1961: Motown Records released Marvin Gaye’s debut studio album, The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye.

1963: Sam Cooke had his fourth and final #1 on Billboard’s R&B single chart with “Another Saturday Night.”

1964: “The Little Old Lady (from Pasadena)” by Jan & Dean was released. Wrecking Crew session musicians who played on the record included pianist Leon Russell, guitarists Tommy Tedesco, Billy Pitman and Billy Strange, bassists Ray Pohlman and Jimmy Bond, and drummers Hal Blaine and Earl Palmer. The single became the title track on Jan & Dean’s seventh album, and in 1967, the duo reworked its lyrics and re-titled the track “Tijuana.”

1964: The Ventures released “Walk, Don’t Run ‘64,” an updated version of the instrumental composition after the release of the band’s original recording in 1960. It became their second top 10 hit on the US charts, the first being the original version.

1964: The Marvelettes released “You’re My Remedy,” the group’s third straight single written and produced by Smokey Robinson.

1966: “Over Under Sideways Down” by The Yardbirds was released in the US following its release in the UK in late May. It was the band’s last top 20 hit in the US, peaking at #13.

1966: The Beatles recorded “Good Day Sunshine.” The song was largely written by Paul McCartney, who claimed the song’s vaudevillian feel was inspired by songs by the music of the Lovin’ Spoonful.

1967: Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones joined the Beatles at EMI Studios to record the saxophone part of “You Know My Name (Look Up the Number).” The recording was later released in 1970 as the B-side of “Let It Be.”

1967: After selling over 365,000 copies in its first three weeks after release, Procol Harum’s debut single, “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” topped the UK singles chart for the first of six weeks. It became the group’s only #1 in the UK and Canada, as well as their only top 10 record in the US.

1968: “Lady Willpower” by Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, from their third studio album, Incredible, entered the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at #2 on the Hot 100, tying with their previous single, “Young Girl,” to be the group’s highest reaching single on the chart. On the Cash Box chart, the song reached #1.

1968: The Monkees released “D. W. Washburn,” a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and previously recorded by the Coasters.

1969: Founding member of the Rolling Stones Brian Jones officially quit the band. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards’ growing roles as the group’s songwriting team and Jones’ struggle with drug abuse led to his dismissal. Jones and the rest of the Stones agreed on a settlement which gave him a sum of nearly $200,000 dollars, a yearly salary of $40,000 as long as the band stayed together, and allowed Jones to issue a public statement that he was quitting the band. A day later, Mick Taylor was announced to be his replacement. Jones reportedly tried to form a group with friend John Lennon, but died soon after in early July.

1970: Bob Dylan released his tenth studio album, Self Portrait. Most of the album is sung by Dylan with a country crooning voice that he had first used on his previous LP, Nashville Skyline. The album received very poor reviews, and Dylan later stated that Self Portrait was something of a joke, and was made to end people’s characterization of him as the “spokesman of a generation.”

1973: Bobby Womack’s fifth studio album, Facts of Life, was released. It became his first LP to enter the top 40 on the Billboard pop chart.

1974: Keyboard player Rick Wakeman left Yes following the completion of their tour in support of their latest album, Tales from Topographic Oceans. Wakeman, who had already released three solo albums, openly expressed his disillusionment with the album, but rejoined Yes on several occasions in years to come.

1974: Paul McCartney and Wings had their second #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the title track from their third studio album, Band on the Run.

1974: Joni Mitchell had her biggest hit single in the US when “Help Me” peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1979: The Who released The Kids Are Alright, the companion soundtrack album to the band’s documentary film of the same name. Made up of live recordings in both England and the United States, the double LP reached #8 on the Billboard pop chart in the US and #26 in the UK.

1979: Dave Edmunds released his fifth album, Repeat When Necessary. Recorded and released at the same time as collaborator Nick Lowe’s second album, Labour of Love, the two albums share the same personnel from the duo’s group, Rockpile.

1979: Wings released their seventh and final studio album, Back to the Egg. The album was the group’s first with guitarist Laurence Juber and drummer Steve Holley.

1984: Siouxsie and the Banshees released their sixth studio album, Hyæna. The album was the group’s first to be released by Geffen Records as well as the only studio album to feature guitarist Robert Smith of the Cure.

1985: The Style Council’s second album, Our Favourite Shop, was released. It became the group’s only #1 in the UK and was released in the US as Internationalists.

1987: Genesis released “Throwing It All Away,” the fifth and final single from their thirteenth studio album, Invisible Touch.

1991: Bruce Springsteen married E Street Band backup singer Patti Scialfa in Beverly Hills. Guests included John Fogerty, Bonnie Raitt, and Jackson Browne, with music performed by E Street Band members Steven Van Zandt, Danny Federici, and Roy Bittan.

1993: Blind Melon released “No Rain,” the second single from the band’s self-titled debut album. Written by bassist Brad Smith, it became band’s highest-charting song, reaching #20 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on both Billboard’s Album Rock and Modern Rock charts.

1993: Billy Idol released “Shock to the System,” the second single from his fifth studio album, Cyberpunk.

1993: Van Morrison released his twenty-second studio album, Too Long in Exile, which includes collaborations with John Lee Hooker and Georgie Fame.

Birthdays Today

Nancy Sinatra, singer and actress, was born in Jersey City, NJ in 1940.

Sherman Garnes, singer and member of doo-wop group The Teenagers, was born in New York City in 1940.

Clarence “Fuzzy” Haskins, singer with The Parliaments, founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic, and solo artist, was born in Elkins, WV in 1941.

Chuck Negron, singer, songwriter, and co-founder of Three Dog Night, was born in Manhattan, NY in 1942.

Boz Scaggs, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and occasional lead singer with the Steve Miller Band, was born William Royce Scaggs in Canton, OH in 1944.

Julie Driscoll, singer and actress best known for her recordings with Brian Auger and the Trinity, was born in London, England in 1947.

Jimmie King, guitarist for Stax Records house band The Bar-Kays, was born in 1949.

Tony Rice, influential acoustic guitarist and bluegrass musician who collaborated with several musicians including J.D. Crowe, Ricky Scaggs, Béla Fleck, David Grisman, Jerry Garcia, and Norman Blake, was born in Danville, VA in 1951.

Jeff Rich, drummer for several bands including Status Quo and the Climax Blues Band, was born in Hackney, London, England in 1953.

Sturgill Simpson, country singer-songwriter, was born John Sturgill Simpson in Jackson, KY in 1978.

Derek Trucks, guitarist, songwriter, founder of The Derek Trucks Band, co-founder of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, and member of The Allman Brothers Band, was born in Jacksonville, FL in 1979.

Hanni El Khatib, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, was born in San Francisco, CA in 1981.