Music History

138 singing teachers traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, to attend the first music convention.

Charles G. Conn obtained a patent for a metal clarinet.

The Victor Talking Machine Company of Camden, New Jersey, began manufacturing the Victrola, the first practical home phonograph with an “internal horn”. The hand-operated machine with a cabinet containing a built-in horn sold for $200, while records were purchased separately, usually for $1 to $7. Famous conductor John Philip Sousa warned about “canned music” and predicted that recordings would replace generations of amateur musicians.

The musical „The Girl from Utah“ premiered at the Knickerbocker Theatre in New York.

Irving Berlin’s musical revue “Yip Yip Yaphank”, while he was still a sergeant in the US Army, premiered at the Century Theatre in New York. It was a wartime musical revue from the period of the First World War.

Detroit station 8MK began broadcasting. In October 1921 it received a commercial license and became station WBL; on March 3, 1922, its call sign was changed to WWJ after it became apparent that WBL could easily be misheard when received. The station broadcasts at 950 AM and is described as the first American radio station to begin regular broadcasting.

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

The opera "Die Dreigroschenoper" ("The Threepenny Opera") premiered in Berlin. The music was composed by Kurt Weill.

The first American radio station using frequency modulation (FM), Boston's WGTR, later known as WAAF, received a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission.

Noël Coward's musical revue “Sigh No More” premiered at the Piccadilly Theatre in London.

Elvis worked at Crown Electric until mid-October 1954. The Presleys lived at 2414 Lamar Avenue, which they rented through the end of 1954 and into mid-1955.

Elvis Presley worked for Crown Electric until mid-October 1954.

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

Fourteen-year-old Emmett Till was murdered in Money, Mississippi, by two white men because he spoke to a white woman. His story later inspired Bob Dylan’s song “The Death Of Emmett Till” and Emmylou Harris’s “My Name Is Emmett Till”.

Pat Boone appeared on the cover of Newsweek magazine as part of a “Special Music Report” with the headline “His Refreshing Song Fills The Air”. The accompanying article claimed that teenagers were finally rebelling against “musical delinquents”. At the time, Boone already had 18 recordings in the US Billboard Top 40, four of which had reached number one. On the same day, Elvis Presley was at number 28 on the US chart with “Loving You”.

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.

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

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

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.

Elvis Presley had a private meeting with Colonel Parker concerning Larry Geller.

The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham and his partner Tony Calder founded Immediate Records. Its first release was “Hang On Sloopy” by The McCoys. Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton and Nico attended the launch party. The label later became home to The Small Faces, The Nice, Amen Corner and Chris Farlowe, and the young producer and guitarist Jimmy Page also worked with it.

At a press conference in Toronto, The Beatles supported Americans refusing military service who were moving to Canada and expressed their opposition to war and killing for any reason.

Paul Jones left Manfred Mann just as the song “Pretty Flamingo” was climbing the US chart. He was replaced by singer Mike d'Abo, who took the lead vocal on the group's next hit, “The Mighty Quinn,” written by Bob Dylan.

Two New York teenagers, Carol Hopkins and Susan Richmond, climbed onto a second-floor hotel ledge and threatened to jump unless they were allowed to meet The Beatles. Police eventually persuaded them to climb down.

Elvis Presley and Priscilla were in Las Vegas with the group after Colonel Parker sent them there because of a traffic accident near Elvis's home in Bel Air involving one of the members of the Memphis Mafia.

Keith Moon of The Who drove a Lincoln into the swimming pool of the Holiday Inn while drunk during a wild celebration of his birthday. When police arrived to end the out-of-control party, Moon attempted to escape in a Lincoln Continental limousine, but after the handbrake was released, the car rolled forward, broke through a fence and ended up in the swimming pool.

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.

During the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, police in riot gear violently confronted protesters demonstrating against the Vietnam War. The Doors, Graham Nash, and Chicago wrote songs about these events.

Diana Ross hosted a party for approximately 350 guests at the Daisy Club in Beverly Hills, where Motown Records introduced The Jackson 5 to music industry figures, the music press and Hollywood society. The event created the mistaken impression that Diana Ross had discovered the group; according to the source, Gladys Knight had actually recommended them to Motown. The Jackson 5 also performed that night at the first Miss Black America pageant. The group subsequently lived up to the expectations and became one of the biggest acts of 1970.

On Max Yasgur’s farm in Bethel, New York, where the Woodstock festival had just ended, cleanup operations began. Tons of rubbish and debris were bulldozed into a pit and burned. The total cleanup cost reached $100,000.

Frank Zappa temporarily disbanded The Mothers of Invention shortly after an eight-day tour of Canada. He said he was tired of playing for people who applauded for all the wrong reasons, as he felt audiences often overlooked the compositional complexity of the music and responded instead to the band's image and superficial eccentricities. He re-formed the group several months later.

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.

The Beatles gathered at Tittenhurst Park in Sunninghill, England, the home of John and Yoko Lennon, for their final joint photo session. Photographers Ethan Russell and Monte Fresco of the Daily Mirror took photographs, and The Beatles' assistant Mal Evans also took additional pictures. Three of Ethan Russell's photographs from the session were later used on the front and back covers of the compilation album “Hey Jude”, released by Capitol in 1970. Yoko Ono and a pregnant Linda McCartney, who would give birth to her daughter Mary six days later, also appeared in some of the photographs.

It was announced that Elvis Presley would undertake his first U.S. tour since the mid-1950s.

Murderer George Jackson was shot dead during a bizarre escape attempt from San Quentin prison, which inspired Bob Dylan's song “George Jackson”.

After five years of marriage, Elvis and Priscilla Presley filed for divorce. They agreed to joint custody of their daughter Lisa Marie. Priscilla received $725,000 in cash, alimony, 5% of Elvis's new publishing companies and half the proceeds from the sale of their Beverly Hills home.

The mayor of San Antonio, Texas, proclaimed August 11 “Cheech and Chong Day” in honor of the popular comedy duo, even though neither member was born near the city.

Baltimore, Maryland proclaimed this day “Cass Elliot Day” in honor of the singer of The Mamas & The Papas, who was from the city.

Butch Trucks, drummer of The Allman Brothers Band, was involved in a car accident near Macon, Georgia, and broke his leg. The accident occurred near the site where Duane Allman had died in an accident two years earlier.

Patrick Moraz replaced Rick Wakeman in Yes.

John Lennon claimed that he saw a UFO from the balcony of his New York apartment, which he shared with May Pang. He described it as a typical flying saucer surrounded by lights, with a red light on top. He later recorded the date and time of the alleged sighting, August 23, 1974 at 9 p.m., in the notes to the album “Walls and Bridges”.

Keith Moon of The Who trashed a hotel room at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami and subsequently ended up in hospital.

RCA Victor announced that sales of Elvis Presley's recordings had exceeded 400 million units. This milestone was a significant moment in the final year of Elvis's life and confirmed his position at the time as the most commercially successful artist in the history of the recording industry. In later years, Graceland and RCA parent company Sony Music estimated that Elvis had sold more than one billion recordings worldwide.