1957: The Everly Brothers recorded their first single, “Bye Bye Love,” for Cadence Records in Nashville. It reached #2 on the Billboard pop charts and #1 on the Cash Box Best Selling Record charts.

1958: Buddy Holly and the Crickets began their only UK tour at Elephant & Castle Trocadero in London.

1967: The Beatles began recording “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” at EMI Studios in London. Despite the acronym of the song spelling out LSD, the origins of the composition came from a drawing that Lennon’s son Julian had made of his classmate Lucy O’Donnell. Lennon also attributed the song’s fantastical imagery to his reading of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland books.

1968: Elton John’s debut single, “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” was released on the Phillips label. John later admitted that he had written the song himself, but gave credit to writing partner Bernie Taupin in order for him to earn his first publishing royalties. The single, backed with “Here’s to the Next Time,” failed to chart and was withdrawn shortly after release. Neither side appeared on any official album release until the 1992 Rare Masters box set.

1969: The Beatles occupied the top two spots on Billboard’s pop album chart with their self-titled ninth studio album, which started it’s ninth week at #1, and their previous LP, Yellow Submarine, which peaked at the #2 spot.

1969: Blood, Sweat & Tears’ second single, “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy,” entered the Billboard Hot 100, where it eventually reached #2. The song was first recorded in 1967 by soul singer Brenda Holloway for the Tamla label and had been a top 40 hit on the US pop and R&B charts.

1969: “Rock Me,” the lead single from Steppenwolf’s third studio album, At Your Birthday Party, entered the Billboard Hot 100 on its way to reaching #10 in April.

1969: Crazy Elephant debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin’.” It became their only hit single, reaching #12 on both the Hot 100 in the US and the UK chart. Originally known as the Marzano-Calvert Studio Band, created by Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz of Super K Productions, the American group was promoted in Cash Box magazine as allegedly being a group of Welsh coal miners.

1971: The Rascals released their seventh studio album, Search and Nearness. It was their last album to feature Eddie Brigati and Gene Cornish as well as the group’s last album released on Atlantic Records.

1972: John Lennon’s battle with the US government began when he was issued a letter by the Immigration and Naturalization Service requesting that he leave the country within two weeks or face deportation, citing a 1968 conviction for marijuana possession as the reason for his deportation. As the Vietnam War gradually became more and more of a quagmire, Lennon had become more involved in the peace movement and was emerging as a prominent activist against the Nixon administration. Lennon and his lawyer appealed the deportation notices, eventually suing Attorney General John Mitchell, which revealed that Lennon was heavily surveilled by the FBI as well as the political motivations behind his harassment. Meanwhile, Nixon had become embroiled in the Watergate scandal and his resignation in August of 1974 effectively ended the fight against Lennon. In October of 1975, the New York State Supreme Court overturned the deportation order with Judge Irving Kaufman stating that “Lennon’s four-year battle to remain in our country is testimony to his faith in this American dream.” Eight months later, Lennon received his green card, and remained a resident of the United States until his death in 1980.

1973: Pink Floyd’s eighth studio album, The Dark Side of the Moon, was released in the UK. Just over a week later, the album was issued in the US.

1974: Chris Difford placed an ad in a shop window that read “lyricist seeks musician for co-writing.” Glen Tilbrook answered the ad and the pair soon after formed Squeeze.

1974: Queen began their first headlining UK tour at Winter Gardens Blackpool.

1975: The Eagles went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Best Of My Love,” the band’s first of five singles to top the chart.

1975: Bob Dylan went to #1 on the Billboard pop chart with his fifteenth studio album and second to top the chart, Blood On The Tracks.

1978: The Hollies released their eighteenth studio album, A Crazy Steal.

1980: Blondie was at #1 on the UK singles chart with “Atomic,” the group’s third British #1 single from their fourth album, Eat To The Beat.

1990: Cowboy Junkies released their third studio album, The Caution Horses.

1991: The Rolling Stones released “Highwire,” one of the band’s rare political singles, which was inspired by the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War. It was later included on the live album Flashpoint.

1993: Irish band The Cranberries released their debut studio album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?.

1993: Sting released his fourth solo studio album, Ten Summoner’s Tales. It later peaked at #2, tying with his first and third solo albums as his highest charting solo LP on the Billboard chart.

1993: Simon & Garfunkel reunited on stage at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles for a benefit concert for the Children’s Health Fund. It was one of only a handful of reunions by the duo since the early 1970s. They were joined onstage by Neil Young.

1994: Beck released his third studio album, Mellow Gold. An unexpected commercial success, the eclectic LP was his first to chart in several countries and peaked at #12 in the US.

2005: Jack Johnson released his third studio album, In Between Dreams. It reached #1 on the UK chart and #2 in the US.

2005: Kathleen Edwards released her second studio album, Back to Me.

2011: The Cars released “Sad Song,” the lead single from their seventh and final studio album, Move Like This.

2011: Lucinda Williams released her tenth studio album, Blessed.

Birthdays Today

Glenn Miller, hugely popular swing era big-band trombonist, arranger, composer, and bandleader, was born Alton Glenn Miller in Clarinda, IA in 1904.

Stan Applebaum, composer, arranger, musician and conductor who arranged the orchestration on many pop hit records, including “Save the Last Dance for Me” by The Drifters, “Spanish Harlem” and “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King, “Sealed with a Kiss” by Brian Hyland, and “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” by Neil Sedaka, was born in Newark, NJ in 1922.

Harry Belafonte, singer, songwriter, actor, and social activist known as the “King of Calypso,” was born in Harlem, New York City in 1927.

Warren Davis, first tenor vocalist for the Monotones, was born in Newark, NJ in 1939.

Jerry Fisher, solo artist and lead singer for Blood, Sweat & Tears from 1971-1975, was born in DeKalb, TX in 1942.

Roger Daltrey, lead singer for The Who and a solo artist, was born in East Acton, London, England in 1944.

Mike d’Abo, singer, songwriter, and second lead singer for Manfred Mann, was born in Betchworth, Surrey, England in 1944.

Burning Spear, roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist and musician, was born Winston Rodney in Saint Ann’s Bay, Saint Ann, Jamaica in 1945.

Tony Ashton, pianist, keyboardist, singer, composer, producer, and member of The Remo Four and Ashton, Gardner and Dyke, was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, England in 1946.

Jon Carroll, singer, musician, and founding member of Starland Vocal Band, was born in Washington, D.C. in 1957.

Nik Kershaw, singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, solo artist, and collaborator with numerous artists, was born in Bristol, England in 1958.

Bill Leen, bassist and co-founder of Gin Blossoms, was born in Tempe, AZ in 1962.