Music History

Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone was born in Bay City, Michigan.

Belinda Carlisle, co-founder and lead singer of The Go-Go's, was born in Los Angeles, California. She also became famous for solo hits such as “Heaven Is a Place on Earth”.

Elvis Presley was given leave in Memphis during his military service and visited his mother's grave.

Domenico Modugno's Italian classic "Nel Blu, Dipinto di Blu (Volare)" reached No. 1 on the newly established US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It spent a total of 5 non-consecutive weeks at the top, becoming the first foreign-language song to conquer the chart and ending up as Billboard's Song of the Year.

Elvis was granted another five days of leave while serving in the military in Germany. During his stay in Memphis, Texas DJ Eddie Fadal visited him, and police took Elvis on a helicopter flight over the city to entertain and cheer him up.

Perez Prado's song “Patricia” was awarded a gold record by the Recording Industry Association of America. It was the last recording to reach No. 1 on the separate Billboard Jockeys and Top 100 charts before they were merged into the Hot 100.

The Elegants moved from No. 14 to No. 2 on the chart with “Little Star.”

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

Elvis Presley was on leave in Memphis during his military service.

Guitarist Ian Mitchell of the Bay City Rollers was born in Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland. In 1976, he joined the group at the age of just 17. Bay City Rollers had the 1975 UK No. 1 hit “Bye Bye Baby”, 11 more UK Top 20 singles, and the 1976 U.S. No. 1 hit “Saturday Night”.

The Kalin Twins reached No. 1 on the British singles chart with their version of “When”. The song also topped the charts in France and the Netherlands and reached the Top 5 in North America that year.

British-American guitarist and songwriter Vernon Reid was born in London, England. He grew up in Brooklyn and later founded the rock band Living Colour, in which he serves as guitarist and principal songwriter. The group became famous for its 1988 debut album “Vivid” and the song “Cult of Personality”, which won the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1990. In 1991, they had the UK No. 12 hit “Love Rears Its Ugly Head”.

Ian Mitchell, a member of the Bay City Rollers, was born.

The Staten Island group The Elegants reached number one on the US singles chart with “Little Star”, a reworking of the melody of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”. For the next 18 months they promoted the song through television appearances and concerts, but their subsequent recordings “Please Believe Me”, “True Love Affair” and “Little Boy Blue” failed to repeat its success.

Tommy Edwards moved from number 96 to number 40 on the US chart with “It's All In The Game”.

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”.

The Elegants moved from No. 14 to No. 2 with “Little Star”.

The Alan Freed's Big Beat Show revue began its run at the Fox Theatre in Brooklyn, New York. Frankie Avalon, Jimmy Clanton, Chuck Berry, Bobby Freeman, Bill Haley and His Comets, and The Elegants performed. The program deliberately brought together Black and white performers and brought rock and roll to a large mixed teenage audience at a time of strong racial segregation in the United States.

George Harrison joined The Quarrymen, which already included John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, and was later known as the "King of Pop". He was a singer, songwriter, and member of Jackson 5 and The Jacksons, as well as a successful solo artist. Guinness World Records recognized him as the most successful entertainer of all time. His music videos for "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller" helped break down racial barriers and transformed the music video into an art and promotional form. His 1982 album "Thriller" is the best-selling studio album of all time. Jackson died on June 25, 2009, at the age of 50 after suffering cardiac arrest at his home in Beverly Hills.

English drummer and keyboard player Martin Jackson was born. He became known as a member of Magazine and Swing Out Sister. Magazine had the UK No. 41 single “Shot By Both Sides” in 1978, while Swing Out Sister had the UK No. 4 single “Breakout” in 1986.

Ricky Nelson began his concert career with a performance at Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Over two days, his concerts set an attendance record for the venue, drawing 44,221 people. His fee was $10,000, and the opening acts were comedian Henny Youngman and The Four Preps.

Elvis Presley served in the military at Fort Hood, Texas, where he underwent advanced tank training as part of the 2nd Armored Division. He was stationed at the base for six months.

Fritz McIntyre of Simply Red was born. In 1986, the group had the US number-one and UK number-two hit “Holding Back The Years” and achieved five number-one albums in the UK.

American musician Jerry Augustyniak was born in Sloan, New York. He became best known as the longtime drummer of the rock band 10,000 Maniacs.

Elvis Presley was stationed at Fort Hood in Texas, where he underwent advanced tank-unit training as part of the 2nd Armored Division. He was assigned to the base for six months.

Elvis Presley sloužil ve Fort Hood v Texasu, kde absolvoval pokročilý tankový výcvik jako součást 2. obrněné divize. Byl tam umístěn na šest měsíců.

Jerry Butler & the Impressions poprvé vystoupili v celostátní televizi v pořadu American Bandstand.

Martin Atkins, English drummer known for his work with Public Image Ltd, Ministry, and Nine Inch Nails, was born in Coventry.

The Kingston Trio appeared on the cover of Life magazine under the headline “Top Sellers in Albums.” At the time, they had three million-selling LPs: “The Kingston Trio,” “At Large,” and “...from the Hungry i.”

“A Big Hunk O' Love” became Elvis Presley’s 14th consecutive gold record.

Robbin Crosby, guitarist with Ratt, was born in La Jolla, California.

Pat Smear, born Georg Albert Ruthenberg, co-founder and lead guitarist of the punk band The Germs and later a member of Nirvana and Foo Fighters, was born in Los Angeles, California.

Frankie Avalon released the single “Just Ask Your Heart.”

Pete Burns, born Peter Burns, founder and frontman of Dead or Alive, was born in Port Sunlight, England.

The Isley Brothers recorded “Shout” at RCA Victor's Music Center of the World in Manhattan, New York City.

Dean Martin entered Capitol Records' studio at 1750 North Vine Street in Hollywood, where he recorded his version of “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow.” The recording first entered the Billboard Hot 100 in 2018, reaching No. 8.

Elvis Presley was serving in the military in Germany.

American singer and songwriter Joyce Sims was born. Her biggest hit, “Come into My Life,” reached the Top 10 on both the U.S. R&B chart and the UK singles chart in 1987 and 1988.

Elvis Presley vykonával vojenskou službu v Německu.

American rap pioneer, songwriter, DJ and producer Kurtis Walker, known professionally as Kurtis Blow, was born in New York City. He became known for hits such as “The Breaks” and “Basketball”.

Lloyd Price reached No. 1 on the US chart with “Stagger Lee”.

Singer Aleš Brichta was born.

Elvis Presley reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “A Big Hunk O' Love.” The song was recorded during Elvis’s only recording session while serving in the US Army, in four takes, with the released version assembled from the third and fourth takes.

Fats Domino entered the Billboard singles chart with “I Want to Walk You Home,” which later climbed to No. 8. Although he had 18 million-selling singles during his career, he never reached No. 1.

Brook Benton reached No. 1 on the R&B chart with “Thank You Pretty Baby.”

Mark Price, drummer of All About Eve, was born.

Four male members of The Platters were arrested in Cincinnati and charged with aiding prostitution, obscenity and immoral conduct after police found them at the Sheraton Gibson hotel at a post-concert party with four nineteen-year-old women, three of whom were white. The charges were dismissed in December, but the arrests damaged the group's career in the meantime and led to their recordings being dropped from some major radio markets.

Bobby Darin signed a six-year film contract with Paramount, which was expected at the time to earn him $1 million. As he transitioned from a teenage idol to a more universal artist, he wanted to move beyond roles aimed solely at teenage audiences and insisted on quality acting and serious filmmaking.

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.