- 1956: Elvis Presley started a five week run at No.1 on the US charts with “Don’t Be Cruel.” The track went on to become Presley’s biggest selling single, with sales over six million by 1961. This double-sided hit, which had “Hound Dog” on the B side, became the most successful on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. One side reached No.1 on the chart, the other No.2. The two spent a combined 55 weeks in the Top 100 in 1956-1957
- 1961: A group from Hawthorne, California called The Pendletones attend the first real recording session at Hite Morgan’s studio in Los Angeles. The band recorded “Surfin,” a song that would help shape their career as The Beach Boys
- 1965: The Ford Motor Company became the first automaker to offer 8-track tape players as an option for their entire line of vehicles on sale in the US. Tapes were initially only available at auto parts stores, as home 8-track equipment was still a year away
- 1970: US Vice-President Spiro Agnew said in a speech that the youth of America were being “brainwashed into a drug culture” by rock music, movies, books, and underground newspapers
