1964 in music

Events

• January 1 - Top of the Pops premieres on BBC television.
• January 3 - Footage of the Beatles performing a concert in Bournemouth, England is shown on The Jack Paar Show[?]
• January 15 - Vee Jay Records[?] files a lawsuit against Capitol Records and Swan Records[?] over manufacturing and distribution rights to Beatles albums. On April 9, Capitol Records is granted an injuction restraining Vee Jay Records from further manufacturing, distributing or advertising recordings by the Beatles.
• January 18 - The Beatles appear on the Billboard magazine charts for the first time
• February 1 - Indiana Governor Welsh declares the song "Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen[?] pornographic. He requests that the Indiana Broadcasters Association ban the record. Governor Welsh claimed that his "ears tingle" when he heard the song. Publisher Max Firetag offers $1,000 to anyone that can find anything "suggestive" in the song's lyrics.
• February 7 - The Beatles arrive in the United States and are greeted by thousands of screaming fans at New York's Kennedy Airport[?].
• February 9 - The Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan show, which breaks television ratings records
• February 16 - The Beatles appear on the Ed Sullivan show.
• February 23 - The Beatles appear on the Ed Sullivan show
• March - Capitol Records is bombarded with requests for heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay's album, I Am the Greatest, following Clay's defeat of Sonny Liston in February.
• March 6 - Elvis Presley's 14th motion picture, Kissin' Cousins is released to theaters.
• March 14 - Billboard Magazine[?] reports that sales of Beatle records make up 60% of the entire singles market
• March 16 - Disc jockey Alan Freed is charged with tax evasion
• March 21 - For the first time in history, all Top Ten singles on the U.K. chart are by British acts
• March 24 - John Lennon's first book, In His Own Write[?] is published.
• March 27 - The Beatles occupy the top six spots on the Australian pop chart
• March 28 - Wax likenesses of The Beatles are put on display in London's Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. The Beatles are the first pop stars to be displayed at the museum.
• April 4 - The Beatles occupied all five top positions on Billboard's Top Pop Singles chart with their singles "Can't Buy Me Love", "Twist and Shout", "She Loves You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and "Please Please Me".
• April 11 - The Beatles hold 14 positions on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Previously, the highest number of concurrent singles by one artist on the Hot 100 was nine by Elvis Presley, December 19, 1956.
• May 2 - In the United States, The Beatles' Second Album climbs to the #1 spot on the LP charts in only its second week of release, making it the first album ever to reach #1 that quickly.
• September - Shindig! premieres on ABC
• October 19 - Simon and Garfunkel release Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., which is initially a total flop upon first release. After release of their second album, Sounds of Silence, in 1966, it hits #30 on the Billboard charts.
• Simon and Garfunkel form to record for Columbia Records, marking first time that ethnic names are used in pop music.
• 11 year old Keith Green becomes the youngest person ever to sign a contract with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) after publishing, recording and releasing the song "The Way I Used to Be".
• Frank Zappa's musical career begins
• Phil Ochs' musical career begins
• Marianne Faithfull's musical career begins
• Sonny and Cher begin performing together
• MC5 forms
• The Mamas & the Papas form

Albums Released

• A Hard Day's Night - The Beatles
• With the Beatles - The Beatles
• Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. - Simon and Garfunkel
• A Love Supreme[?] - John Coltrane
• Early Orbison[?] - Roy Orbison
• More of Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits[?] - Roy Orbison
• It Hurts to Be in Love[?] - Gene Pitney
• Johnny Horton's Greatest Hits[?] - Johnny Horton[?]

Top Hits

• "I Feel Fine"/"She's A Woman" - The Beatles
• "A Hard Day's Night" - The Beatles
• "Can't Buy Me Love" - The Beatles
• "Twist and Shout" - The Beatles
• "Hello Dolly[?]" recorded by Louis Armstrong
• "Fun Fun Fun" - The Beach Boys
• "Baby Love" - The Supremes
• "Dawn" - The Four Seasons
• "I Get Around" - The Beach Boys
• "Under The Boardwalk" - The Drifters
• "You Really Got Me" - The Kinks
• "House Of The Rising Sun" - The Animals
• "She's Not There" - The Zombies
• "Glad All Over" - Dave Clark Five
• "It's Over" - Roy Orbison
• "Oh, Pretty Woman" - Roy Orbison
  • This is reported to be the fastest selling single in history
• "Dancin' In The Street" - Martha & the Vandellas
• "Goldfinger" - Shirley Bassey
• "Chug-A-Lug" - Roger Miller[?]

Births

• January 5 - Grant Young[?], Soul Asylum
• January 10 - Brad Roberts[?], Crash Test Dummies[?]
• January 29 - Roddy Frame[?], Aztec Camera[?]
• February 4 - Noodles of The Offspring
• March 20 - Tracy Chapman
• April 12 - Amy Ray[?], Indigo Girls
• April 16 - Dave Pirner[?], Soul Asylum
• April 17 - Maynard James Keenan, Tool
• April 25 - Andy Bell[?], Erasure
• May 12 - Mr. Brett, Bad Religion & NOFX
• May 26 - Lenny Kravitz
• May 30 - Tom Morello, Rage Against The Machine & Audioslave
• May 31 - Darryl McDaniels[?], Run D.M.C.
• June 6 - Jay Bentley[?], Bad Religion
• June 13 - Robbie Merril[?], Godsmack
• June 22 - Mike Edwards[?], Jesus Jones[?]
• July 20 - Chris Cornell, Soundgarden & Audioslave
• July 22 - Will Calhoun[?], Living Colour
• August 1 - Adam Duritz, Counting Crows
• September 7 - Eazy-E, NWA
• September 30 - Robby Takac[?], Goo Goo Dolls
• October 5 - Dave Dededer, Presidents of the United States of America
• October 6 - Matthew Sweet[?]
• October 10 - Neneh Cherry[?]
• October 20 - Jim Sonefeld[?], Hootie & The Blowfish[?]
• November 6 - Corey Glover[?], Living Colour
• November 6 - Greg Gaffin[?], Bad Religion
• November 14 - Joseph Run Simmons[?], Run DMC
• November 14 - Nic Dalton[?], The Lemonheads
• November 24 - Tony Rambola[?], Godsmack

Deaths

• January 15 - Jack Teagarden
• August 14 - Johnny Burnette
• October 10 - Eddie Cantor
• October 15 - Cole Porter

Awards

Grammy Awards

• Grammy Awards of 1964

Eurovision Song Contest

• Eurovision Song Contest 1964