Week in Music History

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

Russian inventor Leon Theremin was born in St. Petersburg. He became best known for inventing one of the first electronic musical instruments, the theremin.

American jazz saxophonist Lester Young was born.

American singer and actress Martha Raye was born.

Broadway lyricist Ira Levin was born. His work included the musical “Hot Spot”.

American blues guitarist Luther Allison was born.

Scottish multi-instrumentalist Phil Shulman was born in the Gorbals district of Glasgow, Scotland. He was the eldest brother of Derek and Ray Shulman, and all three performed in the psychedelic group Simon Dupree and the Big Sound. Phil Shulman later became a member of the progressive rock band Gentle Giant, in which he performed during the 1970s.

American pop singer and actor Thomas “Tommy” Sands was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was best known for the 1956 single “Teen-Age Crush”, which reached No. 1.

Opera tenor Allan Jones recorded the song “I'm Falling in Love with Someone”.

American drummer Dickie Harrell was born. He became known for his work with Gene Vincent's Blue Caps, who had the 1956 hit “Be-Bop-a-Lula”. He died on May 31, 2023.

Singer B.J. Thomas was born.

Musician, songwriter and producer Daryl Dragon, known as “Captain” from the husband-and-wife duo Captain & Tennille, was born in Los Angeles. His father was conductor Carmen Dragon. Captain & Tennille had several hits on the US chart, including “Love Will Keep Us Together”, “Do That to Me One More Time” and “Muskrat Love”. Dragon also worked with The Beach Boys. He died on January 2, 2019, from kidney failure.

American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Douglas Hatlelid, known as Chip Douglas, was born in San Francisco. He became known as a member of The Turtles and as a producer of The Monkees, for whom he produced hits including “Daydream Believer” and “Pleasant Valley Sunday”. The Turtles had the US No. 1 hit “Happy Together” in 1967.

American musician John Voorhis “Tim” Bogert III was born in New York City, New York. He became known as the bassist and singer of Vanilla Fudge and Cactus and as a member of the trio Beck, Bogert & Appice. He died on January 13, 2021, from cancer.

Malcolm “Duke” Allured, drummer of Showaddywaddy, was born in Leicester, Leicestershire, England. The band had a UK No. 1 single in 1976 with their version of “Under The Moon Of Love” and a total of ten Top 10 singles.

Percussionist David Leon “Billy” Knight, brother of Gladys Knight, was born. He played, among other recordings, on “Midnight Train To Georgia” and on more than twenty other UK Top 40 hits. He died on December 6, 2002.

Country-rock musician, guitarist, songwriter and founding member of Alabama Jeff Cook was born in Fort Payne, Alabama.

Swedish actor and musician Peter Stormare was born. He also performed with the band Blonde From Fargo.

Kevin Kavanaugh, a member of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, was born. The band released the album “Hearts Of Stone” in 1978 and later more than ten other albums.

Alex Lifeson, born Aleksandar Zivojinovic (Zhivojinovic), was born in Fernie, British Columbia, Canada, to parents of Serbian origin. He grew up in Toronto, Ontario. He became known as the co-founding guitarist of the progressive rock band Rush, which had, among others, the British hit “Spirit of Radio” and the US hit “New World Man”. In 1996, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Elvis Presley performed at Eagle’s Nest in Memphis with the Tiny Dixon Band. He sang “That's All Right” and “Blue Moon Of Kentucky”.

Elvis Presley performed at the Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, as part of the Louisiana Hayride. The show began at 8:00 p.m.

The song “Ain't That A Shame” reached No. 10 on the US pop chart and became the first R&B song to reach the Top 10. Three weeks later, Pat Boone's cover version reached No. 1.

English musician and bassist Glen Matlock, the original bassist and founding member of the punk band Sex Pistols, was born in Paddington, London. He is credited as the writer of ten of the twelve songs on their only official studio album, “Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols”. He later played with the band Rich Kids.

The instrumental song “Apache”, credited to The Shadows, replaced Cliff Richard and The Shadows' “Please Don't Tease” at No. 1 on the UK chart. Cliff Richard contributed by playing the Chinese drum at the beginning and end of the recording.

The radio show Louisiana Hayride, known as “The Cradle of the Stars”, broadcast its final performance on KWKH in Shreveport after nearly 12 and a half years on the air.

Connie Francis appeared as a celebrity “mystery guest” on the CBS television program “What's My Line”.

American gospel singer and actress Yolanda Yvette Adams was born in Houston, Texas. She is known as the Queen of Contemporary Gospel Music and the First Lady of Modern Gospel. She had five albums reach No. 1 on the Billboard Top Gospel Album chart. Her album “Mountain High... Valley Low” won a Grammy in 1999, and in 2016 she received the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for volunteer service.

“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.

Disney released “Mary Poppins”, the Sherman brothers' musical starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. It was Andrews' first film role, and she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of the title character.

The Beatles performed in front of 14,000 fans at Cincinnati Gardens in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Elvis Presley hosted The Beatles at his rented home on Perugia Way in Bel Air, California, during a break in their North American tour. The four-hour meeting included discussions about music and an unrehearsed jam session. The Beatles were initially nervous, but Presley broke the tension. While the musicians were getting acquainted, their managers Colonel Tom Parker and Brian Epstein played pool in the next room. John Lennon later said that without Elvis, The Beatles would have meant nothing.

Mark Calderon of Color Me Badd was born.

On the final day of their five-day break during their North American tour, The Beatles visited a recording session by The Byrds and later, at around 10:00 p.m., visited Elvis Presley at his home on Perugia Way in Bel Air, Los Angeles. The meeting was initially somewhat stiff, but Elvis broke the tension by suggesting that they play together, followed by a jam session on Chuck Berry songs. Colonel Tom Parker and Brian Epstein played pool in the meantime. It was The Beatles' only personal meeting with Elvis Presley.

The song “Sunny”, written by Bobby Hebb, reached No. 1 on the Cash Box chart and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the best-selling single in the USA. Its success led Hebb to tour the United States and Canada with The Beatles.

“Summer In The City” by Lovin' Spoonful remained at No. 1 on the US chart for a third week. Bobby Hebb was at No. 2 with “Sunny” and “See You In September” by The Happenings was at No. 3.

Petula Clark reached No. 1 on the US Easy Listening chart with “I Couldn't Live Without Your Love”.

Stevie Wonder's version of “Blowin' In The Wind” reached No. 1 on the US R&B chart.

“Cherish” by The Association entered the Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 1 a month later. Although the song was actually longer, the record label listed its length as three minutes so that radio programmers would not reject it as too long. The recording later received a gold record for sales of more than one million copies and, according to BMI, was the 22nd most-played song of the 20th century.

“God Only Knows” by The Beach Boys reached No. 2 on the UK singles chart. The song was among the first commercial recordings to feature the word “God” in the title and was groundbreaking in many ways. Capitol Records feared a reaction from US radio programmers, so in the USA it placed the song on the B-side of the single “Wouldn't It Be Nice”, while in the UK it was accepted as the A-side. Brian Wilson used a range of unusual instruments during the recording, including French horns.

British music manager Brian Epstein, best known as the manager of The Beatles, was found dead in his locked bedroom at his home in London’s Belgravia at the age of 32, just a few weeks before his 33rd birthday. The coroner determined that the cause of death was an overdose of the sleeping medication Carbitrol and ruled his death accidental. The Beatles were then in Bangor, North Wales, attending a conference with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Epstein also managed Gerry & The Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black and The Remo Four. The first contract between The Beatles and Epstein was auctioned for £240,000 in 2008.

Elvis Presley spent time at Circle G Ranch and, instead of horseback riding, took up target shooting.

At 6:00 p.m., Elvis Presley hosted a dinner for the cast and crew of the film “Charro!” at Goldwyn Studios. He then left for Las Vegas for a short stay at the Aladdin Hotel.

Elvis Presley performed an evening concert at the International Hotel in Las Vegas at 8:15 p.m., followed by a midnight concert.

American actress Chandra Wilson was born. She also has singing credits from Broadway productions.

Led Zeppelin played two concerts at the Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, during their North American tour.

Elvis Presley performed an evening concert at the International Hotel in Las Vegas at 8:15 p.m., followed by a midnight concert.

Howl, Andy Roberts’ Everyone, Supertramp and The Groundhogs were among the artists who performed at the Reading Festival at Afton Down on the Isle of Wight.

The second day of the Isle of Wight Festival was notable mainly for the absence of major stars. However, emerging Supertramp also performed, whose debut album had been released only four weeks earlier.

Jimi Hendrix made his final studio recording when he recorded “Slow Blues” at Electric Lady Studios in New York.