Week in Music History

Composer Marie-Juliette Olga Lili Boulanger was born.

American jazz pianist, composer, organist and bandleader William James “Count” Basie was born in Red Bank, New Jersey. He became famous as the founder and leader of the Count Basie Orchestra.

In Kalamazoo, Michigan, an ordinance was passed prohibiting dancers from looking their partners in the eye.

Singer and songwriter Ernie Maresca, the writer of several hits by Dion, was born in the Bronx, New York.

Country and pop singer, songwriter and producer Kenny Rogers was born in Houston, Texas. His best-known song “The Gambler” was released when he was 40 years old.

Country singer Harold Reid of The Statler Brothers was born in Staunton, Virginia. He co-wrote many of the group's hits, including “Bed of Rose's” and “Do You Know You Are My Sunshine”.

American singer and songwriter Jackie DeShannon, born Sharon Lee Myers, was born in Hazel, Kentucky. She became known for songs including “What the World Needs Now Is Love” and “Put a Little Love in Your Heart”.

Keyboardist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Tom Coster was born in Detroit, Michigan. He became known for his long collaboration with Carlos Santana, with whom he co-wrote the song “Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile)”.

Carl Giammarese, lead singer and guitarist of The Buckinghams, was born in Chicago, Illinois.

English rock bassist and singer Glenn Hughes was born in Cannock, Staffordshire. He became known for his work with the bands Trapeze and Deep Purple and also briefly as the singer of Black Sabbath.

English musician and co-founder of the punk rock band The Clash John Mellor, known by his stage name Joe Strummer, was born in Ankara, Turkey. He was born John Graham Mellor.

Frankie Laine reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart with his version of the song “I Believe”.

Drummer Steve Smith of Focus and Journey was born in Whitman, Massachusetts.

Elvis's family lived at 1414 Getwell Street, rented from mid-1955 until May 11, 1956.

Bill Buchanan and Dickie Goodman had the third-best-selling song in the US with their novelty song “Flying Saucer”. It sold 500,000 copies in just three weeks and eventually surpassed one million. The recording's concept involved two radio reporters asking questions that were humorously answered with excerpts from mid-1950s hits. Buchanan and Goodman were sued for copyright infringement by seventeen different record companies, but all the lawsuits were dismissed with the ruling that the parodies did not interfere with sales of the original recordings.

Budgie, drummer of Siouxsie and the Banshees, was born.

Elvis bought two stone lions and had them installed on either side of the steps leading to Graceland.

Kim Sledge of Sister Sledge was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Ricky Nelson recorded the song “Lonesome Town” at Master Recorders in Hollywood, California.

Elvis was serving in the military in Germany. From February 3, 1959 to March 1960, he lived at Goethestraße 14 in Bad Nauheim, Germany.

Bobby Lewis was at No. 1 for the seventh consecutive week with “Tossin' And Turnin'”.

Elvis Presley began a three-week run at No. 1 on the US album chart with “Something For Everybody”, his sixth US No. 1 album.

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.

American DJ, remixer and music producer David Morales was born in New York. He is a Grammy Award winner.

Elvis Presley and Gary Pepper were photographed on August 21, 1962, after a private movie evening shown by Paul Shafer at the Malco Theatre in Memphis.

The Ronettes recorded their only Billboard Top 10 hit when their first recording for Phil Spector, “Be My Baby”, reached No. 2. None of their other recordings, including “Baby I Love You” (#24), “The Best Part of Breaking Up” (#39), “Do I Love You?” (#34) and “Walking In the Rain” (#23), reached the Top 20 in the US.

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.

Barry McGuire's “Eve Of Destruction” and The Lovin' Spoonful's “Do You Believe In Magic” entered the Billboard Hot 100. McGuire's protest song reached No. 1 on September 25, while The Lovin' Spoonful's song reached No. 9 in mid-October.

“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.

Sonny & Cher returned to No. 1 with “I Got You Babe”. Gary Lewis & the Playboys moved up to No. 2 with “Save Your Heart For Me”, The Beatles jumped from No. 14 to No. 3 with “Help!”, The Beach Boys were at No. 4 with “California Girls” and The Righteous Brothers at No. 5 with “Unchained Melody”. The rest of the Top 10: The Rolling Stones with “Satisfaction” at No. 6, The Four Tops with “It's The Same Old Song” at No. 7, Patty Duke with “Don't Just Stand There” at No. 8, Herman's Hermits with “I'm Henry VIII, I Am” at No. 9 and Billy Joe Royal with “Down In The Boondocks” at No. 10.

The Lovin' Spoonful released the song “Do You Believe In Magic”.

The Rolling Stones began a three-week run at No. 1 on the US album chart with “Out Of Our Heads”, their fourth US studio album and the group's first album to reach the top of the US chart. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and knocked “Beatles VI” from the top spot. Its success was helped by songs including “Satisfaction” (#1), “The Last Time” (#9) and “Play With Fire”.

The Who performed at the Palais in Bournemouth during their seventeen-date UK tour.

During their final US tour, The Beatles performed in two cities after a concert the previous day had been cancelled because of rain. They first performed at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio. They then flew to St. Louis, Missouri, where they played at Busch Stadium under a tarpaulin because of heavy rain. The conditions were extremely unpleasant, and this concert convinced Paul McCartney that The Beatles should stop touring and concentrate on studio work.

Jim Morrison failed to appear for The Doors' performance at the Whisky a Go Go club in Los Angeles. The band played the first set without him and then picked him up from his apartment, where he was under the influence of LSD. After returning to the club, The Doors played “The End” and Morrison improvised Oedipal verses. This led to them being fired from the club, but it also produced the final lyrics that later appeared in the recording of the song on their debut album.

Bob Dylan renewed his recording contract with Columbia Records.

Sam & Dave released the single “Soul Man”.

The Doors began recording their second album “Strange Days” at Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, California.

Tommy James and The Shondells returned to No. 1 on the UK singles chart for the second time with the single “Mony Mony”. In 1987, Billy Idol's version of the song replaced another Tommy James hit, “I Think We’re Alone Now” by Tiffany, at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Elvis Presley performed at 8:15 p.m. and at midnight at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. Both concerts were attended by 2,200 people. The 8:15 p.m. setlist included “Blue Suede Shoes”, “I Got A Woman”, “Love Me Tender”, “Jailhouse Rock/Don't Be Cruel”, “Heartbreak Hotel”, “Hound Dog”, “I Can't Stop Loving You”, “My Babe”, “Mystery Train/Tiger Man”, “Baby What You Want Me To Do”, “Runaway”, “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”, “Yesterday/Hey Jude”, “In The Ghetto”, “Suspicious Minds”, “What'd I Say” and “Can't Help Falling In Love”. The midnight setlist included “All Shook Up”, “I Got A Woman”, “Love Me Tender”, “Jailhouse Rock/Don't Be Cruel”, “Heartbreak Hotel”, “Hound Dog”, “Memories”, “Mystery Train/Tiger Man”, “Baby What You Want Me To Do”, “Runaway”, “Surrender/Are You Lonesome Tonight?”, “Words”, “Yesterday”, “Hey Jude”, “In The Ghetto”, “Suspicious Minds”, “What I'd Say” and “Can't Help Falling In Love”. After the midnight show, Elvis introduced Shelly Fabares.

James Brown opened the first two of his Gold Platter restaurants in Macon, Georgia. The soul-food restaurants served food on plates resembling gold records and were intended as a franchise opportunity for Black entrepreneurs. However, the concept did not catch on and the project was discontinued in 1970.

Led Zeppelin performed at the Carousel Theatre in Framingham, Massachusetts, during their North American tour.