1964 #1 Singles Albums
…and more
January
1964 #1 Singles Albums
December 7, 1963 – January 3, 1964 – “Dominque” by the Singing Nun #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1964: Lee Morgan’s Sidewinder album released.
In 1964 Curtis Mayfield released single “Keep on Pushin’”
January 3, 1964: Jack Paar, host of the late night U.S. TV talk show, “The Jack Paar Show,” airs a filmed Beatles’ performance of “She Loves You” from England. It is the first complete Beatles song shown on American TV, and for many in America, the first time they see the Beatles.
January 4 – 31, 1964, “There! I’ve Said It Again” by Bobby Vinton #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
January 10, 1964, The Beatles before their US appearance: although it had originally been scheduled for 22 July 1963, the US label Vee-Jay finally released the Introducing The Beatles LP on this day. Legal and business issues plagued the album, but by late fall, it would sell more than 1.3 million copies.
January 13, 1964: Bob Dylan released his third album, The Times They Are a-Changin’
January 15, 1964: the Los Angeles Whiskey a Go Go opened. The club’s opening night featured Johnny Rivers as the headlining act. The club quickly became famous for its music (rock ‘n’ roll), dancing (the patrons on the floor and the go-go dancers inside elevated glass cages) and the Hollywood celebrities it attracted. The Whisky played an important role in many musical careers, especially for bands based in Southern California. The Byrds, Alice Cooper, Buffalo Springfield, Smokestack Lightning, and Love were regulars, and The Doors were the house band for a while – until the debut of the “Oedipal section” of “The End” got them fired.
January 18, 1964: The Beatles “I Want To Hold Your Hand” enters at No. 45 on the American Billboard music charts.
January 20, 1964: Meet The Beatles! released.
February
1964 #1 Singles Albums
February 1 – March 20, 1964: “I Want To Hold Your Hand” by the Beatles #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the first of 20 #1 Hot 100 Hits (a record) and the first of 71 Hot 100 hits [Cast members from the TV show Glee hold that record with 203 a/o June, 2012]
In February 1964: Jimi Hendrix won first prize in an Apollo Theater amateur contest.
February 8, 1964: Max Firetag, the music publisher of the song “Louie Louie” offered $1,000.00 to anyone who could find anything ‘suggestive’ in the lyrics to the song.
February 9, 1964: The Beatles had their first appearance on Ed Sullivan Show. That afternoon The Beatles recorded Twist And Shout, Please Please Me, and I Want To Hold Your Hand, in front of a different audience to the one that saw their live debut that evening. This set was broadcast on 23 February as the group’s third Ed Sullivan appearance, after they had left the US.
The Beatles performed “All My Loving”; “Till There Was You”, which featured the names of the group members superimposed on closeup shots, including the famous “Sorry girls, he’s married” caption on John Lennon; and “She Loves You”. The act that followed Beatles in the broadcast was pre-recorded, rather than having someone perform live on stage amidst the pandemonium that occurred in the studio after the Beatles performed their first songs. The group returned later in the program to perform “I Saw Her Standing There” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” The broadcast drew an estimated 73 million viewers, at the time a record for US television.
February 11, 1964: because of bad weather, the Beatles took a train to Washington, DC, rather than the scheduled plane to play their first US concert, A crowd of 8,092 fans, most of whom were girls, attended. The Beatles took to the stage at 8.31pm, and performed 12 songs: Roll Over Beethoven, From Me To You, I Saw Her Standing There, This Boy, All My Loving, I Wanna Be Your Man, Please Please Me, Till There Was You, She Loves You, I Want To Hold Your Hand, Twist And Shout and Long Tall Sally.
Also on the bill at the Coliseum were The Chiffons and Tommy Roe. However, The Chiffons were unable to make it due to the previous day’s snowstorm. Instead, the opening acts were Jay & The Americans, The Righteous Brothers and Tommy Roe.
February 15 – May 1, 1964: Meet the Beatles is the Billboard #1 album.
February 28, 1964, despite the arrival of “Beatlemania” Time magazine featured musician Thelonious Sphere Monk on its cover reflecting the continued importance and popularity of jazz in the US.
March
1964 #1 Singles Albums
In March 1964 – Stan Getz and João Gilberto release album Getz/Gilberto
in March 1964: Jimi Hendrix, as a member of the Isley Brothers, recorded the two-part single “Testify”. Hendrix then went on tour with the Isley Brothers. “Testify” was released in June 1964.
March 14, 1964: Billboard reports that sales of Beatles records make up 60% of the entire singles market.
March 21 – April 3, 1964: “She Loves You” #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
March 23, 1964, The Beatles: John’s first book, In His Own Write, published.
April
1964 #1 Singles Albums
April 4 – May 8, 1964: The Beatles occupied all five top positions 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 5, 1964, Jerry Lee Lewis played and records famous show Live at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany.
April 10, 1964, US release of The Beatles’ Second Album.
April 11, 1964: 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, Dec 19, 1956.
April 16, 1964: the Rolling Stones release their début album, The Rolling Stones (England’s Newest Hitmakers).
1964 #1 Singles Albums
May
May 2 – June 5, 1964, The Beatles: The Beatles’ Second Album (released April 10) the Billboard #1 album (only four of the twelve songs were written by the Beatles).” May 9 – 15, 1964, ending The Beatles’ streak of three number-one hits in a row over 14 consecutive weeks, “Hello Dolly” by Louis Armstrong #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
May 16 – 29, 1964: “My Guy” by Mary Wells #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The first #1 hit for Motown Records. Motown Records would go on to release another 32 #1 hits in the next 10 years, but “My Guy” would be the last solo hit for Mary Wells, on Motown or any other label.
May 30 – June 5, 1964: The Beatles “Love Me Do” #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
1964 #1 Singles Albums
June
June 1, 1964: “Let’s Get Together” by The Kingston Trio released on on their album Back in Town. While it was not released as a single, this version was the first to bring the song to the attention of the general public. Dino Valenti wrote the song which would later become well known when sung by the Youngbloods in 1967.
June 5, 1964: the Rolling Stones started their first US tour.
June 6 – 26, 1964: “Chapel of Love” by The Dixie Cups #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
June 6 – June 12, 1964: the original cast album of Hello Dolly! is the Billboard #1 album.
June 13 – July 24, 1964: Louis Armstrong’s Hello Dolly! is the Billboard #1 album.
June 21, 1964: The First Big Sur Folk Festival (held on the grounds of the Esalen Institute. From the Richard and Mimi Farina site: The festivals were founded by Nancy Carlen, a friend of Richard, Mimi and Joan [Baez], …. The annual event started as folk music seminars, and as they evolved into concerts, they became known as well-managed, small affairs that emphasized quality and atmosphere over publicity and commercial success. Even when big names like CSNY or the Beach Boys appeared, the audiences were limited to a few thousand to preserve an intimate atmosphere and human scale. Although Big Sur is now sometimes remembered as the anti-Woodstock, it was originally the anti-Newport.
June 26, 1964: US release of A Hard Day’s Night album by United Artists Records in both mono and stereo, the fourth Beatles album in the US. The album went to number one on the Billboard album chart, spending 14 weeks there, the longest run of any album that year.
All seven songs from the film were featured along with “I’ll Cry Instead”, which, although written for the film, was cut at the last minute. The American version also included four easy listening-styled instrumental versions of Lennon and McCartney songs arranged by George Martin conducting an orchestra of studio musicians: “I Should Have Known Better,” “And I Love Her,” “Ringo’s Theme,” and “A Hard Day’s Night.”
June 27 – July 3, 1964,: “A World Without Love” [written by Paul McCartney] by Peter & Gordon #1 on Billboard Hot 100.
July
1964 #1 Singles Albums
In July, 1964: the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a non-duplication rule prohibiting FM radio stations in cities of more than 100,000 people from merely running a simulcast of the programming from their AM counterparts. Stations fought the rule and delayed implementation.
July 4 – 17, 1964: the single released in May, “I Get Around” by The Beach Boys #1 on Billboard Hot 100. [the first of (only) three Billboard Hot 100 #1 songs for them during the 1960s. Not until November 1988 will they have another with “Kokomo” – their last.
July 18 – 31, 1964: “Rag Doll” by the Four Seasons #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, their last #1 until March 1976 with “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night).” Frankie Valli will have a #1 hit in August 1978 with Grease – his last #1.
July 20, 1964: The Beatles released Something New, a US only release.
July 25 – October 30, 1964: the Beatles A Hard Day’s Night soundtrack the Billboard #1 album. Their third of the year. All three albums will occupy a total of 30 weeks during 1964.
1964 #1 Singles Albums
August
August 8, 1964: Bob Dylan released fourth album, Another Side of Bob Dylan. Became 1964’s 10th biggest selling album.
August 11, 1964: Beatles first film, A Hard Day’s Night, opened in America and was a huge hit. Shown in 500 theaters across U.S., it earns $1.3 million in the first week. Some 15,000 prints made for world-wide distribution – historical first in film industry.
August 12, 1964: Variety magazine reports that by August 1964, the Beatles had sold approximately 80 million records globally.
August 15 – 21, 1964: “Everybody Loves Somebody” by Dean Martin #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
August 22 – September 14, 1964: “Where Did Our Love Go” by The Supremes #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, their first of 13 #1 songs in the 1960s.
August 28, 1964, The Beatles & Bob Dylan: The Beatles played a concert at New York’s Forest Hills Tennis Stadium. After the concert, the group was taken back to their suite at the city’s Hotel Delmonico. Journalist Al Aronowitz has came down from Woodstock, NY with his friend Bob Dylan, and brought him up to The Beatles hotel suite. John Lennon asked Dylan what he’d like to drink, and Dylan said “cheap wine.” The Beatles offer Dylan their drug of choice which was speed. Dylan suggested marijuana, which the band had never tried. Hearing that they had never smoked pot, Dylan was quite surprised and said that he always thought the band sang “I get high” in their song “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.” John corrected him, telling him that the phrase was “I can’t hide.” Dylan lit up a joint and Lennon made Ringo smoke it first. Eventually each member of the band got his own. Paul was interested with the thoughts it produced and asked Mal Evans to follow him around with a notepad and take down everything he said.
September
1964 #1 Singles Albums
September 5 – 25, 1964: “House of the Rising Sun” by the Animals #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
September 16, 1964: Shindig! premiered on ABC. Produced as a replacement for Hootenanny which fizzled out with the British Invasion. Shindig! will become one of a few shows providing a venue for pop music. The opener featured Sam Cooke, the Everly Brothers, the Wellingtons, Jackie and Gayle, Donna Loren, Bobby Sherman and the Righteous Brothers.
September 26 – October 16, 1964: “Oh Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
1964 #1 Singles Albums
October
October 17 – 30, 1964: “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” by Manfred Mann #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
October 19, 1964: Simon & Garfunkel release Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., initially a l flop. After release of their second album, Sounds of Silence in 1966, it hits #30 on the Billboard charts.
October 25, 1964: the Rolling Stones perform on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time.
October 28 – 29, 1964: filmed over two days at the Santa Monica (Calif.) Civic Auditorium, “The T.A.M.I. Show” (short for Teenage Awards Music International or Teen Age Music International) featured some of the biggest stars in rock and pop music, including The Rolling Stones, James Brown and the Flames, The Supremes, The Beach Boys and Lesley Gore. It was released in theaters in December 1964. October 31 – November 27, 1964: “Baby Love” by the Supremes #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
October 31 – December 4, 1964: Barbra Streisand’s People is the Billboard #1 album.
1964 #1 Singles Albums
November
November 1, 1964: Bob Marley’s Wailers first single, ‘Simmer Down‘, reached Number 1 in Jamaica’s JBC Radio Chart.
November 13, 1964: CBS TV shows a 50-minute documentary, “What’s Happening! The Beatles in the U.S.A.,” filmed by Albert Maysles, covering the Beatles U.S. tour and other activities that year.
November 23, 1964: The Beatles Story double LP is released by Capitol Records, billed as “a narrative and musical biography of Beatlemania on two long-play records.” The albums feature interviews, press conferences, and songs by the The Beatles. It was The Beatles’ fourth release by Capitol Records.
November 28 – December 4, 1964: “Leader of the Pack” by The Shangri-Las #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
1964 #1 Singles Albums
December
December 5 – 11, 1964: “Ringo” by Lorne Greene #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
December 5, 1964 – January 1, 1965: The Beach Boys Beach Boys Concert the Billboard #1 album.
December 11, 1964: Sam Cooke killed under mysterious circumstances in Los Angeles.
December 12 – 18, 1964: “Mr Lonely” by Bobby Vinton #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
December 15, 1964: Beatles ’65 released. In two weeks it became the 9th biggest selling album of 1964.
December 19 – 25, 1964: “Come See About Me” by the Supremes #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, their third consecutive release that went to #1.
December 26, 1964 – Jan 15, 1965, The Beatles’: their first year on the Billboard Hot 100 charts ends with “I Feel Fine” at #1—their 6th.
From Theresa Carmela Kelly: Not mentioned because it only reached Number 2 on the Billboard chart, “Louie Louie” by the Kingsmen was a recording phenomenon in December of this year. The rumor of naughty lyrics and its loose vibe made “Louie Louie” popular, but it was also noteworthy because it engendered a line dance called The Waddle. The jazzy moves of the Waddle foreshadowed the new social dancing that would replace swing.