1965: On this day in 1965, a garage band takes the stage at Summit High School in Summit, NJ for their first ever performance. The band is The Velvet Underground.

1958: Two legendary singers, Sam Cooke and Lou Rawls (who was then a member of Cooke’s back-up band), are injured in a car crash in Marion, Arkansas. Rawls is actually declared dead at the scene, but manages a miraculous recovery.

In the picture, Cooke is on the left end of the group and Rawls is on the right end.

1958: Elvis Presley’s hit single (“Hound Dog” backed with “Don’t Be Cruel” becomes only the third single in history to sell over 3 million copies. The other two were “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by Gene Autry.

2002: In what must surely be another brick in the wall, Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour is made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.

1967: Two young songwriters named, Reginald Dwight and Bernie Taupin sign their first contract for song publishing. Reg will soon change his name to Elton John. The duo were both underage at the time and had to have the contract witnessed by their parents.

1965: This was the day that legendary promoter Bill Graham (Fillmore East, Fillmore West) staged his first rock concert a benefit for the San Francisco Mime Troupe at the Calliope Ballroom starring the Jefferson Airplane. He would open the Fillmore one year later.

 So many birthdays today…

Ike Turner (1931-2007)

Art Garfunkel (1941)

Graham Parsons (Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers) (1946-1973)

Peter Noone (Herman’s Hermits) (1947)

1963: It was on this day that The Beatles, performed at the Royal Command Performance for the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret and Lord Snowden at London's Prince of Wales Theatre.

The appearance became a hallmark in not only in the band’s career but in rock history when John Lennon cracks, “Will the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands? And for the rest of you, if you’ll just rattle your jewelry.”

1990: 25 years after it initially peaked #4 on the Billboard charts, the Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody” returns to the top of the UK charts after being prominently featured in the hit film Ghost.

Ironically, the song was never intended to be a hit. It was first released as the B-side of the Righteous Brothers single, “Hung on You.” However, disc jockeys ignored the A-side and made the B-side a success. As was typical at the time, producer Phil Spector had put little effort into the B-side. In fact, only ONE Righteous Brother, Bobby Hatfield, is actually singing on the recording.

1963: The British newspaper, The Daily Mirror, reviews a concert given in Cheltenham, England, by The Beatles. In describing the reaction of the group’s fans at the show, the paper coins the term “Beatlemania.” That term quickly enters the public lexicon, eventually becoming the name of a long-running Broadway show that gives tribute to the band and their music.