1964: “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying” by Gerry and the Pacemakers entered the UK chart. Less than two weeks after it peaked at #6, the single entered the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, where it became the group’s first top 10 hit and topped out at #4.

1965: The Beatles were at the top of the UK singles chart with their seventh British #1, “Ticket to Ride.”

1966: “Wild Thing” by The Troggs was released. Originally written by Chip Taylor and recorded by New York group Jordan Christopher & The Wild Ones in 1965, The Troggs’ version, which was recorded in one take, reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 that July, and peaked at #2 in the UK.

1967: “Little Games,” the first single and title track from the Yardbirds’ fourth American album, entered the Billboard Hot 100.

1967: The Who released “Pictures of Lily” as a single in the UK, where it reached the top 5. Nine weeks later, the single was released in the US, where it reached #51.

1967: “Groovin’” by The Young Rascals entered Billboard Hot 100. It became their first top 40 single in the US as well as their first to reach #1.

1968: The Monkees released their fifth studio album The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees. It was the group’s first LP not to reach #1 on the Billboard chart in the US, instead peaking at #3, as well as their first not to chart in the UK at all.

1969: Desmond Dekker and the Aces achieved their only #1 single on the UK chart with “The Israelites.”

1969: John Lennon formerly changed his middle name from Winston to Ono during a brief ceremony held on the roof of the Apple Records building at 3 Savile Row in London. Lennon never liked his middle name and said that since his wife Yoko changed her name for him, he’d changed his name for her.

1969: The Who gave their first full live performance of their rock opera Tommy at the Bolton Institute of Technology in England a month before the album was officially released.

1970: Iron Butterfly’s fourth album and first live album, simply titled Live, was released. It was the band’s last album to be recorded with the longstanding quartet of Erik Brann, Ron Bushy, Lee Dorman, and Dough Ingle.

1971: The Temptations released their fourteenth studio album, Sky’s The Limit. The album features the final Temptations recordings by founding member Eddie Kendricks, who left the group for a solo career.

1972: Aretha Franklin topped the Billboard R&B chart with “Day Dreaming,” the fifth single from her eighteenth studio album, Young, Gifted and Black.

1972: “Outa-Space” by Billy Preston entered the Billboard Hot 100. A&M Records was skeptical the instrumental would succeed, so it was released as the B-side of “I Wrote a Simple Song.” Contrary to the label’s prediction, disc jockeys began flipping the record over, and “Outa-Space” became Preston’s first #1 on the R&B charts and went to #2 on the pop charts. The A-side, however, topped out at #77.

1972: “Telegram Sam” by T. Rex entered Billboard Hot 100. The single reached #67 in US and went to #1 in the UK.

1975: Elvis Presley released “T-R-O-U-B-L-E,” the lead single from his twenty-second studio album, Today.

1976: The J. Geils Band released their second live album, Blow Your Face Out. The album was recorded at two concerts in November of 1975, first at the Boston Garden and at Cobo Hall in Detroit four nights later.

1977: Pink Floyd began the American leg of their “In The Flesh Tour,” also known as their “Animals Tour,” with a show at the Miami Baseball Stadium. Shows featured large inflatable puppets, a pyrotechnic “waterfall,” and one of the biggest and most elaborate stages to date, including umbrella-like canopies that rose from the stage to protect the band from the elements.

1978: Linda Ronstadt’s cover of the Rolling Stones song “Tumbling Dice,” produced by Peter Asher, entered the Billboard Hot 100, where it later reached #32. Ronstadt’s band had used song for sound checks, but no one knew the words. After Mick Jagger suggested that Ronstadt sing more hard rock songs and recommended “Tumbling Dice,” she had Jagger write down the song’s lyrics.

1978: “Baker Street” by Gerry Rafferty entered the Billboard Hot 100. The record became his biggest solo hit and only top 10 single on the chart.

1978: John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd made their first of three appearances as the Blues Brothers on NBC’s Saturday Night Live.

1979: The Very Best of Leo Sayer started three weeks at #1 on the UK album chart, giving Sayer his first and only chart topping LP.

1980: The Cure released their second studio album, Seventeen Seconds. It marked the first time frontman Robert Smith co-produced with Mike Hedges, and after the departure of original bassist Michael Dempsey, Simon Gallup became an official member along with keyboardist Matthieu Hartley.

1985: Prince released his seventh studio album and third with his backing band the Revolution, Around the World in a Day.

1985: U2 released “The Unforgettable Fire,” the second single and title track from their fourth studio album. The band cited an art exhibition by victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that was held at The Peace Museum in Chicago as the lyrical inspiration for the song.

1989: “Veronica” by Elvis Costello entered Billboard Hot 100. The song became his biggest success on the chart, reaching #19.

1991: Julian Cope released his seventh studio album, Peggy Suicide. The LP is generally considered the beginning of Cope’s trademark sound.

1993: The Broadway adaptation of the Who’s rock opera Tommy opened at the St. James Theatre.

1997: Son Volt released their second album, Straightaways.

2003: Matthew Sweet’s eighth album Kimi Ga Suki * Raifu was released in Japan as a “thank you” to his fans in the country. The following year, the LP was issued in the US.

2003: The Yardbirds released Birdland, the band’s first studio album in over 35 years. Drummer Jim McCarty and rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja were the only members from the 1960s group to appear on the album and were joined by new members bassist and vocalist John Idan, lead guitarist Gypie Mayo, and harmonica player Alan Glen. The album, which is made up of new and classic Yardbirds songs, also features guest appearances by Joe Satrianai, Steve Vai, Slash, Brian May, and former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck.

2008: Elvis Costello & The Imposters released Momofuku. The album’s title refers to Momofuku Ando, the inventor of instant ramen noodles, and the speed at which the album was conceived and created.

2014: After the song was released to UK radio at the beginning of the month, “I Want to Drag You Around” by Blondie was issued internationally as the third single from their tenth studio album, Ghost of Download.

Birthdays Today

Charles Mingus, jazz double bassist, pianist, composer, and improvisation proponent considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and composers, was born in Nogales, AZ in 1922.

Laurel Aitken, influential Caribbean singer and one of the pioneers of Jamaican ska music who is often referred to as the “Godfather of Ska,” was born Lorenzo Aitken in Havana, Cuba in 1927.

Joe Cuba, Puerto Rican-American conga drummer widely regarded as the “Father of Latin Boogaloo,” was born Gilberto Miguel Calderón Cardona in New York City in 1931.

Isao Tomita, composer, electronic music pioneer, and one of the most famous producers of analog synthesizer arrangements, was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1932.

W.S. “Fluke” Holland, drummer who played with Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash who also participated in the “Million Dollar Quartet” sessions that featured Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Perkins, and Cash, was born in Saltillo, TN in 1935.

Glen Campbell, singer, guitarist, songwriter, television host, and actor who was a brief touring member of The Beach Boys and played on recordings by many artists, was born in Delight, AR in 1936.

Jack Nitzsche, musician, arranger, songwriter, record producer, and composer who came to prominence in the 1950s as the right-hand-man of Phil Spector and went on to work with many artists including the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, and the Walker Brothers, was born in Chicago, IL in 1937.

Mel Carter, singer and actor best known for his 1965 hit, “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me,” was born in Cincinnati, OH in 1939.

Howard Wyeth, drummer who worked with Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and Don McLean, was born in Jersey City, NJ in 1944.

Alan Gordon, songwriter best known for songs recorded by the Turtles, Petula Clark, Barbra Streisand, and Three Dog Night who also also worked with acts including Blues Magoos, the O’Jays, Flo & Eddie, Frank Zappa, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, the Lovin’ Spoonful, and Bobby Darin, was born in Natick, MA in 1944.

Frankie “Cannibal” Garcia, founder of Cannibal and the Headhunters, was born in Los Angeles, CA in 1946.

Walter Lure, guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of Johnny Thunders’ Heartbreakers, was born in New York City in 1949.

Peter Frampton, singer, songwriter, producer, guitarist, and session musician who was a member of Humble Pie and The Herd before establishing a solo career, was born in Beckenham, Kent, England in 1950.

Pete Carr, lead guitarist of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, who played alongside Duanne and Gregg Allman as a member of Hour Glass, contributed to hit recording by numerous artists, and also produced and engineered albums by numerous artists, was born Jesse Willard Carr in Daytona Beach, FL in 1950.

Paul Carrack, songwriter, keyboardist, solo artist, and singer with groups such as of Ace, Roxy Music, Squeeze, Mike + The Mechanics, Roger Waters’ backing band, and The Bleeding Heart Band, was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England in 1951.