Week in Music History

Composer Hernando de Cabezon was born.

Oscar Hammerstein announced plans to build five opera houses in New York.

Jazz composer and pianist Graeme Bell was born in Richmond, Victoria, Australia.

Guitarist Al Caiola, who frequently worked as a session musician in the 1950s, was born in Jersey City, New Jersey.

American blues singer and guitarist James Milton Campbell, known as Little Milton, was born in Inverness, Mississippi. He became known for songs including “We're Gonna Make It” and “Baby, I Love You”. He began recording with Sun Records in 1953. He died on August 4, 2005, from complications following a stroke.

American country and pop singer-songwriter Ronald “Ronnie” Dove was born on September 7, 1935, in Herndon, Virginia. He became known, among other things, for his popular cover of Wanda Jackson's “Right or Wrong”. In 1965, he had the US hit “One Kiss For Old Times' Sake” at No. 14.

Charles Hardin Holley, known as Buddy Holly, was born in Lubbock, Texas. His name was misspelled on his first recording contract, and he decided to keep the spelling. Holly, singer and songwriter with The Crickets, was one of the pioneers of rock'n'roll and had a major influence on The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and other stars of the 1960s. The Crickets had the US No. 1 hit “That'll Be The Day” in 1957, while Holly had the UK No. 1 single “It Doesn't Matter Anymore” in 1959 and more than 15 other UK Top 40 hits. He died at the age of 22 in a plane crash on February 3, 1959, alongside The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens. Don McLean's song “American Pie” is about his death.

American R&B and soul musician and producer Joe Simon was born in Simmesport, Louisiana. In 1975, he had the US hit “Get Down, Get Down On The Floor” at No. 8, and between 1964 and 1981 he had 51 hits on the US pop and R&B charts. He was also known for the hits “Power of Love” and “The Chokin’ Kind”. Some of his songs were later sampled by other artists, including OutKast and Lil' Kim. He died on December 13, 2021.

Artie Shaw and his orchestra recorded the song “Temptation”.

American singer Gloria Gaynor, born Gloria Fowles, was born on September 7, 1943, in Newark, New Jersey. She is best known for disco hits including “I Will Survive”, “I Am What I Am” and “Let Me Know (I Have a Right)”.

American disco and soul singer Alfa Anderson, known as one of the lead singers of Chic, was born in Augusta, Georgia. Chic had the US No. 1 hit “Le Freak” in 1978 and the hit “Good Times” in 1979. Anderson recorded backing vocals for Roy Buchanan, Dionne Warwick, Odyssey and other artists, and her voice also appeared on the soundtrack to The Wiz. She died on December 17, 2024, at the age of 78.

American musician and drummer Dennis Thompson of the hard rock group MC5 (Motor City 5) was born in Detroit, Michigan. The group was formed in 1964 and became known for its energetic live performances, one of which was captured on the 1969 debut album Kick Out the Jams. Thompson was nicknamed “Machine Gun” because of his fast and hard-hitting playing style. After suffering a heart attack in April 2024, he died on May 9, 2024, at the age of 75.

American-British musician Chrissie Hynde, best known as a founding member, singer and frontwoman of The Pretenders, was born in Akron, Ohio. The Pretenders had the UK No. 1 single “Brass In Pocket” in 1980, and Hynde also released solo recordings.

American musician and singer Benjamin “Benmont” Tench, keyboardist and founding member of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, was born in Gainesville, Florida. In 1995, he played organ on six tracks from Alanis Morissette's album Jagged Little Pill, including “You Oughta Know”, for which he was rewarded with dinner. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers had, among others, the 1977 single “American Girl”, the 1989 UK hit “I Won't Back Down” and the 1991 album Into The Great Wide Open. Tench also worked with Bob Dylan, U2, Roy Orbison and Stevie Nicks.

Elvis Presley performed at the National Guard Armory in Sikeston, Missouri; the concert began at 8:00 p.m. and was part of a five-day tour.

American songwriter, musician and producer Diane Warren was born in Van Nuys, California. She has written more than 80 US Top 20 hits and is known, among other songs, as the writer of “I Don't Want To Miss A Thing” for Aerosmith, “How Do I Live” for LeAnn Rimes, “Un-Break My Heart” for Toni Braxton, “If I Could Turn Back Time” for Cher and “Because You Loved Me” for Céline Dion. She is also the writer of nine songs that reached No. 1 on the charts.

Elvis Presley appeared on the cover of TV Guide for the first time.

Elvis Presley was at No. 1 on the UK chart with his first soundtrack album, Loving You. The album also reached No. 1 in the US, where it remained at the top for 10 weeks.

Elvis Presley recorded at Radio Recorders in Hollywood from noon until 8:00 p.m. During the recording session, he recorded “Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem”, “Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)”, “Santa Claus Is Back In Town” and “I’ll Be Home For Christmas”. On the same day, he also planned to record instrumental tracks with Scotty Moore, Bill Black and D. J. Fontana and suggested joining them as the pianist, but there was ultimately no time for those recordings.

Singer Jermaine Stewart was born. He also performed with Shalamar and The Temptations and worked with Boy George. In 1986, he had the UK hit “We Don't Have To...Take Our Clothes Off” at No. 2. He died of cancer on March 17, 1997.

Margot Chapman of Starland Vocal Band was born. The group had the US No. 1 hit “Afternoon Delight” in 1976, which reached No. 18 in the UK and was one of the best-selling singles of 1976.

Sam Cooke released his debut single “You Send Me” on Keen Records. The song became his biggest hit, reaching No. 1 on both the Billboard R&B and Pop charts and selling 2.5 million copies. Over the following eight years, he placed another 28 songs on the Hot 100, three of which charted only after his death on December 11, 1964.

Forty-year-old Georgia Gibbs performed “The Hula-Hoop Song” on The Ed Sullivan Show, helping fuel the hula-hoop craze that swept North America. The recording reached No. 32 on the Billboard Pop chart and was her final Top 40 entry. It followed a successful run of 1950s hits including “Kiss of Fire” (No. 1 in 1952), “Tweedle Dee” (No. 2 in 1955) and “Dance With Me Henry” (No. 1 in 1955).

Hamilton Lee of Furniture was born. The British new wave band had the UK hit “Brilliant Mind” at No. 21 in 1986. Lee is also known as a drummer, percussionist and co-leader of Transglobal Underground under the pseudonym Hamid Mantu.

Elvis Presley completed his military service at Fort Hood in Texas, where he spent six months training with tanks as part of the 2nd Armored Division.

Craig Douglas reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart with his own version of Sam Cooke's hit “Only Sixteen”. Born Terence Perkins, he worked as a milkman before becoming a professional singer, earning him the nickname “Singing Milkman”.

Frankie Avalon, The Coasters, Lou Rawls, Bobby Rydell and Annette Funicello performed on the final night of their four-day engagement at the Michigan State Fair as part of a tour organized by Dick Clark.

Lloyd Price returned to No. 1 on the rhythm & blues chart with “I’m Gonna’ Get Married”.

Paul Anka moved up the chart from No. 67 to No. 41 with “Put Your Head On My Shoulder”.

American bassist, baritone saxophonist and bass clarinet player Bradley “Brad” Houser was born. He became known as a co-founder of Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians and Critters Buggin. Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians had the UK hit “What I Am” at No. 31 in 1989. Houser was born in Dallas, Texas, and died on July 24, 2023, at the age of 62, from a stroke.

Elvis Presley was associated with the film Flaming Star.

Saxophonist and founding member of Dave Matthews Band LeRoi Moore was born in Durham, North Carolina. He co-wrote a number of the band's songs, including “Too Much” and “Stay (Wasting Time)”. After being injured in an accident at his farm near Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2008, he was hospitalized again because of complications and died on August 19, 2008.

During the filming of It Happened at the World’s Fair, Elvis Presley met 18-year-old Sue Wouters, whom he later invited to his hotel suite.

Elvis Presley filmed It Happened at the World’s Fair in Seattle; production ran from September 4 to 13.

Bobby Vinton reached No. 1 on the Easy Listening chart with “Blue Velvet”.

Little Stevie Wonder spent his sixth week at No. 1 on the rhythm & blues chart with “Fingertips Pt. 2”.

The Angels remained at No. 1 on the US chart with “My Boyfriend’s Back”.

The Beatles recorded a performance for the BBC radio program “Saturday Club” at the Playhouse Theatre in London. They performed “I Saw Her Standing There”, “Memphis”, “Happy Birthday Saturday Club” (an arrangement credited to John Lennon), “I’ll Get You”, “She Loves You” and “Lucille”.

American rapper Eazy-E, born Eric Wright, was born on September 7, 1964, in Compton, California. As a member of N.W\.A. and founder of Ruthless Records, he helped establish West Coast rap and gangsta rap. He is often referred to as the “godfather of gangsta rap”. He died on March 26, 1995, from AIDS-related complications.

The Beatles played two concerts at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, the first at 6:30 p.m. and the second at 10:00 p.m. More than 35,000 fans paid an average of $5 for tickets. During an afternoon press conference, a reporter asked John Lennon how long he thought The Beatles would last, and Lennon replied, “Longer than you.” Clarence “Frogman” Henry and Jackie DeShannon also performed at the concerts.

The Rolling Stones completed the recording of “Get Off of My Cloud”. The song was released two weeks later and reached No. 1 in the charts in Canada, Germany, South Africa, the US and the UK.

English drummer and songwriter Christopher “Chris” Acland was born in Lancaster. He became known as a member of the British alternative rock band Lush, who had the UK hit “Single Girl” at No. 21 in 1996. Acland died by suicide by hanging on September 7, 1996.

Filming began on The Fastest Guitar Alive, a comedy set during the American Civil War featuring Roy Orbison and Sam the Sham.

Creedence Clearwater Revival first appeared on the chart with their debut single “Suzie Q”.

Iron Butterfly's album In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida entered the Billboard chart; it later reached No. 10 and became a multi-platinum title, selling more than 25 million copies.

Jerry Butler recorded the song “Only The Strong Survive” at Sigma Sound Studios in Los Angeles.

Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham performed live together for the first time on September 7, 1968, at the Gladsaxe Teen Club on the outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark, as The New Yardbirds. Approximately 1,200 young people attended the concert at Egegård School. Club chairman Lars Abel introduced The New Yardbirds on stage and accidentally introduced Robert Plant as Robert Plata. The local review described their performance as absolutely flawless. The group was still fulfilling commitments from the previous tour and adopted the name Led Zeppelin permanently several weeks later. The original Yardbirds did not break up until after this concert had been arranged, so the group was also billed as The Yardbirds for the performance.

Pink Floyd performed at the Le Blboquet club in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris, where they played “Let There Be More Light” live as part of the four-hour television special “Surprise Partie”. The program, which also featured The Who, Joe Cocker, The Troggs, Fleetwood Mac, Small Faces, PP Arnold, The Equals and others, was broadcast in color by ORTF2 on December 31.

Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 reached No. 1 on the Easy Listening chart with their cover of The Beatles' song “The Fool On The Hill”.