Category: Music

The number one song today in 1955:

The number one British song (which is not from Britain) today in 1964:

Today in 1971, John Lennon released his “Imagine” album:

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Today in 1975, one of the stranger episodes in rock music history ended when John Lennon got permanent resident status, his “green card.” The federal government, at the direction of Richard Nixon, tried to deport Lennon because of his 1968 British arrest for possession of marijuana. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that trying to deport Lennon on the basis of an arrest was “contrary to U.S. ideas of due process and was invalid as a means of banishing the former Beatle from America.”

The number one British single today in 1978 came from that day’s number one album:

The number one album today in 1989 was Tears for Fears’ “Seeds of Love”:

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The number one song today in 1970:

The number one song today in 1973:

Britain’s number one album today in 1984 was David Bowie’s “Tonight”:

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The number one song today in 1959 came from a German opera:

The number one  British song today in 1961:

The number one British song today in 1974 came from the movie “The Exorcist”:

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Today in 1957, the sixth annual New Music Express poll named Elvis Presley the second most popular singer in Great Britain behind … Pat Boone. That seems as unlikely as, say, Boone’s recording a heavy metal album.

The number one British song today in 1962, coming to you via satellite:

Britain’s number one album today in 1969 was the Beatles’ “Abbey Road”:

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We begin with this unusual event: Today in 1978, the members of Aerosmith bailed out 30 of their fans who were arrested at their concert in Fort Wayne, Ind., for smoking marijuana:

Britain’s number one single today in 1987:

Today in 1992 on NBC-TV’s “Saturday Night Live,” Sinead O’Connor torpedoed her own career:

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Today in 1953, Victor Borge’s “Comedy in Music” opened on Broadway, closing 849 performances later. (Pop.)

Today in 1960, Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs released “Stay,” which would become the shortest number one single of all time:

The number one single today in 1965:

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I present the number one single today in 1977 to demonstrate that popularity and quality are not always synonymous:

The number one single today in 1983:

Today in 2004, the Lord Mayor of Melbourne officially opened AC/DC Lane, named for the band, to the bagpipes from …

Birthdays begin with actor Richard Harris, who “sang” …

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The number one song today in 1957:

Today in 1967, bowing down to popular music, the BBC began its Radio 1:

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The number eight song today in 1958:

Today in 1967, the Beatles mixed “I Am the Walrus,” which combined three songs John Lennon had been writing. The song includes the sounds of a radio going up and down the dial, ending at a BBC presentation of William Shakespeare’s “King Lear.” Lennon had read that a teacher at his primary school was having his students analyze Beatles lyrics, Lennon reportedly added one nonsensical verse, although arguably none of the verses make much sense:

The number 33 single today in 1973 …

… 32 slots behind number one:

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