Recording events
- The Original Dixieland Jass Band, shortly after changing the name “Jass” to “Jazz”, made the first recording of the song “Tiger Rag”.
- Guy Lombardo and his orchestra recorded the song “Go Home and Tell Your Mother”.
- Fats Waller recorded the song “Ain't Misbehavin'”.
- The Dick Jurgens Orchestra recorded “Day Dreams Come True at Night”.
- Orrin Tucker recorded the song “Oh, Johnny, Oh, Johnny, Oh!”.
- Opera tenor Allan Jones recorded the song “I'm Falling in Love with Someone”.
- Frank Sinatra recorded "All or Nothing at All" with the Harry James Orchestra, one of his first major hits.
- Frankie Masters and his orchestra recorded the song "Marching Along Together".
- Glenn Miller and His Orchestra recorded “Elmer's Tune.”
- Skinnay Ennis recorded the song “Don't Let Julia Fool Ya”.
- Ralph Flanagan and his orchestra recorded the song “You're Breaking My Heart.”
- Hank Williams came to Herzog Studio in Cincinnati to record “I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry”. He originally wrote it with the intention that the words would be recited rather than sung. The song about loneliness was largely inspired by his troubled relationship with his wife Audrey Sheppard.
- Nat King Cole recorded the original mono version of the song “Unforgettable” at Capitol Recording Studio in Hollywood. He re-recorded it in stereo in 1961, and this version was used in 1991 for an electronic duet with his daughter Natalie Cole.
- In Los Angeles, she recorded the original version of “Hound Dog”, which became the first hit for songwriting duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The recording spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and sold nearly two million copies.
- Perez Prado recorded the song “Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White”.
- Sun Records released the song “I Forgot to Remember to Forget”. Billboard published a review of it and predicted that it would receive considerable attention. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard National Country Music Chart and No. 4 on the Billboard Most Played By Jockeys chart in February 1956, bringing Elvis his first nationwide publicity and success.
- Elvis Presley recorded on the soundstage at 20th Century Fox in Hollywood from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Among the recordings made there with studio musicians were „We're Gonna Move“, „Poor Boy“ and „Love Me Tender“. Ken Darby wrote new lyrics to the melody of the 1861 folk song „Aura Lee“. Presley was credited as a co-writer because of the terms of his publishing contract with Hill & Range. „Love Me Tender“ appeared in the film of the same name and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100 and Cashbox Top 100, No. 1 in Canada and No. 11 in the U.K.
- Elvis Presley recorded his first spoken-word single, "The Truth About Me", which was released as a flexidisc attached to magazine covers.
- Ricky Nelson recorded "Be-Bop Baby" during his first recording session for Imperial Records. The song had 750,000 advance orders before its release; it later sold more than one million copies and reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the R&B chart.
- Ricky Nelson recorded the song “Lonesome Town” at Master Recorders in Hollywood, California.
- She recorded “Sweet Nothin's”, a song about young love that became her breakthrough hit, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming the first of her 29 Top 40 songs. She was only 15 at the time of the recording.
- Bobby Darin released the classic single “Mack the Knife”.
- Paul Anka released the song “Put Your Head on My Shoulder”.
- In the United Kingdom, the song “It's Now or Never” was released after the necessary copyright clearances had been obtained. It was an English-language version of the Neapolitan standard “O Sole Mio”, which had been made famous by Enrico Caruso in 1916. The song reached No. 1 on the British chart and received a Silver Record for sales of more than 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom.
- Patsy Cline began recording Willie Nelson's song “Crazy” at Bradley Film and Recording Studio in Nashville. She was still using crutches after a head-on car collision two months earlier and initially had difficulty reaching the high notes because of her broken ribs. The car accident forced her to interrupt the recording, and she returned to the studio on September 15, when she completed the song with a single vocal take. The recording reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart, spending 21 weeks on the chart. In November 2021, Willie Nelson told David Letterman that when he originally wrote the song, he called it “Stupid”. In 1996, the Amusement and Music Operators Association named it the most-played song of all time on American jukeboxes. “Crazy” later became one of Patsy Cline's signature songs.
- Tamla Records released The Marvelettes' first single, “Please Mr. Postman”. The song sold more than one million copies and became the group's biggest hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Pop and R&B charts. It was Motown's first song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
- Twenty-four-year-old Gene Chandler recorded the song “Duke Of Earl” at Universal Recording studio in Chicago with his vocal group The Dukays. The recording session was originally intended for Nat Records, but the original tapes were later sold to Vee Jay Records, which scored its first No. 1 hit and first million-selling record with the song the following February. The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2002, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included it among the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll. Gene Chandler later placed another 25 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, but none was as successful as “Duke Of Earl”.
- Peter, Paul & Mary released the song “If I Had a Hammer.”
- The Beatles recorded the song “Baby's In Black” on this day.
- The Supremes recorded “Baby Love”, written and produced by the Holland–Dozier–Holland team. The song later became their second US No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and their first UK No. 1.
- Shirley Bassey recorded “Goldfinger” in London for the upcoming James Bond film of the same name.
- Davy Jones & The Lower Third released the single “You've Got a Habit of Leaving”, the last song David Bowie, then still performing under his birth name David Jones, released before changing his name. He made the change to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of The Monkees. It was also the first of two singles he recorded with The Lower Third after leaving his previous group, The Manish Boys.
- The Rolling Stones released the single “(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction” in the U.S.
- Barry McGuire released his version of P. F. Sloan's protest song “Eve Of Destruction”. The song reached No. 1 on the singles charts in Canada, Norway and the US and No. 3 in the UK.
- “Eve Of Destruction” by Barry McGuire and “Do You Believe In Magic” by The Lovin' Spoonful were released in America. The first song reached No. 1 on September 25, while the second reached No. 9 in mid-October.
- The Lovin' Spoonful released the song “Do You Believe In Magic”.
- As a follow-up to her previous hit “Born A Woman”, Sandy Posey recorded “Single Girl” for MGM Records at Fred Foster Sound Studio in Nashville, Tennessee. Like “Born A Woman”, the song reached No. 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 15 on the UK singles chart.
- The Doors began recording their self-titled debut album at Sunset Sound Recording Studios on West Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. They had already been developing the material through live performances, particularly at the Whisky a Go Go. The album was released in January 1967, contained the full version of their breakthrough single „Light My Fire“ and reached No. 2 on the Billboard Top LPs chart.
- The Youngbloods recorded „Get Together“ at RCA Studios in New York. The single originally stalled at No. 62, but its 1969 reissue reached No. 5; The Dave Clark Five later took their cover version into the U.K. Top 10.
- The Who began two days of recording at IBC Studios and Pye No. 2 Studio in London. During these sessions, the group recorded “Barbara Ann” by The Regents, “Man with Money” by The Everly Brothers, “Heatwave” by Martha and the Vandellas and the theme tune from the then-popular television series Batman. The recordings were intended for a new album with the working title “Jigsaw Puzzle”. The producer was Kit Lambert and the sound engineer was Paul Clay.
- Louis Armstrong went to United Recording Studios in Las Vegas after his midnight performance at the Tropicana, where he recorded "What a Wonderful World". The recording session ended around 6 a.m.
- Pink Floyd worked in Studio 3 at EMI Studios on Abbey Road, recording material for the album A Saucerful of Secrets.
- Gary Puckett and the Union Gap recorded the song “Woman, Woman” at Columbia Studios in Hollywood. It later reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on the Cashbox chart and earned a gold record for sales of one million copies.
- The Who's manager Kit Lambert was at Columbia Recording Studios in Hollywood mixing mono versions of “Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand”, “Summertime Blues”, “Someone’s Coming” and “Relax”.
- The Rolling Stones released the single “We Love You,” featuring John Lennon and Paul McCartney on backing vocals.
- The Doors began recording their second album “Strange Days” at Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, California.
- The Beatles continued recording the song “Your Mother Should Know” at Chappell Recording Studios in London's Mayfair. The temporary relocation of the recording session was due to scheduling conflicts at EMI Studios. During the session, they concentrated on layering backing vocals for the song intended for the “Magical Mystery Tour” project. This evening was also the last visit to the studio by their manager Brian Epstein; he died four days later.
- Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham met together in the studio on Lisle Street in London's West End for the first time. The first song the future Led Zeppelin members created together was “Train Kept A-Rollin’.”
- The Beatles recorded the song “Yer Blues”.
- The Beatles recorded 14 versions of George Harrison's new song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" at Abbey Road, developing it from its original acoustic version into an electric arrangement.
- Pink Floyd released the single Let There Be More Light / Remember a Day in the US.
- Ringo Starr temporarily left The Beatles because of growing tension and arguments during the recording of “The White Album”. He felt that he was not playing well and was an outsider to the others. His departure was kept secret, and the remaining three continued working on “Back in the U.S.S.R.” and “Dear Prudence”, with Paul McCartney playing drums and John Lennon playing bass. During his absence, Starr relaxed on a yacht off Sardinia, where he wrote the song “Octopus's Garden”. After the others sent him an apologetic telegram, he returned to the group on September 3 and found his drum kit decorated with flowers in the studio. The following day, the Beatles filmed promotional videos for “Hey Jude” and “Revolution”.
- The original instrumental tracks for Tommy Roe's song “Dizzy” were recorded at Western Recorders in Hollywood. The song was written by Roe and Freddy Weller and produced by Steve Barri. The single was released on November 13, 1968, by ABC Records and in March 1969 spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, reached No. 1 on the British chart for one week in June 1969, and also reached No. 1 in Canada in March 1969. The recording featured Tommy Roe – vocals, Hal Blaine – drums, Joe Osborn – bass, Ben Benay – guitar, Michael Deasy – guitar, and Don Randi – piano.
- During a recording session for her fifth album at CBS Studios in Nashville on August 28, 1968, Tammy Wynette recorded the song “Stand By Your Man”. Producer Billy Sherrill suggested during the session that she finish a song he had started working on, and they completed it together in just 15 minutes. The song became Wynette’s signature hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Country Songs chart and No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 after its release on September 20, 1968, and selling more than two million copies.
- At Trident Studios in London, The Beatles began recording a new John Lennon song, “Dear Prudence”. They built the song instrument by instrument using the studio’s eight-track equipment. John Lennon and George Harrison played guitars, while Paul McCartney played drums because Ringo Starr had left The Beatles on August 22.
- Deep Purple recorded “Speed King” in Studio 2 at Aeolian Hall. The recording was broadcast six days later on Symonds On Sunday.
- The Beatles worked on the song “You Never Give Me Your Money” during the recording of the album Abbey Road.
- The Guess Who recorded the song “American Woman” at RCA Mid-America Recording Center in Chicago. The song was released in March 1970 and later reached No. 1 on both the US and Canadian singles charts.
- John Lennon wrote the song „Cold Turkey“ about heroin withdrawal, rehearsed it during the afternoon and recorded it that evening with Ringo Starr and Klaus Voormann. During the recording he also drew on his recent experience with primal scream therapy. Despite unfavorable reviews and a BBC ban, the song reached the U.K. Top 20 and U.S. Top 30 and became a precursor to his later album „Plastic Ono Band“.
- Derek & the Dominos began recording their first and only studio album, “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs”. Eric Clapton was a member of the group and, in an effort to remain low-profile, tried to downplay his involvement in the band.
- While recording the album “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs”, producer Tom Dowd took Eric Clapton and his group to a concert by The Allman Brothers Band, where Clapton heard Duane Allman play in person for the first time. After the concert, an immediate bond developed between Clapton and Allman, and Allman was invited to the studio to record with the new group Derek & the Dominos. After an all-night jam, Allman asked Clapton if he could visit the recording sessions, and Clapton agreed on the condition that Allman would also participate in the recording. During the following ten days, Allman contributed to most of the album's songs, making it the result of their collaboration.
- Jimi Hendrix made his final studio recording when he recorded “Slow Blues” at Electric Lady Studios in New York.
- The Doobie Brothers released the song “China Grove.”
- The Allman Brothers Band released the single “Ramblin' Man”.
- The Rolling Stones released “Angie”, the lead single from their studio album “Goats Head Soup”. The single reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard chart and No. 5 in Britain; it also topped the charts in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. Speculation surrounded the song's title and possible inspiration, including Angela, the first wife of David Bowie, actress Angie Dickinson, Keith Richards' daughter Dandelion Angela and Marianne Faithfull. Richards, however, stated in his autobiography “Life” that he chose the name at random while writing the song, before he knew that his child would be named Angela or that the child would be a girl.
- Neil Young and The Santa Monica Flyers recorded “Mellow My Mind”, “Speakin' Out”, “World on a String”, “Tired Eyes” and “Tonight's the Night”. All five recordings were included on the final version of the album “Tonight's the Night”.
- During the recording of David Bowie’s album “Young Americans”, fans kept watch outside Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios and at 5 a.m. were invited into the studio to listen to a playback of the album while Bowie observed their reactions to the music.
- Four Seasons released the single “Who Loves You,” which became their first Top 10 hit in eight years.
- Queen began recording the song “Bohemian Rhapsody” at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales.
- Queen began recording „Bohemian Rhapsody“ at Rockfield Studio 1 in Monmouth, Wales. Freddie Mercury had prepared the song in advance and led the band during the three-week recording process; Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor sang their parts for 10–12 hours a day, producing 180 separate vocal overdubs. Four additional studios were also used to complete the song. After its release, the song reached No. 1 in the U.K., No. 9 in the U.S. and the Top 10 in 13 other countries.
- Neil Young recorded an entire album in a single evening at Indigo Ranch Recording Studio in Malibu. The recording included “Pocahontas” and “Powderfinger,” among others, but executives shelved it until September 8, 2017, when it was released as Hitchhiker.
- Gary Numan released the single “Cars”.
- John Lennon began recording his final album, “Double Fantasy”. The album was released on November 17 by the newly established Geffen Records and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart three weeks later. In February 1982, it won Album of the Year at the 24th Grammy Awards.
- Madonna began filming the music video for “Erotica” at The Kitchen in New York City.
- Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin reunited in London studios to record a performance for MTV Unplugged, later released as the television special “Unledded” and the album “No Quarter”. John Paul Jones was excluded from the project and, according to sources, learned about the reunion from the media.
- Boyz II Men released the single “4 Seasons of Loneliness” to radio stations for airplay. The single was made available to the public on September 9.