1963 in music (original) (raw)
See also: 1962 in music, other events of 1963, 1964 in music, 1960s in music and the list of 'years in music'
Events
- January 1 - The Beatles start a 5 day tour in Scotland to support the release of their new single, "Love Me Do".
- January 7 - Gary U.S. Bonds files a $100,000 lawsuit against Chubby Checker, claiming that Checker stole "Quarter to Three" and turned it into "Dancin' Party." The lawsuit is later settled out of court.
- January 11 - The Whiskey-a-Go-Go night club in Los Angeles, the first disco in the USA, is opened.
- January 12 - Bob Dylan portrays a folk singer in The Madhouse of Castle Street, a radio play for the BBC in London.
- February 16 - The Beatles receive their first #1 hit single, when "Please Please Me" tops the charts in the UK
- February 16 - Paul Anka marries Marie-Ann DeZogheb
- February 22 - The Beatles form Northern Songs Publishing Company.
- March 5 - Patsy Cline is killed in small plane crash near Camden, Tennessee, while on her way to Nashville, Tennessee from St. Louis, Missouri.
- April 29 - 19 year old Andrew Loog Oldham signs a contract with The Rolling Stones, becoming their manager. Oldham had seen the band in concert the previous day at the Crawdaddy Club in London.
- The Beatles record their first album, Please Please Me
- The Righteous Brothers begin performing together;
- Lonnie Mack begins his musical career;
- The Kinks form
- Herman's Hermits form
- Philips introduce the Musicassette at the Berlin Funkaustellung
- Coxsone Dodd opens the first black-owned recording studio in Jamaica, named Studio One
- Lord Shorty's "Clock and Dagger" is widely considered the first soca recording
Albums released
- Please Please Me - The Beatles
- In Dreams - Roy Orbison
- Follow The Boys - Connie Francis
Top hits on record
- "Please Please Me" - The Beatles
- "She Loves You" - The Beatles
- "Love Me Do" - The Beatles
- "I Want To Hold Your Hand" - The Beatles
- "From Me To You" - The Beatles
- "In Dreams" - Roy Orbison
- "Blue Bayou" - Roy Orbison
- "Pretty Paper" - Roy Orbison
- "He's So Fine" - The Chiffons
- "Bo Diddley" - Buddy Holly
- "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" - Buddy Holly
- "Surf City" - Jan & Dean
- "It's My Party" - Leslie Gore
- "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa" - Gene Pitney
- "Be My Baby" - The Ronettes
- "Wipe Out" - The Surfaris
- "If I Had A Hammer" - Trini Lopez
- "Da Doo Ron Ron" - The Crystals
- "Pipeline" - The Chantays
- "Walk Like A Man" - The Four Seasons
- "Heat Wave" - Martha & the Vandellas
- "Up On The Roof" - The Drifters
- "I Can't Stay Mad At You" - Skeeter Davis
- "Only In America" - Jay & the Americans
- "Wonderful Summer" - Robin Ward
Published popular songs
- "18 Yellow Roses" Bobby Darin
- "Abilene" w.m. John D. Loudermilk, Lester Brown, Bob Gibson, Albert Stanton
- "All My Loving" w.m. John Lennon & Paul McCartney
- "Another Saturday Night" w.m. Sam Cooke
- "As Usual" Zanetis
- "Charade" w. Johnny Mercer m. Henry Mancini
- "Da Do Ron Ron" w.m. Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich & Jeff Barry
- "Detroit City" w.m. Mel Tillis & Danny Dill
- "Dominique" Soeur Sourire
- "Don't Talk To Him" Richard, Welch
- "Don't You Forget It" w. Al Stillman m. Henry Mancini
- "Flash! Bang! Wallop!" w.m.David Heneker
- "From Me To You" w.m. John Lennon & Paul McCartney
- "Good Morning, Good Day" w. Sheldon Harnick m. Jerry Bock
- "Half A Sixpence" w.m.David Heneker
- "Hello, Dolly" w.m. Jerry Herman
- "How Do You Do It?" w.m. Mitch Murray
- "I Call Your Name" w.m. John Lennon & Paul McCartney
- "I Like It" Murray
- "I Saw Her Standing There" w.m. John Lennon & Paul McCartney
- "I Want To Hold Your Hand" w.m. John Lennon & Paul McCartney
- "I Will Follow Him" w. (Eng) Norman Gimbel & Arthur Altman m. J. W. Stole & Del Roma
- "I'll Get You" w.m. John Lennon & Paul McCartney
- "It Won't Be Long" w.m. John Lennon & Paul McCartney
- "It's My Party" w.m. Herb Wiener, Wally Gold & John Gluck Jnr
- "Kissin' Cousins" w.m. Fred Wise & Randy Starr
- "Losing You" w.(Eng) Carl Sigman m. Jean Renard
- "Make The World Go Away" w.m. Hank Cochran
- "Move Over Darling" Kanter
- "On Broadway" w.m. Cynthia Weil, Barry Mann, Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller
- "On The Beach" Welch, Marvin, Richard
- "The Pink Panther" w. Johnny Mercer m. Henry Mancini
- "Pretty Paper" Willie Nelson
- "Reverend Mr Black" Billy Edd Wheeler, Jed Peters
- "She Loves You" w.m. John Lennon & Paul McCartney
- "Surf City" w.m. Jan Berry & Brian Wilson
- "Surfer Girl" w.m. Brian Wilson
- "Talk Back Trembling Lips" w.m. John D. Loudermilk
- "The Times They Are A-Changin' " w.m. Bob Dylan
- "Viva Las Vegas" Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman
- "Washington Square" w.m. Bob Goldstein & David Shire
- "Wives And Lovers" w. Hal David m. Burt Bacharach
- "You Were Made For Me" Murray
Musical theater
- 110 In The Shade Broadway production
- At The Drop Of Another Hat London production
- The Boys From Syracuse London production
- Carnival London production
- A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum London production
- Half A Sixpence London production
- Here's Love Broadway production
- How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying London production
- Oh! What a Lovely War London production
- Oliver Broadway production
- On The Town London production
- Pickwick London production
- She Loves Me Broadway production
- Wish You Were Here London production
Musical films
- Bye Bye Birdie
- Summer Holiday
Births
- January 4 - Robin Guthrie, Cocteau Twins
- January 26 - Jazzie B, Soul II Soul
- January 26 - Andrew Ridgeley, Wham
- January 28 - Dan Spitz, Anthrax
- February 2 - Eva Cassidy
- February 19 - Seal
- March 1 - Dan Michaels, The Choir, The Swirling Eddies, owner of Galaxy21 Music
- March 4 - Jason Newsted, Metallica
- March 10 - Jeff Ament, Pearl Jam
- March 15 - Bret Michaels, Poison
- April 8 - Julian Lennon, son of John Lennon
- June 25 - George Michael
- June 30 - Yngwie J. Malmsteen, guitar preformer
- July 22 - Emily Saliers, Indigo Girls
- August 3 - James Hetfield, Metallica
- August 12 - Sir Mix-A-Lot
- August 22 - Tori Amos
- August 22 - James DeBarge, DeBarge
- October 26 - Natalie Merchant
- October 30 - Jerry DeBorg, Jesus Jones
- November 1 - Rick Allen, Def Leppard
- November 2 - Bobby Dall, Poison
- December 26 - Lars Ulrich, Metallica
- December 31 - Scott Ian, Anthrax
Deaths
- January 6 - Lina Barbanell, German singer and actress
- March 5 - Patsy Cline, plane crash
- May 10 - Irving Aaronson, bandleader and composer
- October 11 - Edith Piaf, French singing superstar
- November 26 - Amelita Galli-Curci, Operatic soprano