Perhaps the two most famous musical events of 1969 were concerts. At a Rolling Stonesconcert in Altamont, California, a fan was stabbed to death by Hells Angels, a biker gang that had been hired to provide security for the event. In retrospect, some commentators have concluded that the violence signaled the end of the "hippie" movement, which espoused an ethos of free love and peace. Even more famous than the Altamont concert was the Woodstock festival, which consisted of dozens of the most famous performers in the world at the time, playing together in an atmosphere of peace with nature and love, with many thousands of concert goers; it is still one of the largest concerts in the history of the world. One of those who performed was Ravi Shankar, his presence reflecting a growing interest in Indian and other Eastern music; Shankar later said that the 1960s "got India wrong".[1] "Black Woodstock", the Harlem Cultural Festival, took place in New York City.[2]The Beatles' rooftop concert was the last time the band played together in public.
David Bowie's "Space Oddity" became a huge hit in this year, being released at the time that American astronauts first landed on the Moon. The song, the story of an astronaut named Major Tom who goes into space and is entranced by the beauty of seeing Earth from such a great distance and consequently lets himself float off into space, never again to return, was chosen by the BBC as the theme song for the television coverage of the Moon landing. The remainder of the album, Man of Words/Man of Music, was too eccentric for mainstream acceptance, though it established a devoted fanbase for Bowie, who would go on to become one of the most popular musicians in the world.
The Stooges' eponymous debut, The Stooges, was also released this year to little critical or popular acceptance. The album, however, went on to become one of the most important recordings in the early development of punk rock, as did Kick Out The Jams by Detroit protopunkers MC5.
Creedence Clearwater Revival cement their success from the previous year. Having had a single US number 11 hit in 1968 with "Suzie Q", they release not only their second, but also their third and fourth proper studio album in 1969, as well as drawing a total of four top 3 hits from these three albums. Starting with Bayou Country, including the US number 2 hit "Proud Mary", and continuing with Green River and finally Willy and the Poor Boys, which, during the year, transformed them from an up-and-coming underground act to bona fide rock stars. During 1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival had number 2 hits in the US with "Proud Mary", "Green River" and "Bad Moon Rising", and also have a number 3 hit with "Down on the Corner"/"Fortunate Son".
Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso released enormously popular albums in Brazil, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, respectively. The pair's fusion of bossa nova, samba and other native Brazilian folk influences, melded with politically and socially aware lyrics, kickstarted what came to be known as Tropicalia. Both musicians moved to London after a period of imprisonment for anti-government activities in Brazil.
Family released their second album, Family Entertainment, in their native Britain. It is their first top 10 album in the United Kingdom, hitting number six. "The Weaver's Answer", which opens the record, becomes their most popular song in their concert performances. By the end of the year, however, they lose and replace two members, and their first attempt to break through commercially in the United States backfires miserably.
Cher was going broke after the commercial failure of her last two albums. She then starred in the film "Chastity" which had a soundtrack album produced by Sonny Bono. She also released her 6th solo studio album, 3614 Jackson Highway, which was also a commercial failure, but it was where she first explored blues and soul music, being highly praised by critics for her musical and vocal evolution.[7]
1969 was the last year in which the United States government gave greater financial support, through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) "Music Program" to opera than it did to other classical music, and the first year in which it gave any support at all to jazz and folk music.[8]
January 4 – Guitarist Jimi Hendrix is accused of arrogance by British television producers after playing an impromptu version of "Sunshine of Your Love" past his allotted timeslot on the BBC1 show Happening for Lulu.
February 15 – Vickie Jones is arrested for impersonating Aretha Franklin in a concert performance. Jones' impersonation is so convincing that nobody in the audience asked for a refund.
February 18 – Lulu and Maurice Gibb are married in the UK. Maurice's twin brother Robin Gibb is best man. Three thousand guests, most of them uninvited, turn out for the affair.
March 1 – During a performance at Miami's Dinner Key Auditorium, Jim Morrison of the Doors is arrested for allegedly exposing himself during the show. Morrison is officially charged with lewd and lascivious behavior, indecent behavior, open profanity and public drunkenness.
March 25-31 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono host a "Bed-In" for peace in their room at the Amsterdam Hilton, turning their honeymoon into an antiwar event. Lennon also learns from a morning newspaper that publisherDick James has sold his shares of Northern Songs to Lew Grade's Associated Television (ATV).
April 1 – The Beach Boys file a lawsuit against their record label, Capitol Records, for $2,041,446.64 in unpaid royalties and producer's fees for Brian Wilson. Capitol retaliates by deleting most of its Beach Boys catalog, severely limiting the band's income.
April 8 – Opening for Ten Years After at the Fillmore East in New York City, Family perform their first U.S. concert, and the show is an unmitigated disaster. Vocalist Roger Chapman, on his 27th birthday, throws a microphone stand into the audience, unintentionally in the direction of Fillmore East impresario Bill Graham.
April 20 – The L.A. Free Festival in Venice, California ends before it even starts, following a riot of audience members, 117 of which are arrested. None of the performers scheduled to play appear.
John Lennon changes his middle name from Winston to Ono.
April 24 – The Beatles make a $5.1 million counter offer to the Northern Songs stockholders in an attempt to keep Associated TV from controlling the band's music.
Sly & the Family Stone release their breakthrough album, Stand!, which became one of the top-selling albums of the decade and made the band one of the most popular acts in rock and soul music.
Jimi Hendrix is arrested by Canadian Mounties at Toronto's International Airport for possession of narcotics (heroin). Hendrix is released on $10,000 bail.
June 29 – Bass player Noel Redding announces to the media that he has quit the Jimi Hendrix Experience, having effectively done so during the recording of Electric Ladyland.
July 5 – The Rolling Stones proceed with a free concert in Hyde Park, London, as a tribute to Brian Jones; it is also the band's first concert with guitarist Mick Taylor. Estimates of the audience range from 250,000 to 400,000.
September 13 – John Lennon and Plastic Ono Band perform at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival 12-hour music festival, backed by Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann and Alan White. Other performers on the bill include Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and up-and-comers Chicago. It is Lennon's first-ever large-scale public rock performance (noting his lower-profile 1968 appearance in the Dirty Mac) without one or more of The Beatles since meeting Paul McCartney in 1957. He decides before returning to the UK to leave The Beatles permanently. During the show, a chicken is somehow in a feather pillow that Alice Cooper normally uses as a stage routine during his band's performance. Cooper, thinking that all birds fly, throws the chicken into the audience and fans tear the chicken and throw it back on stage. The event would be known as "The Chicken Incident" and Cooper develops his reputation as a shock-rocker.
October 14 – The final single by Diana Ross & The Supremes, "Someday We'll Be Together", is released. The single, although credited to Diana Ross & the Supremes, was actually sung by Ross with session singers "the Andantes", instead of the other two Supremes.[15] Nonetheless, it becomes the final number 1 hit of 1969 (and of the 1960s). After a farewell concert in January 1970, Diana Ross leaves the Supremes for a solo career.
Musik für die Beethovenhalle in Bonn, a multi-auditorium retrospective concert of the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen, with the world premiere of his Fresco presented in four different foyer spaces continuously over a span of four-and-a-half hours.
November 29 – Billboard magazine changes its policy of charting the A and B sides of 45 singles on its pop chart. The former policy charted the two sides separately, but the new policy considers both sides as one chart entry. The Beatles are the first beneficiary of the new policy as their current 45 single featuring "Come Together" on one side, and "Something" on the other, accrue enough combined points to make the single a #1 pop hit. Similarly, Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son" and "Down On The Corner" accrue enough combined points to reach number 3 three weeks later.
November 30 – Simon & Garfunkel air TV special Songs of America, ostensibly an hour-long show that is anti-war and anti-poverty featuring live footage from their 1969 tour.
December 13 - the final episode of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour airs on NBC as the network cancels the program during a telecast of Rudolph the red nosed reindeer a week later.
TOP RECORDS OF 1969 (Based on Billboard Charts)
The information compiled for the Top Records of 1969 was based on the weekly chart positioning and length of time records were on the respective charts from the Billboard issue dates of January 4, 1969, through December 13, 1969. These recaps, as well as the weekly charts, do not reflect actual sales figures. The ratings take into account the number of weeks the disk was on the chart, plus the weekly positions it held during its chart life. Each disk was given points accordingly for its respective chart. These recaps were compiled by the staff of the Billboard Popularity Charts Department, under the direction of Andy Tomko.
NOTE: Since the singles charts listed the most popular single sides and not the single record (with both sides) for the first 47 weeks of the year, the recaps list single sides in order of strength. In the case of a two-sided hit single, both sides were listed in the recaps based on the individual strength on the weekly chart.
The 1969 Billboard year-end list is composed of records that entered the Billboard Hot 100 during November–December 1968 (only when the majority of chart weeks were in 1969), January to November–December 1969 (majority of chart weeks in 1969). Records with majority of chart weeks in 1968 or 1970 are included in the year-end charts for those years, respectively, and multiple appearances are not permitted. Each week thirty points were awarded to the number one record, then nineteen points for number two, eighteen points for number three, and so on. The total points a record earned determined its year-end rank. The complete chart life of each record is represented. There are no ties, even when multiple records have the same number of points. The next ranking category is peak chart position, then weeks at peak chart position, weeks in top ten, weeks in top forty, and finally weeks on Hot 100 chart.
The chart can be sorted by Artist, Song title, Recording and Release dates, Cashbox year-end ranking (CB) or units sold (sales) by clicking on the column header. Additional details for each record can be accessed by clicking on the song title, and referring to the Infobox in the right column of the song page. Billboard also has chart summaries on its website. Cashbox rankings were derived by same process as the Billboard rankings. Sales information was derived from the RIAA's Gold and Platinum database, the BRIT Certified database and The Book of Golden Discs,[23] but numbers listed should be regarded as estimates. Grammy Hall of Fame and National Recording Registry information with sources can be found on Wikipedia.
US Billboard 1969 #9, Hot100 #1 for 2 week, 17 total weeks,[25] 204 points, Top Soul Singles 1969 #1, Hot Soul Singles #1 for 5 weeks, 15 total weeks, 288 points
US Billboard 1969 #10, Hot100 #1 for 1 week, 17 total weeks, 197 points, Top Easy Listening Singles 1969 #5, Easy Listening Singles #1 for 3 weeks, 16 total weeks, 212 points, Grammy Hall of Fame 1998
US Billboard 1969 #13, Hot100 #1 for 1 week, 16 total weeks, 181 points, Top Soul Singles 1969 #3, Hot Soul Singles #1 for 4 weeks, 15 total weeks, 254 points
US Billboard 1969 #25, Hot100 #2 for 2 weeks, 14 total weeks, 139 points, Top Easy Listening Singles 1969 #4, Easy Listening Singles #1 for 4 weeks, 14 total weeks, 232 points
US Billboard 1969 #28, Hot100 #2 for 3 weeks, 12 total weeks, 136 points, Top Country Singles 1969 #4, Country Singles #1 for 5 weeks, 14 total weeks, 220 points, National Recording Registry 2003
US Billboard 1969 #32, Hot100 #2 for 1 week, 14 total weeks, 133 points, Top Soul Singles 1969 #6, Hot Soul Singles #1 for 4 weeks, 14 total weeks, 240 points
US Billboard 1969 #36, Hot100 #4 for 1 week, 15 total weeks, 126 points, Top Soul Singles 1969 #2, Hot Soul Singles #1 for 6 weeks, 15 total weeks, 279 points
US Billboard 1969 #43, Hot100 #5 for 2 weeks, 14 total weeks, 113 points, Top Soul Singles 1969 #4, Hot Soul Singles #1 for 2 weeks, 16 total weeks, 244 points
US Billboard 1969 #84, Hot100 #10 for 1 week, 11 total weeks, 59 points, Top Soul Singles 1969 #5, Hot Soul Singles #1 for 5 weeks, 17 total weeks, 243 points
US Billboard 1969 #286, Hot100 #42 for 2 weeks, 12 total weeks, Top Country Singles 1969 #1, Country Singles #1 for 6 weeks, 20 total weeks, 269 points
US Billboard 1969 #479, Hot100 #74 for 1 week, 16 total weeks, 4 points, Top Country Singles 1969 #2, Country Singles #1 for 3 weeks, 16 total weeks, 238 points, Grammy Hall of Fame 1999, National Recording Registry 2010
US Billboard 1969 #98, Hot100 #11 for 1 week, 16 total weeks, 47 points, Top Easy Listening Singles 1969 #1, Easy Listening Singles #1 for 7 weeks, 20 total weeks, 320 points
US Billboard 1969 #46, Hot100 #4 for 1 week, 12 total weeks, 107 points, Top Easy Listening Singles 1969 #2, Easy Listening Singles #1 for 6 weeks, 13 total weeks, 245 points
US Billboard 1969 #171, Hot100 #24 for 2 weeks, 11 total weeks, Top Easy Listening Singles 1969 #3, Easy Listening Singles #1 for 2 weeks, 16 total weeks, 242 points
1776 Broadway production opened at the 46th Street Theatre on March 16, transferred to the St. James Theatre on December 28, 1970, and transferred to the Majestic Theatre on April 27, 1971, for a total run of 1217 performances
