1961: A group from Hawthorne, California called the Pendletones attended their first real recording sessions at Hite and Dorinda Morgan’s home studio in Los Angeles. The band recorded an early version of “Surfin’,” the song that soon after kick-started their career as the Beach Boys.

1962: The Four Seasons started five weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with their first single on the Vee Jay label and their first #1 hit, “Sherry,” which was soon followed by two more chart-topping hits.

1962: The first single by Booker T. & the M.G.’s, “Green Onions,” hit the top of the Billboard R&B chart. Largely an improvised recording, the instrumental was the group’s only #1 single.

1964: Police stopped a Beatles concert at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, OH after a police line of over a hundred people failed to prevent enthusiastic audience members from climbing on stage. Concerned for the Beatles’ safety, the concert was stopped, with the Deputy Inspector telling crowd the show was over. After a ten minute delay, the crowd was told that the show would continue if they remained seated. During the break, John Lennon told local radio station KYW, “We have never had a show stopped. These policemen are a bunch of amateurs.”

1965: Otis Redding released his third LP, Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul. Consisting mainly of covers of popular R&B songs recorded over a 24-hour period in July at Stax Records’ studios in Memphis, it became Redding’s first album to reach the top spot on Billboard’s R&B chart and produced three popular singles. Many critics consider it to be Redding’s first fully realized album.

1966: Small Faces had their only #1 on the UK singles chart with “All Or Nothing.”

1967: The Kinks released their fifth studio album, Something Else by the Kinks. It marked the group’s final involvement with American producer Shel Talmy and features keyboard playing by Nicky Hopkins and backing vocals by Ray Davies’ wife, Rasa. The LP was later issued in the US in January 1968.

1967: British band Kaleidoscope released their debut single, “Flight from Ashiya,” on Fontana Records.

1968: The Doors were forced to play as a trio, with keyboardist Ray Manzarek filling in for lead singer Jim Morrison, after Morrison indulged in an excessive amount of narcotics backstage at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. While Jefferson Airplane performed, Morrison walked on stage, danced to the music, and soon toppled over and was hauled off to the hospital. The following night, the band was back with Morrison center stage.

1969: After it was originally released by Polydor Records in the UK in December 1966, “Stone Free” by the Jimi Hendrix Experience was issued as a single in the US on Reprise Records. In April 1969, Hendrix had recorded a revised rendition of the song for possible release as a single, but Reprise issued the original recording instead.

1970: The Temptations released “Hum Along and Dance,” the second single from their twelfth studio album, Psychedelic Shack.

1971: The Band released their fourth studio album, Cahoots.

1971: Singer-songwriter Judee Sill’s self-titled debut album was released as the first album on David Geffen’s Asylum label. Backing musicians include John Beck and Jim Pons from the Leaves. Most of the LP was produced by Henry Lewy, but Graham Nash handled the single “Jesus Was a Cross Maker.”

1971: Bobby Womack released his third studio album, Communication. The LP became a breakthrough hit, reaching #7 on the Billboard R&B chart and #83 on the pop chart.

1973: Poco released Crazy Eyes, their fifth studio album and last with founding member Richie Furay.

1975: Pink Floyd released the four-minute single version of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” the band’s tribute to former member Syd Barrett. The two halves of the full 26-minute song serve as the opening and closing tracks of their ninth studio album, Wish You Were Here.

1975: David Crosby and Graham Nash released their second album as a duo, Wind on the Water.

1978: The Rolling Stones released “Respectable,” the third single from their Some Girls album, in the UK. Mick Jagger had originally written the song with a slower tempo, which clashed with Keith Richards’ vision of making the song an uptempo rocker.

1978: Frank Zappa released his twenty-fourth studio album, Studio Tan. All four of the album’s tracks were originally intended for the quadruple-LP set Läther, that was shelved until 1996 due to contractual disputes with Warner Bros. Records.

1979: Led Zeppelin started seven weeks at the top of the Billboard pop chart with their eighth and final studio album, In Through the Out Door.

1980: Pat Benatar released “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” the second single from her second studio album, Crimes of Passion. It became her first top 10 hit in the US, reaching #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on the Cash Box chart.

1986: Elvis Costello released his eleventh studio album, Blood & Chocolate, in which he reunited with producer Nick Lowe and his usual backing group the Attractions.

1986: Love and Rockets released their second studio album, Express.

1986 Ric Ocasek released his second solo studio album, This Side of Paradise, which also features Cars members Greg Hawkes, Benjamin Orr, and Elliot Easton.

1987: The Ramones released Halfway to Sanity, their tenth studio album and last to feature drummer Richie Ramone.

1997: Genesis released “Congo,” the first single from the group’s fifteenth and final studio album, Call All Stations. The record marked the debut of Ray Wilson as lead singer, but it became their first lead single since 1977 not to reach the UK top 20.

1998: America released their fourteenth studio album, Human Nature.

1998: The Band released their tenth and final studio album, Jubilation. The LP was the group’s first since reforming without Robbie Robertson to include more original songs than covers, and features guests Eric Clapton, John Hiatt, and Ronnie Hawkins.

Birthdays Today

Cannonball Adderley, jazz saxophonist best know for his 1966 single “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” and for his work with Miles Davis, was born Julian Edwin Adderley in Tampa Florida in 1928.

Jac Holzman, founder and head of Elektra Records and Nonesuch Records who signed such acts as The Doors, Queen, Love, Josh White, Carly Simon, the Stooges, MC5, Harry Chapin, and discovered Judy Collins, was born in New York City in 1931.

Les Braid, bassist and keyboardist for The Swinging Blue Jeans, was born in West Derby, Liverpool, England in 1937.

Sylvia Moy, the first woman to write and produce for Motown acts best known for the songs she wrote with and for Stevie Wonder, was born in Detroit, MI in 1938.

Jimmy Gilmer, singer, pianist, and leader of the Fireballs, best known for their #1 hit, “Sugar Shack,” was born in Chicago, IL in 1940.

Signe Anderson, founding member and original female vocalist for Jefferson Airplane, was born Signe Toly in Seattle, WA in 1941.

Lee Dorman, bassist for Iron Butterfly and Captain Beyond, was born in St. Louis, MO in 1942.

Mitch Dorge, drummer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, record producer, and member of Crash Test Dummies, was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 1960.