Week in Music History

Composer, conductor and pianist Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He became known for his Broadway work, particularly the musical “West Side Story”, and at the age of 25 conducted the New York Philharmonic. During his career he received numerous major awards.

American jazz saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter was born in Newark, New Jersey. He became known for his work with Art Blakey and Miles Davis and as co-founder of jazz-fusion group Weather Report. He wrote several notable compositions, including “Prince of Darkness”, “Footprints” and “Sanctuary”. He won ten Grammy Awards and received the Polar Music Prize in 2017.

Christopher Augustine, drummer of Every Mother's Son, was born in New York City. The group is known for the 1967 hit “Come on Down to My Boat”.

Skinnay Ennis recorded the song “Don't Let Julia Fool Ya”.

Walter Lee Williams, founding member of R&B group The O'Jays, was born in Canton, Ohio. The group had, among others, the US hit “Back Stabbers” and the 1973 US number-one single “Love Train”. After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1983, he became a spokesperson for the condition.

American drummer and founding member of The Box Tops Danny Smythe was born. With The Box Tops he had, among others, the hit “The Letter”, which reached number one in the US in 1967.

Israeli-American musician Chaim Witz, known by his stage name Gene Simmons, was born in Haifa, Israel. He became famous as co-founder, bassist and singer of the rock band KISS.

American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist William Borsey, known as Willy DeVille, was born in Stamford, Connecticut. He became known as frontman of Mink DeVille, which was associated with New York's CBGB and had the UK hit “Spanish Stroll” in 1977. His song “Storybook Love”, on which he collaborated with Mark Knopfler, became the theme song of the 1987 film “The Princess Bride”.

James Warren, bassist, singer, guitarist and keyboardist of British group The Korgis, was born. The group had the 1980 hit “Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime”, which reached number five in the UK and number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100.

English singer and songwriter Robert “Rob” Halford was born in Sutton Coldfield, England. He became known as frontman and lead singer of heavy metal band Judas Priest and also performed with the projects Fight, 2wo and Halford.

English keyboardist, songwriter and producer Geoffrey Downes was born in Stockport, Cheshire, England. He became known for his work with The Buggles, Yes and Asia.

English singer, songwriter and producer Declan Patrick MacManus, known as Elvis Costello, was born in Paddington, London. His stage surname came from his father, who performed as Day Costello. In 1979 he had the UK hit “Oliver's Army” with The Attractions, and the album “Armed Forces” spent 28 weeks on the chart.

Elvis performed “I Forgot To Remember To Forget” at the Sportcenter in Austin, Texas. The concert began at 8:00 p.m. and was part of the Louisiana Hayride Tour. Other performers included Johnny Horton, Betty Amos, David Houston, Dalton & Lulu Jo, Sonny Crammer, Ray Gallman, Tillman Franks and Willie Birdbrain.

Biologist, entomologist, sexologist and author Alfred Kinsey died at the age of 62 from heart disease and pneumonia.

Frank Sinatra reached number one on the UK album chart with his tenth studio album “Songs for Swingin’ Lovers!”. In the US the album reached number two.

English songwriter and producer Matt Aitken was born in Coventry, England. He was part of the Stock, Aitken and Waterman production team, one of the most successful songwriting and production teams, which created more than 100 UK Top 40 hits, including Rick Astley's “Never Gonna Give You Up”.

Paul Anka reached number one on the UK singles chart with “Diana”. It was his only UK chart-topper and also the first UK number-one hit by a teenage solo artist. At the time of the success he was only a few days short of his 16th birthday, and he wrote the song about his brother's babysitter.

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”.

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 country singer, songwriter and actor Billy Ray Cyrus was born in Flatwoods, Kentucky. He became famous for the hit “Achy Breaky Heart”, and his album “Some Gave All” reached number one in the US. In 2019 he appeared on the remix of Lil Nas X's “Old Town Road”. He is also the father of Miley Cyrus.

The Beatles performed at the Cavern Club in Liverpool in the afternoon and then played on the riverboat M.V. Royal Iris on the River Mersey as the support act for Acker Bilk and his Paramount Jazz Band. It was one of four “riverboat shuffles” in which the group participated.

Carole King's first single “It Might As Well Rain Until September” debuted on the chart.

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.

Northern Irish musician Candida Doyle was born. She became known as a member of English rock band Pulp, which had the UK hit “Common People” in 1995.

Paul McCartney was fined £31 and lost his driving licence for one year after being caught speeding.

Drummer for Paul McCartney and The Pretenders Blair Cunningham was born.

Erik Dahlgren, drummer of Swedish alternative rock band The Wannadies, was born. The group had the UK hit “You And Me Song” in 1996.

The film “Wild on the Beach”, starring Frankie Randall, Sherry Jackson, Gayle Caldwell, Jackie Miller and Cindy Malone and featuring Sonny & Cher, Sandy Nelson and The Astronauts, was released in cinemas in the US and Canada.

The Beatles' second feature film “Help!” went into wide theatrical release across North America following its London premiere on July 29 and New York premiere on August 11.

American DJ Norman Lee Rogers, known by his stage name Terminator X, was born in New York City. He became known as a member of hip-hop group Public Enemy, which was formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985. In the late 1990s he joined the family business and began raising African black ostriches on a farm in North Carolina.

During their final US tour, The Beatles played two concerts at the Coliseum in Seattle, Washington. The 3:00 p.m. afternoon concert attracted only 8,000 fans in the 15,000-capacity arena, while the evening concert was sold out.

After a two-year hiatus caused by anxiety and stage fright, Brian Wilson returned to live performing with The Beach Boys at the Honolulu International Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.

American musician, songwriter, author and producer Jeffrey “Jeff” Tweedy was born in Belleville, Illinois. He became known as frontman and co-founder of alternative rock band Wilco; he previously performed with Uncle Tupelo. Wilco won two Grammy Awards for the 2004 album “A Ghost Is Born”.

The Beatles released the single “Baby You’re a Rich Man” in the US.

The Yardbirds performed in New York at the then Village Theatre, later known as Fillmore East. Their opening act Jake Holmes performed the song “Dazed And Confused”, which Jimmy Page later released with Led Zeppelin in a very similar form under the same title.

Blues musician Albert King performed at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

Elvis Presley performed an evening concert at 8:15 p.m. and a midnight concert at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. Each was attended by approximately 2,200 people. The evening programme included “Blue Suede Shoes”, “I Got A Woman”, “All Shook Up”, “Love Me Tender”, “Jailhouse Rock/Don't Be Cruel”, “Heartbreak Hotel”, “Hound Dog”, “Mystery Train/Tiger Man”, “In The Ghetto” and “Suspicious Minds”. The midnight concert had a similar programme and additionally included “I Can't Stop Loving You”, “My Babe”, “Words” and “Polk Salad Annie”, and Elvis introduced Nancy Sinatra, Mac Davis, Buddy Hackett, Thomas Jones and Shelley Fabares.

Luke Scott of Babybird was born. The group had the UK hit “You're Gorgeous” in 1996 and the album “Ugly Beautiful” reached number nine on the UK chart.

The Band's album “The Band” was released.

A party was held in New York to celebrate the official opening of Electric Ladyland Studios.

Then little-known 23-year-old Elton John performed his first live concert in the United States at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, California. He appeared alongside singer and songwriter David Ackles and began his 17-concert US tour; according to one source, Neil Diamond introduced him to the audience. Among those in attendance were Don Henley, Quincy Jones and Leon Russell. Elton John performed songs including “Border Song”, “Your Song”, “Take Me to the Pilot” and a cover of The Rolling Stones' “Honky Tonk Women”. The concert received enthusiastic reviews and significantly boosted his career in America.