Today in 1956, RCA records purchased a half-page ad in that week’s Billboard magazine claiming that Elvis Presley was …

Ordinarily, if you have to tell someone something like that, the ad probably doesn’t measure up to the standards of accuracy. This one time, the hype was accurate.

Today in 1960, Britain’s Record Retailer printed the country’s first Extended Play and LP chart. Number one on the EP chart:

The number one single today in 1962:

Today in 1964, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel recorded “The Sounds of Silence” with just acoustic guitars.

More than a year later, the song was released after producers added electric guitar, bass and drums without telling Simon and Garfunkel.

The number one album today in 1967 was “More of the Monkees”:

Today in 1973, Pink Floyd released “Dark Side of the Moon” in the U.S.

It was on the U.S. album charts for 740 weeks over 14 years.

The number one single today in 1979:

The number one single today in 1984:

Today in 2000, Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders was arrested for leading an animal rights protest in front of a Manhattan Gap store.

Birthdays begin with Dean Torrence of Jan and Dean:

Tom Scholz played guitar for Boston:

Bunny Debarge of Debarge:

Gary Clark sang for Danny Wilson:

Two Pearl Jam birthdays — bass player Jeff Ament and drummer Dave Krusen:

Edie Brickell of the New Bohemians, wife of the aforementioned Simon:

John Charles LeCompt played guitar for Evanescence:

One death of note today in 1988: Andy Gibb: