Brian Epstein saw The Beatles playing live for the first time during a lunchtime session at The Cavern Liverpool. Epstein went on to be the group’s manager. That night they appeared at Litherland Town Hall in Liverpool.
The first Beatles recording session took place at EMI studios. The group recorded four tracks, one of which was ‘Love Me Do’ the four musicians received payments for the session of £7.10 ($12.07) each.
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.
According to the “Paul Is Dead” rumors, this was the day Paul McCartney “blew his mind out in a car,” meeting his doom and being replaced with a lookalike.
The Beatles filmed three promotional films for their new single ‘Hello Goodbye’ at the Saville Theatre in London. Each of the three film clips featured different costumes and Beatle antics. In the first film they wear their Sgt. Pepper uniforms, for the second The Beatles are wearing everyday clothes, the third film clip features shots from the first two films, plus additional shots of (especially John) doing the twist. A Musician’s Union ban on lip-sync broadcasts prevented the films being used on British television.
The first issue of Rolling Stone Magazine was published in San Francisco. It featured a photo of John Lennon on the cover, dressed in army fatigues while acting in his recent film, How I Won the War and the first issue had a free roach clip to hold a marijuana joint. The name of the magazine was compiled from three significant sources: the Muddy Waters song, the first rock ‘n’ roll record by Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announces the biggest-selling artists of the century in the United States: The Beatles have sold the most albums (106 million), Garth Brooks is the best-selling male solo act, and Barbra Streisand the best-selling female. Elton John’s 1997 “Candle In The Wind” is the best-selling single of the century, and the best-selling album is the Eagles’ Greatest Hits 1971-1975.
A 1976 Rolling Stones album bought for £2 at a car boot sale sold for £4,000 at an auction. The ‘Black and Blue’ LP was signed by John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Paul and Linda McCartney and George Harrison as well as members of the Rolling Stones. The seller obtained the album after haggling the cost down from £3.
Scottish session drummer Andy White died aged 82. He was affectionately christened “the fifth Beatle” as he was best known for replacing Ringo Starr on drums on the The Beatles’ first single, ‘Love Me Do’. White was featured on the American 7″ single release of the song, which also appeared on the band’s debut British album, Please Please Me. He also played on ‘P.S. I Love You’, which was the B-side of ‘Love Me Do’. White also worked with Chuck Berry, Billy Fury, Herman’s Hermits and Tom Jones.