See also:
1965 in music,
other events of 1966,
1967 in music, 1960s in music and the list of 'years in music'
Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1966
Events
- January 3 - Hullabaloo shows promotional videos of The Beatles songs "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out".
- January 8 - Shindig! airs for the last time on ABC, with musical guests the Kinks and the Who
- January 14 - Young singer David Jones changes his last name to Bowie to avoid being confused with Davy Jones of the Monkees
- January 17 - Simon and Garfunkel release Sounds of Silence, which hits #1 on Billboard charts
- January 21 - Beatle George Harrison marries fashion model Pattie Boyd. The couple met on the set of the Beatles' first movie, A Hard Day's Night.
- February 19 - Jefferson Airplane and Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin perform at the Fillmore
- March 3 - Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay form Buffalo Springfield in Los Angeles, California.
- March 4 - The Beatles' John Lennon is quoted in the London newspaper, The Evening Standard as saying that the band was now more popular than Jesus. Beatles protests and record burnings follow in the Southern US's "Bible Belt".
- March 6 - In the UK, 5,000 fans of the Beatles sign a petition urging British Prime minister Harold Wilson to reopen Liverpool's legendary Cavern Club.
- April - Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass place 4 albums in Billboard's Top 10. A world record.
- April 12 - In Los Angeles, California, Jan Berry, of Jan and Dean, crashes his Corvette into a truck that is parked on Whittier Boulevard. Berry suffers total physical paralysis for over a year as well as extensive brain damage.
- May 1 - The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and the Who perform at the New Musical Express' poll winners' show in London. The show is televised, except for The Beatles' and The Stones' segments, thanks to union conflicts.
- May 16 - Legendary album Pet Sounds by Beach Boys released
- May 17 - Bob Dylan and the Hawks (later The Band) play their legendary show at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England, during which Dylan is booed by the audience due to his decision to tour with an electric band; the booing culminates in the famous "Judas" shout.
- June 6 – At Gallatin, Tennessee, 25-year-old Claudette Frady-Orbison, while motorcycycle riding with her husband Roy Orbison, was killed when her motorcycle was struck by a pickup truck.
- July 2 - The Beatles become the first musical group to perform at the Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo. The performance ignited a lot of protest from local citizens who felt that it was inappropriate for a rock and roll band to play at Budokan.
- July 29 - Bob Dylan is involved in a motorcycle accident
- August 11 - John Lennon holds a press conference in Chicago, Illinois to apologize for his remarks the previous March. "I suppose if I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I would have gotten away with it. I'm sorry I opened my mouth. I'm not anti-God, anti-Christ, or anti-religion. I was not knocking it. I was not saying we are greater or better."
- August 29 - The Beatles perform their last official concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California
- September - George Harrison travels to India for 6 weeks to study sitar with Ravi Shankar
- September 12 - First episode of The Monkees is broadcast on NBC Television
- October 7 - Johnny Kidd, writer or 'Shakin All Over' dies in a car accident.
- October 8 - WOR-FM in New York City becomes the first FM rock music station, under the leadership of legendary DJ Murray The K.
- October 10 - Simon and Garfunkel release Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, which hits #4 on Billboard charts
- The Crystals, of 'Da Do Ron Ron' fame disband
Albums released
Top hits on record
Other Singles
Published popular music
Births
- January 4 - Deana Carter
- January 5 - Kate Schellenbach, Luscious Jackson
- January 8 - Andrew Wood, Mother Love Bone
- January 12 - Rob Zombie, White Zombie
- January 16 - Maxine Jones, En Vogue
- January 20 - Wes King, guitarist, singer
- February 2 - Robert DeLeo, Stone Temple Pilots
- February 6 - Rick Astley
- February 9 - Rachel Bolan, Skid Row
- March 2 - Howard Bernstein, producer
- March 3 - Tone-Loc
- March 10 - Edie Brickell
- March 12 - David Daniels, countertenor
- March 18 - Jerry Cantrell, Alice In Chains
- March 19 - Anja Rupel, singer
- March 23 - Marti Pellow, Wet Wet Wet
- April 11 - Lisa Stansfield, singer
- April 13 - Marc Ford, The Black Crowes
- April 18 - Ana Voog, singer-songwriter
- April 28 - $hort" target="_blank" >*, rapper
- May 13 - Darius Rucker, Hootie & The Blowfish
- May 14 - Raphael Saadiq, singer-songwriter and record producer
- May 16 - Janet Jackson, Singer-songwriter and dancer
- May 26 - Tommy Stewart, Godsmack
- June 4 - Cecilia Bartoli
- July 15 - Jason Bonham, drummer
- July 20 - Stone Gossard, Pearl Jam
- August 11 - Juan Maria Solare, composer
- August 19 - Lee Ann Womack, singer
- August 22 - GZA/Genius, Rapper
- August 25 - Terminator X, DJ
- September 5 - Terry Ellis, En Vogue
- September 10 - Robin Goodridge, Bush
- September 20 - Nuno Bettancourt, Extreme
- October 2 - Mousse T., DJ
- October 8 - Teddy Riley, R&B musician
- October 15 - Eric Benét, gospel singer
- October 18 - Tim Cross, Sponge
- October 19 - Sinitta, US singer
- October 31 - King Ad-Rock, The Beastie Boys
- November 6 - Christian Lorenz, keyboard player
- November 17 - Jeff Buckley
- November 23 - Charlie Grover, Sponge
- November 24 - Joseph Run Simmons, Run D.M.C.
- November 25 - Stacy Lattisaw
- December 8 - Sinéad O'Connor
- December 20 - Chris Robinson, The Black Crowes
- December 29 - Dexter Holland of The Offspring
Deaths
Awards
External Charts
1966 in music
1966 en musique | 1966 - muzyka | 1966 в музыке | Musikåret 1966