- Jan 2 "Fig Leaves Are Falling" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 4 performances
- Jan 2 The Beatles begin rehearsals, while being filmed, for the Let It Be project at Twickenham Film Studios, London
Music History
Jan 3 John Lennon's "Two Virgins" album declared pornographic in New Jersey
Album Release
Jan 5 Creedence Clearwater Revival release their second album "Bayou Country", featuring singles "Good Golly, Miss Molly" and "Proud Mary"
Music Single
Jan 6 The Supremes release single "I'm Livin' In Shame"
- Jan 11 "Hooked on a Feeling" by BJ Thomas peaks at #5
- Jan 12 "Golden Rainbow" closes at Shubert Theater NYC after 355 performances
- Jan 12 Atlantic Records releases eponymous debut album of Led Zeppelin in US
- Jan 22 "Celebration" opens at Ambassador Theater NYC for 110 performances
- Jan 26 "Red, White, & Maddox" opens at Cort Theater NYC for 41 performances
Music History
Jan 29 Jimi Hendrix and Pete Townshend wage a battle of guitars
- Jan 30 The Beatles perform their last live gig, a 42 minute concert on the roof of Apple Corps HQ in London, England
- Feb 7 British rock band The Who record their song "Pinball Wizard" at Morgan Studio's, London
- Feb 17 "Cloud Nine" 9th studio album by The Temptations is released (Grammy Award Best Rhythm & Blues Performance by a Duo or Group 1969, Billboard Album of the Year 1969)
- Feb 25 Beatles begin recording Abbey Road album at Abbey Road Studio, london
- Mar 1 "Red, White, & Maddox" closes at Cort Theater NYC after 41 performances
- Mar 1 After 88 weeks, the Beatles' album "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" drops off the charts
Music History
Mar 1 Jim Morrison allegedly exposes himself on stage at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Miami, Florida
Music History
Mar 2 Dmitri Shostakovich completes his 14th Symphony
Grammy Awards
Mar 12 11th Grammy Awards: "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" by Glen Campbell wins best record
- Mar 16 Peter Stone & Sherman Edward's "1776" premieres at 46th St Theater NYC for 1217 performances
- Mar 18 "Come Summer" opens at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC for 7 performances
- Mar 22 "Come Summer" closes at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC after 7 performances
- Mar 25 John Lennon and Yoko Ono stage their 1st bed-in for peace (Amsterdam)
- Mar 29 14th Eurovision Song Contest: Salome for Spain ("Vivo cantando"), Lulu of United Kingdom ("Boom Bang-a-Bang"), Lenny Kuhr of Netherlands ("De troubadour"), and Frida Boccara of France ("Un jour, un enfant") all win in Madrid
Music History
Mar 31 George Harrison and Pattie Boyd are fined £250 each for illegal drugs
Academy Awards
Apr 14 41st Academy Awards: "Oliver", Cliff Robertson & Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand win (1st ever tie for best actress)
- Apr 17 The Band (formerly The Hawks), perform their 1st concert, at Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, California
Music History
Apr 24 Paul McCartney says there is no truth to rumors he is dead
- Apr 26 "Celebration" closes at Ambassador Theater NYC after 110 performances
- Apr 26 "George M!" closes at Palace Theater NYC after 435 performances
- Apr 28 Rock band King Crimson with Robert Fripp, Greg Lake & Ian McDonald debuts
- Apr 28 4th Academy of Country Music Awards: Glen Campbell and Cathie Taylor win
- Apr 29 "Trumpets of the Lord" opens at Brooks Atkinson NYC for 7 performances
Album Release
May 1 Reprise Records releases "Clouds", Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell's 2nd studio album
- May 3 "Trumpets of the Lord" closes at Brooks Atkinson NYC after 7 performances
Music History
May 16 Barbra Streisand appears at a Friars Club Tribute
- May 16 The Who's Pete Townsend and Roger Daltrey charged with assault
- May 17 "My Wife, My Dog, My Cat" by Maskman & The Agents hits #92
- May 18 "Canterbury Tales" closes at Eugene O'Neill Theater NYC after 122 performances
- May 23 The Who release rock opera "Tommy"
- May 24 Beatles' "Get Back" single goes #1 and stays #1 for 5 weeks
- May 24 "Sugar, Sugar" single released by cartoon band The Archies (Billboard Song of the Year, 1969)
- May 26 John Lennon and Yoko Ono begin their 2nd bed-in for peace at Hotel La Reine Elizabeth, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- May 31 "Dear World" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 132 performances
- May 31 "Gitarzan" by Ray Stevens peaks at #8
- May 31 John Lennon and Yoko Ono record "Give Peace a Chance" in a Montreal hotel, during their second 'bed-in' for peace
Music Single
May 31 Stevie Wonder releases the single "My Cherie Amour" which goes on to become a soul classic
- Jun 4 Beatles release "The Ballad Of John & Yoko" and "Old Brown Shoe" in the US
Television Debut
Jun 7 "Johnny Cash Show" debuts on ABC-TV
Music Premiere
Jun 7 Supergroup Blind Faith's debut performance in Hyde Park, London, featuring Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Steve Baler and Rick Grech
Music History
Jun 8 Brian Jones is asked to leave The Rolling Stones
- Jun 8 Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor replaces Brian Jones
- Jun 9 Brian Jones leaves the Rolling Stones after developing a serious drug problem
- Jun 11 "The Ballad Of John & Yoko" by The Beatles hits #1 in UK; recording involved only John (guitars, vocals, percussion) and Paul (bass, drums, piano, backing voice)
- Jun 13 Mick Taylor leaves John Mayall Band and joins The Rolling Stones
TV Show Appearance
Jun 14 John Lennon and Yoko Ono appear on David Frost's British TV Show
- Jun 20 200,000 attend Newport '69', then largest-ever pop concert in Northridge, California. Jimi Hendrix gets $120,000 to appear.
- Jun 21 Dmitri Shostakovich's 14th Symphony premieres in Moscow
- Jun 21 Zager & Evans release "In the Year 2525"
Music History
Jun 22 Aretha Franklin arrested in Detroit for creating a disturbance
- Jun 27 Denver Pop Festival opens; 50,000 attend; Frank Zappa, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Jimi Hendrix headline; other performers include Three Dog Night, Tim Buckley, Big Mama Thornton, Johnny Winter, Joe Cocker, and Poco
- Jul 1 John Lennon and Yoko Ono are admitted to hospital after he crashes his car near Durness in the Scottish Highlands
- Jul 2 American guitarist Leslie West and producer, bassist Felix Pappalardi form rock group Mountain
- Jul 3 78,000 attend Newport Jazz Festival, Newport, Rhode Island
Music History
Jul 4 140,000 attend Atlanta Pop Festival featuring Led Zep and Janis Joplin
- Jul 5 Rolling Stones play a free concert in London's Hyde Park
Music History
Jul 6 Filming begins on "Ned Kelly" starring Mick Jagger
Music Single
Jul 11 David Bowie releases the single "Space Oddity" 9 days before Apollo 11 lands on the moon
- Jul 11 Rolling Stones release "Honky Tonk Woman"
- Jul 22 Aretha Franklin arrested for disturbing the peace in Detroit
Music History
Jul 25 70,000 attend Seattle Pop Festival (across 3 days); performers included: Bo Diddley, Flying Burrito Brothers, Ten Years After, Guess Who, Santana, Tim Buckley, Byrds, Ike & Tina Turner Revue, Chicago Transit Authority, Chuck Berry, Led Zeppelin, and The Doors
- Jul 30 Barbra Streisand opens for Liberace at International Hotel, Las Vegas
- Aug 1 110,000 attend Atlantic City Pop Festival
- Aug 2 Bob Dylan makes surprise appearance at his 10th high school reunion, in Hibbing, Minnesota
- Aug 8 The Beatles are photographed by Iain MacMillan crossing the street as they walk away from EMI Studios, for the cover of their "Abbey Road" album. [1]
- Aug 9 Kander and Ebbs' musical "Zorba" closes at Imperial Theater, NYC, after 305 performances
Woodstock Music and Art Fair
Aug 15 Woodstock Festival opens in Bethel, New York on Max Yasgur's Dairy Farm; performers include Richie Havens, Tim Hardin, Ravi Shankar, Melanie, Arlo Guthrie, and Joan Baez
- Aug 16 Second day of the Woodstock Festival in Bethel, New York; performers include Santana, John Sebastian; Mountain, Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, Sly and the Family Stone, The Who, and Jefferson Airplane
- Aug 17 Woodstock Festival closes with Jimi Hendrix / Band of Gypsys as final act (taking the stage at 9AM on the 18th); other performers included Joe Cocker, Country Joe MacDonald & The Fish, The Band, CSN&Y, and Sha Na Na
- Aug 18 Mick Jagger accidentally shot while filming "Ned Kelly"
- Aug 22 Beatles record a video for "Long & Winding Road"
- Aug 30 120,000 attend Texas International Pop Festival
- Aug 31 25,000 attend New Orleans Pop Festival
- Sep 6 John Kander and Fred Ebb's "Cabaret" closes at Broadhurst Theater, NYC, after 1166 performances and 8 Tony Awards
- Sep 13 Plastic Ono Band's 1st live performance, featuring John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Eric Clapton, the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival festival
- Sep 18 American singer Tiny Tim (37) & Victoria "Miss Vicki" Budinger(17) get engaged
- Sep 20 Virtual band Archies' single "Sugar Sugar" hits #1
- Sep 22 "Music Scene" debuts on ABC-TV
- Sep 23 Northern Star and Illinois Univ newspaper start rumors that Paul McCartney is dead
- Sep 26 The Beatles release "Abbey Road" album, their final recordings as a quartet
- Oct 9 The Supremes release single "Someday We'll Be Together", Diana Ross' last recording with the group
Music History
Oct 10 "Jesus Christ Superstar" soundtrack album by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice is recorded
- Oct 10 British progressive rock band King Crimson releases their debut album "In The Court Of The Crimson King"
Music History
Oct 11 American blues musician Muddy Waters involved in a car crash that kills 3
- Oct 15 3rd Country Music Association Award: Johnny Cash and Tammy Wynette win
Music History
Oct 18 British singer Rod Stewart joins Small Faces
- Oct 19 Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick's musical "The Rothschilds", starring Halden, Jill Clayburgh, and Robby Benson opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, NYC; runs for 505 performances, winning 2 Tony Awards
- Oct 22 Paul McCartney denies greatly exaggerated rumors of his death
- Oct 23 "Jimmy" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 84 performances
- Oct 31 George Harrison's "Something" is released by the Beatles as a single in UK, his first "A" side
- Nov 1 The Beatles' "Abbey Road" album goes #1 in US & stays #1 for 11 weeks
- Nov 7 John Lennon and Yoko Ono release their second album "Wedding Album" in UK
Television Premiere
Nov 9 "An Evening with Julie Andrews and Harry Belafonte", music special with arrangements by Michel Legrand, premieres on NBC-TV
- Nov 11 Beatles with Billy Preston release "Get Back" in UK
- Nov 11 Jim Morrison arrested on an airplane by the FBI for drunkenness
- Nov 15 Janis Joplin, accused of vulgar & indicent language in Tampa, Florida
- Nov 25 John Lennon returns OBE to protest against UK's support for Vietnam War
- Nov 29 The Beatles' single "Something / Come Together" reaches #1
TV Show Appearance
Nov 30 American singer-songwriter Neil Diamond makes his only appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show", singing "Sweet Caroline" and "Holly, Holy"
- Dec 2 "Buck White" opens at George Abbott Theater NYC for 7 performances
- Dec 6 "Buck White" closes at George Abbott Theater NYC after 7 performances
- Dec 6 300,000 attend Altamont free concert in California, featuring The Rolling Stones. Marred by violence and four deaths.
#1 in the Charts
Dec 14 "Leaving on a Jet Plane" single sung by Peter, Paul and Mary, written by John Denver hits #1 on US Billboard's Hot Top 100
- Dec 14 One of the most catastrophic flops in the history of showbusiness - the musical "La Strada" opens and closes at Lunt Fontanne NYC after 1 performance
- Dec 15 Plastic Ono Band, play their only concert at London's Lyceum Ballroom
- Dec 16 Film adaptation of "Hello Dolly" starring Barbra Streisand premieres; wins 3 Academy Awards
- Dec 18 "Coco" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 333 performances
- Dec 19 Beatle's 7th Christmas fan-club single is released
#1 in the Charts
Dec 20 Peter, Paul & Mary's cover of John Denver's song "Leaving On A Jet Plane" reaches #1
- Dec 21 Diana Ross' final TV appearance as a Supreme on "The Ed Sullivan Show", performing “Someday We’ll Be Together", after which Sullivan announced her upcoming departure from the group