1969: Three lovely ladies competed to win a dream date with Bob Cowsill of the Cowsills on ABC-TV’s The Dating Game.

1958: The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awards its first Gold Record to Perry Como for “Catch a Falling Star.” Rock acts will soon eclipse the old crooners when it comes to receiving future Gold Records.

1958: At a little venue in the UK called the Morgue Skiffle Cellar, the local band The Quarrymen make their debut with John Lennon and Paul McCartney on guitars. George Harrison would join them soon after.

1968: Otis Redding finally had his break-through record on the pop charts as “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Sadly, Redding had died in a plane crash in Madison, Wisconsin just 3 months earlier.

1969: A family vocal group from Gary, Indiana, signs with Motown Records on this day. The Jackson 5 will soon leave a large mark on pop music history.

BTW the group was brought to the attention of Motown head honcho, Barry Gordy, by Gladys Knight. Somehow, by the time the group’s debut album hit the record bins, Diana Ross was listed on the cover as their “Presenter."

1967: Sonny and Cher guest star on an episode of NBC’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

An auspicious day to be in the recording studio. Here are what some artists were creating in the studio on this day:

1966: The Beach Boys - "God Only Knows"
1966: Bob Dylan - "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)," "Temporary Like Achilles"
1967: The Beatles - "Getting Better"
1978: The Eagles - "I Can't Tell You Why"

1968: Legendary rock promoter, Bill Graham opens an East Coast version of his San Francisco concert venue, the Fillmore Ballroom. Appropriately dubbed Fillmore East and located in New York City’s East Village, the hall’s first show is headlined by Big Brother & the Holding Company, Albert King and Tim Buckley.

By the way, the photo of Bill on opening night was snapped by aspiring rock photographer Linda Eastman (soon to become Linda McCartney).

2012: Following the death of Davy Jones, the “Best of the Monkees” CD re-enters the Billboard album chart at #20.

1957: It’s the Canadian Invasion! No, seriously. It was on this day that a rock band from Canada became the first from the Great White North to score a #1 hit on the U.S. charts. The group was the Diamonds and their hit was “Little Darlin’.”