1964 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1964.
Specific locations
Specific genres
Events
- January 1 – Top of the Pops is broadcast for the first time, on BBC television in the U.K.
- January 3 – Footage of the Beatles performing a concert in Bournemouth, England is shown on The Jack Paar Show.
- 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 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 for the first time.
- January 25 – The late John F. Kennedy becomes the first President credited with a Top 10 album after Dickie Goodman released 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 song "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen pornographic. He requests that the Indiana Broadcasters Association ban the record. Governor Welsh claimed 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.
- 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 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 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 had converted to Islam.
- *American premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen's Momente, by Martina Arroyo, the Crane Collegiate Singers of SUNY Potsdam, and members of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, 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.
- 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 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 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|Billboard magazine|Billboard Hot 100] chart with the first of five successive number one hits, "Where Did Our Love Go".
- August 26 – The Kinks release their iconic single "You Really Got Me".
- 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 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''
Albums released
August
Release date unknown
- 442 Glenwood Avenue – The Pixies Three
- The Academy Award-Winning "Call Me Irresponsible" and Other Hit Songs from the Movies – Andy Williams
- Allan in Wonderland – Allan Sherman
- Alexandria the Great – Lorez Alexandria
- Amore Scusami – Dalida
- Ballads, Blues and Boasters – Harry Belafonte
- Basie Land – Count Basie
- Beauty and the Beard – Al Hirt
- Bebop Revisited! – Charles McPherson
- Black Fire – Andrew Hill
- Blue Gene – Gene Pitney
- Blue Spoon – Jimmy Witherspoon
- Blue Around the Clock – Jimmy Witherspoon
- Bo Diddley's 16 All-Time Greatest Hits – Bo Diddley
- Bread & Butter – The Newbeats
- Brown Sugar – Freddie Roach
- Christmas Cookin' – Jimmy Smith
- Coltrane's Sound – John Coltrane
- Cotton Candy – Al Hirt
- Crescent – John Coltrane
- Cuddlebug – The Simon Sisters
- The Dealers – John Coltrane & Mal Waldron
- Donna The Prima Donna – Dion DiMucci
- The Door Is Still Open to My Heart – Dean Martin
- The Dubliners – The Dubliners
- Ella at Juan-Les-Pins – Ella Fitzgerald
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Song Book – Ella Fitzgerald
- Etta James Rocks the House – Etta James
- The Exciting Voice of Sergio Franchi – Sergio Franchi
- Expressions East – John Berberian
- Fiddler on the Roof – Original soundtrack
- For Swingin' Livers Only! – Allan Sherman
- The Great Songs from "My Fair Lady" and Other Broadway Hits – Andy Williams
- The Great Years – Johnny Mathis
- Here I Go Again – The Hollies
- Hey, Brother, Pour the Wine – Dean Martin
- Hide and Seekers – The Seekers
- How My Heart Sings! – Bill Evans
- I'll Search My Heart and Other Great Hits – Johnny Mathis
- Indifferentemente – Mario Trevi
- In Europe – Miles Davis
- In Love Again! – Peggy Lee
- In Person at the Americana – Julie London
- It Hurts to Be in Love – Gene Pitney
- It's Monk's Time – Thelonious Monk
- Johnny Horton's Greatest Hits – Johnny Horton
- Joyful Season – Jo Stafford
- Live at Birdland – John Coltrane
- Love After Midnight – Patti Page
- The Manfred Mann Album – Manfred Mann
- Meet The Simon Sisters – The Simon Sisters
- My Fair Lady – Original soundtrack
- The Never Ending Impressions – The Impressions
- Out to Lunch! – Eric Dolphy
- Quincy Jones Explores the Music of Henry Mancini – Quincy Jones Right or Wrong – Ronnie Dove
- Rock Around the Clock King – Bill Haley & His Comets
- Runnin' Out of Fools – Aretha Franklin
- Said I To Shostakovitch – Tupper Saussy
- London Palladium – Sammy Davis, Jr.
- The Seekers – The Seekers
- The Shelter of Your Arms – Sammy Davis, Jr.
- Sinatra Sings Days of Wine and Roses, Moon River, and Other Academy Award Winners – Frank Sinatra
- Só Danço Samba – Clare Fischer
- Stevie at the Beach – Stevie Wonder
- Sugar Lips – Al Hirt
- Surf Surf Surf – Bill Haley & His Comets
- The Swinger's Guide to Mary Poppins – The Tupper Saussy Quartet with Charlie McCoy
- Tears for Dolphy – Ted Curson
- Tender Is the Night – Johnny Mathis
- This Is Love – Johnny Mathis
- Today, Tomorrow, Forever – Nancy Wilson
- The Ventures in Space – The Ventures
- We Get Requests – The Oscar Peterson trio
- Women in My Life – Sergio Franchi
- The Wonderful World of Andy Williams – Andy Williams
- The Wonderful World of Make Believe – Johnny Mathis
Biggest hit singles
The following singles achieved the highest in 1964.| # | Artist | Title | Year | Country | Chart Entries |
| 1 | The Beatles | I Want to Hold Your Hand | 1964 |  Published popular music
Other notable songs
Classical musicCompositions
Opera
Musical theaterHello, Dolly! – Broadway production opened at the St. James Theatre on January 16 and ran for 2844 performancesWhat Makes Sammy Run? – Broadway production opened at the 54th Street Theater on February 27 and ran for 540 performancesFunny Girl – Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on March 26 and ran for 1348 performancesAnyone Can Whistle – Broadway production opened at the Majestic Theatre on April 4 and ran for 9 performancesFiddler on the Roof – Broadway production opened at the Imperial Theatre on September 22 and ran for 3242 performancesFoxy Book: Ian McLellan Hunter & Ring Lardner, Jr. Lyrics: Johnny Mercer Music: Robert Emmett Dolan. Broadway production opened on February 16 and ran for 72 performances. Starring Bert Lahr, Larry Blyden, Cathryn Damon and Julienne Marie.Golden Boy – Broadway production opened at the Majestic Theatre on October 20 and ran for 569 performancesShe Loves Me – London production opened at the Lyric Theatre on April 29 and ran for 189 performancesMaggie May London production opened at the Adelphi Theatre on September 22 and ran for 501 performancesRobert and Elizabeth – London production opened at the Lyric Theatre on October 20 and ran for 948 performancesLittle Me, the musical – London production opened at the Cambridge Theatre on November 18 and ran for 334 performancesSalad Days – London revivalMusical filmsAyee Milan Ki Bela, with music by Shankar JaikishanDosti, starring Sanjay Khan, with music by Laxmikant-PyarelalA Hard Day's Night starring The BeatlesMary Poppins starring Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, Glynis Johns and David TomlinsonMy Fair Lady starring Rex Harrison and Audrey HepburnRobin and the 7 Hoods starring Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr.The Umbrellas of Cherbourg The Unsinkable Molly Brown starring Debbie Reynolds and Harve PresnellViva Las Vegas starring Elvis Presley and Ann-MargretBirths
Deaths
AwardsGrammy AwardsEurovision Song Contest |