Today In Music History
Important events in music history for the month of June.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| June 1, 1968 | Simon And Garfunkel's hit song 'Mrs Robinson,' featured in the Dustin Hoffman and Ann Bancroft film 'The Graduate,' reaches number 1 on the US Singles chart. |
| June 1, 1974 | New Musical Express in the UK publishes its list of the 100 Greatest Albums. The Top 3: #3: The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds #2: Bob Dylan's Blonde On Blonde #1: The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band. |
| June 1, 2008 | A fire at Universal Studios Hollywood destroys thousands of master tapes by Joni Mitchell, Elton John, B.B. King, Neil Diamond, Nirvana and Eminem. The extent of the loss is not revealed until years later. |
| June 2, 1962 | Ray Charles' "I Can't Stop Loving You" hits #1 for the first of five weeks. |
| June 2, 1977 | Wings performs in Seattle in front of 67,100 fans, breaking a new world record for the largest indoor crowd ever. |
| June 2, 1979 | With 'Hot Stuff,' Donna Summer began a three-week reign at the top of the US singles chart. |
| June 3, 1967 | Aretha Franklin's "Respect" hits #1 in America. The song was written and originally recorded by Otis Redding, whose version hit #35 in 1965. |
| June 3, 1992 | While campaigning for US president, Arkansas governor Bill Clinton, makes a stop at The Arsenio Hall Show, where he plays Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel" on the saxophone to a cheering audience. |
| June 3, 1995 | Bryan Adams' 'Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman,' which was included in the film 'Don Juan De Marco,' began a five-week run at No. 1 on the US singles chart. |
| June 4, 1965 | The Beach Boys finished recording the song "California Girls" from their album Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!). Brian Wilson started producing the song on April 6 after he conceived the song while he was coming down from his first acid trip |
| June 4, 1970 | Just one month after the Kent State Shootings, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young release "Ohio," a song about the tragedy. |
| June 4, 1984 | Bruce Springsteen releases the album 'Born In The USA,' which becomes the best-selling album in the United States in 1985. |
| June 4, 1986 | The first of a six-date Conspiracy of Hope tour is held at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. The concerts benefit Amnesty International and headlined by U2 and Sting, and also feature Bryan Adams, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Joan Baez, and The Neville Brothers. |
| June 5, 1956 | Elvis Presley sings his legendary performance of "Hound Dog" on the "Milton Berle Show." The titular, fictitious character of the movie "Forrest Gump" later takes credit for teaching Elvis how to gyrate his pelvis. |
| June 5, 1970 | Bob Dylan records "If Dogs Run Free," "Went To See The Gypsy," "What It's All About." |
| June 5, 1983 | U2 play Red Rocks amphitheater in Colorado. Despite rain, the concert is intimate and energetic; it is later released as a concert film called Under a Blood Red Sky. |
| June 6, 1960 | Roy Orbison releases "Only The Lonely." And Bruce Springsteen and the rest of us have a champion to get us through. |
| June 6, 1962 | At the Abbey Road studios, the first Beatles recording session was held. |
| June 6, 1982 | The "Peace Sunday: We Have a Dream" concert takes place in Los Angeles, featuring Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne and Stevie Wonder. 85,000 attend the show, which supports nuclear disarmament. |
| June 7, 1970 | At the Fillmore East in New York City Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young play Graham Nash's new song "Simple Man," written about his breakup with Joni Mitchell the day before. The show is broadcast live on WNEW-FM and later released as the album Fillmore East 1970. |
| June 7, 1976 | New York magazine runs a cover story called "Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night," describing the disco-fueled nightclub scene. The article gives Bee Gees manager Robert Stigwood the idea for Saturday Night Fever. |
| June 7, 1979 | At the request of President Carter, Chuck Berry performed at the White House. |
| June 7, 1993 | In retaliation against Warner Brothers for a contract negotiation which he felt was unfair, Prince changes his name to an unpronounceable symbol (Ƭ̵̬̊) |
| June 7, 1993 | The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, was inaugurated with a groundbreaking ceremony. |
| June 7, 2014 | Almost 105,000 people attended George Strait's last concert at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, setting the record for the largest attendance ever at a North American indoor concert. |
| June 8, 1984 | Guitarist Derek Trucks is born in Jacksonville, Florida. After forming The Derek Trucks Band, he joins The Allman Brothers Band from 1999-2014 alongside his uncle, drummer Butch Trucks. |
| June 8, 1985 | Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" hits #1 in the US for the first of two weeks. |
| June 8, 2000 | Sinead O'Connor came out as a lesbian in an article that was later published in the July-August 2000 issue of "Curve." |
| June 9, 1971 | Paul McCartney's second solo album, Ram, is certified Gold. |
| June 9, 1972 | After several years playing the New Jersey bar scene, Bruce Springsteen signs with Columbia Records and begins recording his first album, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. |
| June 9, 1994 | Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes (TLC) set fire to the house of her boyfriend, Andre Rison, an Atlanta Falcons player. |
| June 10, 1966 | The first recording sessions for The Monkees' debut album began, with almost all of the instruments being played by the Wrecking Crew, a group of studio session musicians. |
| June 10, 1967 | Outdoor rock: California's Magic Mountain Music Festival, considered the first rock music festival, features Jefferson Airplane, The Doors and The Byrds. The crowd of 15,000 is dwarfed by the 200,000 at the Monterey Pop Festival the following weekend. |
| June 10, 1967 | Outdoor rock: California's Magic Mountain Music Festival, considered the first rock music festival, features Jefferson Airplane, The Doors and The Byrds. The crowd of 15,000 is dwarfed by the 200,000 at the Monterey Pop Festival the following weekend. |
| June 11, 1960 | Tommy Moore, the band's drummer, made the regrettable choice to leave The Beatles and return to his job as a forklift driver at Garston Bottle Works. |
| June 11, 1966 | Donovan becomes the first rock star busted for drugs by the newly vigilant London drug squad. |
| June 11, 1988 | Peter Gabriel, Sting, Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder, rock the stage at the Free Nelson Mandela Concert at Wembley Stadium in London. |
| June 11, 1990 | 2 Live Crew's Luther Campbell and Christopher Wongwon were arrested on obscenity charges in Hollywood, FL, after performing songs in concert from the album "As Nasty As They Wanna Be." |
| June 12, 1965 | 'Back In My Arms Again' hits the top of the charts, making the Supremes' the first American group to have five consecutive US No. 1 singles. |
| June 12, 1965 | The Supremes' "Back in My Arms Again" hits #1 in America, giving them five consecutive chart-toppers. |
| June 12, 1982 | “No Nukes Concert” brings750,000 people to New York's Central Park for the Rally for Nuclear Disarmament, which features Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt and Gary "U.S." Bonds. |
| June 13, 1964 | The Rolling Stones make a television appearance on "Hollywood Palace" hosted by Dean Martin. |
| June 13, 1969 | At a press conference in London, Mick Taylor is introduced as the new guitarist of The Rolling Stones, replacing founding member Brian Jones. |
| June 13, 1995 | Alanis Morissette's studio album, "Jagged Little Pill," is released, which would go on to become the first record by a female Canadian to reach number one in the United States. |
| June 14, 1966 | Deeming its "butcher cover" in poor taste, Capitol Records recalls the new Beatles album, "Yesterday and Today". It’s scheduled for release the next day and has already been sent to stores. |
| June 14, 1984 | On his 23rd birthday, a model of Boy George from Culture Club was introduced at Madame Tussaud's Waxworks in London, England. |
| June 15, 1933 | Country music singer, songwriter, and musician Waylon Jennings was born. |
| June 15, 1966 | Peter Green leaves John Mayall's Bluesbreakers to form Fleetwood Mac. He hires Mick Fleetwood, but it takes John McVie four months to leave The Bluesbreakers and join the band named after him. |
| June 15, 1999 | After a seven-year recording hiatus, Santana releases the album "Supernatural," which goes to #1 thanks to hit singles like "Smooth," and "Put Your Lights On." "Smooth" set the Guiness World Record for longest gap between first chart entry - 'Jingle' in October 1969 - and first #1 - 'Smooth' in October 1999. |
| June 16, 1967 | The first Monterey International Pop festival begins at the County Fairgrounds in Monterey with The Who, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and The Animals among those performing. |
| June 16, 1967 | The first Monterey International Pop festival begins at the County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California with The Who, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and The Animals among those performing. |
| June 17, 1965 | The Beatles record "Act Naturally," "Wait," and "Yesterday." |
| June 17, 1972 | Grateful Dead keyboard player and founding member Ron "Pigpen" McKernan plays his last show with the band at a Hollywood Bowl concert. Health problems force him to stop touring, and he dies in March 1973 at age 27. |
| June 18, 1977 | Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" goes to #1 on the Hot 100, the group's only song to top that chart. |
| June 18, 1977 | Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" goes to #1 on the Hot 100, the group's only song to top that chart. |
| June 19, 1971 | Carole King's album Tapestry hits #1 in the US, where it stays for 15 weeks. |
| June 19, 1971 | Carole King's album Tapestry hits #1 in the US, where it stays for 15 weeks. |
| June 20, 1972 | The Tallahatchee Bridge in Money, Mississippi, made famous in Bobbie Gentry's "Ode To Billie Joe," collapses (it is later rebuilt). |
| June 20, 1972 | The Tallahatchie Bridge in Money, Mississippi, made famous in Bobbie Gentry's "Ode To Billie Joe," collapses (it is later rebuilt). |
| June 21, 1981 | Walter Becker and Donald Fagen announce the breakup of Steely Dan and begin work on solo projects. They would re-form in 1993. |
| June 21, 1981 | Walter Becker and Donald Fagen announce the split of Steely Dan and begin work on solo projects. They would re-form in 1993. |
| June 22, 1967 | The Young Rascals record "How Can I Be Sure?" |
| June 22, 1987 | Fred Astaire dies of pneumonia at age 88. Shortly before his death, Astaire abdicated his throne as the king of song and dance and welcomed a new royal: Michael Jackson. He said: "I didn't want to leave this world without knowing who my descendant was, thank you Michael." |
| June 23, 1962 | Originally thought a bad idea by label executives, Ray Charles' landmark album "Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music" hits #1 in America. |
| June 23, 1968 | Elvis Presley records "If I Can Dream" for his TV special to be broadcast in December. It’s inspired by Martin Luther King’s Speech. |
| June 24, 1958 | Nina Simone releases her debut album, Little Girl Blue. |
| June 24, 1966 | The final Beatles world tour begins in Munich. Moving forward, they concentrate on studio efforts, resulting in the landmark album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. |
| June 25, 1967 | The Beatles premiere the song "All You Need Is Love" to 400 million people on a worldwide TV program. |
| June 25, 1967 | The Beatles premiere the song "All You Need Is Love" to 400 million people on a worldwide TV program. |
| June 26, 1965 | The Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man" goes to #1 on the Hot 100. It's the only song written by Bob Dylan ever to top that chart. |
| June 26, 2021 | Bruce Springsteen performs Springsteen On Broadway at the St. James Theater, he’s the first person to perform a full-length show on Broadway since the coronavirus pandemic shut down Broadway in 2020. The audience is required to show proof of vaccination. |
| June 27, 1964 | Peter & Gordon's "A World Without Love" -- written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney -- goes to #1 in the US. The connection: McCartney is dating Peter Asher's sister, Jane. |
| June 28, 1968 | Aretha Franklin is on the cover of Time magazine under the headline, "The Sound Of Soul." |
| June 28, 1968 | Jefferson Airplane make the cover of Life magazine under the headline: "Jefferson Airplane, Top Rock Group, With Music That's Hooked the Whole Vibrating World." |
| June 28, 1984 | After a failed attempt shooting a studio video for "Dancing In The Dark," Bruce Springsteen does it live at his concert in St. Paul, Minnesota. During Clarence Clemons' sax solo, he brings a 19-year-old Courteney Cox on stage to dance with him |
| June 29, 1999 | Michael Jackson suffered from a severe injury after a bridge set he was standing on fell more than 50 feet during a show at Munich Olympic Stadium. |
| June 30, 1971 | San Francisco's Fillmore West concert hall closes. |
| June 30, 2019 | Taylor Swift's former label, Big Machine, is sold to Scooter Braun's company for an estimated $300 million, giving him control of her back catalog, In response, Swift accuses Braun of bullying her and says she will re-record all her old albums to devalue his purchase. And She Does! |