Memphis

Freddy Bienstock is born in Vienna, Austria. He will become one of the world's most powerful music publishers, working closely with Elvis Presley and many others.

Jazz bandleader Willie Lewis agrees, in a letter to record producer Ed Crommelin, to record eight tracks, including Who's Sorry Now, In A Shanty In Old Shanty Town, Memphis Blues, The Maid's Night Off, Coquette and Swinging At The Chez-Florence, for Panachord Records at The Pulchri studio in The Hague, Holland, Europe, four days later.

Tommy Dorsey And His Orchestra are playing at The Claridge, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.

Bill Haley And His Comets play at Brooklyn High School, Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Also on the bill are Elvis Presley and Pat Boone. Presley is paid $350 for a twenty minute set, and the event is filmed for a teen movie, The Pied Piper Of Cleveland. The movie never materialises.

(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear by Elvis Presley reaches No1 in the Billboard Top 40 singles chart in the USA.

Elvis Presley breaks a finger while playing football in the grounds of his home, Graceland, in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.

The Top Ten Singles being played on WABC Radio in New York City, USA, for the week beginning on this date are as follows :

1. Blue Moon - The Marcels (Colpix)

2. Runaway - Del Shannon (Big Top)

3. Gee Whiz (Look At His Eyes)- Carla Thomas (Atlantic)

4. I've Told Every Little Star - Linda Scott (Canadian-American)

5. Baby Blue - The Echoes (Seg-Way)

6. Once Upon a Time - Rochell And the Candles (Swingin')

7. Dedicated To The One I Love - The Shirelles (Scepter)

8. Pony Time - Chubby Checker (Parkway)

9. Please Love Me Forever - Cathy Jean And the Roommates (Valmor)

10. But I Do - Clarence 'Frogman' Henry (Argo)

Wade Cagle And The Escorts release a single, Groovy Train, on Sun Records in the USA.

Elvis Presley continues with studio-based filming for the movie Blue Hawaii, at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Jazz trumpet virtuoso Booker Little dies of kidney failure in New York City, USA, aged 23.

Principal photography begins for Elvis Presley's tenth movie, Kid Galahad, on location at Hidden Lodge, Idyllwild, California, USA.

The Bill Black group and The Orchids play an evening of twist-themed music at The Roundtable, New York City, USA.

Jerry Lee Lewis records Sweet Little Sixteen, Hello Josephine, Waiting For A Train and Set My Mind At Ease, at the Sun Records Studio, 639 Madison Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Musicians on the session include Jerry Lee Lewis on vocals and piano, Scotty Moore and Roland Janes on guitars, J.W. Brown on bass, Shirley Sisk on organ and Al Jackson on drums.

Jerry Lee Lewis plays at The Pavilion, Bath, England, UK, Europe, supported by Chippenham, Wiltshire, band Red Starr And The Stereos.

In RCA Studio B, Nashville, Tennessee, USA, Elvis Presley continues recording vocals for his next movie, Kissin' Cousins. His band includes guitarists Scotty Moore, Harold Bradley and Grady Martin, backing vocalists The Jordanaires, drummers D.J. Fontana and Buddy Harman, bassist Bob Moore, saxophonists Boots Randolph and Bill Justis, pianist Floyd Cramer and fiddler Cecil Brower.

Billboard magazine in the USA reports that Ike Turner has formed his own record label, Sonja Records, and has already made recordings for the label with Tina Turner and The Ikettes.

The Atlantic Cara van Of Stars plays the second night in a week of shows at The Apollo Theater, Harlem, New York City, USA, featuring Ben E. King, The Drifters, The Coasters, Doris Troy, Rufus Thomas, Otis Redding, The Falcons and King Curtis.

Jerry Lee Lewis plays the third of six nights at The Flamingo Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Elvis Presley continues filming studio-based scenes for his seventeenth movie, Girl Happy, at MGM Studios, Culver City, California, USA.

Elvis Presley releases a new single, Blue Christmas/Wooden Heart, in the USA on RCA Records.

The musical comedy film Bye Bye Birdie opens at cinemas in Madrid, Spain, Europe. The film, based on Elvis Presley being drafted into the US Army, stars Janet Leigh and Dick Van Dyke, with Jesse Pearson as fictitious pop idol Conrad Birdie (a pun on Conway Twitty), along with Ann-Margret and Bobby Rydell. TV show host Ed Sullivan appears as himself.

Jerry Lee Lewis plays at The Odeon, Southend, UK.

The Elvis Presley movie Girl Happy opens at cinemas in Japan, Asia.

Crying In The Chapel by Elvis Presley enters the UK singles chart, where it will peak at No1.

Isaac Hayes plays as an in-house keyboardist for Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, during an Otis Redding session.

Randy And The Radiants release a new single, My Way Of Thinking, on Sun Records in the USA.

The second edition of Elvis - a 32-page magazine devoted to Elvis Presley - is published in the UK.

Weekly UK tv pop show Top Of The Pops features Fontella Bass – Rescue Me, The Beatles – We Can Work It Out, Chris Andrews – To Whom It Concerns, Elvis Presley – Tell Me Why, The Searchers – Take Me For What I’m Worth, Ken Dodd – The River, The Toys – A Lover’s Concerto, The Kinks – Till The End Of The Day, and The Seekers – The Carnival Is Over. Presenter is Jimmy Savile.

Elvis Presley lodges a complaint with RCA Records about the poor mastering of his latest single, Guitar Man.

Booker T And The MG's, It's A Beautiful Day and Tim Buckley play the first of three nights at the Carousel Ballroom, San Francisco, California, USA.

On the final day of the three-day long Sky River Rock Festival, held in fields near Sultan, Washington, USA, The Grateful Dead turn up unannounced and play. Other acts playing over the three days include Santana, Big Mama Thornton, James Cotton, Country Joe And The Fish, Pink Floyd, Kaleidoscope, John Fahey, Richard Pryor, Dino Valenti, Byron Pope, It's a Beautiful Day, Peanut Butter Conspiracy, Alice Stuart Thomas, The Youngbloods, The New Lost City Ramblers, and local groups such as Juggernaut and Easy Chair.

When Lowell Fulson plays at The 100 Club, London, England, UK, Europe, he is unexpectedly joined on stage by B.B. King who jams with Fulson on Three O'Clock Blues.

In The Ghetto by Elvis Presley enters the Billboard Top 40 singles chart in the USA, where it will peak at No3 during an eleven-week run.

American tv show Music Scene features live appearances from Janis Joplin performing Kozmic Blues, Smith singing Baby It's You, Isaac Hayes covering Walk On By, Ten Years After playing Bad Scene, Richie Havens doing Rocky Raccoon, plus Jerry Lee Lewis pounding out Great Balls Of Fire and She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye.

Elvis Presley and his wife Priscilla are staying at a rented house in Camino Del Norte, Palm Springs, California, USA, while looking for a new home to buy.

When Aretha Franklin plays the first of two days at The New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, California, USA, the concert is recorded and tracks will be released on her third live album, Amazing Grace.

Charlie Rich reaches No1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart with Behind Closed Doors.

Elvis Presley spends $750,000 purchasing a former Delta Airlines Convair jet, which he re-names Lisa Marie. The plane's cost includes extensive renovations such as gold bathroom fixtures, a queen-size bed, a full audio-visual system, and Elvis' TCB logo on the tail.

Jerry Lee Lewis, brandishing a Derringer pistol, drives to Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, and demands that Elvis Presley should come out to speak with him. Elvis declines. Jerry Lee goes home.

John Mayall plays at B.B. King's Blues Club, New York City, USA.

Justin Timberlake is spotted riding his motor bike on the streets of Beverly Hills, California, USA.

Justin Timberlake spends some of the day playing golf on a course course in Toluca Lake, California, USA.

B.B. Cunningham, best remembered for his 1967 garage-rock hit Let It All Hang Out with The Hombres, is shot dead while working as a security guard in the Cherry Crest Apartment block in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.

Alex Clare, All Saints, Bastille, Blondie, Ed Sheeran, Elbow, George Ezra, James Arthur, Janelle Monáe, John Newman, Justin Timberlake, Kaiser Chiefs, Manic Street Preachers, Miles Kane, Pixie Lott, Starsailor, The Human League, The Stranglers, The Strypes, The Wailers Band, To Kill A King and Tom Odell play at the V2014 festival, Weston Park, Stafford, England, UK.