1964 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1964.

 File:Julian Bream 1964.JPG

## Specific locations

* 1964 in British music
* 1964 in Norwegian music

## Specific genres

* 1964 in country music
* 1964 in jazz

## Events

* January 1 – The first episode of the long-running weekly pop music show *Top of the Pops* airs on BBC TV in the U.K. The first programme is produced in Manchester and the first two acts featured are Dusty Springfield with "I Only Want to Be with You" and The Rolling Stones with "I Wanna Be Your Man".
* January 3 – Footage of the Beatles performing a concert in Bournemouth, England, is shown on *The Jack Paar Show* in the U.S.
* January 10 – *Introducing... The Beatles*, the first album by The Beatles to be released in the United States, comes out on Chicago's Vee-Jay Records, preceding Capitol Records' release of *Meet the Beatles!*, scheduled for January 20.
* January 13 – Bob Dylan's *The Times They Are a-Changin'* is released on Columbia Records.
* January 15 – Vee Jay Records files a lawsuit against Capitol Records and Swan Records over manufacturing and distribution rights to Beatles albums on the U.S. On April 9, Capitol Records is granted an injunction restraining Vee Jay Records from further manufacturing, distributing or advertising recordings by the Beatles.
* January 18 – The Beatles appear on the *Billboard magazine* charts in the U.S. for the first time.

 File:The Beatles arrive at JFK Airport.jpg
* January 25 – The late John F. Kennedy becomes the first President credited with a Top 10 album after Dickie Goodman releases *John F. Kennedy: The Presidential Years 1960–1963*. The following week a second album credited to the late President would also hit the Top 10, giving Kennedy two posthumous albums simultaneously in the Top 10.
* February 1 – Indiana Governor Matthew E. Welsh declares the 1963 recording of "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen pornographic. He requests that the Indiana Broadcasters Association ban the record. Governor Welsh claims that hearing the song made his "ears tingle." Publisher Max Firetag offers $1,000 to anyone that can find anything "suggestive" in the song's lyrics and there are no prosecutions. The FBI's investigation is hampered by it finding the lyrics nearly unintelligible.
* February 7 – The Beatles arrive in the United States and are greeted by thousands of screaming fans at New York's Kennedy Airport.
* February 9 – The Beatles perform on *The Ed Sullivan Show*, which breaks television ratings records.
* February 12 – Anna Moffo collapses onstage at Covent Garden in the first act of *Rigoletto*, and her part is taken over, after a delay of 45 minutes, by Welsh soprano Elizabeth Vaughan.
* February 16 – The Beatles again appear on *The Ed Sullivan Show*.
* February 22 – Plácido Domingo makes his international breakthrough at the première of Ginastera's *Don Rodrigo* in New York City.
* February 23
	+ The Beatles again appear on *The Ed Sullivan Show*.
	+ João Carlos Martins suddenly breaks off a performance in the middle of the second movement of Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra at Birmingham Town Hall due to an attack of appendicitis.
* March 1
	+ Capitol Records is bombarded with requests for heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay's album, *I Am the Greatest*, following Clay's defeat of Sonny Liston on February 25 and his announcement two days later that he has converted to Islam. (On March 6 will come the announcement that he would adopt the name Muhammad Ali.)
	+ American premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen's *Momente*, by Martina Arroyo (soprano), the Crane Collegiate Singers of SUNY Potsdam (Brock McElheran, chorus master), and members of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (Lukas Foss, music director), conducted by the composer, in Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, New York.
* March 6 – Elvis Presley's 14th motion picture, *Kissin' Cousins* is released to theaters.
* March 14 – *Billboard* magazine reports that sales of Beatles records make up 60% of the entire singles market.
* March 16 – Disc jockey Alan Freed is charged with tax evasion in the U.S.
* March 21 – Italy wins the 9th Eurovision Song Contest, held in the Tivoli Concert Hall, Copenhagen, with the song *"Non ho l'età"*, sung by 16-year-old Gigliola Cinquetti.
* March 24 – John Lennon's first book, *In His Own Write* is published.
* March 27 – The Beatles occupy the top six spots on the Australian pop chart.
* March 28 – Wax likenesses of The Beatles are put on display in London's Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. The Beatles are the first pop stars to be displayed at the museum.
* April – Drummer Keith Moon joins The Who.
* April 4 – The Beatles occupy all five top positions on Billboard's Hot 100 with their singles "Can't Buy Me Love", "Twist and Shout", "She Loves You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and "Please Please Me".
* April 11 – The Beatles hold 14 positions on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Previously, the highest number of concurrent singles by one artist on the Hot 100 was nine by Elvis Presley, December 19, 1956.
* April 16 – The Rolling Stones release their eponymous début album.
* May 2 – In the United States, *The Beatles' Second Album* climbs to the #1 spot on the LP charts in only its second week of release.
* May 12 – The 6th Annual Grammy Awards are held in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. Henry Mancini wins the most awards with four, including both Record of the Year and Song of the Year for the song "Days of Wine and Roses". Barbra Streisand's *The Barbra Streisand Album* wins Album of the Year, while Ward Swingle of The Swingle Singers wins Best New Artist.
* May 20 – Judy Garland makes headlines after a disastrous concert in Melbourne, Australia
* June
	+ During a performance at the Railway, Pete Townshend of The Who accidentally breaks the head of his guitar on the low ceiling above the stage. This incident marks the start of auto-destructive art by destroying guitars and drums on stage.
	+ Marianne Faithfull's singing career begins with the release of her single "As Tears Go By" written by members of The Rolling Stones.
* June 5 – The Rolling Stones start their first U.S. tour.
* July 3 – With their new manager Peter Meaden, The Who release their first single "Zoot Suit"/"I'm the Face" under the name *The High Numbers* in an attempt to appeal to a mod audience. It fails to reach the top 50 and the band reverts to calling themselves The Who.
* July 6 – The Beatles' first film, *A Hard Day's Night*, is released.
* July 10
	+ The album of *A Hard Day's Night* is released in the U.K. All tracks are written by Lennon and McCartney.
	+ More than 300 people are injured in Liverpool when a crowd of some 150,000 people welcome The Beatles back to their home city.
* August 2 – The wreckage of the plane piloted by Jim Reeves is found near Brentwood, Tennessee, 42 hours after it crashed. There are no survivors.
* August 4 – The Kinks release their iconic single "You Really Got Me".
* August 8 – Bob Dylan releases his fourth album, *Another Side of Bob Dylan*.
* August 17 – Indiana University Opera Theater presents *Turandot* at the New York World's Fair featuring newly retired Metropolitan Opera soprano Margaret Harshaw, a member of the voice faculty, in the title role.
* August 19 – The Beatles start their second visit to, and first nationwide tour of, the United States with a concert at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California, before more than 17,000 fans.
* August 22 – The Supremes reach #1 on the *Billboard* Hot 100 chart with the first of five successive number one hits, "Where Did Our Love Go".
* September 8 – The American premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen's *Originale* at Judson Hall in New York City is picketed by a group calling themselves Action Against Cultural Imperialism.
* September 16 – *Shindig!* premieres on ABC.
* September 21 – The China Conservatory of Music is established in Beijing.
* September 22 – *Fiddler on the Roof* opens on Broadway.
* October – Dr. Robert Moog demonstrates his prototype synthesizers.
* October 19 – Simon & Garfunkel release their debut album, *Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.*, their first for Columbia Records, which is a total flop at this time. After release of their second album, *Sounds of Silence*, in 1966, it hits #30 on the Billboard charts.
* October 24 – The Rolling Stones start their second US tour.
* October 25 – The Rolling Stones perform on *The Ed Sullivan Show* for the first time.
* October 29 – *The T.A.M.I. Show* is filmed.
* October 31 – The Supremes reach #1 on the *Billboard* Hot 100 chart with the second of five successive number one hits, "Baby Love".
* November – A deal with U.K. impresario W. H. Miller lands the Anita Kerr Quartette on Capitol Records for North America.
* December 11 – Sam Cooke is killed under mysterious circumstances in Los Angeles, California. Shortly thereafter, "A Change Is Gonna Come", a song considered by many to be his best, is released.
* December 19 – The Supremes reach #1 on the *Billboard* Hot 100 chart with the third of five successive number one hits, "Come See About Me".
* December 24 – The Beatles gain the Christmas number one in the United Kingdom for the second year running with *I Feel Fine*, which has topped the singles charts for the third week running. The Beatles have now had six number ones in the U.K. alone.
* date unknown
	+ Dalida is the first star to receive a Platinum Disc in Europe.
	+ 11-year-old Keith Green becomes the youngest person ever to sign a contract with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) after publishing, recording and releasing the song "The Way I Used to Be".
	+ The National Institute of Kathak Dance is established in New Delhi.
	+ Sonny and Cher begin performing together as "Caesar and Cleo".

## Bands formed

* *See Category:Musical groups established in 1964*

## Singles released

* A Holly Jolly Christmas Burl Ives

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