Events in 1960
- Johnny Kidd & The Pirates reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart with "Shakin' All Over" on August 4, 1960, the official archival chart date for this number-one debut.
- Graham Massey, keyboardist with 808 State, was born.
- Elvis Presley was fitted with brown contact lenses for his role as Pacer Burton in the film “Flaming Star,” intended to change his naturally blue eyes to brown. He ultimately did not use them in the film.
- Stuart Croxford Neale, a member of Kajagoogoo, was born.
- Chubby Checker made his first television appearance with “The Twist.” The song later reached No. 1 on the U.S. chart and sparked a major dance craze.
- The soundtrack album to the 1958 film “South Pacific” reached No. 1 on the UK album chart.
- The Beatles went to assess drummer Pete Best at the Casbah Coffee Club in Liverpool. Pete Best was then playing with The Blackjacks and was the daughter of club owner Mona Best.
- Zpěvačka a skladatelka Jacquie O'Sullivan, která se v roce 1988 připojila ke skupině Bananarama, se narodila v Hendonu v Londýně.
- Brian Hyland reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Cash Box Best Sellers chart with "Itsy Bitsy, Teenie Weenie, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini". In the U.K., the song reached No. 8.
- Elvis Presley recorded four songs at Radio Recorders studio in Hollywood for the film "Flaming Star" during an overnight recording session.
- Johnny Horton recorded “North To Alaska” at Quonset Hut Studio in Nashville, Tennessee.
- English singer Mark Stewart, a founding member of The Pop Group, was born.
- Cliff Richard & The Shadows reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart with “Please Don't Tease.” The song also topped the charts in India, Ireland, New Zealand and Norway that year.
- Guitarist Paul Gendler of Modern Romance was born. The group had the UK No. 4 hit “Best Years Of Our Lives” in 1982.
- Pete Best became the new drummer of The Silver Beetles, replacing Norman Chapman.
- Cobo Arena, with a capacity of 12,000, opened in Detroit. It later became a major venue for concerts and live album recordings, hosting artists including Kiss, J. Geils Band and Bob Seger.
- With the song “It's Now or Never”, he began a five-week run at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and also reached No. 1 in the UK. The song was based on the Italian song “O Sole Mio” and was his first postwar number-one hit. More than 20 million copies were sold worldwide.
- Principal photography began on Elvis Presley's film Flaming Star at Conejo Movie Ranch in Thousand Oaks, California.
- Drummer Chris Pedersen, known for his work with Camper Van Beethoven and Monks of Doom, was born in Great Lakes, Illinois.
- The Beatles performed under this name for the first time at the Indra Club on Grosse Freiheit in Hamburg. It was the first of a total of 48 nights during their first Hamburg engagement. Club owner Bruno Koschmider demanded “Mach Shau”, meaning a proper show, which led to their wild stage performances.
- A preview screening of Elvis Presley's film G.I. Blues was held in Dallas, Texas.
- English composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Stuart Matthewman was born. He became known as the guitarist and saxophonist of Sade and is also a member of Sweetback.
- The Beatles gave their first public performance at the Indra club in Hamburg.
- The film “Flaming Star” was released during Elvis Presley’s Hollywood career.
- Connie Francis began work on her acting debut when MGM began filming the movie “Where the Boys Are” in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The film became a box-office success, but the planned sequel “Where the Girls Are” was never made.
- 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.
- Elvis Presley was photographed by Don Cravens at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel for Life magazine.
- The Shadows reached number one on the UK singles chart with their version of Jerry Lordan's “Apache”. It was the first of their five UK number-one singles.
- 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.
- The instrumental song “Apache”, credited to The Shadows, replaced Cliff Richard and The Shadows' “Please Don't Tease” at No. 1 on the UK chart. Cliff Richard contributed by playing the Chinese drum at the beginning and end of the recording.
- The radio show Louisiana Hayride, known as “The Cradle of the Stars”, broadcast its final performance on KWKH in Shreveport after nearly 12 and a half years on the air.
- Barry White was sentenced at the age of 16 to four months in prison for stealing tires worth $30,000. He was released on parole after three months. While in prison, he heard Elvis Presley singing “It’s Now or Never”, which inspired him to devote his life to music. He left his street gang, joined the group The Upfronts, and later became a singer and producer. He sold more than 100 million records worldwide and earned numerous gold and platinum singles.
- Elvis Presley's song "It's Now or Never" was in its third week at No. 1, while "Kiddio" by Brook Benton took the No. 1 spot on the Easy Listening chart.
- Cass Lewis, bassist of the British rock group Skunk Anansie, was born.
- Elvis Presley bought a black Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II.
- English musician Perry Bamonte, known as a guitarist and keyboard player with The Cure, was born in London.
- Kim Thayil, American musician and lead guitarist of Soundgarden, was born in Seattle, Washington. He grew up near Chicago in Park Forest, Illinois, and became known as a co-founder of the Seattle rock band Soundgarden.
- Annette Funicello's “Pineapple Princess” entered the US Billboard Hot 100 and later peaked at number 11. According to the source, it was her fifth and final Top 40 hit on the chart.
- Tracy Samie, daughter of Sam Cooke, was born.
- American bassist, baritone saxophonist and bass clarinet player Bradley “Brad” Houser was born. He became known as a co-founder of Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians and Critters Buggin. Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians had the UK hit “What I Am” at No. 31 in 1989. Houser was born in Dallas, Texas, and died on July 24, 2023, at the age of 62, from a stroke.
- Elvis Presley was associated with the film Flaming Star.
- Al Connelly, a member of the Canadian rock band Glass Tiger, was born. In 1986, the group had a No. 1 hit in Canada and reached No. 2 in the United States with “Don't Forget Me When I'm Gone.” The song featured backing vocals by Bryan Adams.
- “Stay” by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on October 2, 1960, and climbed to No. 1 on November 21, 1960. At 1:38, it became the shortest song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100; various sources also give its length as 1:36–1:37.
- Gail Greenwood, bassist of American alternative rock band Belly, which had the UK single “Feed The Tree” at No. 32 in 1993 and also reached No. 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
- Ike and Tina Turner made their US television debut, performing “A Fool In Love” on American Bandstand on ABC-TV. It was their first nationwide television appearance; Tina Turner was heavily pregnant at the time. Released in 1960, “A Fool In Love” became their first hit and later reached No. 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the R&B chart.
- Paul Heard, a member of the English dance group M People, was born.
- Scottish singer Richard Jobson, frontman of the punk band Skids, was born.
- Elvis Presley recorded “Flaming Star” at Radio Recorders studio in Hollywood during an evening recording session from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. The song was intended for the film of the same name, reached No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1961, and was released in the UK on the EP Elvis by Request rather than as a standalone single.
- Elvis Presley and his group stopped in Las Vegas before returning to Memphis.
- Eric Martin, singer of the American hard rock band Mr. Big, was born on October 10, 1960. The band achieved international success with the song “To Be with You,” which reached number one on the charts in 15 countries in 1992.
- The novelty song “Mr. Custer” by Larry Verne reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number nine on the R&B chart. It tells the story of an American cavalryman trying to avoid fighting the Sioux at Little Bighorn in 1876. Verne's version did not chart in the UK, but a successful cover version by Charlie Drake did.
- British guitarist, singer and songwriter Simon Townshend, younger brother of The Who guitarist Pete Townshend, was born on October 10, 1960. He has worked with The Who and other musicians, including Pearl Jam, Dave Grohl and Jeff Beck.
- Aretha Franklin performed a set of standards at the Village Vanguard in New York City. It was her first performance outside the gospel music scene.
- The Highwaymen reach No. 1 on the UK singles chart with their version of the African-American spiritual “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore.”
- Joseph Bellardini, known as Joey Belladonna, was born in Oswego, New York. He is the singer of the heavy metal band Anthrax. He joined the group in 1984 and sang on the albums Among the Living and State of Euphoria. He left in 1992 but returned in 2005. Anthrax is one of the leading thrash metal bands and part of the genre's so-called "Big Four", alongside Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer.
- The song “Save the Last Dance for Me” reached number one on the US Billboard pop chart.