The Beatles release Abbey Road in the UK
Apple Records released The Beatles' eleventh studio album, Abbey Road, in the United Kingdom on September 26, 1969, its sleeve built around the now-iconic zebra crossing photograph shot outside EMI Studios weeks earlier.
It was the last album all four Beatles recorded together, and highlights like George Harrison's Something and Here Comes the Sun helped the record top charts worldwide and endure as one of rock's most acclaimed albums, according to The Beatles Bible.
September 26 at a Glance
Tap any event to jump straight to its full card below.
| Category | Event |
|---|---|
| 1969 | |
| release | The Beatles release Abbey Road in the UK |
| 1968 | |
| industry | Beatles finish mixing Happiness Is a Warm Gun |
| 1967 | |
| concert | Pink Floyd play their first American show at the Fillmore |
| industry | Beatles remake The Fool on the Hill's backing track |
| 1966 | |
| industry | Brian Epstein is hospitalized in London |
| 1965 | |
| chart | Barry McGuire's Eve of Destruction hits No. 1 |
| 1964 | |
| chart | Roy Orbison's Oh, Pretty Woman hits No. 1 |
| 1962 | |
| industry | Duke Ellington and John Coltrane record their duet album |
| 1961 | |
| concert | Bob Dylan opens his star-making Gerde's Folk City run |
| 1960 | |
| chart | Connie Francis hits No. 1 with My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own |
| chart | Kingston Trio's String Along holds at No. 1 |
The Beatles release Abbey Road in the UK
Apple Records released The Beatles' eleventh studio album, Abbey Road, in the United Kingdom on September 26, 1969, its sleeve built around the now-iconic zebra crossing photograph shot outside EMI Studios weeks earlier.
It was the last album all four Beatles recorded together, and highlights like George Harrison's Something and Here Comes the Sun helped the record top charts worldwide and endure as one of rock's most acclaimed albums, according to The Beatles Bible.
Beatles finish mixing Happiness Is a Warm Gun
The Beatles gathered in the Studio Two control room at EMI Studios on September 26, 1968, and made twelve mono mixes of Happiness Is a Warm Gun along with mixes of What's the New Mary Jane, Glass Onion and I Will, according to The Beatles Bible.
The marathon mixing session locked in the shifting time signatures and abrupt tempo changes that made Happiness Is a Warm Gun one of the most structurally daring songs on the Beatles' White Album.
Pink Floyd play their first American show at the Fillmore
Pink Floyd played the first date of their first American tour on September 26, 1967, opening a three-night stand at the Fillmore in San Francisco with the Syd Barrett-led lineup of Barrett, Roger Waters, Richard Wright and Nick Mason.
The West Coast dates introduced American audiences to the free-form psychedelic rock behind that year's UK hit See Emily Play, months before the band's debut album reached American ears, per American Songwriter.
Beatles remake The Fool on the Hill's backing track
The Beatles returned to Studio Two at EMI Studios on September 26, 1967, and built an entirely new backing track for The Fool on the Hill during a 7pm to 4:15am session, with engineer Ken Scott filling in for an absent George Martin.
Paul McCartney added a double-tracked lead vocal and recorder solo over the new take, and Mark Lewisohn later called the session almost a complete remake of the song for the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour, according to The Beatles Bible.
Brian Epstein is hospitalized in London
The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein was admitted to a London clinic on September 26, 1966, in what was officially described as a check-up for exhaustion but later understood to be a drug overdose.
The hospitalization came seven weeks after Epstein guided the release of Eleanor Rigby and Revolver, and it exposed the toll of running the world's biggest band, foreshadowing his death less than a year later in August 1967, according to The Beatles Bible.
Barry McGuire's Eve of Destruction hits No. 1
Barry McGuire's gravel-voiced protest single Eve of Destruction reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 26, 1965, written by P.F. Sloan and produced by Lou Adler for Dunhill Records.
Its litany of Cold War and civil rights anxieties made it one of the most controversial folk rock chart-toppers of the decade, banned by some radio stations even as it topped the charts, per uDiscoverMusic.
Roy Orbison's Oh, Pretty Woman hits No. 1
Roy Orbison's Oh, Pretty Woman, co-written with Bill Dees, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 26, 1964, and held the top spot for three weeks.
The single also topped the UK charts, becoming the second and final US No. 1 of Orbison's career and one of the biggest-selling singles of the decade, according to Stereogum.
Duke Ellington and John Coltrane record their duet album
Duke Ellington and John Coltrane spent a single session at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on September 26, 1962, cutting the tracks for their collaborative album for Impulse! Records.
Producer Bob Thiele paired the 63-year-old big-band elder with the 36-year-old tenor saxophonist in a stripped-down small group, and the session produced lasting versions of In a Sentimental Mood and Take the Coltrane, a landmark for jazz and easy listening, per Wikipedia.
Bob Dylan opens his star-making Gerde's Folk City run
Twenty-year-old Bob Dylan opened a two-week engagement at Gerde's Folk City in Greenwich Village on September 26, 1961, playing second on the bill to the bluegrass group the Greenbriar Boys, a defining moment for the New York folk rock scene.
New York Times critic Robert Shelton caught the opening show and published a rave review days later, prompting producer John Hammond to sign Dylan to Columbia Records and produce his debut album, which opened with the Woody Guthrie tribute Song to Woody, per The Gotham Center for New York City History.
Connie Francis hits No. 1 with My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own
Connie Francis reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 26, 1960, with My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own, a pop and Brill Building ballad written by Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller.
It was Francis's second US No. 1 single of 1960 alone, cementing her as the top-selling female pop vocalist of the era, according to Billboard.
Kingston Trio's String Along holds at No. 1
The Kingston Trio's String Along held the No. 1 spot on Billboard's mono albums chart for the week of September 26, 1960, the fifth straight studio album by the trio to top the chart.
The Capitol Records set, featuring tracks like Everglades, reflected how thoroughly the acoustic folk rock revival dominated the American album charts in the years just before Bob Dylan and the British Invasion reshaped popular music, per Wikipedia.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened in 1960s music on September 26?
September 26 produced eleven verified music events across the decade, headlined by The Beatles releasing Abbey Road in the UK in 1969.
The same date saw Bob Dylan open his star-making Gerde's Folk City run, and Roy Orbison and Barry McGuire each hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
When did the Beatles release Abbey Road?
Apple Records released Abbey Road in the United Kingdom on September 26, 1969.
It was the last album all four Beatles recorded together, featuring George Harrison's Something and Here Comes the Sun.
When did Bob Dylan first play Gerde's Folk City?
Bob Dylan opened a two-week engagement at Gerde's Folk City in Greenwich Village on September 26, 1961, opening for the Greenbriar Boys.
Robert Shelton's rave New York Times review of the show led John Hammond to sign Dylan to Columbia Records.
When did Roy Orbison's Oh, Pretty Woman hit No. 1?
Oh, Pretty Woman reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 26, 1964, and held the spot for three weeks.
It also topped the UK singles chart.
When did Barry McGuire's Eve of Destruction hit No. 1?
Eve of Destruction reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 26, 1965.
The P.F. Sloan-written protest song was banned by some radio stations even as it topped the charts.
Why was Brian Epstein hospitalized in September 1966?
Brian Epstein was admitted to a London clinic on September 26, 1966, officially described as a check-up for exhaustion but later understood to be a drug overdose.
It came seven weeks after he guided the release of Eleanor Rigby and Revolver, less than a year before his death in August 1967.