The first Beatles Monthly was published. A magazine devoted to the group, it continued for 77 editions until 1969 and at its peak was selling over 350,000 copies a month.
The Beatles scored their fifth US No.1 single in seven months when ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ went to the top of the charts. The group had now spent seventeen weeks at the No.1 position in this year.
It’s the heyday of the harmonica, as the industry publication Billboard points out that The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder have all had hits with the instrument.
The Beatles appear on ‘Blackpool Night Out’. It is hosted by Mike and Bernie Winters. Also appearing are Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson, along with dancer Lionel Blair.
Beach Boy Brian Wilson finished recording the future classic song ‘Good Vibrations’, which went on to become the band’s third US number-one hit. As a child, his mother told him that dogs could pick up “vibrations” from people, so that the dog would bark at “bad vibrations” Wilson turned this into the general idea for the song.
George and Pattie fly to Los Angeles. They lease a house on Blue Jay Way. George visits with Ravi Shankar where he gets Sitar lessons. George later visits San Francisco where he wanders around Haight-Ashbury.
The Concert For Bangladesh organised by George Harrison to aid victims of famine and war in Bangladesh took place at New York’s Madison Sq Garden. Featuring Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, Ravi Shankar and members from Badfinger. Harrison had to shell out his own money to maintain the fund after legal problems froze all proceeds. The triple album release (the second in a row by Harrison), hit No.1 in the UK and No.2 in the US and received the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
George Harrison forms a movie production company called Handmade Films, which produces the films Monty Python’s Life of Brian, The Long Good Friday, Time Bandits, and Shanghai Surprise.