The texting shorthand term “smh” (“shakes my head”) didn’t exist in 1955 because texting didn’t exist in 1955.
But surely “smh” was invented for things like this: Today in 1955, CBS talent scout Arthur Godfrey made a signing decision between Elvis Presley and Pat Boone.
Godfrey chose Boone.
The Beatles had quite a schedule today in 1963. They drove from Liverpool to London through the night to appear on the BBC’s “Parade of the Pops,” which was on live at noon.
After their two songs, they drove back north another three hours to get to their evening performance at the Swimming Baths in Doncaster.
The number one song today in 1965:
The number one British single today in 1963:
The number one single today in 1970:
The number one British single today in 1976 replaced a single that had the title of the new number one in its lyrics:
Our first item comes from the Stupid Laws File: Today in 1956, Ohio youths younger than 18 were banned from dancing in public unless accompanied by an adult, the result of enforcing a law that dated back to 1931.
The number one single today in 1965:
The number one British single today in 1971 was the first number one by a singer from his previous group:
Today in 1977, Patti Smith broke a vertebra after falling off the stage at her concert in Tampa, Fla.
The number one British single today in 1957 was the same single as the previous week, though performed by a different act:
The number one British single today in 1958:
The number one album for the fifth consecutive week today in 1976 was “Chicago IX,” which was actually “Chicago’s Greatest Hits”:
John Lennon had three songs in the British top five, including number one, today in 1981, a month after his death:
Birthdays today begin with Ronnie Hawkins, whose band, the Hawks, was the precursor to The Band:
Jim Croce:
Rod Stewart:
Aynsley Dunbar played drums for a lot of acts:
Bob Lang of Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders:
Neal Smith played drums for Alice Cooper:
Donald Fagen of Steely Dan:
Pat Benatar:
Luci Martin of Chic:
Shawn Colvin:
Matt Roberts of Three Doors Down:
The number one single on both sides of the Atlantic today in 1957:
Today in 1964, NBC-TV’s Tonight show showed the first U.S. video of the Beatles:
Today in 1967, Beach Boy Carl Wilson got his draft notice, and declared he was a conscientious objector.
Today in 1969, Jimi Hendrix appeared on BBC’s Lulu show, and demonstrated the perils of live TV:
The number one single today in 1970:
The number one album for the fourth consecutive week today in 1976 was “Chicago IX,” which was actually “Chicago’s Greatest Hits”:
The number one single today in 1976 …
… 32 spots above this song:
The number one British single today in 1999:
Birthdays begin with Victor Borge. (Pop.)
George Martin produced all but one Beatles album …
… plus the theme to “Goldfinger” and the theme and soundtrack to “Live and Let Die” …
… and other songs:
Stephen Stills, of the Buffalo Springfield and Crosby Stills and Nash (and sometimes Young) …
… was born one year before John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin:
One death of note today in 2002: Fans of EMF probably found the news of the death of Zak Foley …
Today in 1963, the London Times’ music critics named John Lennon and Paul McCartney Outstanding Composers of 1963. Two days later, Sunday Times music critic Richard Buckle named Lennon and McCartney “the greatest composers since Beethoven.”
The number one album today in 1969 was “Led Zeppelin II” …
… the same day that the number one single was this group’s last:
The number one British album today in 1969 was the Rolling Stones’ “Let It Bleed”:
The number one British single today in 1980 came 12 days after its singer’s death:
The number one song today in 1986:
The number one album today in 1975 for the second consecutive week was “Chicago IX,” which was actually “Chicago’s Greatest Hits”:
Today in 1961, this was the first country song to sell more than $1 million:
The number one single today in 1962:
The number one single today in 1970 (which sounded like it had been recorded using 1770 technology):
The number one album today in 1975 was “Chicago IX,” which was actually “Chicago’s Greatest Hits”:
The number one song today in 1961:
A horrible irony today in 1964: A plane carrying all four members of the group Buddy and the Kings crashed, killing everyone on board. Buddy and the Kings was led by Harold Box, who replaced Buddy Holly with the Crickets after Holly died in a plane crash in 1959:
Today in 1976, Chicago had its first number one single, which some would consider the start of its downward slope to sappy ballads:
Steve Prestegard.com: The Presteblog 