1957: As the follow-up to his #3 hit, “Be Bop Baby,” Ricky Nelson recorded “Stood Up” for the Imperial Records label. Released in December, the song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 early the following year, as well as #4 on the R&B chart, #8 on the country chart, and #27 in the UK.

1957: Specialty Records released Sam Cooke’s second single, “I’ll Come Running Back to You.” The follow-up to his debut hit, “You Send Me,” it also reached #1 on Billboard’s R&B chart.

1963: The Beatles made their first appearance on American television during a four minute segment on the NBC evening news program The Huntley-Brinkley Report that documented the British phenomenon. Three months later, the band made their live US debut on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1967: Buffalo Springfield released their second studio album, Buffalo Springfield Again.

1967: Pink Floyd released their third UK single, “Apples and Oranges.” It was the final song written by band’s leader Syd Barrett and their first song not to enter the UK chart.

1968: After it was issued in the UK in April, “Crosstown Traffic” by the Jimi Hendrix Experience was released in the US as the second single from their third studio album, “Electric Ladyland.”

1969: The Miracles released “Point It Out” from their album A Pocket Full of Miracles.

1970: Three Dog Night released their fifth studio album, Naturally.

1971: Procol Harum recorded their live album Live in Concert with the Edmunton Symphony Orchestra in Ontario Canada. The single “Conquistador” later became their second of two top 20 hits in the US.

1972: “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder entered the Billboard Hot 100. The record later became his second #1 on the pop chart and seventh single to top the R&B chart.

1972: Cat Stevens started a three-week run at the top of the Billboard pop chart with Catch Bull At Four, his sixth LP and first to top the chart.

1972: “Do It Again,” the debut single by Steely Dan, entered the Billboard Hot 100, where it later peaked at #6.

1974: George Harrison released “Dark Horse,” the lead single and title track from his fifth studio album.

1974: Elton John’s cover of the Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” which features backing vocals and guitar by John Lennon under the pseudonym Dr. Winston O’Boogie, was released in the US three days after it was issued in the UK. The single topped the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1975 and its B-side was another Lennon composition, “One Day (At a Time).”

1974: Genesis released their sixth studio album, the two-disc concept album, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. It peaked at #10 in the UK, reached #41 in the US, and was the group’s last with lead vocalist Peter Gabriel before his departure the following year.

1976: Al Green released his eleventh studio album, Have a Good Time.

1977: Less than seven months after the release of their debut album, The Jam released their second studio album, This Is the Modern World.

1978: Billy Joel’s sixth studio album, 52nd Street, became his first to reach #1 when it topped the Billboard pop chart. The album produced three top 40 singles and was awarded two Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The album was also among the first to be commercially released on the compact disc format.

1978: Earth, Wind & Fire released “September” as the second single from their album The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1. It became their sixth #1 on the Billboard R&B chart and fourth top 10 hit on the Hot 100, reaching #8.

1978: Emerson, Lake & Palmer released Love Beach, their seventh studio album and last before their breakup the following year.

1981: Joan Jett released I Love Rock ‘n Roll, her second studio album and first with her backing band, The Blackhearts. It became Jett’s only top 10 LP, reaching #2 on the Billboard pop chart, as well as her most commercially successful album, largely based on the success of the title track.

1983: Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson released his debut solo studio album, Walk into Light. Despite being a solo album, it was Anderson’s most collaborative work yet, featuring the co-writing and strong influence of Jethro Tull keyboardist Peter-John Vettese.

1985: John Lennon released “Jealous Guy” as a single from his second solo studio album, Imagine. The song was originally composed as “Child of Nature” during songwriting sessions in India in 1968 that led to the Beatles’ eponymous ninth album.

1985: Scottish band The Jesus and Mary Chain released their debut studio album, Psychocandy.

1985: Yoko Ono released Starpeace, a concept album designed to spread a message of peace in opposition to Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” missile defense system.

1991: U2 released their seventh studio album, Achtung Baby. After criticism of their previous LP, Rattle and Hum, the group abandoned their earnest image for a more lighthearted and self-deprecating one that incorporated influences from alternative rock, industrial music, and electronic dance music into their sound. The album was an international success and was their third #1 in the US.

1994: A portion of a Rolling Stones concert at Dallas’ Cotton Bowl became the “first major cyberspace multicast concert,” utilizing an experimental backbone and virtual network built on top of the internet known as “Mbone.” Five songs were broadcast and only about two hundred people were able to tune in at the same time to see the choppy footage.

1997: Paul Simon released Songs from The Capeman, his ninth studio album and first album of new material in seven years. It contains Simon’s own performances of songs from the Broadway musical of the same name that he wrote and produced, with contributions by members of the original cast. Both the album and stage show were commercial flops.

2002: Almost a year after his death, George Harrison’s twelfth and final studio album, Brainwashed was released. Recordings began over a decade before Harrison’s death, as early as 1988, but were repeatedly delayed. The album was completed by Harrison’s son Dhani and longtime friend and collaborator Jeff Lynne. The LP reached #29 in the UK and #18 in the US.

2002: Poco released their eighteenth studio album, Running Horse.

2003: Cyndi Lauper released At Last, an album of cover versions of jazz standards.

Birthdays Today

Johnny Mercer, singer, lyricist, songwriter of over 1,500 songs, and record executive who co-founded Capitol records, was born in Savannah, GA in 1909.

Hank Ballard, R&B singer, songwriter, lead vocalist of Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, and one of the first rock and roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s, was born John Henry Kendricks in Detroit, MI in 1927.

Don Cherry, jazz trumpeter and world fusion pioneer, was born in Oklahoma City, OK in 1936.

Mark Weitz, keyboardist for Strawberry Alarm Clock, was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1945.

Michael Carabello, percussionist for Santana, was born in San Francisco, CA in 1947.

Graham Parker, singer-songwriter and leader of Graham Parker and the Rumour, was born in London, England in 1950.

Alan Murphy, session guitarist known for his collaborations with Kate Bush and Go West who has also worked with many other artists, was born in Islington, London, England in 1953.

John Parr, singer and multi-instrumentalist, was born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England in 1954.

Laura Lynch, bassist, singer, and co-founder of the Dixie Chicks, was born in El Paso, TX in 1956.

Michael Ramos, keyboardist for BoDeans, was born in 1958.

Kim Wilde, pop singer, was born Kim Smith in Chiswick, Middlesex, England in 1960.

Duncan Sheik, singer-songwriter, was born in (Montclair, NJ in 1969.

Aoife O’Donovan, singer-songwriter, solo artist, and member of Crooked Still, Sometymes Why, the Wayfaring Strangers, and I’m With Her, was born in Newton, MA in 1982.