In 1935, at age 17, Ella Fitzgerald recorded her first songs. The two songs were "Love and Kisses" and "I'll Chase the Blues Away."
In 1959, "The Battle Of New Orleans" by Johnny Horton was the #1 song.
In 1959, Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson performed on the same bill in Norfolk, Virginia. At Cooke's insistence, arena management includes integrated seating for the audience.
In 1960, Connie Francis sang "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" on CBS-TV's "The Ed Sullivan Show."
In 1961, Frankie Avalon began a 12-day tour of South America, one of the first rock 'n' roll tours to play there.
In 1962, Brenda Lee was hospitalized after dislocating her neck while performing at the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
In 1964, the Zombies conducted their first recording session at Decca Studios in London in 1964. Among the tracks recorded is their hit, "She’s Not There." One of the song's most distinctive features is Argent's electric piano sound; the instrument used was a Hohner Pianet. The backing vocals are in a folk-influenced close-harmony style.
In 1964, the Beatles arrived in Adelaide, Australia and were greeted by an estimated 250,000 fans, (the biggest welcome the band would ever receive), who lined the ten mile route from the airport to the city centre. The group gave their first four shows in Australia at the Centennial Hall, Adelaide over two nights. Temporary member Jimmy Nicol was standing in for Ringo on drums who was recovering from having his tonsils removed.
In 1965, "Back In My Arms Again" topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, making the Supremes the only American group to release five #1 hits in a row.
In 1965, the Beatles were included in the Queen's Birthday Honours List to each receive the MBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) award. Buckingham Palace received numerous protests following the announcement. One previous award-winner, Member of Parliament Hector Dupuis, complained "British royalty has put me on the same level as a bunch of vulgar numbskulls."
The Dave Clark Five break a record (for rock performers), as they appeared for the twelfth time on the "Ed Sullivan Show" on CBS in 1966.
Yes was formed in 1967.
In 1967, Bob Dylan’s album 'Greatest Hits' peaked at #10 in the US chart. The cover photograph of the album was taken by Rowland Scherman at Dylan's November 28th, 1965, concert in Washington, D.C., winning the 1967 Grammy award for Best Album Cover, Photography. The original album package also included Milton Glaser's now-familiar psychedelic poster depicting Dylan.
In 1967, at Olympic Studios' Studio A in London, the Rolling Stones recorded "We Love You," with an uncredited backing vocal by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, for the Stones''Their Satanic Majesties Request' album. It was also issued as the B-side of their single "Dandelion."
In 1968, Elvis Presley's 27th movie, "Speedway," co-starring Nancy Sinatra, Bill Bixby, Gale Gordon, William Schallert, and Poncie Ponce, premiered in Charlotte, North Carolina, where it was filmed.
In 1968, the Rolling Stones appeared at the annual New Musical Express Poll Winners Concert at the Empire Pool, Wembley, England, where they play their latest release "Jumpin' Jack Flash". It will mark the last time that guitarist Brian Jones performs with the band.
Janis Joplin debuts a new band, Full-Tilt Boogie, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky in 1970.
In 1972, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Elvis Presley performed at the Memorial Coliseum.
In 1973, at Criteria Studios in Miami, with Todd Rundgren as producer, Grand Funk began recording "We're An American Band." The track was completed on June 15.
In 1975, 'Janis Joplin’s Greatest Hits,' released in 1973, finally goes gold.
In 1978, singer/Country Music Hall of Famer Johnny Bond died after a heart attack at the age of 63.
In 1979, 13 of the 23 #1 songs were disco, including Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?", Blondie's "Heart Of Glass", and Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough.” "Disco Demolition Night" at Chicago's Comiskey Park, hosted by Steve Dahl, spearheads the"Disco Sucks" movement.
In 1982, nearly a million people crammed into New York's Central Park for the Rally for Nuclear Disarmament, with performances by Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, and Gary "U.S." Bonds. It was the largest anti-nuclear protest and largest political demonstration in American history.
In 1982, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel performed at the Feyenoord Stadion in Rotterdam, Holland, one of 14 dates on their European tour.
In 1988, a dozen of Canada's top songwriters were honored in Vancouver for writing songs that had been played on Canadian radio at least 100,000 times since 1965. Gene MacLellan won three of the awards from the Performing Rights Organization of Canada for "Snowbird,""Put Your Hand in the Hand," and "The Call." Burton Cummings also won three awards for "Stand Tall,""Break It To Them Gently," and "These Eyes."
In 1989, Graceland opened the Elvis Presley Autoland Museum which contains more than 20 cars owned by Presley.
In 1989, former disc jockey Vivian Carter, co-founder with Jimmy Bracken (later her husband) of Vee-Jay Records (the label name formed from their initials) died following a stroke and complications from diabetes at the age of 69. Vee-Jay was the largest black-owned label of the 1950s and over its 13-year lifespan had a talent roster that included the Spaniels, the Dells, Jimmy Reed, Rosie & The Originals, John Lee Hooker, Hank Ballard & The Midnighters, Betty Everett, Gene Chandler, Jerry Butler, the 4 Seasons and, briefly, the Beatles. Vee-Jay went bankrupt in 1966.
In 1990, in Indianapolis, David Bowie appeared at the Deer Creek Music Center during the North American leg of his Sound & Vision tour.
Cab Calloway suffered a stroke in 1994, from which he never truly recovered from. He died November 18, 1994 at the age 86.
In 2001, Blink-182 released the LP 'Take Off Your Pants and Jacket.' It became the first punk rock-identified record to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 and being certified double platinum within three weeks. The album produced three hit singles "The Rock Show,""First Date" and "Stay Together for the Kids," that were top ten hits on modern rock charts.
In 2005, Pink Floyd announced they would reunite with former bassist Roger Waters, who left the band in 1985, on July 2 for the Live 8 London concert. This would be the first time the band had played together as a quartet since The Wall tour in 1981.
In 2006, Prince received a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his "visionary" use of the Internet; Prince was the first major artist to release an entire album, 1997's Crystal Ball, exclusively on the internet.
In 2007, Canada Post issued postage stamps honoring Canadian singers Paul Anka, Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, and Anne Murray.
Also in 2007, the Traveling Wilburys (George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Electric Light Orchestra's Jeff Lynne) two studio albums were reissued together with extras (including a DVD with videos and a group documentary). Contractual problems kept the group's work out of distribution for several years.
In 2008, trumpeter/singer/Nashville Brass leader Danny Davis died following a heart attack at age 83.
In 2011, Shania Twain released "Today is Your Day," to accompany the documentary television series "Why Not? with Shania Twain." The song, her own composition, was her first new single in more than six years.
In 2011, saxophonist Clarence Clemons of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band suffered a major stroke. He died six days later.
In 2011, R&B singer/Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Carl Gardner, founder and lead vocalist of the Coasters and previously a member of the Robins, died of congestive heart failure and vascular dementia at the age of 83.
