Bobby Goldsboro records the sweet song "Honey". ░Screamin' Jay Hawkins tones down his ranting to release his first pop hit, "I Put A Spell On You". ñBarbra Streisand's "Evergreen" from "A Star Is Born" wins an Oscar for best song. ╕Lisa Stansfield from north of London becomes rock's hottest soul tripper. ╞"I'm Easy", from Robert Altman's film "Nashville", wins an Oscar for Best Song. ╖The Kingston Trio's "Tom Dooley" makes music history by reviving an interest in folk music. ªToto has a couple of big hits from their "Toto IV" album, including "Rosanna" and "Africa". ╛Twenty years after Roy Orbison makes "Crying" a hit, Don McLean does the same. ╜The Police, with lead singer Sting (born Gordon Sumner), first make the Top 40 chart with Roxanne. ╗Miss Kate Smith, popular singer of "God Bless America", dies at age 79. ┬Disco singer Donna Summer struts into the Top 10 with "Last Dance" from the film "Thank God, It's Friday". ║Roy Orbison has his second #1 hit, "Oh, Pretty Woman". ¼The song "Eye Of The Tiger" is introduced in the film "Rocky III". ╛Simon & Garfunkel are #1 on Billboard's pop charts for six weeks with "Bridge Over Troubled Water". ▓Reggae king Bob Marley is wounded in an assassination attempt. ╕Sweden's top group Abba gets their first U.S. hit with "Waterloo". ╢The tune "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" is introduced on TV's hit show "Cheers". ╛The Academy Award-winning "Theme from Shaft" reaches #1 on the Billboard charts for Isaac Hayes. │Stones fans cringe when they realize rock star Mick Jagger is 40. ┐The LP "Frampton Comes Alive" turns Peter Frampton into an instant superstar. ╕"A Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy" is the Kinks' first Top 40 hit in eight years. ║Future sausage-promoter Jimmy Dean has a hit with the #1 "Big Bad John". ⌐The Kent State killings prompt Neil Young to write "Ohio", a Top 20 hit for Crosby ,Stills, Nash & Young. ▓Carole King scores a gold record with "It's Too Late" and wins four Grammy Awards all in the same year. │James Taylor plays a concert at the Radio City Music Hall and announces he has just married Carly Simon. ┤"The Entertainer", a ragtime song from the film "The Sting", becomes a million-seller for Marvin Hamlisch. ╢Divorcee Tammy Wynette has her first big hit, the Grammy-winning "Stand By Your Man". ▒"Princess" Grace Kelly releases her only record, "True Love", a duet with Bing Crosby from "High Society". ñIt's no great pretense when The Platters hit #1 with "The Great Pretender". ñIn order to raise funds for his defense, Charles Manson releases an album entitled "Lie". ▓The Penguins lend their soulful doo-wop skills to "Earth Angel", winging up to #8 on the charts. úHow sweet it is for Sammy Davis, Jr. when "The Candy Man becomes a #1 hit and a gold record. ┤Tenor Placido Domingo uses his commanding stage presence in his debut as conductor at the Met. └Henry Mancini creates the whimsical, sly soundtrack that will become the signature of "The Pink Panther". ¼Billy Joel begins a concert tour in the Soviet Union, the best-known U.S. pop star to do so. ├Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, and Frank Sinatra reunite the "Rat Pack" for a nationwide tour. ─Sheena Easton's "Morning Train" is a #1 tune the same year she earns the Best New Artist Grammy. ╜Music legend Irving Berlin dies at age 101, leaving America a legacy of song. ┼"Soldier Boy", by the Shirelles, fights its way to the top of the pop chart. ¬The Crests ride a high wave when they hit #2 with "Sixteen Candles". ºThe music of The Doors has a revival with the release of Oliver Stone's rock film, "The Doors". ╟"The Cover Of 'Rolling Stone'" becomes reality for Dr. Hook and The Medicine Show when they appear there. ╡"Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees stays at #1 for four weeks. ║Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, jazz trumpeter and singer, dies in New York at age 71. │Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, and Donny Osmond have a million seller with their first record "One Bad Apple". │Blues artist Robert Cray has a hit song with "Smoking Gun", from his album "Strong Persuader". ┬The Fleetwoods, formerly Two Guys and a Girl, hit #1 with "Come Softly To Me" and "Mr. Blue". º"Tennessee" Ernie Ford's "Sixteen Tons" is a heavy hit on the charts when it weighs in at #1. úPatti Page asks the right question when "How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?" scores a hit. íBobby Brown's "Don't Be Cruel" takes honors as Billboard's Top Pop Album of the Year. ┼Gazing upward, the Elegants harmoniously call out, "Where Are You, Little Star?". ªTina Turner earns her first #1 record as a solo performer with "What's Love Got To Do With It". └The melodramatic "Leader Of The Pack", by the Shangri-Las, reaches #1 on the pop charts. ¼The disco group Village People earns its first gold record with "Macho Man". ║"Flying", the theme from "E.T.", wins the Best Instrumental Composition Grammy. ╛John Lennon and The Plastic Ono Band's "Imagine" enters the Billboard Hot 100 at #20. │Simon & Garfunkel tell Mrs. Robinson, "Jesus loves you more than you will know". ░Alvin, Theodore and Simon, with David Seville, make recording history with "The Chipmunk Song". ª"The Man of La Mancha" follows a quest, dreams impossible dreams, and wins a Tony Award. «Arlo Guthrie sings the disappearing railroad blues in his only Top 40 hit, "The City Of New Orleans". ┤Known for her hit "I Am Woman", singer Helen Reddy files for divorce from her husband of 12 years. ╜"Mandy" goes all the way to #1 for Barry Manilow. ╖ ╟Twenty years after Sonny & Cher sing "I Got You Babe", Chrissie Hynde does the remake with UB40. ┴Gordon Lightfoot's song is revived when the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is found in Lake Superior. ┼The Big Bopper takes a back seat doing backup chants on Johnny Preston's chart-hitter, "Running Bear". º"Lay Down Sally" sells over one million records for Eric Clapton. ║"The Girl from Ipanema" wins a Best Record of the Year Grammy Award for Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto. ¼Stevie Wonder sings an anthem to love in his chart-topping single "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life". ╡Paul McCartney and George Harrison attend Ringo Starr's and Barbara Bach's wedding celebration. ╜Graham Nash quits the Hollies to form a trio with David Crosby and Stephen Stills. ░"Do They Know It's Christmas?" is released, with proceeds going to aid Ethiopia. └John Lennon and Yoko Ono marry in Gibralter on March 20th and honeymoon in Paris. ▒Singer Teddy Pendergrass is paralyzed from the waist down by injuries suffered in a car crash. ╛Christopher Cross takes the Grammy Award for this year's Best Record with "Sailing". ╝Younger brother of the Bee Gees, Andy Gibb, a pop star in his own right, dies at age 30. ─John Denver has two #1 hits in the same year with "Sunshine On My Shoulders" and "Annie's Song". ╢Eric Clapton's "I Shot The Sheriff" shoots to #1 and a gold record. ╢The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band immortalizes tap dancer Bill Pobinson in their Top 10 single "Mr. Bojangles". │Judy Garland records "Live at the London Palladium" with daughter Liza Minelli. ¡The film "Back to the Future" helps popularize Huey Lewis' tune "The Power of Love". ┴Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention release "Freak Out", describing the effects of LSD. «"Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls" both go platinum in the same year for Donna Summer. ╗Teenage singer Tiffany goes out on tour---to 14 shopping malls. ├"Dangerous" is Michael Jackson's first release since his chart-busting album, "Bad". ╟Martha Quinn first begins her job as a video jockey on MTV. ╜Protest singer Woody Githrie first records "This Land Is Your Land". ñ ╟Already known in Great Britain, Sade's tune, "Smooth Operator", becomes a U.S. hit. ┴Whitney Houston's cousin, Dionne Warwick, records the hit, "Do You Know The Way To San José". ░Andy Williams makes the public an offer they can't refuse with "Love Theme From The Godfather". ┤The Byrds' electric version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" hits #1. ¡In a landslide victory, Sonny Bono is elected Mayor of Palm Springs, California. ─"Ramblin' Man", the Allman Brothers first Top 40 single, rambles all the way to #2 on the charts. ╡Kenny Rogers scores a gold record with "Lucille" --- who picks a fine time to leave him. ╣Lip-synch experts Milli Vanilli lose their Grammy because its not their voices on the records. ╞Little Anthony and the Imperials cry all the way to the bank with their hit, "Tears On My Pillow". ªC.W. McCall's "Convoy" helps start a CB radio craze, and that's a 10-4, good buddy. ╕"Rikki Don't Lose That Number" finds the #4 position on the charts for Steely Dan. ╢"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", by the Eurythmics, reaches its popularity peak. ┐All summer long teens dance slow to dreamy vocals like The Five Satins' "In The Still Of The Nite". ñIron Butterfly's 17-minute "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida" has one of the longest drum solos in rock history. ░"Suspicious Minds" becomes Elvis' first #1 record in over seven years---and also his last. ▒"You're The One That I Want" from the film "Grease" hits #1 for John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. ║Fabian really turns into a teen heartthrob as "Turn Me Loose" hits the charts. º"Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" becomes #1 with lyrics like, "comma, comma, down-doo-be-doo-down down". ¬Using a megaphone, The New Vaudeville Band records the hit "Winchester Cathedral". «Even though "Johnny Angel" tops the charts, TV star Shelley Fabares doubts her singing ability. ¬Barbra Streisand sings in public after a six-year hiatus. ┬Otis Redding records "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" three days before he is killed in a plane crash. »Jazz musician Stan Kenton dies at age 67. ╗Singer Bobby Darin, born Walden Robert Cassotto in the Bronx, marries actress Sandra Dee. ¿"Hanky Panky" is released; Tommy James will later reveal he was ashamed of the juvenile hit song. «The dance-oriented "Heart Of Glass" becomes Blondie's first gold record. ╗Cass Elliot, better known as Mama Cass, dies tragically in London at the age of 32. ╢The Orioles reach the charts with their top-selling hit, "Crying In The Chapel". í"He's So Fine" tops the charts; its similarity to "My Sweet Lord" will later prompt a lawsuit. ½Bob Dylan foils bootleggers by releasing his own 58-song "Bootleg Series" of prized demos and outtakes. ╟The Rays shine at #3 with "Silhouettes", their only hit. ÑThe Shirelles become the first female group to have a #1 single, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow". ⌐The birth of son Sean is John Lennon's best 35th birthday present. ╖George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Yoko Ono file an $8.6 million lawsuit against Paul McCartney. ┴Petula Clark, who began as Britain's answer to Shirley Temple, has the #1 hit, "Downtown". ¡Bill Haley's "Rock Around The Clock", rock 'n' roll's signature song, hits #1 on the Billboard charts. úImmortal jazz singer Billie Holiday dies prematurely. º"Yesterday" becomes the first solo vocal hit for Beatle Paul McCartney. ¡"Sexual Healing" earns Marvin Gaye two Grammy Awards---his first ever. ╛Some 400,000 people are feelin' groovy at Simon and Garfunkel's Central Park reunion. ╜After Steve Lawrence's army discharge, he and wife Eydie Gorme form a nightclub act. ¿Paul McCartney and his band Wings cancel an 11-concert tour after he is arrested in Tokyo. ╝Texan Van Cliburn wins the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow at age 23. ªRay Charles has his first million seller with "What'd I Say". ºBeethoven's 5th Symphony is the oldest melody to be #1 thanks to the disco hit "A Fifth Of Beethoven". ╕Chuck Berry "duck-walks" to fame with his first big hit, "Maybellene". úThe Talking Heads burn up the charts when "Burning Down The House" enters the Top 10. ┐Willie Nelson revives "City Of New Orleans" which wins the Grammy for Country Song of the Year. └Folk fans are enraged when Bob Dylan publicly performs electric music for the first time. ¡Paul Vance has a big kit when he writes "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polkadot Bikini". ¿A "palimony" suit is filed against pianist-entertainer Liberace by Scott Thorson. ╛Aretha Franklin gets much deserved "Respect" when she releases the hit single. »Six months after first meeting, Julianne Phillips and Bruce Springsteen marry. ┴Frank Sinatra, "The Voice" of the '40s, has a Top 10 hit with "(Love Is) The Tender Trap". ñThe Beatles perform in public for the first time---in a West German nightclub. ¿"Wild Thing" makes everything groovy for The Troggs when it becomes #1. «"Up Where We Belong", sung by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes, wins an Academy Award for Best Song. ╛"Hello Mudduh, hello Fadduh! Here I am at Camp Granada", sings Allan Sherman. ½"Hey Jude" is the first record released on the Beatles own Apple label. ░Whitney Houston's first album, featuring the hit song "Savung All My Love For You", is released. ┴Foreigner has no trouble seeing the way to #2 on the charts with "Double Vision". ║J.P. Richardson, alias The Big Bopper, hits with "Chantilly Lace" before perishing in a plane crash. ªThe multi-faceted singer singer/songwriter Neil Diamond releases his early hit "Solitary Man". «Cher's solo million seller is "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)"; it could later be Sonny's anthem. «Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, and George Harrison form The Traveling Wilburys. ─Filled with disco tunes, Madonna's first album, "Madonna", is released on Sire Records. ┐The Rolling Stones perform at Altamont where a fan is killed, allegedly by a Hell's Angel. ▒The McGuire Sisters, squeaky clean and pretty, hit the charts with their harmonious "Sincerely". úDon McLean laments the death of Buddy Holly as "the day the music died" in his #1 hit "American Pie". ┤Fireworks set Michael Jackson's hair on fire during the filming of a Pepsi-Cola commercial. └Her record producers have no regrets when 15-year-old Brenda Lee makes "I'm Sorry" #1. ¿The Everly Brothers split up when Phil storms off the stage at a concert at Knott's Berry Farm. ╡Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" becomes Motown's second longest running #1 hit. ░America rides all the way to #1 on "A Horse With No Name". ┤The family group The Cowsills chart their first hit single, "The Rain, The Park, And Other Things". »"Let's Stay Together" gives soul singer Al Green his first chart topper when it hits #1. ┤Elton John's first U.S. album is released containing the hit single "Your Song". ▓The Eagles have their last #1 hit before their breakup, "Heartache Tonight". ╗Fans commemorate the 10th anniversary of Elvis' death with a week of events in Memphis. ├A young unknown Gogi Grant has a big hit in the easy-listening "The Wayward Wind". ñFrank Sinatra makes his singing comeback, hitting the top of the charts with "Young At Heart". óRay Charles adopts a country-western sound and records Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia On My Mind". ¿Sergeant Barry Sadler records a tribute to his fellow soldiers, "The Ballad Of The Green Berets". «Diana Ross and Lionel Richie's "Endless Love" goes platinum---that's a 2 million seller. ╜Bruce Springsteen is so popular he is featured on the covers of both Time and Newsweek this year. ╖Ricky Nelson releases his first single, "A Teenager's Romance", at age 16. ÑU2, the Irish Band, releases its "Joshua Tree" album. ├"Vincent", Don McLean's poignant tribute to artist Vincent Van Gogh, climbs to #12 on the charts. ┤Sinatra is back on the charts when "Strangers In The Night" hits #1. «Sammy Davis, Jr., "Mr. Entertainment", records his theme song, "I've Got To Be Me". ░Paul Revere and the Raiders gain national attention by becoming TV regulars on "Where The Action Is". ¡With her first LP, Tracy Chapman has one of the best-selling albums of the year. ─Diana Ross and Arne Naess, Norwegian shipping magnate, marry in Switzerland's oldest church. ┬Blues singer Joe Cocker causes a sensation with the release of "With A Little Help From My Friends". ░Mark Dinning's "Teen Angel"---about a girl crushed in her by a train---is a sample of "Death Rock". ºRupert Holmes has the right mix when "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" makes it to #1. ╗Rock fans are all ears for the Doobie Brothers' first Top 20 hit "Listen To The Music". ┤The Kinks have a controversial hit record in "Lola", a song about a transvestite. ▓Rap group 2 Live Crew tells it their way and gets banned in Florida. ╞Columbia Records is flooded with requests for Cassius Clay's album, "I Am The Greatest". ¼Recordings of legendary blues and folk singer Leadbelly are released four years after his death. í"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" marches into the Top 10 for Bette Midler. ╡Peter, Paul and Mary win a Best Vocal Group Grammy Award for "If I Had A Hammer". ¬The Royal Teens enjoy their only Top 10 hit with the novelty tune, "Short Shorts". ª"Love Letters In The Sand" holds the #1 spot for seven weeks to become Pat Boone's biggest hit. ÑBig Band singer Peggy Lee entrances pop-tune lovers with her sultry hit, "Fever". ªCarole King discovers her babysitter can sing, and has Little Eva record "The Loco-Motion". ¬The Cars get their first Top 40 hit with the single "Just What I Needed". ║After 27 months of marriage, Madonna sues Sean Penn for divorce. ├After an eight-year relationship, Elvis Preley and Priscilla Beaulieu marry on May 1st. »
