Week in Music History

Helen McKay sang “Here's Looking At You” with music by Duke Ellington during a test transmission by the BBC television service. According to the source, it was the first song ever broadcast on television.

English drummer Brian John Duffy, known as Jet Black, was born in Ilford, England. He was one of the founding members of The Stranglers, who achieved major mainstream success, including with the 1982 single “Golden Brown”.

Doo-wop singer Fred Milano of The Belmonts was born in New York City. The group's name was inspired by Belmont Avenue in the Bronx, where he grew up.

The radio program “Arch Oboler's Plays” was first presented by NBC Symphony.

English musician, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nicholas “Nik” Turner was born in Oxford, England. He became known as a member of the rock band Hawkwind, where he played saxophone and flute; the group had the UK hit “Silver Machine” in 1972.

English drummer and singer Christopher Crummey, known as Chris Curtis, was born in Liverpool. He became known as a member of The Searchers in the 1960s.

American musician and songwriter Keith Allison was born. He became best known as a member of Paul Revere & the Raiders from 1968 to 1975. He also played guitar and harmonica on the Sonny & Cher song “The Beat Goes On”.

American singer and dancer Samuel Mendola, known as Vic Dana, was born in Buffalo, New York. He became known for 1960s hits such as “Little Altar Boy”, “I Will” and the popular cover version of “Red Roses for a Blue Lady”.

English guitarist Alan Parker was born. From the late 1960s onward, he worked as a session guitarist and played with David Bowie, Blue Mink, The Walker Brothers, CCS and Serge Gainsbourg, among others.

American multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter Maureen “Moe” Tucker was born in New York City, USA. She became known as the drummer of The Velvet Underground, and her music is associated with the genres experimental rock, proto-punk, rock and roll, art rock, avant-garde and folk rock.

American singer and songwriter Valerie Simpson, one half of the songwriting and singing duo Ashford & Simpson, was born in New York. Together with Nick Ashford, she wrote songs including “Ain't No Mountain High Enough”, “You're All I Need To Get By”, “Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing” and “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)”.

Singer Bob Cowsill of The Cowsills was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, although the family group was later formed in Newport, Rhode Island.

Singer, songwriter, guitarist and actor Dickran Gobalian, known as Leon Redbone, was born in Nicosia, Cyprus. He became known on the folk scene of the 1970s and performed music in the style of vaudeville and Tin Pan Alley.

Bill Cowsill of The Cowsills was born. The group had the US hit “The Rain, The Park & Other Things” in 1967 and a hit with the title song from “Hair” in 1969.

Dick Cowsill of The Cowsills was born. The group had the US hit “The Rain, The Park & Other Things” in 1967 and a hit with the title song from “Hair” in 1969.

American musician, songwriter, arranger, producer and guitarist Billy Rush was born in Deal, New Jersey. He became known for his work with Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, who released the album “Hearts of Stone” in 1978 and subsequently more than ten other albums.

American guitarist Jack Holder of Black Oak Arkansas was born. The group achieved its greatest fame in the 1970s and had a hit with “Jim Dandy (To The Rescue)”.

Michael Chetwood, keyboardist with T'Pau, was born. T'Pau had the UK No. 1 single “China In Your Hand” in 1987 and the song “Heart And Soul”, which reached No. 4 in both the US and UK.

Elvis Presley performed at Baseball Park in Gonzales, Texas. He was joined by Johnny Horton, Betty Amos, David Houston, Sonny Crammer, Ray Gallman, Tillman Franks and Willie Birdbrain.

The Platters' “My Prayer” was at No. 1 on the US R&B chart.

The title song from the film “Tammy and the Bachelor”, simply titled “Tammy” in Debbie Reynolds' version, was No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100 and Cashbox's best-selling records chart. Debbie was accompanied only by piano on the single, while the film version featured a full orchestra.

Founding member, rhythm guitarist and principal songwriter of the punk rock band The Undertones, John O'Neill was born in Derry, Northern Ireland. He wrote songs including “Teenage Kicks”, “Jimmy Jimmy”, “Here Comes the Summer” and “You've Got My Number”.

English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams died in London at the age of 85. He became known for works such as “A Pastoral Symphony” and “The Lark Ascending”.

American saxophonist, bandleader and composer Branford Marsalis was born in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, into a family of musicians. He played saxophone and various percussion instruments on Sting's 1985 solo debut album “The Dream of the Blue Turtles”.

American jazz pianist, keyboardist, composer, arranger and producer Jim Beard was born. He worked with Steely Dan, Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin and Pat Metheny, among others.

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

American singer Mitch Malloy was born. He is best known as the former singer of the hard rock band Great White from 2018 to 2022 and also auditioned for the position of Van Halen's singer after Sammy Hagar's departure.

Bobby Vinton reached No. 1 for the fourth week with “Roses Are Red (My Love)” on the Easy Listening chart.

Ringo Starr performed with The Beatles for the first time as their new drummer at the Horticultural Society Dance in Birkenhead, England.

Paul McCartney was fined £25 and lost his driving licence for one year after being caught speeding. He received additional fines of £3 each for two further charges involving the late presentation of his driving licence and insurance document, bringing the total penalty to £31. Police stopped him at 11:45 p.m. on June 14, 1963, on Seabank Road in Wallasey while he was driving the other Beatles back to Liverpool after their performance at the Tower Ballroom in New Brighton.

Roy Orbison and The Candy Men released the song “Oh, Pretty Woman”. The song became a commercial success and a major international hit, reaching No. 1 on singles charts in eleven countries.

The Beatles arrived in San Francisco to begin their first US tour and were welcomed by 9,000 fans. Because of the crowd, they were taken into a protected area so photographers could photograph them; however, fans pushed against the barrier and The Beatles narrowly escaped before it collapsed.

The Kinks released “You Really Got Me” in the United States.

Sonny & Cher reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart with “I Got You Babe”, their only UK No. 1. In the same year, the song also topped the charts in Canada, New Zealand and the US. Sonny Bono was inspired when writing the song by the popularity of the word “babe”, which he had heard, for example, in Bob Dylan's “It Ain’t Me Babe”.

The Byrds performed at the Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood, California.

American musician Daniel “Dan” Vickrey was born in Walnut Creek, California. He became known as the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band Counting Crows. The group had the UK hit “Mr Jones” in 1994 and the US No. 1 album “Recovering The Satellites” in 1996. In 2004, they received an Academy Award nomination for the song “Accidentally in Love” from the film “Shrek 2”.

Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shirley Manson was born in Edinburgh. She later founded the group Angelfish, whose video for “Suffocate Me” attracted the attention of Butch Vig, Duke Erikson and Steve Marker, who persuaded her to join their new group Garbage. Garbage's 1995 debut album sold more than four million copies.

Bobbie Gentry began a four-week run at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 with “Ode to Billie Joe”. The song also reached the top in Canada, reached No. 7 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, No. 8 on Hot R&B Singles and No. 17 on Hot Country Songs, and later became an international hit. It received eight Grammy nominations, three of which Gentry won.

Elvis and Priscilla Presley returned from Las Vegas to Memphis at 8:20 a.m.

Jeff Tweedy of Wilco was born.

Jimi Hendrix's “Purple Haze” entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 94. During its eight-week run, it peaked at No. 65. It performed much better in the UK, reaching No. 3 and spending 14 weeks on the UK Singles Chart. In 2010, Billboard ranked it No. 17 on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

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

Small Faces, The Move, The Gass, Tomorrow, Denny Laine, Jeff Beck, Eric Burdon and Marmalade performed on the first day of the three-day nonstop event “Festival of the Flower Children” at Woburn Abbey in England. DJs John Peel and Tommy Vance also performed; a one-day ticket cost £1.

Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull joined The Beatles in Bangor, North Wales, where they were collectively seeking guidance from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. After his lecture, The Beatles held a press conference at which they announced that they had become his disciples and joined his “Spiritual Regeneration Movement”. The group also announced that they were giving up drug use; according to the sources, the group was to donate one week's earnings to the movement each month.

Jeannie C. Riley's album “Harper Valley P.T.A.” received a gold certification. The single “Harper Valley P.T.A.” ultimately sold more than six million copies, and Riley became the first woman to top both the US pop and country charts with the same song.

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.

American drummer and songwriter Adrian Young was born in Long Beach, California. He is best known as a longtime member of No Doubt and also performed with Dreamcar.