Papparazzi

New Zealand newspaper The Star reports on the increasing popularity of banjo music in Christchurch, particularly commending The Christchurch Banjo Band.

Wing Lee's Rag-Time Clock, written and composed by Al Trahern, is given away with the music supplement of Hearst's Chicago American newspaper.

With You by The Statler Pennsylvanians is released as the Durium Hit Of The Week on newspaper stands in New York City, USA at a cost of 15c, twenty percent of the price of an ordinary shellac record.

A feature in the California Eagle newspaper, headlined Leaders Protest Dance Hall Ban, reports that the Los Angeles Police Department has refused to issue a Mexican American social organization called La Fiesta Club a permit to host a concert featuring the Benny Goodman Orchestra at LA's Shrine Auditorium, because the police, along with conservative Los Angeles City Council members, are afraid that whites, blacks, Mexicans, and Filipinos might be allowed to dance together.

The term "The Beat Generation" is first seen in print in a feature by John Clellon Holmes in the New York Times magazine. The term will come to be the defining phrase by which the hip youth and creative individuals of the 1950s will come to be known.

In the USA, trade magazine Billboard publishes a Disc Jockey Popularity Chart in which deejays chose their favourite artists. Frank Sinatra and Doris Day come tops, with Elvis Presley showing up at No8 in the 'Most Promising Country And Western Artist' category.

The Top 5 singles in the UK, according to today's edition of the New Musical Express [NME] newspaper are as follows :

1. Mary's Boy Child by Harry Belafonte [RCA]
2. Wake Up Little Susie by The Everly Brothers [London]
3. My Special Angel by Malcolm Vaughan [HMV]
4. Ma, He's Making Eyes at Me by The Johnny Otis Show/Marle Adams [Capitol]
5. Great Balls of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis [London]

In an interview published in the New York Daily News, Peggy Lee declares that, "Rock'n'roll is fading; the ballads, fine jazz, the melodious standards - which have never died - are being played and sung more and more."

Mahalia Jackson headlines The National Press Club's Black Tie Ball in Washington DC, USA. Also on the bill are Sammy Kaye's Swing And Sway Band and torch singer Elvira Rios.

Liverpool, UK, newspaper The Liverpool Echo reports that, at a recent party to celebrate the birthday of The Beatles' Paul McCartney, John Lennon punched local Cavern Club deejay Bob Wooler in the face after Wooler proclaimed that Lennon and The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein were lovers.

When The Beatles play at the Floral Pavilion, Southport, UK, a local newspaper reporter, Derek Taylor, makes a considerable impression on them. In due course, they will hire him as their publicist.

Duke Ellington's season at the Golden Key Club, 641 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, comes to an end. A local press report later says, "The Duke Ellington-Golden Key honeymoon came to an abrupt and not entirely amicable ending over money matters."

The Rolling Stones have a day of media interviews, including Danish tv, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Europe.

The Chicago Tribune reports that attitudes to Western-style popular music are changing in East Germany, Europe. After decades of resisting Western influences, there are now over twenty guitar-based rock'n'roll bands in the Leipzig area, and the newspaper Neues Deutschland has recently declared, "dance music cannot be divided into imperialist and socialist but only into waltzes, tangos, twists etc, and into such categories asbig beat, old time jazz and the like."

Fabulous magazine runs a special edition dedicated to Liverpool music, featuring The Searchers on the front cover and features about The Beatles, The Mojos, Gerry And The Pacemakers, Cilla Black, Billy Fury, The Merseybeats, The Spinners and Tommy Quickly.

A feature headlined 'Presley As Top Money Star' in Variety magazine in the USA estimates Elvis Presley's income from motion pictures this year at $2.7m, easily surpassing the earnings of such established Hollywood heavyweights as Cary Grant, Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn.

A feature by Tony Barrow in US magazine KRLA Beat reports that major tours in the UK are "showing no profit".

Bob Dylan holds a press conference in the King's Cross Hotel, Sydney, New South Wales, on the eve of his first tour of Australia.

The front cover of today's edition of UK music weekly NME is dominated by an advert for the new single Everything I Am by Plastic Penny. The paper also features interviews with The Bee Gees, The Walker Brothers and Peter Tork of The Monkees.

A feature in the New York Times refers to Jimi Hendrix as 'the black Elvis.'

An advert in NME declares Elton John to be 1968's greatest new talent.

Tetragrammaton Records in the USA begins a major press advertising campaign for the LP You Can't Beat People Up And Have Them Say I Love You by stand-up comedian Murray Roman. The reason for the campaign is that the LP's controversial subject matter, frankly covering sex and drugs, will preclude it from receiving any radio or tv exposure.

Chris Welch of UK pop weekly Melody Maker interviews Mitch Mitchell of The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Curtis Mayfield appears on the cover of Jet magazine in the USA, with the headline Curtis Mayfield's Super Fly Music Makes $20m.

Sting is featured on the cover of UK pop weekly the NME (New Musical Express).

Grace Jones appears on the cover of British music weekly Melody Maker.

It is reported in UK newspaper the Daily Mirror that Yoko Ono may soon marry her aide, Sam Havadtoy, who bears a striking resemblance to John Lennon.

During a crackdown an jazz musicians in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Europe, jazz journalist Vlasimil Marek is arrested on a charge of "damaging the interests of the Republic abroad."

America's Spin magazine, set up two years earlier by Penthouse boss Bob Guccione, as a rival to Rolling Stone, ceases publication, having been hit by bans in major retail outlets related to the publication's 'explicit sexual content'.

Virgin Records is reported to be furious that its name has been linked in the press with a Mafia payola scandal in America.

The Rolling Stones announce their upcoming Urban Jungle tour with a press conference at The Tabernacle, Powis Street, London, UK, which is broadcast live on MTV.

In Johannesburg, South Africa, Paul Simon rehearses for his upcoming concert at Ellis Park Stadium. During the day he also holds an informal press conference and conducts a workshop for aspiring young black musicians.

While promoting his tenth solo album Time Takes Time, Ringo Starr spends the day in The Dorchester Hotel, London, England, UK, Europe, being interviewed for British press and radio, including Q, The Sunday Mirror, Vox, The Independent and the Simon Bates Show.

Ray Davies of The Kinks publishes his pseudo-autobiographical book X-Ray, via Viking Publishers in the UK. In the evening, when the book is launched with a press event at Ronnie Scott's Club in London, Davies plays an acoustic set for the assembled media throng.

Michael Jackson announces the formation of Kingdom International, a joint venture between Jackson and HRH Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, (nephew of the King of Saudi Arabia, Fahd bin Abdul Aziz), at a press conference in the Palais des Congres in Paris, France, Europe.

Merle Haggard issues a press release in support of the Dixie Chicks, stating, "I don't even know the Dixie Chicks, but I find it an insult for all the men and women who fought and died in past wars when almost the majority of America jumped down their throats for voicing an opinion. It was like a verbal witch-hunt and lynching." (Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks had made critical comments about United States President George W. Bush and the current situation in Iraq.)

As part of the 32 Londoners event, Ray Davies holds a mini-press conference aboard The London Eye, London, UK, for which a gin company has specially created 32 different cocktails intended to represent each of London's boroughs.

As he leaves the Madeo restaurant in Los Angeles, California, USA, Lionel Ritchie denies (to a TMZ reporter) rumours that he is secretly the father of Khloe Kardashian.

Having previously denied that model Hailey Baldwin is his girlfriend, Justin Bieber unexpectedly posts pictures of the pair kissing and canoodling on his Instagram account.

Rihanna is spotted passing through LAX in Los Angeles, California, USA.

SkyArts announces that, following criticism from the singer's family, it is dropping a proposed programme dealing with Michael Jackson's alleged cross country motor trip with Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks. Two days earlier, Paris Jackson had tweeted, "I'm so incredibly offended by it, as I'm sure plenty of people are as well, and it honestly makes me want to vomit..."