1956: Fats Domino started eleven weeks at the top of Billboard’s R&B chart with “Blueberry Hill.”

1961: The Marvelettes’ first single, “Please Mr. Postman,” started seven weeks at the top of Billboard’s R&B chart. A month later, the song became the first Motown song to reach the top of the Hot 100 and was ultimately The Marvelettes’ only #1 record on both the R&B and pop chart.

1963: “Surfin’ Bird” by The Trashmen was released. It became the group’s biggest hit, peaking at #4 in the US in early 1964 and #3 in the UK in 2010. The song is a combination of two R&B hits by The Rivingtons, “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow” and “The Bird’s the Word.”

1964: The Moody Blues released their version of “Go Now,” a song composed by Larry Banks and Milton Bennett and first recorded by Bessie Banks earlier that year. It was the first single from their debut album, The Magnificent Moodies, and became their only #1 on the UK singles chart.

1964: The Rolling Stones’ cover of the blues standard “Little Red Rooster,” written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Howlin’ Wolf in 1961, was released in the UK. The Stones made several television appearances performing the song, and on British program Shindig!, they appeared alongside Wolf, who they introduced as one of their first influences.

1965: The Lovin’ Spoonful released their second single, “You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice” from their second studio album, Daydream. In late January, the record reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1965: “I Got You (I Feel Good)” by James Brown entered the Billboard pop and R&B charts in the US. It became his highest charting song, topping the R&B chart, and reaching #3 on the Hot 100.

1965: The follow-up to their #1 hit, “Hand On Sloopy,” the McCoys’ cover of the Peggy Lee hit “Fever” entered the US Billboard Hot 100, eventually climbing to #7.

1965: The Four Tops’ second album, Four Tops Second Album, was released.

1968: Yellow Submarine, the animated movie based on the music of the Beatles, premiered in theaters across America.

1968: Tommy Roe released “Dizzy.” Co-written with Freddy Weller, the record’s instrumental backing was provided by Los Angeles session group the Wrecking Crew. It became Roe’s only #1 single on the US charts as well as his last song to reach the top 10.

1968: Diana Ross & the Supremes released their fifteenth studio album, Love Child. It was the group’s first studio LP not to include any songs written or produced by any member of Motown’s Holland–Dozier–Holland production team, who had previously overseen most of the Supremes’ releases.

1971: “An Old Fashioned Love Song” by Three Dog Night entered the Billboard Hot 100. It became the band’s seventh top 10 hit, peaking at #4.

1971: “Sunshine,” the first single from Jonathan Edward’s self-titled debut album entered the Billboard Hot 100. The song wasn’t originally planned for release, but after a studio engineer accidentally erased the tape of “Please Find Me,” the song intended for release, “Sunshine” was issued in its place. The single made it to #4 on the Hot 100 in mid-January the following year in addition to earning a gold record.

1971: Santana’s third studio album, Santana III, hit #1 in the US. It was the third and last album by the group’s Woodstock-era lineup, and subsequent releases were aimed towards a more experimental jazz fusion and Latin sound. The band didn’t have another #1 album in the US until Supernatural in 1999.

1976: “Tonight’s The Night (Gonna Be Alright)” by Rod Stewart became his second #1 hit in the US, spending eight weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. It later became the top selling single of 1977.

1977: Leonard Cohen released his fifth studio album, Death of a Ladies’ Man. Produced and co-written by Phil Spector, the voice of typically minimalist Cohen was surrounded by Spector’s Wall of Sound, which included multiple tracks of instrument overdubs.

1978: Siouxsie and the Banshees released their debut studio album, The Scream.

1981: New Order, the group that was formed by the remaining members of Joy Division after the death of frontman Ian Curtis, released their debut album, Movement.

1990: The Beautiful South released their second studio album, Choke.

1995: Squeeze’s eleventh studio album, Ridiculous, was released in the UK. It came out in the US seven months later. It was the group’s first album with drummer Kevin Wilkinson and last to feature a song written by bassist Keith Wilkinson.

2000: Sade released their fifth studio album, Lovers Rock.

2011: The Rolling Stones released the previously unreleased song “No Spare Parts” with newly recorded vocals by Mick Jagger to promote the reissue of their fourteenth British and sixteenth American studio album Some Girls.

2012: Following their performance on Youtube Presents in October, Blondie released the single “Practice Makes Perfect.”

Birthdays Today

Nat Dove, blues keyboardist, was born in Mumford, TX in 1939.

Justine “Baby” Washington, soul singer, was born in Bamberg, SC in 1940.

Carol Connors, singer-songwriter best known as the lead vocalist on the Teddy Bears’ single, “To Know Him Is To Love Him,” was born Annette Kleinbard in New Brunswick, NJ in 1940.

Odia Coates, singer best known for her hits with singer-songwriter Paul Anka, was born in Vicksburg, MS in 1941.

John P. Hammond, singer, songwriter, musician, producer, and son of influential record producer, talent scout, and civil rights activist John H. Hammond, was born in New York City in 1942.

Timmy Thomas, R&B singer, keyboardist, songwriter and record producer, best known for his hit song, “Why Can’t We Live Together,” was born in Evansville, IN in 1944.

Ray Wylie Hubbard, singer and songwriter, was born in Soper, OK in 1946.

Toy Caldwell, lead guitarist, main songwriter, and a founding member of The Marshall Tucker Band, was born in Spartanburg, SC in 1947.

Terry Reid, songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist who’s performed as a supporting act, session musician, and sideman for many high-profile musicians in addition to his own solo recordings, was born in Huntington, England in 1949.

Roger Steen, singer, songwriter, and guitarist with The Tubes, was born in Pipestone, MN in 1949.

Andrew Ranken, drummer and vocalist for the Pogues, was born in Ladbroke Grove, London, England in 1953.

Nikolai Fraiture, musician best known as the bassist for The Strokes, was born in New York City in 1978.