1966 in music

Table of contents

1 Events
2 Albums released
3 Top hits on record
4 Published popular songs
5 Musical theater
6 Musical films
7 Musical television
8 Births
9 Deaths
10 Awards

10.1 Grammy Awards
10.2 Eurovision Song Contest

Events

January 3 - Hullabaloo shows promotional videos of The Beatles songs "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out".
January 8 - Shindig! airs for the last time on ABC, with musical guests the Kinks and the Who
January 14 - Young singer David Jones changes his last name to Bowie to avoid being confused with Davy Jones of the Monkees
January 17 - Simon and Garfunkel release Sounds of Silence, which hits #21 on Billboard charts
January 21 - Beatle George Harrison marries fashion model Patti Boyd. The couple met on the set of the Beatles' first movie, A Hard Day's Night.
February 19 - Jefferson Airplane and Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin perform at the Fillmore
March 3 - Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay form Buffalo Springfield in Los Angeles, California.
March 4 - The Beatles' John Lennon is quoted in the London newspaper, The Evening Standard as saying that the band was now more popular than Jesus. Beatles protests and record burnings follow in the Southern US's "Bible Belt".
March 6 - In the UK, 5,000 fans of the Beatles sign a petition urging British Prime minister Harold Wilson to reopen Liverpool's legendary Cavern Club.
April 12 - In Los Angeles, California, Jan Berry, of Jan and Dean, crashes his Corvette into a truck that is parked on Whittier Boulevard. Berry suffers total physical paralysis for over a year as well as extensive brain damage.
May 1 - The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and the Who perform at the New Musical Express' poll winners' show in London.
July 2 - The Beatles become the first musical group to perform at the Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo. The performance ignited a lot of protest from local citizens who felt that it was inappropriate for a rock and roll band to play at Budokan.
July 29 - Bob Dylan is involved in a motorcycle accident
August 11 - John Lennon holds a press conference in Chicago, Illinois to apologize for his remarks the previous March. "I suppose if I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I would have gotten away with it. I'm sorry I opened my mouth. I'm not anti-God, anti-Christ, or anti-religion. I was not knocking it. I was not saying we are greater or better."
August 29 - The Beatles perform their last official concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California
September - George Harrison travels to India for 6 weeks to study sitar with Ravi Shankar
October 10 - Simon and Garfunkel release Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, which hits #4 on Billboard charts
Gram Parsons' musical career begins
Charley Pride's musical career begins
Freddie King's musical career begins
Neil Young's musical career begins
Wishbone Ash forms
The Crystals break up
Gerry & the Pacemakers break up

Albums released

Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys
Revolver - The Beatles
Days of Future Passed - The Moody Blues
East-West - The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Sounds of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme - Simon and Garfunkel
A Quick One - The Who
The Orbison Way - Roy Orbison

Top hits on record

"The Ballad of the Green Berets" - Sgt. Barry Sadler (the Top Song of 1966, according to Billboard)
"Good Vibrations" - The Beach Boys
"Paperback Writer" - The Beatles
"Yellow Submarine" - The Beatles
"Eleanor Rigby" - The Beatles
"Reach Out And I'll Be There" - The Four Tops
"Hey Joe" - Jimi Hendrix
"This Ole Heart Of Mine" - The Isley Brothers
"Summer In The City" - Lovin' Spoonful
"Monday Monday" - The Mamas and Papas
"Last Train To Clarksville" - The Monkees
"Winchester Cathedral" - New Vaudeville Band
"Kicks" - Paul Revere & the Raiders
"Gloria" - Shadows of Knight
"The Sounds Of Silence" - Simon and Garfunkel
"Homeward Bound" - Simon and Garfunkel
"I Am A Rock" - Simon and Garfunkel
"The Dangling Conversation" - Simon and Garfunkel
"A Hazy Shade Of Winter" - Simon and Garfunkel
"You Keep Me Hanging On" - The Supremes
"Wild Thing" - The Troggs
"Good Lovin' " - The Young Rascals
"Dizzy" - Tommy Roe