In 1949, Harry Belafonte began recording his first sessions for Capitol Records. They included the songs "They Didn't Believe Me" and "Close Your Eyes." Not long after, Capitol decided Belafonte wasn't "commercial enough," and he signed with RCA Victor where he had a long and fruitful recording career.
In 1952, Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys released the single of his composition "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" b/w "Window Shopping." The A-side went on to top the country music chart for 14 weeks.
In 1954, Sun Records released the first Elvis Presley single, "That's All Right" (a cover of Arthur Crudup's 1946 tune "That's All Right, Mama") with "Blue Moon of Kentucky" as the B-side. Only about 7,000 original copies were pressed, but the disc became a local hit in Memphis. After the session, Bill Black was said to have remarked, "Damn. Get that on the radio and they'll run us out of town." It is #112 on the 2004 Rolling Stone magazine list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."
In 1957, the Coasters have the top selling single in America with "Yakety Yak." Featuring the sax solo of King Curtis, the 1 minute, 52 second song also topped the Billboard R&B chart for seven weeks.
In 1958, after continual financial disputes, Drifters manager George Treadwell fired the entire group and replaced them with the existing group the Five Crowns, renaming them the Drifters. This lineup, featuring lead singer Ben E. King, produced hits like "There Goes My Baby" and "Save the Last Dance for Me."
In 1960, Brian Hyland was a guest performer on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
In 1961, Johnny Cash recorded "Tennessee Flat Top Box."
In 1961, at Bell Sound Studios in New York City, Paul Anka recorded "Kissin' On The Phone."
In 1961, the Edsels and Al Martino appeared on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
In 1962, Duane Eddy played his "twangy guitar" on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
In 1962, Ray Charles' single "I Can't Stop Loving You" was certified Gold.
In 1963, Frank Ifield had the #1 single on the UK chart with "Confessin," his fourth and final chart topper.
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On July 19, 1965, the Beatles released the single "Help!" b/w "I'm Down" in North America. The song hit #1 for three weeks in both the US and the UK. "Help!" was written primarily by John Lennon, but credited to Lennon–McCartney. During an interview with Playboy in 1984, Paul McCartney stated that the title was "out of desperation." In 2004, it was ranked #29 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 1965, ABC-TV's weekday afternoon music series "Where The Action Is" featured performances by the Sir Douglas Quintet, Linda Scott, Steve Alaimo, Jackie & Gayle, and Paul Revere And The Raiders.
In 1966, the Monkees record the theme song to their TV show, which will begin airing next Fall. Although the tune appeared as an album track on their self-titled debut LP and got some AM radio play, it was not released as a single.
In 1966, 51 year old Frank Sinatra marries 21 year old actress Mia Farrow. It was his third marriage, her first. Two years later, while Farrow was filming Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby, Sinatra sent his lawyer to the movie set to inform his wife that he was filing for divorce.
In 1966, Johnny Rivers begins recording "Poor Side Of Town", which will become the tenth of his seventeen US Top 40 hits and his only number one.
In 1966, ABC-TV's "Where The Action Is" featured guests Percy Sledge, and the Knickerbockers.
In 1967, Elvis Presley was working on his latest movie Speedway co-starring Nancy Sinatra at the MGM Soundstage, Hollywood, California. (It was Presley’s twenty-seventh film).
In 1968, in San Diego, Bo Diddley played the first of two nights at the Hippodrome.
In 1968, at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London, the Beatles began recording "Sexy Sadie," a John Lennon composition about his disillusionment with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Lennon originally wanted to title the song "Maharishi," but changed the title to "Sexy Sadie" at George Harrison's urging. The track was completed on August 21, 1968.
In 1968, Pink Floyd played the second of three nights at the Boston Tea Party, Boston, Massachusetts.
In 1969, the Spencer Davis Group announces their break-up. The band had reached the Billboard chart twice in 1967 with "Gimme Some Lovin" (#7) and "I'm A Man" (#10) and placed ten songs on the UK charts, including two number one hits, "Keep On Running" and "Somebody Help Me."
In 1969, Andy Kim and Peppermint Rainbow guested on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
In 1974, Helen Reddy hosted "The Midnight Special" on NBC-TV, with guests Janis Ian, Brownsville Station, Dave Loggins, Paul Williams, and Peter Allen.
In 1974, David Bowie completed his Diamond Dogs tour.
In 1975, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band rehearsed for 19 hours at the Record Plant in New York City, the day before beginning their Born To Run Tour.
In 1975, Orleans' "Dance With Me" was released. It would go on to climb to #6 on Billboard's Hot 100 and has since been played on the radio over four million times.
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In 1975, Paul McCartney and Wings went to #1 on the US singles chart with "Listen To What The Man Said," his fourth US #1, a #6 hit in the UK. Wings also had the US #1 album chart with 'Venus And Mars,' Paul McCartney's fourth #1 album since the Beatles.In 1975, Melissa Manchester was a featured guest on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
In 1975, singer/songwriter/Country Music Hall of Famer Lefty Frizzell died following a stroke at age 47.
In 1976, John "Scooter" Herring, a member of the Allman Brother's road crew, was sentenced to 75 years in prison for providing drugs for the group, based on the testimony of Gregg Allman.
In 1976, Deep Purple split up at the end of an UK tour. David Coverdale went on to form Whitesnake, Jon Lord and Ian Paice formed a band with Tony Ashton. The classic line up of Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord & Paice reformed in 1984. Glenn Hughes returned to Trapeze and Tommy Bolin put together his own band, (but would die before the end of the year).
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In 1977, four weeks before his death, Elvis Presley released the album 'Moody Blue,' pressed on blue vinyl to match the title track.In 1980, Billy Joel scores his first number one hit in the US with "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me," which helped push his 'Glass Houses' LP to over 5 million in sales.
In 1980, in Laguna Beach, California, a new exhibit of paintings by Joni Mitchell, John Mayall, Klaus Voorman, and Ron Wood opened at the Vorpal Gallery.
In 1980, the Temptations performed on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
In 1980, Queen enjoy their third UK #1 album with 'The Game,' which featured the single "Another One Bites The Dust".
In 1982, Donna Summer released a self-titled album, her tenth studio album.
In 1983, Simon & Garfunkel started a summer tour in Akron, OH.
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In 1986, Genesis went to #1 on the US singles chart with "Invisible Touch." The bands former lead singer Peter Gabriel was at #2 with "Sledgehammer."In 1986, Bananarama appeared on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
In 1986, Patti LaBelle went to #1 on the US album chart with 'Winner In You'.
In 1987, Bruce Springsteen played his first ever show behind the Iron Curtain when he appeared in East Berlin in front of 160,000 people. The show was broadcast on East German TV.
In 1994, in Toronto, about 1,000 fans paid $5 each to see a surprise performance by the Rolling Stones at the RPM club. The 90-minute show was a preview of their Voodoo Lounge tour.
In 1995, Dr. George Nichopolous, who became famous for his liberal dispensing of drugs to Elvis Presley, finally loses his medical license.
In 1996, Céline Dion performed at the opening ceremonies of the Atlanta Centennial Olympics, the XXVI Olympiad, singing "The Power of the Dream," which had been commissioned for the occasion.
In 1999, They Might Be Giants released the album 'Long Tall Weekend.' It was released exclusively in the MP3 format.
In 2001, soul and gospel singer Judy Clay died. Was a member of the Drinkard Singers - who later became better known as The Sweet Inspirations , also worked with Billy Vera, and had hits with William Bell (Private Number), and sang with Wilson Pickett and Ray Charles.
On this day in 2001, "Hot In Here" by Nelly was the #1 song
In 2004, Mark Tulin and James Lowe, two original members of The Electric Prunes, filed lawsuits against their record label and music publisher, alleging that the companies failed to pay them $1 million in royalties
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On July 19, 2007, US sales figures were released that showed CD sales falling a further 11.7% since last year. In contrast, vinyl record collectors pushed the demand for vinyl platters up by 12.9%. The vinyl revival had begun!!birthdays today include (among others) Sue Thompson (88), Vicki Carr (72), Bernie Leadon (Eagles, Dillard & Clark, Flying Burrito Brothers) (66), Brian May (Queen) (65), Robb Flynn (Machine Head) (45) and Martin Powell (Cradle of Filth) (40)
