Events in 1962
- Aretha Franklin made her first appearance on the television program “American Bandstand” on August 2, 1962, performing “Don't Cry Baby” and “Try a Little Tenderness.”
- Lee Mavers, English singer and guitarist with The La's, was born on August 2, 1962.
- Paul Reynolds, lead guitarist with A Flock of Seagulls, was born in Liverpool, England.
- The Rolling Stones played the first of 22 consecutive weekly shows at the Ealing Jazz Club in London. During this period, they performed under the name The Rollin' Stones.
- Marilyn Monroe died in Brentwood, Los Angeles, at the age of 36 from a barbiturate overdose.
- Anita Wood announced that she had split from Elvis Presley, moved out of Graceland and returned to Jackson, Tennessee.
- American rapper Mohandas Dewese, known as Kool Moe Dee, was born in New York City.
- The Tijuana Brass released their first single, “The Lonely Bull”, on A&M Records, the label founded by their bandleader Herb Alpert and his partner Jerry Moss. The song reached No. 6 in the US and launched a run of 19 pop hits by Alpert.
- Robert Zimmerman legally changed his name to Bob Dylan.
- British singer and songwriter Julia Fordham was born on Hayling Island in England.
- Bragi Ólafsson, bassist for The Sugarcubes, was born in Reykjavík, Iceland.
- Mary Wells released “You Beat Me To The Punch.”
- After eight previous Billboard Top 40 songs, Neil Sedaka reached No. 1 on the US chart for the first time with “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do.” It spent two weeks at the top of Billboard and also two weeks at No. 1 on the Cashbox Best Sellers Chart. It reached No. 7 in the UK.
- Tony Bennett released the single “Once Upon A Time” with “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” on the B-side. When DJs began playing the B-side, “San Francisco” climbed to No. 19 on the chart and later earned Bennett Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Male Solo Vocal Performance.
- The group and their manager Brian Epstein decided to fire drummer Pete Best. Best played his final concert the following night at The Cavern in Liverpool. Ringo Starr, who was nearing the end of a three-month engagement with Rory Storm & the Hurricanes at a Butlin’s holiday camp, received a phone call from John Lennon asking him to join. Ringo gave Rory Storm three days' notice and made his first appearance as a member of The Beatles on August 18.
- Lennon and McCartney traveled from Liverpool to Skegness to offer Ringo Starr a place in The Beatles. Starr accepted the offer and agreed to a salary of £25 per week.
- Canadian musician Astrid Young, Neil Young's half-sister, was born.
- After being informed of his dismissal, Brian Epstein asked Pete Best to perform with The Beatles that evening at the Riverpark Ballroom in Chester. Best did not appear, and Johnny Hutchinson of The Big Three temporarily replaced him.
- Pete Best was dismissed from The Beatles by manager Brian Epstein and replaced by Ringo Starr. Epstein gave him the news at his record shop.
- Warner Bros. released the single "If I Had a Hammer" by Peter, Paul and Mary. The song reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won Grammy Awards for Best Folk Recording and Best Performance by a Vocal Group.
- Twelve-year-old Little Stevie Wonder released his first single, "I Call It Pretty Music (But The Old People Call It The Blues)", issued by Motown Records. Marvin Gaye played drums on the recording, which reached No. 101 on the Billboard Hot 100.
- American guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer Gilbert “Gilby” Clarke was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He is best known for his three-year stint as rhythm guitarist with Guns N' Roses, replacing Izzy Stradlin from 1991 to 1993.
- Bobby Vinton began his fourth week at No. 1 on the Easy Listening chart with “Roses Are Red (My Love).”
- Peter, Paul & Mary released the song “If I Had a Hammer.”
- Ringo Starr performed with The Beatles for the first time at a dance at the Horticultural Society in Hulme Hall in Port Sunlight, Birkenhead, England, following a two-hour rehearsal. It was the first performance by the Beatles lineup of John, Paul, George and Ringo, two days after their previous drummer Pete Best was dismissed.
- 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.
- An early form of karaoke was demonstrated at the National Radio Show at London's Earl's Court. The new device allowed vocals to be combined with guitars, tapes, and even radio, making it possible to sing and play along with recordings. The Earl's Court Radio Show was a major annual event for showcasing the latest consumer electronics in Britain.
- Granada TV filmed The Beatles' lunchtime performance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, including the song “Some Other Guy”, which was the first time the group was filmed by television cameras. However, because of the grainy picture and poor sound quality, Granada did not broadcast the footage at the time and placed it in its archive. It was first broadcast on November 6, 1963, on the program “Scene at 6:30”. In the meantime, The Beatles' actual television debut took place live from a studio in Manchester on October 17, 1962, on the program “People and Places”.
- The Beatles officially performed with their new drummer Ringo Starr for the first time at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, just days after the dismissal of original drummer Pete Best.
- John Lennon married his pregnant girlfriend Cynthia Powell at the Mount Pleasant Registry Office in Liverpool. Brian Epstein was the main witness and organized the wedding, paid for the wedding lunch and provided the newlyweds with his own apartment. Paul McCartney and Cynthia's sister-in-law Marjorie Powell signed the marriage document as witnesses at the end of the ceremony. George Harrison was also present but did not sign the documents. Cynthia's stepbrother Tony Powell was also present. John's aunt Mimi boycotted the wedding because she disapproved of the marriage. The attempt to keep the marriage secret failed when the newlyweds were spotted leaving the registry office. That same evening, Lennon performed with The Beatles at the nearby Riverpark Ballroom.
- English musician and songwriter Shaun William George Ryder was born in Little Hulton, Lancashire. He became known as the singer of Happy Mondays and Black Grape. He compared his lyrics to comic-book stories in which different narratives are pieced together, as evident in songs such as “Kinky Afro” and “Loose Fit”.
- The Beatles played their first official concert with new drummer Ringo Starr at the Cavern Club in Liverpool after Pete Best was dismissed.
- Carole King's first single “It Might As Well Rain Until September” debuted on the chart.
- Elvis Presley moved up to number eight on the US singles chart with “She's Not You”.
- Producer Don Kirshner of Dimension Records gave singer Eva Boyd a chance and had her re-record Gerry Goffin and Carole King's “The Loco-Motion”. The recording reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Best Sellers and number two in the UK.
- Little Eva reached number one on the US singles chart with “The Loco-Motion”, written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, after nine weeks on the chart. She had previously worked as a nanny for King and Goffin's daughter, and the song had originally been offered to Dee Dee Sharp, who turned it down. In 1974 the same song also reached number one in a version by Grand Funk Railroad.
- Peter, Paul & Mary moved from number 90 to number 59 with “If I Had A Hammer”.
- New Jersey doo-wop group The Duprees reached the Billboard Top 40 with “You Belong to Me” and later reached number seven. During the following year and a half they had three more chart hits.
- Northern Irish guitarist Vivian Campbell was born in Lisburn. He became known as a member of Dio and Whitesnake and joined Def Leppard in 1992 as a replacement for the late Steve Clark.
- 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.
- “He's A Rebel” was released and credited to The Crystals, although Phil Spector had the song recorded by The Blossoms because The Crystals were on tour.
- Elvis Presley's tenth feature film, "Kid Galahad", premiered in US cinemas. Elvis played an amateur boxer in the film. Gig Young, Lola Albright, Joan Blackman, and Charles Bronson also appeared in the film.
- The Beatles performed at lunchtime at the Cavern Club in Liverpool and in the evening at the Riverpark Ballroom in Chester with Gerry & the Pacemakers.
- Elvis Presley's single “Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello” reached No. 55 in the United States.
- The film It Happened at the World's Fair starring Elvis Presley was released.
- The Beatles recorded their first proper recording session for EMI at Abbey Road Studios, where they recorded “Love Me Do” and “How Do You Do It”.