The Beatles begin a 24-hour session to assemble the White Album
The Beatles began their only 24-hour session at 5pm and finished at 5pm the next day, using all three main Abbey Road studios plus two extra rooms to mix, edit and cut crossfades, per the Beatles Bible.
George Harrison and Ringo Starr were away in Los Angeles and Sardinia, so John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Martin and the EMI staff fixed the final running order, and the clip below is It's All Too Much, a copy of which was made that night for the Yellow Submarine soundtrack.
1969 in 1960s music: the full year guide
Chess Records co-founder Leonard Chess dies at 52
Leonard Chess died of a heart attack in Chicago at age 52, per Wikipedia.
With his brother Phil he ran Chess Records, whose roster included Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Little Walter and Etta James, and the clip below is Maybellene by Chuck Berry.
1968 in 1960s music: the full year guide
The Jimi Hendrix Experience release Electric Ladyland in the US
Reprise Records issued Electric Ladyland, the third and final studio album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, in the United States, per Wikipedia.
The double album reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart by mid-November, and the clip below is All Along the Watchtower, the Dylan cover that became the Experience's best-selling single and a landmark of psychedelic rock.
The Beatles begin a 24-hour session to assemble the White Album
The Beatles began their only 24-hour session at 5pm and finished at 5pm the next day, using all three main Abbey Road studios plus two extra rooms to mix, edit and cut crossfades, per the Beatles Bible.
George Harrison and Ringo Starr were away in Los Angeles and Sardinia, so John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Martin and the EMI staff fixed the final running order, and the clip below is It's All Too Much, a copy of which was made that night for the Yellow Submarine soundtrack.
1967 in 1960s music: the full year guide
Joan Baez is arrested at the Oakland Induction Center
Joan Baez was arrested during Stop the Draft Week for sitting in at the entrance of the Armed Forces Induction Center in Oakland, California, and was sentenced to 10 days in jail, per Fredsakademiet.
It tied the folk movement to open resistance against the Vietnam War draft, and the clip below is We Shall Overcome, the protest song she carried onto the biggest stages of the decade.
1965 in 1960s music: the full year guide
The Beatles record Day Tripper at Abbey Road
The Beatles cut Day Tripper in Studio Two at EMI Studios from 2:30pm to midnight with George Martin and engineer Norman Smith, finishing only the third of three takes before adding vocals, tambourine and guitar overdubs, per the Beatles Bible.
Released on December 3 as a double A-side with We Can Work It Out, it hit No. 1 in the UK and No. 5 in the US, and the clip below is the finished record, built on a riff John Lennon called his own.
The Rolling Stones play two shows at the ABC in Northampton
The Rolling Stones played two shows at the ABC Theatre in Northampton on their second British tour of 1965, which ran from September 24 to October 17, per Wikipedia.
The tour closed the next night at the Granada in London, and the clip below is (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, a song from their set that year.
1963 in 1960s music: the full year guide
The Rolling Stones play the Odeon in Manchester
The Rolling Stones played the Odeon Theatre in Manchester on their first British tour, a package headlined by the Everly Brothers and Bo Diddley, per Wikipedia.
They played two ten-minute shows at every date of the tour, and the clip below is Come On, one of the songs in their short set.
1962 in 1960s music: the full year guide
Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea is born in Melbourne
Michael Peter Balzary, known as Flea, was born in Melbourne, Australia, per Wikipedia.
He co-founded the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, and the clip below is Give It Away, a track from the band he co-founded.
1961 in 1960s music: the full year guide
Patsy Cline's Crazy is released on Decca
Decca issued Patsy Cline's Crazy, written by Willie Nelson and produced by Owen Bradley, as Decca 31317 with Who Can I Count On? on the B-side, per Wikipedia.
It reached No. 2 on the country chart and No. 9 on the Hot 100, her only top 10 pop hit, and the clip below is the record that became her signature song, a 1960s country crossover.
1960 in 1960s music: the full year guide
Hüsker Dü and Sugar frontman Bob Mould is born in Malone
Robert Arthur Mould was born in Malone, New York, per The Current.
He became the guitarist, singer and songwriter for Hüsker Dü in the 1980s and Sugar in the 1990s, and the clip below is Sugar's If I Can't Change Your Mind.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened in 1960s music on October 16?
October 16 saw 11 verified music events across the decade, including Patsy Cline's Crazy released in 1961, the Beatles recording Day Tripper in 1965, and Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland released in the US in 1968.
When was Patsy Cline's Crazy released?
Decca released Patsy Cline's Crazy, written by Willie Nelson and produced by Owen Bradley, on October 16, 1961, and it reached No. 2 on the country chart and No. 9 on the Hot 100.
When did the Beatles record Day Tripper?
The Beatles recorded Day Tripper at EMI Studios in Abbey Road on October 16, 1965, in a session from 2:30pm to midnight that also began If I Needed Someone.
When was Electric Ladyland released in the US?
Reprise Records released Electric Ladyland by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in the United States on October 16, 1968, and it reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart by mid-November.
What was the Beatles' 24-hour White Album session?
On October 16, 1968 the Beatles began a session that ran from 5pm until 5pm the next day to mix, edit and sequence the White Album, with John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Martin in charge while George Harrison and Ringo Starr were away.