This Date In Music History- July 20

Birthdays:

Carlos Santana ("Evil Ways") is 61.

John Lodge of the Moody Blues ("Nights In White Satin") is 63.

Kim Carnes, of "Bette Davis Eyes" fame, was born in Los Angeles in 1946.

Sex Pistols drummer and later Bananarama producer Paul Cook was born in London in 1956.

Chris Cornell, frontman for megagroups Soundgarden and Audioslave was born in Seattle, WA in 1964.

History:

Today in 1963, the song "Surf City" by Jan & Dean topped the charts and stayed there for 2 weeks. The pair had recorded the song in a converted garage underneath their apartment in Bel Air, California. The single reached #26 in the UK.

In 1954, Elvis Presley performed on one what was probably the smallest stage of his career when he appeared on the back of a flatbed truck outside a Memphis drugstore for its grand opening. Elvis was then a member of The Blue Moon Boys trio with Bill Black and Scotty Moore, who took their name from a song they had recorded just 2 weeks previously, "Blue Moon of Kentucky".

The late Buddy Knox ("Hula Love") was born in 1933.

The Beatles signed a German recording contract with producer Bert Kaempfert in 1961, as the Beat Brothers.

Bob Dylan releases "Like a Rolling Stone" in 1965. The single becomes his first major hit, reaching No. 2.

Pop vocalist Roy Hamilton, the former boxer who first had a hit with "Unchained Melody," dies in New Rochelle, N.Y. in 1969, after suffering a stroke.

Engineer Gary Kellgren drowned in a Hollywood swimming pool in 1977. As well as making classic albums like Jimi Hendrix's "Electric Ladyland" and Frank Zappa's "We're Only in It for the Money" sound the way they do, he was the operator of the Los Angeles Record Plant studio.

The Iron Butterfly’s epic “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” featuring the 17:05 title track, complete with drum solo, entered the album chart in 1968 for a two-and-a-half year stay. Also in 1968, Cream`s “Wheels Of Fire,” a double album with both live and studio material, enters the LP chart. The set contains “White Room” and Eric Clapton’s signature song “Crossroads.”

Billboard's first comprehensive record chart is published in 1940. The magazine had previously published best-seller lists submitted by the individual record companies, but the new chart combined the top sellers from all major labels. Their first number one song was "I'll Never Smile Again" by Frank Sinatra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.

Lesley Gore released "Judy's Turn To Cry" in 1963, the follow up to her number one hit, "It's My Party". The record was a continuation of the original story and it too became a Top 5 hit in the US.

The Lovin' Spoonful released their first record, "Do You Believe in Magic" in 1965. It will reach #9 on the US pop chart.

In 1968, Jane Asher announced on a national British TV show, Dee Time, that her engagement to Paul McCartney was off. McCartney reportedly was watching at a friend's home and was surprised by the news. Jane went on to have a successful career in films and on television