Fifty Years Ago This Month: August 1964

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News: 
8/1 - Warner Brothers releases its final Looney Tunes cartoon.
8/2 - North Vietnam attacks US ships in Gulf of Tonkin.
8/11 - The Beatles begin recording their 4th album, 'Beatles For Sale'.
8/12 - Mickey Mantle hits a 502-foot home run.
8/16 - The Cardinals' Curt Flood gets 8 consecutive hits in a doubleheader.
8/18 - South Africa is banned from future Olympic Games due to apartheid.
8/27 - Lyndon Johnson is nominated for president at the Democratic convention in Atlantic City.
8/31 - Los Angeles Angels break ground for a new stadium in Anaheim, CA.


Music: 
The Beatles' "A Hard Days Night" was the #1 single for the first 2 weeks of August.
It was knocked out of the top spot by Dean Martin's "Everybody Loves Somebody".
Weeks 4 & 5 saw the Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go?" in the top spot.


Movies:
8/11 - U.S. release of A Hard Day's Night
8/27 - Mary Poppins


Births: 
8/4 - Baseball player B.J. Surhoff
8/4 - Football player Clyde Simmons
8/9 - Hockey player Brett Hull
8/13 - Baseball player Jay Buhner
8/15 - Actress Debi Mazar
8/25 - Actor Blair Underwood


Deaths:
8/12 - British novelist Ian Fleming (56)
8/27 - Actress/comedienne Gracie Allen (69)

Fifty Years Ago This Month: July 1964

The Beatles are back...

News: 
7/2 - President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law.
7/6 - Southern African nation of Malawi gains independence from the United Kingdom.
7/6 - The Beatles' film "A Hard Day's Night" premieres in London.
7/31 - US satellite Ranger 7 crashes on the moon after taking more than 4000 pictures.


Music: 
On July 4th, the Beach Boys' single "I Get Around" hits #1 and stays there for 2 weeks.
The Four Seasons' "Rag Doll" is the #1 single for the last 2 weeks of July.
The "Hard Day's Night" LP reaches #1 on the 25th, and stayed there for 14 weeks.

Movies:
7/6 - A Hard Days Night (The Beatles)
7/8 - The Moon-Spinners (Hayley Mills, Eli Wallach)
7/22 - Marnie (Tippi Hedren, Sean Connery)
7/22 - Bikini Beach (Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello)
7/22 - Good Neighbor Sam (Jack Lemmon)


Births: 
7/2 - Baseball players Jose and Ozzie Canseco
7/3 - Actress Yeardley Smith (the voice of Lisa Simpson)
7/9 - Musician Courtney Love
7/22 - Actor and comedian David Spade
7/24 - Baseball player Barry Bonds
7/26 - Actress Sandra Bullock
7/30 - Actress Vivica A. Fox

Fifty Years Ago This Month: June 1964

News: 
6/2 - Senator Barry Goldwater wins the Republican nomination for president.
6/6 - First American TV appearance for the Rolling Stones.
6/12 - Nelson Mandela sentenced to life in prison in South Africa.
6/19 - Senator Ted Kennedy injured in private plane crash.
6/21 - Phillies' pitcher Jim Bunning pitched the first National League perfect game since 1880.
6/21 - Three civil rights workers murdered in Mississippi by the Ku Klux Klan.


Music: 
The Beatles take a 2-month hiatus from the top of the singles' charts beginning this month.  Benefiting from this are the Dixie Cups, whose "Chapel of Love" was #1 for 3 weeks. Peter & Gordon's "A World Without Love" (written by Paul McCartney) was #1 for the final week in June.


Movies:
6/23 - A Shot in the Dark (Peter Sellers, Elke Sommer)
6/24 - Robin and the 7 Hoods (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Bing Crosby)
6/24 - The Masque of the Red Death (Vincent Price)
6/25 - Circus World (John Wayne, Claudia Cardinale)
6/25 - McHale's Navy (Ernest Borgnine, Tim Conway)

In 1964 our family was taking a trip from Pennsylvania to New England.  We stopped at a motel in Wilbraham, Massachusetts that had a drive-in movie theater behind it.  The motel rooms were equipped with a large picture window and a speaker so the guests could watch the movie.  What did we see?  Robin and the 7 Hoods!


Births: 
6/15 - Actress Courtney Cox
6/28 - Baseball player Mark Grace

Fifty Years Ago This Month: May 1964

News: 
5/1 - BASIC computer programming language is invented.
5/12 - Twelve men publicly burn their draft cards in New York City - the first such demonstration in the Vietnam era.
5/19 - The State Department finds hidden microphones at the US Embassy in Moscow.
5/30 - The Rolling Stones release their first album in the US.


Music: 
The Beatles start and end the month with the #1 song (Can't Buy Me Love, Love Me Do). In between, Hello Dolly (Louis Armstrong) and My Guy (Mary Wells) get the spotlight.


Movies:
5/27 - From Russia With Love (starring Sean Connery as James Bond)
5/30 - Viva Las Vegas (Elvis Presley)


Births: 
5/3 - Hockey goalie Ron Hextall
5/8 - Actress Melissa Gilbert
5/13 - TV star Stephen Colbert
5/26 - Musician Lenny Kravitz
5/30 - Singer Wynonna Judd


Deaths: 
5/27 - Incumbent Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru (age 74).  He was also the father of Indira Gandhi.

Fifty Years Ago This Month: April 1964

The New York Worlds Fair opened in April 1964.  I never got there, but I had a few postcards, and I remember collecting the Coke bottle caps that had pictures of the various pavillions under the cork seals.

The "Unisphere" was the centerpiece of the New York Worlds Fair in 1964 and 1965.


Music: 
The Beatles ended March with the top 4 songs on the US charts. They started April with the top 5:
1 - Can't Buy Me Love
2 - Twist and Shout
3 - She Loves You
4 - I Want to Hold Your Hand
5 - Please Please Me

("Can't Buy Me Love" and "Twist and Shout" would remain #1 and #2 for the entire month.)


Movies:
4/8 - From Russia With Love (starring Sean Connery as James Bond)
4/9 - The Carpetbaggers (starring George Peppard)


News: 
4/8 - NASA launches Gemini 1 unmanned capsule
4/10 - The Polo Grounds in New York City meets the wrecking ball.
4/17 - Shea Stadium (home of the New York Mets) opens.
4/22 - The New York Worlds Fair opens.

This was the New York Pavillion at the Worlds Fair. Like the Unisphere above, these towers remain today, and are visible in the opening credits of the TV show "The King of Queens". These towers were also featured in the movie "Men in Black", where Will Smith chased the giant bug climbing the towers.


Births: 
4/1 - Hockey player Scott Stevens
4/2 - Baseball player Pete Incaviglia
4/4 - Actor David Cross
4/7 - Actor Russell Crowe
4/9 - Hockey player Rick Tocchet
4/11 - Baseball player Bret Saberhagen
4/24 - Comedian Cedric the Entertainer
4/25 - Actor Hank Azaria
4/28 - Baseball player Barry Larkin


Deaths: 
4/5 - General Douglas MacArthur (age 84)

Fifty Years Ago This Month: March 1964

It's March 1964, and the Beatles are still the big news (surprise!)


Music: 
The Beatles continued their domination of the record charts that began the previous month:
 - "I Want to Hold Your Hand" spent two weeks at #1, then two weeks at #2.
 - "She Loves You" spent two weeks at #2, then two weeks at #1.
 - "Please Please Me" spent two weeks at #3 and two weeks at #4.
 - In the 4th week, "Twist and Shout" was #3, giving the Beatles the top 4 songs that week.

Movies: 
The only major film released in March was "The Pink Panther" starring Peter Sellers and David Niven, the first of many Pink Panther movies. [Wow, no new movies last month, and only one this month. I wonder if Hollywood was planning to wait out Beatlemania?]


News: 
3/9 - The first Ford Mustang rolls off the assembly line in Detroit.
3/15 - Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton marry (for the first time).
3/24 - John Lennon's book "In His Own Write" is published.
3/30 - First TV broadcast of "Jeopardy".


Births: 
3/7 - Comedienne Wanda Sykes
3/17 - Actor Rob Lowe


Deaths: 
3/23 - Actor Peter Lorre (age 59)

Fifty Years Ago This Month: February 1964

Here come the Beatles!

Music: 
After months of #1 songs from the likes of The Singing Nun and Bobby Vinton, the Beatles' fifth single "I Want To Hold Your Hand" was the #1 song for all 5 weeks in February. In fact, it remained at #1 until mid-March, when it was overtaken by "She Loves You" (which was the #2 song for the last 2 weeks of February).

2/9 - The Beatles make their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.
2/11 - The Beatles play their first US concert - in Washington DC.


News: 
In addition to all the Beatles' hoopla:
2/2 - GI Joe toy is introduced
2/24 - Muhammed Ali defeats Sonny Liston for the heavyweight boxing crown


Movies: 
No new movies were released this month.


Births: 
2/05 - Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan
2/10 - TV talk show host Glenn Beck
2/11 - politician Sarah Palin
2/11 - singer Sheryl Crow
2/15 - actor Chris Farley
2/18 - actor Matt Dillon
2/20 - actor French Stewart


Deaths: 
2/15 - Chicago Cubs' 2nd baseman Ken Hubbs (plane crash at age 22)

Fifty Years Ago This Month: January 1964

The countdown to The Beatles continues... 

News: 
1/5 – Barry Goldwater announces his bid for the 1968 presidency.
1/11 – The first warning about the health risks of smoking is issued by the Surgeon General.
1/13 – B-52 carrying nuclear bombs crashes in Maryland.
1/16 – John Glenn resigns from NASA. The next day he runs for senator from Ohio.
1/18 – Plans are unveiled for the World Trade Center in NYC.
1/29 – Winter Olympics in Innsbrook, Austria begin.


Music: 
Last month until the Beatles take over! In the US, the #1 song for all 4 weeks in January 1964 was “There I Said It Again” by Bobby Vinton. #2 every week was "Louie, Louie" by the Kingsmen. Various songs were #3, with “I Want to Hold Your Hand” jumping from #45 to #3 for the last week in January. (More on that next month!)

1/10 – Vee-Jay Records releases the LP “Introducing the Beatles”
1/20 – Capitol Records releases the LP “Meet the Beatles”


Movies: 
Notable movies released in January 1964 were:
The Fall of the Roman Empire (1/1)
Man’s Favorite Sport (1/1)
Marnie (1/1)
Zorba the Greek (1/1)
Dr. Strangelove (1/29)


Births: 
1/7 – Nicholas Cage
1/17 – Michelle Obama
1/23 – Mariska Hargitay
1/27 - Bridget Fonda (co-starred with Cage in the 1994 movie “It Could Happen to You”)


Deaths: 
1/29 – Actor Alan Ladd

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Fifty Years Ago This Month: December 1963

Just under the wire...

December 1963 was a relatively slow month, certainly when compared to the previous month.

News:
12/3 - The Warren Commission begins investigating the JFK assassination.
12/7 - Instant replay was invented, and debuted at the Army-Navy game in Philadelphia.
12/8 - Frank Sinatra Jr was kidnapped at Harrah's Lake Tahoe in Nevada.
12/10 - Chuck Yeager was nearly killed during a test flight.


Music:
In the US, the #1 song in December 1963 (all 4 weeks) was "Dominique" by The Singing Nun.  The #2 song for 2 weeks was "Louie, Louie" by the Kingsmen.  (Beatles! Hurry up and get here!)

Over in the UK, the top songs were the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You", along with "Glad All Over" by the Dave Clark Five, and "You Were Made for Me" by Freddie and the Dreamers.

Movies:
Notable movies released in December 1963 were "Charade" (starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn),  and Disney's animated "The Sword in the Stone".  (It was the next-to-last animated movie personally supervised by Walt Disney.)


Births:
12/18 - Actor Brad Pitt
12/19 - Actress Jennifer Beals
12/26 - Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, in Denmark.


Deaths:
12/02 - Actor Sabu Sabu - age 39
12/14 - Singer Dinah Washington - age 39
12/26 - Professional wrestler "Gorgeous" George Wagner

Fifty Years Ago This Month: November 1963

I’m starting a new feature on this blog, titled ‘Fifty Years Ago This Month”. (The idea just occurred to me last week, when I saw the pop music charts for the week, but WHAT a month to start this!) 

Of course, the most well-known event of November 1963 was JFK’s assassination. Since there is already wall-to-wall coverage of this on the internet and on TV, I won’t duplicate that here. I’ll just say that I was sitting in my elementary-school classroom on a Friday afternoon when the news came. I don’t remember if we were dismissed early, but my family spent the entire weekend glued to the black-and-white.

On the same day, the Beatles released their 2nd album in the UK, “With the Beatles”. The most popular track from the album was “All My Loving”, which was never a single. This was the 2nd album to sell over 1 million copies in England (after the “South Pacific” soundtrack).

The #1 songs in November 1963 according to Billboard were “Sugar Shack” (by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs), “Deep Purple” (by April Stevens & Nino Tempo), and “I’m Leaving It Up To You” (by Dale & Grace). Thank goodness the British Invasion was just around the corner! (The Beatles didn’t hit the US charts until January 18, 1964, when “I Want to Hold Your Hand” entered at #45, then took 2 weeks to climb to #1.)


Notable movies released in November 1963 were “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” and Elvis Presley’s “Fun in Acapulco”.


Births:
Actress Nicollette Sheridan, NFL quarterbacks Vinny Testaverde and Bernie Kosar, and MLB outfielder Dante Bichette.


Deaths:
John F. Kennedy on the 22nd, Robert Stroud (the real-life “Birdman from Alcatraz”) on the 21st, and novelist C. S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia) on the 22nd.