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.

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

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

Big Brother and the Holding Company released the album “Cheap Thrills”.

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.

Big Brother and the Holding Company released the album "Cheap Thrills" in the United States.

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.

The Latin rock band Santana released its self-titled debut studio album through Columbia Records. The album reached No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart and No. 34 in the United Kingdom. It included the single “Evil Ways”, which reached No. 9 in the U.S. and introduced Gregg Rolie as lead singer; Rolie later became a co-founder of the band Journey.

Johnny Cash began a four-week run at number one on the US Billboard 200 (Billboard Top LPs and Tape) with his second live album, “Johnny Cash At San Quentin”. The album was a recording of a live concert for inmates at San Quentin State Prison and followed his previous successful live album “At Folsom Prison”. It was nominated for several Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, and won Best Male Country Vocal Performance for the song “A Boy Named Sue”. It was later certified triple platinum in the US and gold in the UK.

The Band's album “The Band” was released.

The Rolling Stones released the album "Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)" in the UK.

Frank Zappa released “Weasels Ripped My Flesh,” the second album credited to The Mothers of Invention after the group’s breakup in 1969. The album contains various live recordings and improvisations by the group dating from 1967, including “My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama.”

Simon and Garfunkel's album “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was at No. 1 on the UK albums chart. The Beatles were second with “Let It Be” and Bob Dylan was third with “Self Portrait”.

Jimmy Buffett released his debut album Down to Earth, a folk-rock collection that included “The Captain and the Kid,” written in honor of his late grandfather. The album sold only 374 copies.

Black Sabbath released their debut album Black Sabbath in the US. The album had already been released in Britain on February 13, 1970, and laid the foundations for heavy metal.

The Band released their third album, Stage Fright. The songs reflected the pressure that began to affect the group following the success of their previous two albums. The title track, sung by Rick Danko, was inspired by Robbie Robertson's experiences with stage fright during the band's early days of performing.

The Carpenters released the album “Close to You”.

The Velvet Underground’s album “Loaded” was released.

The Beach Boys released their sixteenth studio album, "Sunflower", through Reprise Records. The album reached No. 151 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and No. 29 in the United Kingdom. It included the singles "Add Some Music to Your Life" and "Cool, Cool Water", originally recorded for the album "Smiley Smile".

They released their iconic fifth studio album Who’s Next, which featured the classic songs “Behind Blue Eyes” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. The album entered the US chart and later reached number 4, while in the UK it was released on August 25 and reached number one. It is the group's only album to reach the top of the chart in any country. John Mendelsohn of Rolling Stone described it as an intelligently conceived, brilliantly performed and produced rock album, and it later became widely regarded as one of the greatest rock recordings in history. In 2007, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

The Who released their fifth studio album “Who's Next” in the UK, one of the most significant albums in rock history.

The Beach Boys released their 17th studio album “Surf’s Up” through Brother/Reprise Records. The album reached No. 29 in the US and No. 15 in the UK and became their highest-charting album of new material in the US since 1967. Daryl Dragon can be heard on the album playing Moog synthesizer, organ, piano, electric guitar, bass guitar and vibraphone.

Grateful Dead released their second live album, simply titled Grateful Dead. Rolling Stone magazine reported that Jerry Garcia had originally wanted to call it “Starfuck”. The album became the group’s first to reach the Top 25.