Today’s history highlights a record-breaking concert in Central Park, early rock ‘n’ roll antics at The Cavern Club, and major chart-topping milestones across genres.

Notable Births

• 1925: Felice Bryant, influential songwriter who co-wrote hit songs for The Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• 1942: B.J. Thomas, American pop, country, and gospel singer best known for “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” was born in Hugo, Oklahoma.
• 1950: Rodney Crowell, Grammy Award-winning country singer-songwriter and producer, was born in Jacinto City, Texas.
• 1958: Bruce Dickinson, powerful frontman and lead vocalist for heavy metal band Iron Maiden, was born in Worksop, England.

🎵 Major Events & Releases (On-This-Day)

• 1957: The Quarrymen—the skiffle group featuring John Lennon that would eventually evolve into The Beatles—played Liverpool’s Cavern Club. Despite the venue’s strictly jazz policy, Lennon broke protocol by playing rock ‘n’ roll covers like “Hound Dog” and “Blue Suede Shoes”.
• 1969: Creedence Clearwater Revival released their third studio album, Green River, which went on to sell millions of copies and became their first US chart-topping album.
• 1971: The Bee Gees scored their very first US Billboard Hot 100 number-one single with “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart”.
• 1976: Elton John and Kiki Dee hit number one on the US Singles chart with their smash duet “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”.
• 1982: Dexys Midnight Runners topped the UK Singles chart with “Come On Eileen,” which would go on to become the best-selling single of the year in the UK.
• 1997: Garth Brooks performed a historic free concert in New York’s Central Park, drawing an estimated crowd of over 1 million fans.