1957: “Jailhouse Rock” became Elvis Presley’s ninth #1 hit over the last year and a half.

1957: After leaving the Dominoes, Jackie Wilson debuted on the US singles charts as a solo artist with “Reet Petite”.

1961: Bob Dylan had his Carnegie Hall debut, performing for an audience of fifty-three fans.

1963: Motown Records released “Too Hurt to Cry, Too Much in Love to Say Goodbye” on its Gordy label. The single was credited to “the Darnells,” but performers on the song were actually The Marvelettes and The Andantes. The record’s B-side, “Come On Home” was also performed by Holland–Dozier–Holland, Mary Wilson of The Supremes, and members of the Four Tops, and The Temptations. The reason for the false credits is largely unknown, but no one involved with the production of either side were pleased.

1964: Marvin Gaye released “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You),” the fourth single and title track from his fifth studio album.

1965: The Rolling Stones scored their fifth UK #1 single with “Get Off Of My Cloud.”

1966: “Mustang Sally” by Wilson Picket was released. After Pickett finished his final take recording the song at Muscle Shoals’ FAME Studios, the tape suddenly flew off the reel and broke into pieces. Seasoned session engineer Tom Dowd calmly cleared the room and told everyone to come back in half an hour. Dowd then proceeded to hand-tape the reel back together and managed to save the recording.

1966: After its release in the UK in October, the Yardbirds’ single “Happening Ten Years Time Ago” was issued in the US.

1967: After initially failing to secure work permits in time for the first week of shows of their first US tour, Pink Floyd finally performed at San Francisco’s Winterland Auditorium.

1969: Florida group The Allman Brothers Band released their self-titled debut studio album.

1970: David Bowie’s third studio album, The Man Who Sold the World, was released on Mercury Records in US. The LP was issued in the UK in April the next year. It features the first appearances of guitarist Mick Ronson and drummer Mick Woodmansey on a Bowie record, who would later become famous as members of the Spiders from Mars.

1972: Eight weeks after entering the chart, “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash became his first #1 hit when it reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Two weeks later the song topped the Cash Box pop chart.

1975: The Temptations released House Party, an album made up of vaulted songs recorded both prior to and following the sessions for their previous album, “A Song for You.” It also contains the final sessions recorded by falsetto Damon Harris as a member of the group, as well as the first for his replacement, Glenn Leonard.

1977: The Ramones released their third studio album, Rocket to Russia.

1977: Rod Stewart released his eighth studio album, Foot Loose & Fancy Free.

1978: The Talking Head’s cover of Al Greens’ “Take Me to the River” entered the Billboard Hot 100. Recorded with co-producer Brian Eno in Nassau, Bahamas, the single became the group’s first top 40 single, reaching #26 the following year.

1978: Linda Ronstadt’s ninth studio album, Living in the USA, reached #1 in the US. It was her third and last #1 on the Billboard chart and her sixth consecutive million-selling album.

1980: The Who recorded “You Better You Bet” during the sessions for their ninth studio LP and first with drummer Kenney Jones, Face Dances. It was the last single by the band to reach the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #18, and was their last single to hit the top 10 in the UK, where it reached #9.

1983: Paul Simon released his sixth solo studio album, Hearts and Bones. The album was written and recorded following Simon & Garfunkel’s live 1981 album “The Concert in Central Park” and their 1982-1983 world tour. Several of the songs had been previewed during the tour and Art Garfunkel had worked on some of the songs with Simon in the studio, with the intention that the finished produced would be a new Simon & Garfunkel album. Garfunkel instead left the project and Simon erased all his vocals and worked the material into a solo album.

1983: “Waterfront,” the lead single from Simple Minds’ sixth studio album, Sparkle in the Rain, was released in the UK.

1984: Prince kicked off his North American Purple Rain tour with his new band, the Revolution.

1985: Mike + the Mechanics released “Silent Running (On Dangerous Grown),” the first single from their self-titled debut album.

1985: Elton John released his nineteenth studio album, Ice on Fire. Guests on the album include George Michael, Nik Kershaw, Sister Sledge, Pino Palladino, Mel Gaynor, Millie Jackson, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon.

1985: Sade’s second studio album, Promise, was released in the UK. It was released in the US twelve days later. The album was their first to reach #1 on both the UK and US charts and reached the top 5 in several other countries.

1985: The Clash released their sixth and final studio album, Cut the Crap. The album was recorded during a turbulent period in which co-founder, lead guitarist, and principal songwriter Mick Jones and drummer Topper Headon were both dismissed by lead singer Joe Strummer and bassist Paul Simonon. Jones and Headon were replaced by guitarists Vince White and Nick Sheppard and drummer Pete Howard. Strummer also fought with manager Bernie Rhodes over the band’s songwriting and musical direction.

1986: Brooklyn-based band They Might Be Giants released their self-titled debut album.

1986: The Pretenders released their fourth studio album, Get Close.

1987: Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor released her debut studio album, The Lion and the Cobra.

1988: After premiering in Ireland a week earlier, U2’s documentary concert film Rattle and Hum opened in the US.

1989: Elton John scored his fiftieth UK hit with “Sacrifice” when it entered the British chart. After it was re-released as a double A-side single with “Healing Hands” in 1990, the single became his first solo chart-topper in the UK.

1989: The Rolling Stones released “Rock and a Hard Place,” the second single from the group’s nineteenth British and twenty-first American studio album, Steel Wheels. Ultimately reaching #18 on the Billboard Hot 100, it is currently the band’s most recent top 40 single on the US pop charts.

1991: R.E.M. released “Radio Song,” the fourth and final single from their seventh studio album, Out of Time.

2014: Neil Young released his thirty-fourth studio album, Storytone. The album was released both as a disc, which features orchestral and big band arrangements of the songs, and a deluxe edition which includes stripped-back recordings of the songs.

Birthdays Today

Harry Elston, singer with Ray Charles’ backing group the Hi-Fis and co-founder of the Friends of Distinction, was born in Dallas, TX in 1938.

Delbert McClinton, singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist, was born in Lubbock, TX in 1940.

Scherrie Payne,  final lead singer for The Supremes from 1973-1977 and younger sister of singer Freda Payne, was born in Detroit, MI in 1944.

Alan Munde, banjo player, bluegrass musician, and member of the Flying Burrito Brothers and Country Gazette, was born in Norman, OK in 1946.

Mike Smith, tenor saxophonist for Amen Corner, was born in Neath, South Wales in 1947.

Chris Difford, singer, guitarist, lyricist, and co-founder of Squeeze, was born in Greenwich, London, England in 1954.

James Honeyman-Scott, guitarist, songwriter, and founding member of The Pretenders, was born in Hereford, Herefordshire, England in 1956.

Noel McCalla, lead vocalist for Manfred Mann’s Earth Band from 1991-2009, was born in London, England in 1956.