1964 in music

See also:

Events

• January 1 - Top of the Pops premieres on BBC television.
• January 3 - Footage of the Beatles performing a concert in Bournemouth, England is shown on The Jack Paar Show.
• January 15 - Vee Jay Records files a lawsuit against Capitol Records and Swan Records over manufacturing and distribution rights to Beatles albums. On April 9, Capitol Records is granted an injuction restraining Vee Jay Records from further manufacturing, distributing or advertising recordings by the Beatles.
• January 18 - The Beatles appear on the Billboard magazine charts for the first time.
• February 1 - Indiana Governor Matthew E. Welsh declares the song "Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen pornographic. He requests that the Indiana Broadcasters Association ban the record. Governor Welsh claimed that his "ears tingle" when he heard the song. Publisher Max Firetag offers $1,000 to anyone that can find anything "suggestive" in the song's lyrics.
• 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 16 - The Beatles appear on the Ed Sullivan show.
• February 23 - The Beatles appear on the Ed Sullivan show.
• March - 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 in February.
• March 6 - Elvis Presley's 14th motion picture, Kissin' Cousins is released to theaters.
• March 14 - Billboard Magazine reports that sales of Beatle records make up 60% of the entire singles market.
• March 16 - Disc jockey Alan Freed is charged with tax evasion.
• March 21 - For the first time in history, all Top Ten singles on the U.K. chart are by British acts.
• 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 Tussaud's Wax Museum. The Beatles are the first pop stars to be displayed at the museum.
• April 4 - The Beatles occupied all five top positions on Billboard's Top Pop Singles chart 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 26 - The Rolling Stones release their eponymous debut 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, making it the first album ever to reach #1 that quickly.
• July 31 - Country singer Jim Reeves dies in an airplane crash near Nashville.
• September 16 - Shindig! premieres on ABC.
• September 22 - Fiddler on the Roof opens on Broadway.
• October 19 - Simon and Garfunkel release Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., which is initially a total flop upon first release. After release of their second album, Sounds of Silence, in 1966, it hits #30 on the Billboard charts.
• Simon and Garfunkel form to record for Columbia Records, marking first time that ethnic names are used in pop music.
• 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".
• Frank Zappa's musical career begins.
• Phil Ochs' musical career begins.
• Marianne Faithfull's musical career begins.
• Sonny and Cher begin performing together.
• MC5 forms.
• The Mamas & the Papas form.