In 1960, at CBS 30th Street Studio in New York City, Tony Bennett recorded "Put On A Happy Face."
In 1964, at Western Studios in Los Angeles, the Beach Boys began recording "All Summer Long." They completed the track the following day.
In 1965, in their Clearwater, Florida hotel room, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards work out the opening guitar riff of "Satisfaction," following Richard's purchase of a Gibson fuzz-box earlier that day.
Also in 1965, James Brown reworks a song called "I Found You" by Yvonne Fair and comes up with "I Got You" (I Feel Good). It will become the biggest hit of his career, reaching #3 in the US and #29 in the UK.
In 1967, Pearls Before Swine begin recording an album called 'One Nation Underground.' The LP includes a song called "Miss Morse", which would be banned in New York when it was discovered that lead singer Tom Rapp was singing F-U-C-K in Morse code. After disc jockey Murray The K played the record on the air, local Boy Scouts correctly interpreted the chorus and phoned in a complaint.
In 1967, the Who's Keith Moon offers this insightful advice to young drummers during an interview in Melody Maker Magazine: "To get your playing more forceful, hit the drums harder."
Also in 1967, two weeks after being pushed out of the top spot on the Cashbox Best Sellers list by The Monkees' "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You," Nancy and Frank Sinatra returned to the top spot with "Something Stupid."
In 1969, at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London, the Beatles recorded 36 takes of "You Never Give Me Your Money." On July 1, Paul McCartney overdubbed the lead vocal onto take 30, and added more vocals and chimes on July 15.
In 1971, Ike and Tina Turner receive their only Gold record for their version of "Proud Mary," which climbed to #4 in the US.
In 1973, Paul Simon's first solo tour began with a performance at the Music Hall in Boston. Recordings from the tour were later released on the 1974 album, 'Live Rhymin'.' Former partner Art Garfunkel would release his first solo album, 'Angel Clare' and the single "All I Know" later in the year.
On this day in 1976, "Welcome Back" by John Sebastian was the #1 song.
In 1977, having just been signed to their first major recording contract, Dublin's Boomtown Rats, lead by vocalist Bob Geldof, perform for a group of record company employees at Studio 51 in London.
In 1993, agents of the US Internal Revenue Service raided Jerry Lee Lewis' home in Nesbit, Mississippi, and hauled away his belongings in an attempt to make up for what it said were $1.6 million in back taxes.
In 1995, Oasis scored their first UK #1 single when “Some Might Say” went to the top of the UK charts. It was the first single to be released from the Manchester band’s second album '(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?' and the last Oasis track to feature original drummer Tony McCarroll.
In 1996, Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville sang at a White House event celebrating the musical diversity of the President Bill Clinton and his wife Hilary were the hosts for In Performance at the White House, which was later broadcast on public television.
In 1996, in Toronto, the Tragically Hip gave the first of two surprise performances at the Horseshoe Tavern.
In 2002, songwriter Otis Blackwell died from a heart attack. Among his hits were "All Shook Up", "Return To Sender", "Don't Be Cruel", "Great Balls Of Fire", "Fever" and "Handy Man". Over the years, Blackwell's songs have sold more than 185 million copies.
In 2004, a sale at Christie's in London, England became the most successful pop auction in the company's history after Beatles memorabilia sold for a record $1.3 million. The auction included a leather collar worn by John Lennon which sold for $193,172 and a signed copy of a management deal between the Beatles and Brian Epstein sold for $202,463. A Vox Kensington guitar used by Lennon and George Harrison went for $164,831. Also sold, a colored felt-pen drawing by Lennon for $16,483, a letter with his signature for $9,064, and a pen-and-ink drawing called Happy Fish for $15,653.
In 2004, jazz guitarist Barney Kessel died of brain tumor at 80. He produced and played on Ricky Nelson's first recordings, and his guitar is featured prominently on Julie London's classic "Cry Me A River," which he arranged.
In 2006, the Go-Betweens singer, songwriter Grant McLennan, died in his sleep at his home in Brisbane, Australia, at age 48. The Australasian Performing Rights Association named his 1983 song “Cattle and Cane” one of the 30 greatest Australian songs of all time.
In 2009, Donald "Ean" Evans, the bassist for Lynyrd Skynyrd, died of cancer at the age of 48. He joined the band in 2001 following the passing of Leon Wilkeson and remained with them until his death.
In 2010, real estate agent Tim Bachman, a founding member and former guitarist in the band Bachman-Turner Overdrive, turned himself in to Abbotsford, British Columbia police, six days after a warrant was issued for his arrest. The formal charges against him were "sexual interference with a person under the age of 14, sexual assault and touching a young person for a sexual purpose." Police said the girl was 11 when the crimes started.
In 2012, over 300 guests, including Chubby Checker, Paul Anka, Berry Gordy, Marie Osmond and Stevie Wonder, gathered on the grounds of Dick Clark's Malibu estate for a private memorial service. Clark’s three children spoke first, followed by his widow Kari, who read a list of "65 reasons I love Dick Clark." The long-time host of TV's American Bandstand died April 18 of a heart attack.
