US.

Jimi Hendrix released “Purple Haze” as the opening track of the US edition of the album “Are You Experienced”.

Lulu released the single “To Sir with Love.”

The Doors released “People Are Strange” through Elektra Records from their second album, Strange Days. The song became an anthem of alienation, reached number 12 on the US Hot 100 and number 10 on Cash Box; one source also lists it as reaching number one in Canada.

Sam & Dave's classic "Soul Man" was released in the US, where it would rise to No. 4. The song later won the 1968 Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Group Performance, Vocal or Instrumental.

The single “I Can See for Miles” was released in the UK. It reached number 10 on the UK chart and number 9 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it the only single by The Who to reach the US Top 10. In 2010, it ranked 262nd on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the greatest songs.

Paul McCartney stayed behind in Abbey Road Studios at 2 a.m. after the other members of The Beatles had left and recorded “Mother Nature's Son”. He recorded 25 takes, and the song was later included on the album “The White Album”.

The Who released the song “Magic Bus”.

Mary Hopkin released “Those Were The Days” in the United States.

The Beatles released the single “Hey Jude” on the A-side and “Revolution” on the B-side through Apple Records, their first release on their own Apple Records label. The single was released in both the UK and the US; “Hey Jude” became the group's biggest hit, spending nine weeks at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 1 on 23 charts worldwide and selling more than eight million copies. The song received three Grammy nominations but did not win any of them.

Mary Hopkin released her debut single “Those Were the Days” on The Beatles’ Apple label. The song was produced by Paul McCartney and reached No. 1 in 18 countries worldwide.

The Beatles released their first single in the UK on their own Apple Records label. The single contained “Hey Jude” and “Revolution”.

London Records released The Rolling Stones' "Street Fighting Man" in the United States, inspired by an anti-war demonstration in London attended by 25,000 people. The single reached only No. 48 in the United States because a number of radio stations refused to play it because of lyrics perceived as subversive. The original cover depicted police officers beating a demonstrator and was quickly withdrawn from sale. Decca Records did not release the single in Britain at the time.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience released a cover version of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower”, nine months after the original version was released. The song became Hendrix’s biggest US hit and reached the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. It later also influenced Dylan’s live performances of the song.

The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown album and the single “Fire”, with “Rest Cure” as the B-side, were released in the US. The single reached No. 2 on both the Billboard and Cash Box charts. Pete Townshend is credited as a co-producer on both recordings and played rhythm guitar on the B-side.

Dionne Warwick's recording of "I Say a Little Prayer" was certified gold.

Three Dog Night released their version of “Easy to Be Hard” as a single on Dunhill Records. The song, featuring lead vocals by Chuck Negron, was taken from their album Suitable for Framing and released as Dunhill 4203, with “Dreaming Isn't Good For You” on the B-side. The recording was produced by Gabriel Mekler.

George Harrison brought his new Moog synthesizer to the studio, which The Beatles used while completing the “Abbey Road” album. Two Moog overdubs were recorded for “Because.” Harrison was among the first musicians in Britain to use the new instrument.

Sly & the Family Stone released the single “Hot Fun In The Summertime.”