Music History

Frank Sinatra reached number one on the UK album chart with his tenth studio album “Songs for Swingin’ Lovers!”. In the US the album reached number two.

Tommy Steele reached No. 1 on the British albums chart with "The Tommy Steele Story", the soundtrack to the film following his rise to fame.

RCA Victor received 500,000 advance orders for Elvis' Christmas Album before its release, even though only 200,000 copies had initially been pressed. The album later spent four weeks at No. 1, received diamond certification in the US, and according to sources more than 17 million copies were shipped in the US. Irving Berlin also campaigned against Presley's version of “White Christmas.”

Johnny Mathis released his first Christmas album, Merry Christmas. The album later became one of the most successful Christmas recordings, receiving 5× Multi-Platinum certification and selling more than 5 million copies.

Frank Sinatra's album Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely reached number one on the US album chart.

Miles Davis released the album Kind of Blue, one of the most influential jazz albums in history. John Coltrane, Bill Evans and Cannonball Adderley also participated in the recording, and the album had a major influence on the subsequent development of jazz.

Elvis Presley's compilation album A Date With Elvis reached number 32 on the U.S. chart.

Elvis Presley reached No. 1 on the US album chart with his album “Something For Everybody”.

The Beach Boys released the album Surfin' Safari in the US around this time.

The Beach Boys released their debut album, “Surfin’ Safari”, on Capitol Records. The album also included their first single, “Surfin’”, and reached No. 32 on the US chart.

Allan Sherman began an eight-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart with his third studio album, "My Son, the Nut".

The Beach Boys released their fourth album Little Deuce Coupe on Capitol Records. The album reached No. 4 on the Billboard chart and spent 46 weeks on the chart, later receiving RIAA platinum certification. It was among the first rock concept albums devoted entirely to automobiles. The cover featured a 1932 Ford Coupe, photographed for the album by Hot Rod magazine.

The Beatles began recording their fourth studio album at EMI Studios in London, then still untitled and later released as Beatles For Sale. The album marked a departure from the carefree tone of their earlier recordings, partly because of the band's exhaustion after a series of concert tours. Recording was completed on October 26 and the album was released on December 4, 1964. It later reached No. 1 in Australia, Finland, Germany and the UK.

They released the UK EP 5 x 5, recorded at Chess Studios on Chicago's South Side, the home studio of their blues heroes. Keith Richards said that when they arrived at the building, they found Muddy Waters painting the ceiling. Several months later, the EP was expanded to album length and released in America as 12 x 5.

Liberty Records announced that the album “The Chipmunks Sing the Beatles” was selling at a rate of 25,000 copies per day. The album later reached No. 14 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and remained on the chart for more than five months. Chipmunks creator Ross Bagdasarian had actually spoken with The Beatles before beginning the project and later said that the group was very supportive.

The Beatles' album „Something New“ received a gold certification.

The Kinks released their debut album The Kinks.

The Animals' debut album entered the US Billboard album chart and eventually reached No. 7, largely thanks to the song "House Of The Rising Sun." The British version of The Animals album was released a month later, had significantly different content, and reached No. 6 on the UK chart.

In the US, The Beatles released their fifth studio album Help!, one week after its UK release. The album also served as the soundtrack to the film of the same name and reached No. 1 on the charts in Australia, the UK, Finland, and the US.

The Beach Boys’ album “Today!” was released in the United Kingdom.

Bob Dylan released the album “Highway 61 Revisited”, which marked his definitive transition to an electric sound. The album included, among others, “Like a Rolling Stone”, which reached No. 2, and the more than eleven-minute song “Desolation Row”.

They released their self-titled album “The Hollies.”

The Byrds released the album “Turn! Turn! Turn!”.

The soundtrack to the 1963 film The Pink Panther received gold certification for sales of 500,000 copies. It reached No. 8 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and spent 41 weeks on the chart. The album won three Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001.

Elvis Presley's compilation album "Flaming Star And Summer Kisses" reached No. 11 in the UK.

The Beatles released the album “Revolver”, which marked a major development in their studio work. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and spent a total of 77 weeks on the chart. It included, among others, the psychedelic track “Tomorrow Never Knows” and the song “Taxman”.

The Mamas and the Papas’ second album was their self-titled album, released by Dunhill Records. It contained the singles “I Saw Her Again”, which reached No. 5 in the US and No. 11 in the UK, and “Words of Love”, which reached No. 5 in the US and No. 47 in the UK. The album reached No. 4 in the US and No. 24 in the UK.

The album What Now My Love became the third album by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass to reach No. 1, out of a total of six albums released by the group.

Simon and Garfunkel released the classic album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme.

The duo Simon & Garfunkel released the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.

The Monkees' debut album, titled The Monkees, was released.

Pink Floyd released their debut album "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn". Most of the songs were written by Syd Barrett, and the album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios and is regarded as a landmark psychedelic rock album; it reached No. 6 on the UK albums chart.

Frank Zappa vydal u Capitol Records své debutové sólové studiové album „Lumpy Gravy“. Na albu dirigoval skupinu studiových hudebníků, ale sám na žádný nástroj nehrál. Album bylo krátce nato staženo kvůli žalobě MGM Records a výrazně upravená verze byla znovu vydána v roce 1968; album se v americkém Billboard 200 dostalo na 159. místo.

Jimi Hendrix released the album Live at the Hollywood Bowl: August 18, 1967, containing a recording of his performance on this date, which was not officially released until 2023.

Elvis Presley’s album Double Trouble reached number 34 on the UK album chart.

Cream’s third album “Wheels Of Fire” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart. The double album contained one studio-recorded disc and one live disc. It also reached No. 3 in the UK, while the lead single “White Room” reached No. 6 in the US and No. 28 in the UK.

Big Brother and the Holding Company released the album “Cheap Thrills” on Columbia Records, featuring Janis Joplin as lead vocalist.

Capitol Records released The Beach Boys’ album “Stack-o-Tracks”, assembled from the instrumental backing tracks of 15 songs from the group’s career to date. During one of their commercially weakest periods in the US, it became the first Beach Boys album not to chart in either the US or the UK. It was subsequently withdrawn from sale and remained unavailable for about two decades. Capitol reissued it on CD in 1990 and again in 2001; both editions were released without the original booklet that accompanied the vinyl version.

Fleetwood Mac released their second album, “Mr. Wonderful”. Christine Perfect played keyboards on the album and, over the following few years, married John McVie and became a full member of Fleetwood Mac.

The Byrds released their sixth studio album “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” through Columbia Records. The album marked a significant departure from their previous psychedelic folk-rock sound toward country and bluegrass and reached No. 77 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart. Gram Parsons also contributed to the album. The album is considered one of the first major country-rock albums and became an important milestone for the emerging Los Angeles country-rock scene of the 1970s.

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown released their self-titled album in the UK.

Wet Wet Wet reached No. 1 on the UK album chart with their first compilation album, End of Part One: Their Greatest Hits.

Iron Butterfly's album In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida entered the Billboard chart; it later reached No. 10 and became a multi-platinum title, selling more than 25 million copies.

The Doors reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 with their third studio album Waiting for the Sun. The album contained their first No. 1 single, “Hello, I Love You”, which contributed significantly to its success. The group decided to include the song on the album after abandoning plans to devote the entire first side to Morrison's poetic work “Celebration of the Lizard”.

Elvis Presley released the album Singer Presents Elvis Singing Flaming Star And Others.

Creedence Clearwater Revival released “Green River,” their third studio album and the second of three albums they released in 1969. The album was a major artistic and commercial success for the group.

The Stooges released their self-titled debut album. Its raw sound and distorted guitars later became a major influence on a number of punk bands.

Pink Floyd released the album “More”, the soundtrack to the film of the same name and a transitional album between Syd Barrett’s departure and the band’s later success with “The Dark Side of the Moon”.

Their debut album Three Dog Night received a gold record for sales of one million copies. After modest success with “Nobody” and “Try a Little Tenderness”, the label released the single “One”, which reached No. 5. Later editions of the album emphasized this hit in the title, and the album was certified platinum in 2008.

Blind Faith released their self-titled debut album.