- Jan 2 Dutch premiere of musical "Hair" in Amsterdam
- Jan 3 "Jimmy" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 84 performances
- Jan 3 Jerry Herman's musical "Mame" closes at Winter Garden Theater, NYC, after 1508 performances and 3 Tony Awards
Music Recording
Jan 4 Beatles last recording session at Abbey Road studios, completing George Harrison's tune "I Me Mine"; John Lennon was on vacation and did not participate
Woodstock Music and Art Fair
Jan 7 Farmers sue Max Yasgur for $35,000 in damages caused by "Woodstock Festival"
- Jan 31 Grateful Dead members and entourage busted, down on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana on LSD charges [1]
- Feb 4 "Charles Aznavour" opens at Music Box Theater NYC for 23 performances
- Feb 4 "Gantry" opens at George Abbott Theater NYC for 1 performance
- Feb 7 "Jingle Jangle" hits #10 on the pop singles chart by Archies
Sports History
Feb 11 John Lennon pays £1,344 fines for 96 protesting South African rugby team playing in Scotland
- Feb 14 "Gantry" closes at George Abbott Theater NYC after 1 performance
- Feb 22 "Charles Aznavour" closes at Music Box Theater NYC after 23 performances
- Feb 26 Carole Bayer (Sager) and George Fischoff's musical "Georgy" opens at Winter Garden Theater, NYC; runs for 4 performances
- Feb 26 The Beatles release "Hey Jude" compilation album in US (originally to be titled "Beatles Again")
- Feb 28 Carole Bayer (Sager) and George Fischoff's musical "Georgy" closes at Winter Garden Theater, NYC, after 4 performances
Album Release
Mar 2 Reprise Records releases "Ladies of the Canyon", Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell's 3rd studio album
Film Release
Mar 5 "Airport" based on the book by Arthur Hailey, directed by George Seaton and starring Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin is released
- Mar 6 Beatles release single "Let it Be" in UK
Music Recording
Mar 10 Barbra Streisand records "The Singer" and "I Can Do It"
Grammy Awards
Mar 11 12th Grammy Awards: Aquarius; Crosby Stills & Nash; Peggy Lee win
Music Premiere
Mar 26 Musical "Minnie's Boys", starring Shelley Winters as the mother of the Marx Brothers, and Drama Desk Award winner Lewis J. Stadlen as Groucho, opens at the Imperial Theater, New York City; runs for 80 performances
Album Release
Mar 27 Ringo Starr releases his 1st solo album "Sentimental Journey", a collection of pre-rock standards
- Mar 29 "Look to the Lilies" opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC for 25 performances
Album Release
Mar 30 Miles Davis's influential double album "Bitches Brew" released
- Mar 30 Strouse, Adams, Comden & Green's musical "Applause", an adaptation of the 1950 film "All About Eve", starring Lauren Bacall, opens at the Palace Theatre, NYC; runs for 896 performances, and wins 4 Tony and 3 Drama Desk Awards
- Apr 1 John Lennon and Yoko Ono release hoax they are having dual sex change operations
- Apr 8 "Cry for Us All" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 8 performances
Music History
Apr 10 Paul McCartney officially announces the split of The Beatles
Music Awards
Apr 13 5th Academy of Country Music Awards: Merle Haggard and Tammy Wynette win
- Apr 14 "Boy Friend" opens at Ambassador Theater NYC for 119 performances
- Apr 15 "Cry for Us All" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 8 performances
- Apr 17 Paul McCartney releases his 1st solo album "McCartney"
- Apr 19 "Look to the Lilies" closes at Lunt-Fontanne NYC after 25 performances
- Apr 22 "Park" opens at John Golden Theater NYC for 5 performances
- Apr 25 "Park" closes at John Golden Theater NYC after 5 performances
Music Premiere
Apr 26 Stephen Sondheim's musical "Company", directed by Hal Prince, opens at Alvin Theater NYC; runs for 705 performances, wins 6 Tony Awards
Music History
May 16 "Grover Henson Feels Forgotten" by Bill Cosby hits #70
Music History
May 17 Anonymous buyer purchases one of the pairs of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz" for $15,000 at MGM Studio auction, and donates them to the Smithsonian Institution
- May 18 Beatles' last released LP, "Let It Be", released in US
- May 20 Beatles' "Let it Be" movie premieres in UK
- May 23 Grateful Dead's 1st performance outside US, as part of 'The Hollywood Rock Music Festival', in Newcastle under Lyme, England
- May 24 Peter Green quits Fleetwood Mac to join a religious cult
- May 30 "Minnie's Boys" closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 80 performances
- Jun 1 "Everything Is Beautiful" by Ray Stevens hits #1
- Jun 3 Ray Davies of The Kinks travels round trip NY-London to change 1 word in "Lola," (Coca-Cola to Cherry Cola) because of BBC commercial reference ban
- Jun 7 The Who's "Tommy" is performed at NYC's Lincoln Center
Music Concert
Jun 12 Rocker and blues singer Janis Joplin debuts in Kentucky
- Jun 13 "In The Summertime" by Mungo Jerry hits #1 in UK
- Jun 13 Beatles' "Let It Be" album goes #1 & stays #1 for 4 weeks
- Jun 13 Beatles' "Long & Winding Road" single goes #1 & stays #1 for 2 weeks
- Jun 17 British rock band Led Zeppelin begin their last European tour
- Jun 20 "Ray Stevens Show" debuts on NBC-TV
Music History
Jun 23 Rocker and singer Chubby Checker arrested for marijuana possession
- Jun 27 Festival Express opens in Toronto, Canada - The Grateful Dead, The Band, Janis Joplin, Flying Burrito Bros, Buddy Guy, Great Speckled Bird, and Delaney & Bonnie & Friends cross Canada together by train, for 5 shows in 3 cities
- Jul 3 200,000 attend Atlanta Pop Festival
- Jul 18 "Boy Friend" closes at Ambassador Theater NYC after 119 performances
- Jul 25 "(They Long to Be) Close to You" sung by the Carpenters reaches #1
Music History
Aug 4 Jim Morrison arrested for public drunkenness in Los Angeles
- Aug 6 "Festival for Peace" concert held at Shea Stadium, NYC to mark 25th anniversary of Hiroshima bombing; performers included Janis Joplin, Paul Simon, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Steppenwolf, Miles Davis, Johnny Winter, Herbie Hancock, Dionne Warwick, John Sebastian, The Rascals, and the Broadway cast of "Hair"
- Aug 7 Christine Perfect (McVie) joins Fleetwood Mac
Jim Morrison's Trial
Aug 10 Jim Morrison's trial for "lewd and lascivious behavior" begins in Miami, Florida
Music History
Aug 25 Elton John's 1st US appearance (Troubador - West Hollywood, Los Angeles, California)
Music Recording
Aug 27 Jimi Hendrix creates his last studio recording at Electric Lady Studios in New York, an instrumental called "Slow Blues"
- Aug 28 "I'll Be There" single by The Jackson 5 is released (Billboard Song of the Year 1970)
Music History
Sep 3 Bill Haley & His Comets reject $30,000 for 15 date tour of Australia
- Sep 4 Russian ballerina Natalia Makarova defects to the West while on tour with the Kirov Ballet in London and is granted political asylum
Music Recording
Sep 15 Decca awards Bing Crosby a second platinum disc for selling 300 million records
- Sep 19 1st Glastonbury Festival in Pilton, England opens: Tyrannosaurus Rex headlines; other performs include: Wayne Fontana, Steamhammer, Duster Bennett, Al Stewart, Amazing Blondel, Keith Christmas, Quintessence, and Stackridge
- Sep 20 Jim Morrison found guilty of "open profanity and indecent exposure" after allegedly exposing himself at a concert in Miami in 1969
- Sep 25 Ringo Starr releases his 2nd solo album "Beaucoups of Blues", a collection of country music recorded in Nashville, Tennessee
- Sep 28 TV game show "Words & Music" debuts on NBC
- Oct 1 63 arrested in riot to buy Rolling Stone tickets in Milan, Italy
- Oct 3 "Coco" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 333 performances
- Oct 14 4th Country Music Association Award: Merle Haggard wins
- Oct 27 "Light, Lively & Yiddish" opens at Belasco Theater NYC for 87 performances
- Oct 31 Jim Morrison is sentenced to six months in jail and a $500 fine for indecent exposure and open profanity, though remains free on a $50,000 bond pending appeal
- Nov 3 "President's Daughter" opens at Billy Rose Theater, NYC; runs for 72 performances
- Nov 7 "Purlie" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 689 performances
Music Premiere
Nov 10 Richard Rodgers and Martin Charnin's musical "Two by Two" opens at Imperial Theater, NYC; runs for 343 performances
- Nov 17 Elton John performs a live studio concert broadcast for WABC in New York City, later released as his 11-17-70 album
- Nov 23 George Harrison releases "My Sweet Lord" single in the US
Album Release
Nov 23 Cat Stevens releases his fourth studio album "Tea for the Tillerman"; featuring singles "Wild World and "Father and Son"
- Nov 27 George Harrison releases his triple album set "All Things Must Pass" - it becomes the best selling solo release of any of the Beatles, going 6X Platinum
- Nov 29 Charles Ives' "Yale-Princeton" premieres
- Dec 2 Michael Tippett's opera "The Knot Garden" premieres in London
- Dec 18 "Me Nobody Knows" opens at Helen Hayes Theater NYC for 587 performances
Elvis Meets Nixon
Dec 21 Elvis Presley meets US President Richard Nixon in the White House - the image of this meeting is the most requested photo from the entire National Archives
- Dec 27 Jerry Herman's musical "Hello, Dolly!" closes at the St. James Theatre, NYC, after 2844 performances and 10 Tony Awards
- Dec 28 "Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen" opens at Majestic NYC for 19 performances
- Dec 31 Paul McCartney files a lawsuit to dissolve The Beatles