Events in 1963
- Jerry Lee Lewis accepted a $9,500 offer to perform at the opening of the new Thunderbird Hotel in Las Vegas.
- James Hetfield, co-founder, guitarist, and vocalist of Metallica, was born in Downey, California.
- The Beatles made their first appearance on the U.S. Billboard charts when “From Me to You” debuted at No. 125 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100.
- The Beatles played their final concert at Liverpool’s Cavern Club. They had previously performed at the club 292 times. Tickets sold out within 30 minutes, and manager Brian Epstein limited attendance to 500 for safety reasons.
- Elvis Presley was at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart with “(You're the) Devil in Disguise” during the week of August 1–7.
- Allan Sherman released the single “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh! (A Letter from Camp).”
- The Beach Boys released “Surfer Girl,” written and produced by Brian Wilson, who regarded it as his first original composition.
- The Beatles first appeared on the U.S. music charts when “From Me to You” debuted at No. 116 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100.
- The Beatles performed at the Queen's Theatre in Blackpool. Because of the crowds of fans, they had to enter the theater through a construction site, climb scaffolding onto the roof, and were then lowered through an opening in the roof.
- Mike Nocito, bassist for Johnny Hates Jazz, was born in Wiesbaden, Germany.
- Bob Dylan began the first recording sessions at Studio A of Columbia Recording Studios in New York with producer Tom Wilson for his third album, “The Times They Are a-Changin'.” It was his first album made up entirely of original songs. Upon its release the following February, the album reached No. 20 in the U.S. and No. 4 in the UK.
- Jamie Kensit of Eighth Wonder was born. The group had a hit with “I'm Not Scared,” written and produced by the Pet Shop Boys.
- The Beatles arrived in Jersey in the English Channel. Before their first of four evenings at Springfield Ballroom, they spent the day driving go-karts and relaxing by the pool at The Revere Hotel.
- Film „Beach Party“ s Frankiem Avalonem a Annette Funicello byl uveden v kinech po celých Spojených státech. Hudbu k filmu nahráli Dick Dale And The Del Tones a film do konce roku utržil 1,2 milionu dolarů.
- The Beatles byli na prvním místě britského albového žebříčku se svým albem „Please Please Me“.
- V britském albovém žebříčku byli na prvních pěti místech „Please Please Me“ od The Beatles, „Greatest Hits“ od The Shadows, „Cliff’s Hit Album“ od Cliffa Richarda, soundtrack „West Side Story“ a album „It Happened At The World Fair“ od Elvise Presleyho.
- The Beatles arrived on the island of Guernsey, where they performed two concerts at Candie Gardens. They flew there from Jersey in a twelve-seat aircraft and were to receive £1,000 for both concerts.
- The Searchers reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart with “Sweets For My Sweet”. It was their first of three UK No. 1 hits.
- American singer, actress, film and music producer Whitney Houston was born in Newark, New Jersey.
- ITV aired the first episode of the influential British music television show “Ready! Steady! Go!”. The premiere featured The Searchers, Jet Harris, Pat Boone, Billy Fury and Brian Poole and The Tremeloes. The show was hosted by Keith Fordyce and 19-year-old Cathy McGowan. It ran until December 1966 and ended after 175 episodes.
- Comedian Allan Sherman released “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadda,” a comedy song based on music from Ponchielli’s “Dance of the Hours,” which first appeared on his album “My Son the Nut.” Sherman wrote the song based on his son’s real experience at Camp Champlain, where he desperately wanted to leave and later pleaded to be allowed to return. The recording reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and in 2020 was added to the United States National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress as culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.
- Thirteen-year-old Little Stevie Wonder began a three-week run at No. 1 on the US singles chart with “Fingertips Part II”. It was the first live recording to reach the top of the Billboard Pop Singles chart since Johnny Standley's 1952 comedy monologue “It's in the Book”. Stevie Wonder also became the youngest singer to reach the top of the US chart.
- Elvis Presley reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 9 on the R&B chart with “(You’re The) Devil in Disguise.” The song reached No. 1 in several other countries.
- Peter, Paul & Mary spent their second week at No. 1 on the US chart with “Blowin’ In The Wind”.
- Acker Bilk, Chris Barber, Ronnie Ross, Cyril Davies, Long John Baldry and The Rolling Stones performed at the third Richmond Jazz Festival in Richmond, England. The festival took place over two days, and a weekend ticket cost 20 shillings.
- The 100th episode of the British television show “Thank Your Lucky Stars” was broadcast. Performers included Cliff Richard, The Shadows, The Searchers, Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, and Alma Cogan.
- The Browns became members of the Grand Ole Opry.
- The Kingston Trio appeared as celebrity and mystery guests on the CBS-TV program What's My Line?
- The Rolling Stones performed at the 3rd National Jazz Festival in Richmond, Surrey. The festival's headliners were Mr. Acker Bilk And His Paramount Jazz Band.
- Rapper and producer Sir Mix-a-Lot, whose real name is Anthony Ray, was born; he is best known for the hit “Baby Got Back.”
- “Sweets for My Sweet” by The Searchers reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart.
- The Four Seasons sued their financially struggling first record company, Vee Jay Records, over unpaid royalties and subsequently moved to Mercury/Philips Records. According to the source, this marked the beginning of a series of problems that led to the label's collapse.
- Andy Williams became the first artist to reach No. 1 on the newly created US Billboard 200, doing so with his eleventh studio album, Days of Wine and Roses.
- The song “Blowin’ in the Wind” by Peter, Paul & Mary remained at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for a third week.
- Ben E. King's song “I Who Have Nothing” reached No. 29 and became his fifth solo Top 40 hit on Billboard since leaving The Drifters in May 1960. Successful versions were later recorded by Terry Knight and the Pack, Liquid Smoke, Sylvester and Tom Jones, among others.
- The duo The Louvin Brothers, consisting of brothers Ira Lonnie and Charlie Elzer Loudermilk, performed together for the last time. Both then began solo careers.
- Wayne Newton's version of “Danke Schoen” reached No. 13 on the Hot 100 and No. 3 on the Easy Listening chart. The song was originally intended for Bobby Darin, but after Darin saw Newton perform at the Copacabana, he gave him the song to record.
- Swedish musician Rolf Magnus Joakim Larsson, known as Joey Tempest, co-founder and lead singer of the rock group Europe, was born in Stockholm, Sweden. Larsson began performing in 1979 and adopted the name Joey Tempest, inspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest and also by the song “Sparks of the Tempest” by American progressive rock group Kansas. Europe had the UK number one single “The Final Countdown” in 1986.
- Peter, Paul and Mary sang “Blowin’ in the Wind” to participants in the civil rights march in Washington, D.C., who had gathered to hear Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech.
- The Ronettes recorded their only Billboard Top 10 hit when their first recording for Phil Spector, “Be My Baby”, reached No. 2. None of their other recordings, including “Baby I Love You” (#24), “The Best Part of Breaking Up” (#39), “Do I Love You?” (#34) and “Walking In the Rain” (#23), reached the Top 20 in the US.
- “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.
- In the US Top 10, besides Stevie Wonder at number two, Allan Sherman was at number three with “Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh!”, The Four Seasons at number four with “Candy Girl”, and The Angels at number five with “My Boyfriend's Back”. Also in the Top 10 were Lesley Gore, Peter, Paul & Mary, The Surfaris, Kai Winding, Elvis Presley with “(You're The) Devil In Disguise”, and “Denise” by Randy & The Rainbows.
- Peter, Paul & Mary were in their fourth week at number one on the Easy Listening chart with “Blowin' In The Wind”.
- Stevie Wonder became the first artist of the rock era to have both a number-one single (“Fingertips, Pt. 2”) and a number-one album (“The Twelve-Year-Old Genius”) simultaneously, while also being at number one on the R&B chart. “Fingertips” was in its fourth week at the top of the R&B chart.
- The Beatles released the single “She Loves You” in the UK, backed with “I'll Get You”. By 1977, the single had become the best-selling British single of all time, with sales of 1.93 million copies. It entered the UK chart on August 31 and spent 31 consecutive weeks on the chart, including 18 weeks in the Top Three. The record was not surpassed until 1977, when Paul McCartney achieved it with “Mull Of Kintyre”. The single also became their best-selling single in the UK and reached number one in charts in several countries around the world.
- The Rolling Stones made their first appearance on the British television programme “Ready, Steady, Go!”, where they performed their debut single “Come On”. Between 1963 and 1966, they appeared on the programme a total of twenty times.
- Tori Amos, acclaimed singer, songwriter and pianist, was born.
- Darlene Love's biggest solo hit, „Wait Til’ My Bobby Gets Home“, entered the Billboard Top 40 and later reached No. 26. She achieved greater success with The Crystals, The Blossoms and Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans.
- Peter, Paul & Mary spent their fourth week at No. 1 on the U.S. Easy Listening chart with „Blowin' in the Wind“.
- Stevie Wonder became the first artist to simultaneously hold No. 1 on the U.S. album and singles charts in the same week. His album „Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius“ topped the album chart and „Fingertips (Part 2)“ topped the singles chart; it was also the first live recording to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100. „Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius“ was the last album released under the name „Little Stevie Wonder“; on subsequent albums he used only the name Stevie Wonder.
- The Beatles released the single „She Loves You“ with „I'll Get You“ on the B-side in the U.K. The song entered the U.K. chart on August 31 and remained there for 31 weeks, including 18 weeks in the Top Three.
- The Ronettes reached No. 2 on the U.S. chart with „Be My Baby“, their only single to reach the Billboard Top 10.
- 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.
- Paul McCartney was fined £25 and lost his driving licence for one year after being caught speeding. He received additional fines of £3 each for two further charges involving the late presentation of his driving licence and insurance document, bringing the total penalty to £31. Police stopped him at 11:45 p.m. on June 14, 1963, on Seabank Road in Wallasey while he was driving the other Beatles back to Liverpool after their performance at the Tower Ballroom in New Brighton.
- Peter, Paul and Mary performed “Blowin' in the Wind” for participants in the March on Washington for civil rights, who had gathered to hear Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Before his speech, they performed their hit version of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin' in the Wind”. The same program also featured Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mahalia Jackson, Marian Anderson, and Odetta, who performed in support of equal rights.
- Jerry Fehily of the Irish rock group Hothouse Flowers was born. In 1988, the group had the UK single "Don't Go" at No. 11. Its first album, "People", released in 1988, became the most successful debut album in Irish history, reaching No. 1 in Ireland within a week and eventually No. 2 on the UK album chart.
- British trance DJ, producer and remixer Paul Mark Oakenfold was born in London. He toured with U2 and remixed songs for Simply Red, M People, New Order, Stone Roses and U2.
- Allan Sherman began an eight-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart with his third studio album, "My Son, the Nut".
- Keyboardist and pianist Larry Waddell of Mint Condition was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He wrote the group's gold-certified 1996 single "What Kind of Man Would I Be".
- Keyboardist Larry Wendt was born.
- The Angels became the first white female group to reach No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart. "My Boyfriend's Back" began a three-week run at the top. Its writers Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer later wrote hits including "Sorrow", and as The Strangeloves had the U.S. No. 11 single "I Want Candy" in 1965. In the United Kingdom, the song reached No. 50 and also reached No. 1 in New Zealand that year.
- The Ronettes released their first single, "Be My Baby", produced by Phil Spector. The song was their only U.S. Top 10 hit. Lead singer Veronica Bennett, later known as Ronnie Spector, sued Phil Spector in the late 1990s over unpaid royalties.