Week in Music History

Composer Josef Strauss was born.

Composer Achille-Claude Debussy was born.

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.

American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist John Lee Hooker was born in Coahoma County, Mississippi. He later became known for the songs “I'm in the Mood” and “Dimples” and a series of successful albums, including “The Healer” (1989), “Mr. Lucky” (1991), “Chill Out” (1995) and “Don't Look Back” (1997). He died on June 21, 2001, at the age of 83.

Singer of The Flamingos and later a member of The Dells was born.

German avant-garde composer Karlheinz Stockhausen was born.

“Godfather of go-go” Chuck Brown was born in Gaston, North Carolina. He later moved to Washington, D.C., and became a pioneer of the go-go style, best represented by his hit “Bustin' Loose”.

American doo-wop singer Fred Milano was born in the Bronx, New York. He became best known as a member of the vocal trio Dion and the Belmonts.

Blues musician and son of John Lee Hooker was born.

Singer, songwriter, and producer Carmine John Granito, professionally known as Ron Dante, was born in New York. He became known as the lead singer of The Archies, and his voice was also featured in the studio group The Cuff Links. The Archies had the 1969 U.S. and UK No. 1 hit “Sugar Sugar”, while The Cuff Links reached No. 4 on the British chart that same year with “Tracy”. Dante was rarely seen as a member of these studio projects.

American singer and songwriter Donna Jean Godchaux, née Donna Jean Thatcher, was born in Florence, Alabama. She became best known as a member of Grateful Dead from 1972–1979, where she was the only woman in the lineup. Before that, she worked as a session singer in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and later sang with the group Southern Comfort. Her backing vocals appeared on at least two songs that reached No. 1 on the U.S. chart: Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman” in 1966 and Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds” in 1969. She also sang on recordings by Boz Scaggs, Duane Allman, Cher, Joe Tex, Neil Diamond, and others. In 1970, she married keyboardist Keith Godchaux, who later also joined Grateful Dead. She died on November 2, 2025, at a hospice in Nashville from cancer at the age of 78.

American guitarist and singer David Lee Marks was born in New Castle, Pennsylvania. At the age of seven, he moved with his family to Hawthorne, California, where they lived across the street from the Wilson family. He became known with The Beach Boys in 1962, when he joined the group as rhythm guitarist following Al Jardine’s departure; he remained with the group until 1963 and contributed to their first four studio albums.

Country musician Sam Neely was born in Cuero, Texas. In the 1970s, he was known for a number of minor hits, including a cover version of “I Fought the Law”.

American singer Evelyn Thomas, known primarily for the 1980s hi-NRG dance hits “High Energy”, “Masquerade”, “Standing at the Crossroads”, “Reflections” and “Weak Spot”. Thomas died on July 21, 2024, at the age of 70.

Saxophonist and composer Alan Wilkinson was born in Ilford, England.

Elvis Presley performed at Spudder Park in Wichita Falls, Texas, beginning a week-long tour with several performers from Louisiana Hayride: Bill Mack & Band, Johnny Horton, Betty Amos, David Houston, Sonny Crammer, Ray Gallman, Tillman Franks, and Willie Birdbrain. The performance began at 8:15 p.m.

Elvis Presley began the first day of filming his first movie, “The Reno Brothers”, later renamed “Love Me Tender”. The drama, set during and shortly after the American Civil War, tells the story of Clint Reno, the youngest of four brothers. Elvis originally had only a supporting role, but after his song “Love Me Tender” was added to the film, the movie was renamed after the song. It was the only Elvis film in which he was not the leading actor. He began work on the film just four days after “Don't Be Cruel” and “Hound Dog” reached No. 1 on the U.S. chart. Elvis wanted to continue his film career and gradually created his own film subgenre known as the “Presley Picture”.

Chris Biondo, a guitarist and producer who worked with Eva Cassidy. Eva Cassidy is described as the only performer to have three posthumous UK No. 1 albums: Songbird (2001), Imagine (2002) and American Tune (2003). In 2001, she also had the UK No. 42 single “Over The Rainbow”.

The Five Satins made their chart debut on the Billboard R&B chart with “In the Still of the Night”, which they recorded in the basement of a church in New Haven, Connecticut. It was originally released as the B-side of “The Jones Girl” on the small Standard label, but after significant local success it was reissued by Ember Records. The single reached No. 3 on the R&B chart and No. 24 on the pop chart and sold more than one million copies. The song is often credited with popularizing the term “doo-wop” because of its distinctive “doo-wop, doo-wah” refrain.

Country singer and songwriter Holly Dunn was born in San Antonio, Texas. She became best known for her No. 1 singles “You Really Had Me Going” and “Are You Ever Gonna Love Me”.

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”.

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.

The Five Satins' song “In the Still of the Nite” entered the chart.

Drummer, singer, and founding member of the pop-rock group The Bangles, Debbi Peterson was born in Los Angeles, California. In 1986, the group had the No. 2 UK hit “Manic Monday”, a song written by Prince, and in the same year the U.S. No. 1 hit “Walk Like an Egyptian”.

Singer, songwriter, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and co-founder of Tears for Fears Roland Orzabal was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. The group had the 1985 U.S. No. 1 hit and UK No. 2 hit “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, and their second album, “Songs from the Big Chair”, released in 1985, reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200.

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.

“Bad to Me” reached No. 1 on the British singles chart. The song was officially credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting team; John Lennon later claimed it as his own and said he wrote it for Billy J. Kramer while on vacation in Spain. In a 1964 interview, however, he stated that Paul McCartney had also collaborated on the song. The following year, “Bad to Me” also reached the U.S. Top 10 in the version by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas.

R&B and soul singer James DeBarge was born in Detroit, Michigan. He became best known as a member of the family vocal group DeBarge, which had the 1985 UK No. 4 hit “Rhythm of the Night”.

American singer, songwriter, and pianist Myra Ellen Amos, professionally known as Tori Amos, was born in Newton, North Carolina. At the age of five, she received a full scholarship to the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University and became the youngest person ever admitted to the school, but at eleven she was expelled for “musical disobedience”. In the 1990s, she became a prominent figure in alternative rock and became known for songs addressing women's issues, right-wing politics, and religious oppression. In 1994, she had the UK No. 4 hit “Cornflake Girl”, and her 1996 song “Professional Widow” was widely speculated to be about Courtney Love.

Elvis Presley reached No. 16 on the U.S. chart with “Such A Night”.

The Beatles performed at Empire Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, before 20,261 fans. The opening acts were The Bill Black Combo, The Exciters, The Righteous Brothers, and Jackie DeShannon. The concert was broadcast locally by CKNW.

The Four Tops' “Baby I Need Your Loving” jumped from No. 90 to No. 54 on the U.S. chart.

Liberty Records announced that the album “The Chipmunks Sing the Beatles” was selling at a rate of 25,000 copies per day. The album later reached No. 14 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and remained on the chart for more than five months. Chipmunks creator Ross Bagdasarian had actually spoken with The Beatles before beginning the project and later said that the group was very supportive.

The Supremes achieved their first U.S. No. 1 single when “Where Did Our Love Go” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks. It was the first of five consecutive No. 1 singles for the group and also the first of their twelve total U.S. No. 1 hits. The song also reached No. 1 on the R&B chart, No. 3 in the United Kingdom, and No. 1 in Canada and New Zealand. Holland–Dozier–Holland originally wrote it for The Marvelettes, who rejected it because they thought it sounded too childish. At the top of the Billboard Hot 100, The Supremes replaced Dean Martin with “Everybody Loves Somebody”; The Beatles were at No. 3 with “A Hard Day's Night”.

During their North American tour, The Beatles played two concerts at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. Between the performances, Carl Wilson and Mike Love of The Beach Boys visited them in their dressing room.

Security staff at Granada Television's studio in Manchester used fire hoses against around two hundred screaming teenagers after they broke through security barriers while waiting for The Rolling Stones to arrive. Despite the chaotic atmosphere, the group successfully filmed its television segment, which included a performance of “(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction”.

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.