1965 in music

Events

January 4 - Fender Guitars is sold to CBS for $13 million.
January 12 - Hullabaloo premieres on NBC. The first show included performances by the New Christy Minstrels, comedian Woody Allen, actress Joey Heatherton and a segment from London in which Brian Epstein introduces The Zombies and Gerry & the Pacemakers.
January 17 - Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts' book, Ode to a High Flying Bird, a tribute to jazz great Charlie Parker, is published.
January 19 - A month to the day following its release in the US, "Downtown" hits #1, making Petula Clark the first British female vocalist to reach the coveted position.
January 21 - The Animals' show at New York's Apollo Theater is canceled after the U.S. Immigration Department forces the group to leave the theater.
January 21 - The Rolling Stones and Roy Orbison travel to Sydney, Australia to begin their Australian tour
January 27 - Paul Simon appears on BBC radio for the first time, on their Five To Ten show, discussing and playing thirteen songs, twelve of which would appear on his May-recorded and August-released UK-only album, The Paul Simon Song Book.
February 6 - Donovan performs the first of three performances on the British television program "Ready, Steady, Go!". This presents him to a widespread audience for the first time.
February 12 - NME reports the Beatles will star in a film adaptation of Richard Condon's novel A Talent for Loving. The story is about a 1,400-mile horse race that takes place in the old west. The film is never made.
February 24 - The Beatles begin filming their second film, Help!.
March 4 - Under the advice of producer Tom Wilson, Simon and Garfunkel record a heavy backing band onto their song "The Sounds Of Silence," for release on 45 rpm single, and record backing song "We've Got A Groovey Thing Goin'" for it. The single will go on to hit #1 on the Billboard charts in December.
March 18 - Rolling Stones Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Bill Wyman are fined five pounds for urinating on the wall of a London gas station. The band had asked to use the restroom, but it was out of order.
April 11 - The New Musical Express poll winners' concert takes place featuring performances by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Freddie and the Dreamers, the Animals, the Kinks, the Searchers, the Seekers, Herman's Hermits, Moody Blues, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Donovan, Them, Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield and Tom Jones
April 21 - The Beach Boys appear on Shindig! performing their most recent hit, "Do You Wanna Dance?"
April 26 - Leopold Stokowski conducts the first complete performance of Charles Ives' Symphony No. 4, more than ten years after the composer's death
May 6 - Keith Richards and Mick Jagger begin work on "Satisfaction" in their Clearwater, Florida hotel room. Richards came up with the classic guitar riff while playing around with his brand new Gibson "Fuzz box".
May 9 - Bob Dylan performs the first of two concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall, concluding his tour of Europe. Audience members include The Beatles, and Donovan.
June 12- The Beatles were appointed Members of the British Empire (MBE) by the Queen. Since it was unusual for rock stars to be appointed as MBEs, a number of previous recipients complained and protested.
July 25 - Bob Dylan plays Newport Folk Festival, is booed for playing electric set with Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Joan Baez and Donovan also play sets.
August 15 - The Beatles play Shea Stadium, which was the first rock concert to be held in a venue of that size. The concert also set new world records for attendance (55,600+) and for revenue.
August 27 - The Beatles visit Elvis Presley at his home in Bel-Air. It is the first and only time the band and the singer met.
September - Paul Simon is about to go on stage at a Danish folk club when he learns that his song "The Sounds Of Silence" has entered the top 100 in the Billboard charts.
September 30 - Donovan appears on Shindig! in the U.S. and plays Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Universal Soldier".
October 15 - Guitarist Jimi Hendrix signs a three year recording contract with Ed Chaplin, receiving $1 and 1% royalty on records with Curtis Knight. The agreement will later cause continuous litigation problems with Hendrix and other record labels.
November 26 - Arlo Guthrie is arrested in Great Barrington, Massachusetts for the crime of littering, perpetrated the day before (Thanksgiving) in the nearby town of Stockbridge. The resultant events and adventure would be immortalized in the song "Alice's Restaurant".
Paul Simon spends most of the year in the United Kingdom, building his career as a traveling solo folk-rock singer-songwriter.
Dalida receives the Cico Viola Prize in Brazil for her hit single "Zorba o Greco" and is named favourite French singer in an FOP poll.
The Grateful Dead's musical career begins
Teddy Pendergrass' musical career begins
The Delfonics' musical career begins
The Byrds' musical career begins
Jefferson Airplane's musical career begins
Lucinda Williams' musical career begins
Burt Bacharach's musical career begins
Los Jairas forms
Marc Bolan's musical career begins
Merle Haggard's musical career begins
Mireille Mathieu's musical career begins
Pink Floyd's musical career begins
Paul & Paula break up
The Velvet Underground forms
Commercial sale of pre-recorded musicassettes begins

Albums released

The Beach Boys Today! - The Beach Boys
Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!) - The Beach Boys
Beach Boys' Party! - The Beach Boys
Help! - The Beatles
Rubber Soul - The Beatles
Maria Bethânia - Maria Bethânia
Mr. Tambourine Man - The Byrds
Turn! Turn! Turn! - The Byrds
Downtown - Petula Clark
I Know a Place - Petula Clark
Bringing It All Back Home - Bob Dylan
Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan
Ella at Duke's Place - Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington
Ella in Hamburg - Ella Fitzgerald
Maiden Voyage - Herbie Hancock
The Wonderful World of Antonio Carlos Jobim - Antonio Carlos Jobim
Kinda Kinks - The Kinks
The Kink Kontroversy - The Kinks
Go Now! - The Moody Blues
Orbisongs - Roy Orbison
There Is Only One Roy Orbison - Roy Orbison
Otis Blue - Otis Redding
Going To A Go-Go - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
December's Children (And Everybody's) - The Rolling Stones
Out of Our Heads - The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones, Now! - The Rolling Stones
The Paul Simon Song Book - Paul Simon
A Man and His Music - Frank Sinatra
My Kind of Broadway - Frank Sinatra
September of My Years - Frank Sinatra
The Singer Today - Frank Sinatra
My Generation - The Who

Top hits on record

"All I Really Want To Do" - The Byrds
"All Summer Long" - The Beach Boys
"Baby Please Don't Go" - Them
"Cara Mia" - Jay and the Americans
"Day Tripper" - The Beatles
"Don't Just Stand There" - Patty Duke
"Downtown" - Petula Clark
"Eight Days A Week" - The Beatles
"England Swings" - Roger Miller
"Five O'Clock World" - Vogues
"Hang On Sloopy" - The McCoys
"Help!" - The Beatles
"Help Me Rhonda" - The Beach Boys
"Hene Ma Tov" - Dalida
"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" - The Four Tops
"I Got You (I Feel Good)" - James Brown
"I Got You Babe" - Sonny & Cher
"I Know a Place" - Petula Clark
"Il Silenzio (Bonsoir mon Amour)" - Dalida
"Is It Really Over" - Jim Reeves
"King of the Road" - Roger Miller
"La Danse de Zorbaq (Zorba's Dance)" - Dalida
"La Sainte Totoche" - Dalida
"Le Flamenco" - Dalida
"Let's Hang On" - The Four Seasons
"Like A Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan
"A Lover's Concerto" - The Toys
"Mr. Tambourine Man" - The Byrds
"My Girl" - The Temptations
"Positively 4th Street" - Bob Dylan
"Ride Away" - Roy Orbison
"Satisfaction" - Rolling Stones
"Snow Flake" - Jim Reeves
"The Sound Of Silence" - Simon and Garfunkel
"Subterranean Homesick Blues" - Bob Dylan
"The Last Time" - The Rolling Stones
"This Is It" - Jim Reeves
"Ticket To Ride" - The Beatles
"Turn Turn Turn" - The Byrds
"Viva La Pappa" - Dalida
"We Can Work It Out" - The Beatles
"What's New, Pussycat?" - Tom Jones
"Yes, Mr. Peters" - Roy Drusky and Priscilla Mitchell
"Yesterday" - The Beatles
"You Turn Me On" - Ian Whitcomb
"Tiger Woman" - Claude King

See also: Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1965

Published popular music

"Call Me" w.m. Tony Hatch
"Do I Hear a Waltz?" w. Stephen Sondheim m. Richard Rodgers. Introduced by Elizabeth Allen in the musical Do I Hear a Waltz?.
"Goldfinger" w. Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley m. John Barry. Introduced by Shirley Bassey on the soundtrack of the film Goldfinger
"I Have Confidence" w.m. Richard Rodgers, from the film version of The Sound of Music
"I Know a Place" w.m. Tony Hatch
"The Impossible Dream" w. Joe Darion m. Mitch Leigh from the musical Man Of La Mancha
"Jeannie" w.m. Hugo Montenegro and Buddy Kaye, theme from the TV series I Dream of Jeannie
"Michelle" w.m. John Lennon & Paul McCartney
"Moment To Moment" w. Johnny Mercer m. Henry Mancini from the film Moment To Moment
"On A Clear Day (You Can See Forever)" w. Alan Jay Lerner m. Burton Lane introduced by John Cullum in the musical On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. Performed in the 1970 film version by Yves Montand.
"Something Good" w.m. Richard Rodgers, from the film version of The Sound of Music
"Somewhere My Love (Lara's Theme)" Paul Francis Webster m. Maurice Jarre from the film Doctor Zhivago
"What The World Needs Now Is Love.Hal David m. Burt Bacharach
"What's New Pussycat" w. Hal David m. Burt Bacharach from the film What's New Pussycat?
"Who Can I Turn To?" w.m. Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley from the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint—the Smell of the Crowd
"A World of Our Own" w.m. Tom Springfield
"(On A) Wonderful Day Like Today" w.m. Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley from the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint—the Smell of the Crowd
"You'd Better Come Home" w.m. Tony Hatch
"You're the One" w.m. Petula Clark and Tony Hatch

Classical music

George Crumb - Madrigals, Books I for soprano, vibraphone, and double bass
George Crumb - Madrigals, Books II for soprano, flute/alto flute/piccolo, and percussion
Mario Davidovsky - Inflexions for chamber ensemble
Roberto Gerhard - Concerto for Orchestra
Vittorio Giannini - Symphony no. 5
György Ligeti - Requiem for Soprano and Mezzo Soprano solo, mixed Chorus and Orchestra (1963-65)
Eduard Tubin - Sonata for Viola and Piano