
This page last updated February 5, 2021.
Posts throughout this blog about specific songs or albums are generally tied to specific dates so if, for example, you’re interested in seeing what some of the biggest songs were in 2010, you can click on that year in the blog archive.
However, Blogger doesn’t allow for posts to be dated back before 1970. Because of that, I’ve generally posted pre-1970 in correspondence with anniversaries of the original date. For example, the Beatles hit #1 for the first of 15 weeks with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on July 1, 1967. The post about the album is dated May 26, 2017 to honor the album’s 50th anniversary.
To navigate important pre-1970 dates, I’ve created an index here for those pages. Dates may be references to releases of important songs or albums, dates of significant chart achievements or music events, and births and deaths of important musicians.
To jump to a particular decade, click any of the below:
- Apr. 28, 1565: Palestrina’s Pope Marcellus Mass performed at the papal chapel
- Feb. 24, 1607: Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo performed for first time
- July 1610: Monteverdi’s Vespers published
- July 17, 1717: Handel’s Water Music first performed
- Mar. 4, 1721: Bach writes the dedication for Te Brandenburg Concertos
- Apr. 26, 1733: First possible performance of Bach’s Mass in B minor
- Mar. 30, 1736: Bach’s St. Matthew Passion premiered
- Apr. 13, 1742: Handel’s Messiah first performed
- May 1, 1786: Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro premiered
- Oct. 29, 1787: Mozart’s Don Giovanni premiered
- July 25, 1788: Mozart completed Symphony No. 40
- Aug. 10, 1788: Mozart completed Symphony No. 41
- Jan. 15, 1791: Mozart completed his final piano concerto
- Sept. 30, 1791: Mozart’s The Magic Flute premiered
- Oct. 16, 1791: Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto premiered
- Dec. 5, 1791: Mozart died, leaving his unfinished Requiem surrounded by myth
- Apr. 7, 1805: Beethoven premiered his 3rd symphony
- Dec. 23, 1806: Beethoven’s Violin Concerto premiered
- Dec 22, 1808: Beethoven premiered his 5th symphony
- Dec. 22, 1808: Beethoven premiered his 6th symphony
- Dec. 8, 1813: Beethoven’s 7th symphony premiered
- Feb. 20, 1816: Rossini’s Barber of Seville premiered
- May 7, 1824: Beethoven premiered his 9th symphony
- Sept. 1826: Beethoven completed his string quartets, his final work
- Dec. 5, 1830: Berlioz premiered his Symphony Fantastique
- Jan. 27, 1857: Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B minor performed publicly for first time
- Aug. 29, 1861: Byron Harlan was born. Check out his top songs.
- Feb. 7, 1864: Arthur Collins was born.
- June 10, 1865: Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde pera premiered
- Dec. 17, 1865: Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony premiered
- May 30, 1871: Harry Macdonough was born.
- June 1, 1873: Ada Jones was born.
- May 22, 1874: Verdi’s Requiem Mass performed for first time
- Mar. 3, 1875: Bizet’s Carmen premiered
- Oct. 15, 1875: Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 performed for first time
- Aug. 17, 1876: First full performance of Wagner’s Ring Cycle completed
- May 25, 1877: Billy Murray was born. Check out his top 100 songs.
- Aug. 12, 1877: Thomas Edison invented the phonograph
- July 3, 1878: George M. Cohan was born
- Jan. 15, 1882: Henry Burr was born. Check out his top 100 songs.
- Oct. 25, 1885: Brahm’s Symphony No. 4 premiered
- Mar. 26, 1886: Al Jolson was born.
- May 11, 1888: Irving Berlin was born
- Nov. 23, 1889: The jukebox debuted
- Mar. 28, 1890: Paul Whiteman was born. Check out his top 100 songs.
- June 6, 1890: Ted Lewis was born.
- Nov. 1, 1894: The first issue of Billboard hit newsstands
- Feb. 1, 1896: Puccini’s La Boheme premiered
- Nov. 27, 1896: Richard Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra premiered
- Mar. 5, 1898: Ben Selvin was born.
- Apr. 29, 1899: Duke Ellington was born.
- Jan. 5: Albert Campbell hit #1 with “Ma Blushin’ Rosie”
- Aug. 4: Louis Armstrong was born. Check out his top songs.
- Nov. 9: Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 premiered
- June 19: Guy Lombardo was born. Check out his top 100 songs.
- July 26: Arthur Collins hit #1 with “Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home”
- Mar. 28: ”In the Good Old Summertime” hit #1 for the second of three times
- May 2: Bing Crosby was born. Check out his top 100 songs.
- Feb. 29: Jimmy Dorsey was born.
- Mar. 1: Glenn Miller was born. Check out his top 100 songs.
- May 21: Fats Waller was born.
- July 23: Billy Murray hits #1 with “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis”
- Aug. 21: Count Basie was born.
- Oct. 15: The Haydn Quartet charted with “Sweet Adeline”
- Feb. 25: Billy Murray takes “Yankee Doodle Boy” to #1
- July 15: ”Give My Regards to Broadway” goes to #1”
- Oct. 14: “In My Merry Oldsmobile” hits #1
- Nov. 19: Tommy Dorsey was born. Check out his top 100 songs.
- Feb. 10: “Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie” hits #1 – for the first time
- May 5: Billy Murray charted with “You’re a Grand Old Flag”
- July 8: Louis Jordan, the Father of R&B, was born
- Oct. 24: “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” – In Celebration of the All Star Game
- Apr. 10: “Shine on, Harvest Moon” hit #1
- May 30: Benny Goodman was born. Check out his top songs.
- Sept. 11: Henry Burr takes “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now” to #1
- Dec. 18: “Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet” becomes Haydn Quartet’s 11th #1
- Mar. 13: Sammy Kaye was born.
- Apr. 23: “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” hit #1
- July 2: American Quartet’s “Casey Jones” hit #1 for the first of 11 weeks
- June 13: Stravinsky’s Petrushka ballet premiered
- July 8: Sophie Tucker charted for the first time with “Some of These Days”
- Sept. 16: “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” Hits #1
- Dec. 2: Peerless Quartet hit #1 for the first time with “Let Me Call You Sweetheart”
- Dec. 11: Harry MacDonough charts with “Down by the Old Mill Stream”
- Mar. 16: “Moonlight Bay” hit #1
- May 18: Perry Como was born.
- May 29: Stravinsy’s Rite of Spring premiered
- July 26: ”When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” tops the charts
- Oct. 4: Al Jolson topped the charts with “You Made Me Love You”
- Jan. 23: “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary” hits #1 a second time
- Apr. 7: Billie Holiday was born.
- Nov. 20: “They Didn’t Believe Me” hit #1
- Dec. 12: Frank Sinatra was born. Check out his top 100 songs.
- Mar. 17: Nat “King” Cole was born.
- May 26: “For Me and My Gal” charted for the first time
- Sept. 29: The American Quartet’s “Over There” charted
- Apr. 13: “Darktown Strutters’ Ball” hits #1
- Apr. 25: Ella Fitzgerald was born.
- May 15: Eddy Arnold was born.
- Aug. 17: “Tiger Rag” charts for the first time
- Aug. 17: “Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody” hits #1
- Feb. 1: Marion Harris hit #1 with “After You’ve Gone”
- Feb. 15: “Till We Meet Again” charted for the first time
- Jan. 31: Ben Selvin hit #1 with “Dardanella” for first of 13 weeks
- Oct. 30: Paul Whiteman’s “Whispering” hit #1
- Jan. 13: Van & Schenck chart with “Carolina in the Morning”
- Sept. 17: Hank Williams was born.
- Oct. 19: First performance of Ravel’s orchestra version of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition
- Nov. 24: W.C. Handy charted with “St. Louis Blues”
- Feb. 2: George Gershwin performed “Rhapsody in Blue” for the first time
- Aug. 13: Vernon Dalhart records “The Prisoner’s Song”
- Sept. 6: Isham Jones takes “It Had to Be You” to #1
- Apr. 24: Irving Berlin’s “Always” charts for the first of 9 times.
- Oct. 18: Chuck Berry was born.
- Feb. 5: “Someone to Watch Over Me” hits the charts
- Apr. 9: “Blue Skies” charts for the first of 9 times
- Dec. 17: “My Blue Heaven” hit #1
- Dec. 27: Show Boat opened on Broadway
- Jan. 7: Gene Austin charts with “My Melancholy Baby”
- Jan. 27: Jimmie Rodgers released his first of twelve blue yodels
- Feb. 3: Marion Harris released “The Man I Love”
- Feb. 26: Fats Domino was born.
- Aug. 11: The Carter Family charted with “Wildwood Flower”
- Aug. 15: Louis Armstrong released “West End Blues”
- Oct. 13: Cliff Edwards hits #1 with “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love”
- Oct. 20: Al Jolson goes to #1 with “Sonny Boy”
- March 8: “Happy Days Are Here Again” goes to #1
- Apr. 30: Ted Lewis charts with “On the Sunny Side of the Street”
- Sept. 23: Ray Charles was born. Check out his top songs.
- Dec. 6: Red Nichols charts with “I Got Rhythm”
- Jan. 22: Sam Cooke was born.
- Feb. 14: Duke Ellington charted with “Mood Indigo”
- Feb. 26: Johnny Cash was born.
- Nov. 19: “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” hits the charts
- Dec. 5: Little Richard was born.
- Dec. 24: Fred Astaire hit #1 with Cole Porter’s “Night and Day”
- Apr. 29: Willie Nelson was born.
- May 3: James Brown was born. Check out his top songs.
- May 20: Ethelt Waters charted with “Stormy Weather”
- July 5: Alan Lomax set out on his first field recordings
- Jan. 20: “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” hits #1
- Jan. 5: Glen Gray charted with “Blue Moon”
- Jan. 8: Elvis Presley was born. Check out his top 100 songs.
- Aug. 10: “Cheek to Cheek” hits #1 for first of 11 weeks
- Sept. 7: ”I’m in the Mood for Love” hits #1
- Sept. 30: Porgy and Bess opened on Broadway
- Apr. 23: Roy Orbison was born.
- Sept. 7: Buddy Holly was born.
- Oct. 3: Fred Astaire hits #1 with “The Way You Look Tonight”
- June 20: The Final Recordings of Robert Johnson
- July 6: Benny Goodman recorded “Sing, Sing, Sing”
- Sept. 18: Count Basie charts with “One O’Clock Jump”
- Jan. 16: Benny Goodman performed at Carnegie Hall
- Jan. 29: Bunny Berigan charted with “I Can’t Get Started”
- June 25: Ella Fitzgerald hit #1 with “A-Tisket, A-Tasket”
- Aug. 21: Kenny Rogers was born.
- Nov. 5: Artie Shaw’s “Begin the Beguine” hit #1
- Nov. 24: Roy Acuff charted with “Wabash Cannonball”
- Nov 26: Tina Turner was born.
- Feb. 11: Larry Clinton takes “Deep Purple” to #1
- Apr. 2: Marvin Gaye was born.
- Apr. 8: Kate Smith charted with “God Bless America”
- July 22: Billie Holiday charted with “Strange Fruit”
- Sept. 9: Judy Garland charts with “Over the Rainbow”
- Oct. 7: Glenn Miller charted with “In the Mood”
- Jan. 27: Tommy Dorsey lands at #1 with “All the Things You Are”
- Jan. 27: Coleman Hawkins charted with “Body and Soul”
- Feb. 17: Cliff Edwards charted with “When You Wish Upon a Star”
- July 27: Frank Sinatra hit #1 for the first time
- Oct. 9: John Lennon was born.
- Dec. 21: Artie Shaw’s “Frenesi” hit #1
- Jan. 18: Artie Shaw charted with “Star Dust”
- Jan. 20: Bartók's last string quartet debuts
- Jan. 24: Neil Diamond was born.
- May 24: Bob Dylan was born. Check out his top 100 songs.
- July 26: Duke Ellington Charts with “Take the ‘A’ Train”
- Oct. 13: Paul Simon was born.
- Nov. 29: Glenn Miller hits #1 with “Chattanooga Choo Choo”
- Feb. 14: Woody Herman hits #1 with “Blues in the Night”
- Mar. 25: Aretha Franklin was born. Check out her top songs.
- Apr. 24: Barbra Streisand was born.
- June 18: Paul McCartney was born. Check out his top songs.
- Aug. 1: The American Federation of Musicians’ strike
- Oct. 31: Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” hit #1
- Nov. 26: “As Time Goes By” immortalized by Casablanca
- Nov. 27: Jimi Hendrix was born. Check out his top songs.
- Jan. 16: Harry James and Helen Forrest charted with “I’ve Heard That Song Before”
- Mar. 31: Oklahoma! opened on Broadway
- Mar. 26: Diana Ross was born.
- Apr. 25: Woody Guthrie recorded “This Land is Your Land”
- July 1: Bing Crosby hits the charts with “I’ll Be Seeing You”
- Aug. 5: Bing Crosby hits #1 with “Swinging on a Star”
- Dec. 1: Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra premiered
- Jan. 10: Rod Stewart was born.
- Feb. 6: Bob Marley was born.
- Mar. 3: Les Brown charts with “Sentimental Journey”
- Mar. 30: Eric Clapton was born. Check out his top songs.
- Apr. 19: Carousel opened on Broadway
- Aug. 31: Van Morrison was born.
- Nov. 12: Neil Young was born.
- Jan. 19: Dolly Parton was born.
- May 16: Annie Get Your Gun opened on Broadway
- May 25: The Ink Spots hit #1 with “The Gypsy”
- Nov. 23: Nat “King” Cole charted with “The Christmas Song”
- Jan. 8: David Bowie was born. Check out his top songs.
- Feb. 18: Styx’s Dennis DeYoung was born
- Mar. 25: Elton John was born. Check out his top 100 songs.
- June 21: The Harmonicats hit #1 with “Peg O’ My Heart”
- July 20: Carlos Santana was born.
- Aug. 9: Hank Williams charted for the first time
- Aug. 30: Francis Craig’s “Near You” began its 17-week run at #1
- Dec. 30: Kiss Me, Kate opened on Broadway
- Jan. 1: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons performed at Carnegie Hall in advance of impending recording ban
- Jan. 24: Mahalia Jackson charted with “Move on Up a Little Higher”
- Feb. 21: “I’m Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover” gets lucky 21 years after it first charted
- June 21: The Birth of the LP
- Aug. 28: “Twelfth Street Rag” hits #1 more than 30 years after published
- Nov. 6: Dinah Shore hit #1 with “Buttons and Bows”
- Jan. 22: Steve Perry was born / Journey’s Top 20 Songs
- Apr. 7: South Pacific opened on Broadway
- May 9: Billy Joel was born. Check out his top songs.
- May 14: Vaughn Monroe hit #1 with “Riders in the Sky”
- July 30: Perry Como hits #1 with “Some Enchanted Evening”
- Sept. 23: Bruce Springsteen was born. Check out his top songs.
- Nov. 24: Guys and Dolls opened on Broadway
- Dec. 3: Gene Autry charts with “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
- Jan. 3: Sun Records opened
- May 13: Stevie Wonder was born. Check out his top 100 songs.
- July 1: The Weavers chart with “Goodnight Irene”
- July 8: Nat “King” Cole hit #1 with “Mona Lisa”
- Oct. 2: Sting was born.
- Nov. 18: Patti Page charted with “Tennessee Waltz”
- April 21: Les Paul & Mary Ford hit #1 with “How High the Moon”
- Mar. 29: The King and I opened on Broadway
- June 12: Brad Delp born
- Oct. 4: An American in Paris soundtrack released
- Mar. 21: DJ Alan Freed hosted the first rock ‘n’ roll show
- Apr. 11: The movie Singin’ in the Rain was released
- Aug. 9: Jo Stafford charted with “You Belong to Me”
- Nov. 14: New Musical Express published the first British singles chart
- Oct. 20: Tom Petty was born.
- July 5-6: Elvis made legendary recordings at Sun Studios
- Aug. 7: The Crew-Cuts hit #1 with “Sh-Boom”
- Aug. 17: Billy Murray, the biggest selling sensation of the pioneer era, dies
- Dec. 18: “Earth Angel” flys on to the charts
- May 28: Frank Sinatra charted with In the Wee Small Hours
- June 16: Glenn Gould finished his famous recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations
- July 9: The Birth of Rock and Roll
- Nov. 26: Little Richard charts with “Tutti Frutti”
- Feb. 10: ”Why Do Fools Fall in Love?” hit the charts
- Mar. 3: Carl Perkins charts with “Blue Suede Shoes”
- Mar. 15: My Fair Lady opened on Broadway
- Apr. 21: Elvis Presley hit #1 with “Heartbreak Hotel”
- July 1: Elvis Presley Performs for a Hound Dog
- July 9: Dick Clark took over American Bandstand
- July 14: My Fair Lady went to #1
- July 21: Johnny Cash went to #1 on the country charts
- Aug. 18: Elvis Presley hit #1 with “Don’t Be Cruel” / “Hound Dog”
- Sept. 29: Fats Domino charted with “Blueberry Hill”
- June 3: Elvis at #1 for 8th week with “All Shook Up”
- June 17: Jerry Lee Lewis charts with “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On”
- July 6: John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time
- July 27: Buddy Holly charts with “That’ll Be the Day”
- Sept. 26: West Side Story debuted on Broadway
- Sept. 30: Elvis Presley charts with “Jailhouse Rock”
- Nov. 23: “Great Balls of Fire” charts
- Dec. 19: The Music Man opened on Broadway
- Apr. 21: Chuck Berry charted with “Johnny B. Goode”
- June 2: The Everly Brothers achieve a “Dream”: #1 on 4 charts simultaneously
- June 7: Prince was born. Check out his top songs.
- Aug. 4: The Billboard Hot 100 was introduced
- Aug. 16: Madonna was born. Check out her top songs.
- Aug. 29: Michael Jackson was born. Check out his top 100 songs.
- Feb. 3: The Day the Music Died
- Feb. 18: Ray Charles recorded “What’d I Say”
- May 4: The first Grammys were held
- May 21: Gypsy opened on Broadway
- Aug. 17: Miles Davis released Kind of Blue
- Oct. 5: Bobby Darin’s “Mack the Knife” hit #1 for 1st of 9 weeks
- July 3: Muddy Waters performed at Newport
- July 18: Elvis Presley charted with “It’s Now Or Never”
- Sept. 5: Ray Charles hit the charts with “Georgia on My Mind”
- Dec. 3: Camelot opened on Broadway
- Mar. 6: Del Shannon runs up the charts with “Runaway”
- Apr. 3: The Marcels hit #1 with “Blue Moon”
- May 8: Ben E. King charted with “Stand by Me”
- June 22: The Beatles’ first recording session
- Aug. 21: Patsy Cline recorded “Crazy”
- Dec. 11: Motown achieved its first #1 with “Please Mr. Postman”
- Jan. 13: Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” hit #1…again
- June 23: Ray Charles Modern Sounds went to #1)
- July 12: The Rolling Stones played their first gig
- July 14: Ray Charles’ “I Can’t Stop Loving You” hit #1
- Oct. 24: James Brown performs at the Apollo Theater
- Mar. 10: Rick Rubin was born
- May 5: The Beatles’ Please Please Me spent first of 30 weeks atop UK album chart
- Aug. 8: The Kingsmen released “Louie Louie”
- Aug. 9: Whitney Houston was born.
- Aug. 10: 13-Year-Old Stevie Wonder hits #1 with “Fingertips”
- Aug. 23: The Beatles release “She Loves You”
- Aug. 31: The Ronettes chart with “Be My Baby”
- Jan. 1: Top of the Pops launched in Britain
- Feb. 9: The Beatles performed on The Ed Sullivan Show
- Apr. 4: The Beatles had the top 5 songs in the U.S.
- June 24: The Animals charted with “The House of the Rising Sun”
- July 18: The Rolling Stones Hit #1 for the First Time
- Aug. 22: Martha & the Vandellas chart with “Dancing in the Street”
- Aug. 29: Roy Orbison charts with “Oh, Pretty Woman”
- Sept. 22: Fiddler on the Roof opened on Broadway
- Oct. 10: The Kinks chart with “You Really Got Me”
- Oct. 28-29: The T.A.M.I. Show was taped for television broadcast
- Dec. 9: John Coltrane recorded A Love Supreme
- Jan. 9: Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” charted
- Feb. 6: The Righteous Brothers hit #1 with “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’”
- Mar. 6: The Temptations hit #1 with “My Girl”
- July 10: The Rolling Stones hit #1 with “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
- July 24: Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” debuted on the Hot 100
- Aug. 30: Bob Dylan released Highway 61 Revisited
- Oct. 9: The Beatles hit #1 with “Yesterday”
- Nov. 4: The Who charted with “My Generation”
- Nov. 13: The Sound of Music soundtrack hit #1
- Dec. 3: The Beatles released Rubber Soul
- Jan. 1: The Mamas & the Papas charted with “California Dreamin’”
- Apr. 9: Percy Sledge charted with “When a Man Loves a Woman”
- May 16: The Beach Boys released Pet Sounds
- May 16: Bob Dylan released Blonde on Blonde
- May 17: Bob Dylan goes electric
- Aug. 5: The Beatles released Revolver
- Sept. 3: The Four Tops chart with “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)”
- Sept. 12: The Monkees debuted on TV
- Oct. 22: The Beach Boys charted with “Good Vibrations”
- Nov. 20: Kevin Gilbert was born
- Dec. 31: The Monkees hit #1 with “I’m a Believer”
- Jan. 4: The Doors released their debut album
- Jan. 27: Aretha Franklin held her first Atlantic Records recording session
- Feb. 13: The Beatles release “Strawberry Fields Forever”
- Mar. 12: The Velvet Underground released their debut album
- Mar. 17: Jimi Hendrix released “Purple Haze” in the UK
- May 12: The Jimi Hendrix Experience released Are You Experienced?
- May 25: Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale” charted
- May 26: The Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s
- May 27: The Doors chart with “Light My Fire”
- June 3: Aretha Franklin hit #1 with “Respect”
- June 16-18: The Monterey Pop Festival
- June 24: Psychedelic Rock Goes Mainstream
- July 1: The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s hit #1 for first of 15 weeks
- July 15: Van Morrison Charts with “Brown-Eyed Girl”
- Aug. 5: Pink Floyd releases Piper at the Gates of Dawn
- Oct. 14: Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” charted
- Oct. 17: First stage production of Hair
- Nov. 9: Rolling Stone magazine hit the newsstands
- Nov. 10: The Moody Blues charted with “Nights in White Satin”
- Nov. 27: The Beatles released Magical Mystery Tour
- Nov. ?: Love released Forever Changes
- Dec. 10: Otis Redding killed in a plane crash
- Jan. 8: Otis Redding’s “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” released
- Jan. 13: Johnny Cash recorded live at Folsom Prison
- Feb. 29: The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s wins the Grammy for Album of the Year
- Jan. 13: Johnny Cash recorded live at Folsom Prison
- Mar. 4: Zappa released We’re Only in It for the Money
- Mar. 8: The Fillmore East opened
- Jul 7: The Beginning and End of Led Zeppelin (Yardbirds last gig on July 7, 1968)
- Jul. 13: ”Born to Be Wild” charts
- Aug. 31: Janis Joplin charts with Cheap Thrills and “Piece of My Heart”
- Sept. 14: Jimi Hendrix charts with Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower”
- Sept. 16: Jimi Hendrix released Electric Ladyland
- Nov. 2: Glen Campbell charted with “Wichita Lineman”
- Nov. 22: The Kinks released Village Green Preservation Society
- Nov. 23: “Hey Jude” spent 9th week at #1, giving Beatles their biggest hit
- Nov. ?: Van Morrison released Astral Weeks
- Dec. 3: Elvis Presley’s comeback special aired on NBC
- Dec. 6: The Rolling Stones released Beggars Banquet
- Dec. 14: Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” hit #1
- Dec. 28: The Beatles hit #1 with The White Album for first of 9 weeks
- Jan. 12: Led Zeppelin released its first album
- Jan. 18: ”Proud Mary” sets sail on the charts
- Feb. 15: ”Everyday People” hits #1
- Mar. 8: The Fifth Dimension charted with “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In”
- May 23: The Who released Tommy
- June 16: Captain Beefheart released Trout Mask Replica
- July 4: The Rolling Stones released “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”
- Jul. 12: ”Honky Tonk Women” hits the charts
- July 20: David Bowie’s Career Took Off Thanks to Men Landing on the Moon
- July 21: Blind Faith released its only album
- Aug. 15: The Woodstock Festival began
- Aug. 30: Documentary filmed of Franz Schubert’s Trout Quintet
- Sept. 13: Elvis Presley charts with “Suspicious Minds”
- Sept. 22: The Band released their self-titled sophomore album
- Oct. 22: Led Zeppelin released its second album
- Nov. 1: The Beatles hit #1 for first of 11 weeks with Abbey Road
- Nov. 15: Led Zeppelin chart with “Whole Lotta Love”
- Nov. 28: The Rolling Stones released Let It Bleed
- Dec. 4: Jay-Z was born.
- Dec. 6: Death at the Altamont Festival
For dates after 1969, check the Blog Archive in the column on the right-hand side of this page.