1969 in music

Events

Perhaps the two most famous musical events of 1969 were concerts. At a Rolling Stones concert 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 is Woodstock, 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.The Isle of Wight festival saw the return of Bob Dylan to live music after his motorbike accident in 1966."Soul Shakedown" was the debut album by Bob Marley & the Wailers, who would go on to become one of the most popular groups around the world. The album achieved very little popularity outside of the group's native country, Jamaica, but began establishing themselves as superstars there. Musically, "Soul Shakedown" is more ska than reggae, the style of music the Wailers would eventually make world-famous; the pioneering style of the music helped move ska and rocksteady towards reggae.

David Bowie's debut single, "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 avant-garde 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.

King Crimson's "In the Court of the Crimson King" is a pioneering album in the development of prog rock. The album drew upon influences like Procol Harum, The Moody Blues and The Nice to form an original sound melding rock and roll with classical influences in long, avant-garde pieces of music. Similar albums by The Moody Blues, Procol Harum and The Nice, as well as Genesis, Yes and Pink Floyd were also released this year, expanding the range of prog rock and developing it into a full-fledged genre.

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.

Johnny Cash's "At San Quentin" included his only Top Ten pop hit, "A Boy Named Sue". The album was a sequel to last year's "At Folsom Prison". Also in country music, Merle Haggard's "Same Train, Different Time", a tribute to Jimmie Rodgers, was enormously popular and influenced the development of the Bakersfield sound into outlaw country within a few years.

Creedence Clearwater Revival cement their success from the previous year. Having had a single US #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 #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 rockstars. During 1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival had #2 hits in the US with "Proud Mary", "Green River" and "Bad Moon Rising", and also have a #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 release their second album, "Family Entertainment", in their native Britain. It is their first top ten 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.
Elvis Presley returns to live performances at the International Hotel in Las Vegas; 57 concerts. He breaks all attendance records in Vegas. He also enjoys a great success with his songs "In The Ghetto" and "Suspicious Minds".

Eric Burdon and Angie King divorcing after two years of marriage.

*January 4 - Guitarist Jimi Hendrix causes complaints of arrogance from television producers after playing an impromptu version of "Sunshine of Your Love" past his allotted timeslot on the BBC1 show "Happening for Lulu".
*January 12 - Led Zeppelin's eponymous debut album released.
*January 18 - Pete Best wins his defamation lawsuit against the Beatles. Best had originally sought $8 million, but ended up being awarded much less.
*January 30 - The Beatles perform for the last time in public, on the roof of the Apple building at 3 Savile Row, London. The performance, which was filmed for the "Let It Be" movie, is stopped early by police after neighbors complain about the noise.
*February - Eric Burdon & The Animals disbanding
*February 3 - John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr hire Allen Klein as the Beatles' new business manager, against the wishes of Paul McCartney.
*February 4 - Paul McCartney hires the law firm of Eastman & Eastman, Linda Eastman's father's law firm, as general legal counsel for Apple.
*February 7 - George Harrison is admitted to London's University College Hospital with an infected back molar that has infected his tonsils.
*February 8 - George Harrison's tonsils are removed at London's University College Hospital.
*February 15 - Vickie Jones is arrested for impersonating Aretha Franklin in a concert performance. Jones' impersonation was so convincing that nobody in the audience asked for a refund.
*February 17 - Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan record together in Nashville, Tennessee. Only one song, "Girl from the North Country", would be released from these sessions.
*February 18 - Lulu and Bee Gee Maurice Gibb are married in England
*March 1 - During a performance at Miami's Dinner Key Auditorium, Jim Morrison of the Doors is arrested for exposing himself during the show. Morrison is officially charged with lewd and lascivious behavior, indecent behavior, open profanity and public drunkenness.
*March 12 - The 11th Grammy Awards are presented.
*March 12
**Paul McCartney marries Linda Eastman.
**George Harrison and his wife Pattie are arrested in England on charges of hashish possession.
*March 20 - John Lennon marries Yoko Ono in Gibraltar.
*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 publisher Dick 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. The band is underrehearsed and irritable, and frontman Roger Chapman - marking his 27th birthday - gets so disgusted with the blase response of the audience, he throws a microphone stand through the air, unintentionally in the direction of Fillmore East impresario Bill Graham. The bad vibes for Family in the United States are thus set.
*April 20 - The L.A. Free Festival in Venice, California ends early following a riot of audience members, 117 of which were arrested.
*April 22
**The first complete performance of The Who's rock opera "Tommy" during a performance in Dolton, England
**John Lennon officially changes his name from John Winston Lennon to John Winston Ono-Lennon.
*April - 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.
*April - Chicago releases its debut album, "The Chicago Transit Authority".
*May 3**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. Hendrix is released on $10,000 bail.
*May 6 - In London, representatives of Warner Brothers-Seven Arts discuss the purchase of fifteen percent of The Beatles' Northern Songs.
*May 10 - The Turtles perform at the White House. Singer Mark Volman falls off the stage five times.
*June 2 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono host a "Bed-In" at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada. The couple records the song "Give Peace a Chance" live in their suite with Tommy Smothers, Timothy Leary, and several others.
*June 29 - Bass player Noel Redding formally announces to the media that he has quit the Jimi Hendrix Experience, although he effectively ceased to be with Hendrix during most of the recording of "Electric Ladyland".
*July 3 - Brian Jones is found dead in his swimming pool at his home in Sussex, England almost a month after leaving The Rolling Stones.
*July 5 - The Rolling Stones play a free concert in Hyde Park, London. Though scheduled well before the death two days earlier of Brian Jones, the band decided to proceed with the concert as a tribute to Jones; it was also the band's first concert with guitarist Mick Taylor. Estimates of the audience range from 250,000 to 400,000.
*August - Eric Burdon & War form
*August 9 - Sharon Tate and several others are found murdered, in the home Tate shares with husband Roman Polanski. The culprits turn out to be disciples ofCharles Manson, a would-be folk singer.
*August 15-17 - The Woodstock Music and Art Festival was held at Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, near Woodstock, New York. Performers included Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Joan Baez, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Country Joe and the Fish, Ten Years After, and Sly & the Family Stone.
*August 28 - Elvis Presley returns to live performances in Las Vegas.
*September 13 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono perform at a rock and roll revival festival at Varsity Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 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 public rock performance without one or more of the Beatles since meeting Paul McCartney in 1957. Well-received, Lennon decides before returning to England to leave the Beatles permanently.
* September 24 - Deep Purple and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra perform the Concerto for Group and Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall in London, in the first elaborate collaboration between a rock band and an orchestra.
*October - Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band release Trout Mask Replica.
*October 14 - The final single by Diana Ross & The Supremes, "Someday We'll Be Together", is released. The single becomes the final #1 hit of 1969 (and of the 1960s). After a farewell concert in January 1970, Diana Ross leaves the Supremes for a solo career.
*November 1 - After seven years off the top of the charts, Elvis Presley's song "Suspicious Minds", hits No. 1 on the "Billboard" chart (this was the last time any song by Presley hit no. 1 while he was still alive).
*November 7 - The Rolling Stones open their US tour in Fort Collins, Colorado.
*November 8 - Simon and Garfunkel, on tour for the first time with a band, give live concert in Carbondale, Illinois, presumably at Southern Illinois University. The concert is not released until 1999 as part of a recording compiled by Head Records, called "Village Vanguard".
*November 11 - Simon and Garfunkel give live concert at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The recording is later released in the 1990s as "Back To College" on Yellow Dog Records and "A Time Of Innocence" on Bell Bottom Records.
*November 30 - Simon and 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.
*November - Simon and Garfunkel give live concert in Ames, Iowa, presumably at Iowa State University, where they record track "Bye, Bye Love" for their upcoming album, "Bridge Over Troubled Water".
*December 6 - Altamont Free Concert
*December - The Jackson 5 release their debut album, "Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5".

*Zubin Mehta marries Nancy Kovack.
*Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash perform together on "The Johnny Cash Show".
*Cream broke up in November 1968, and Eric Clapton & Ginger Baker went on to form Blind Faith in 1969.
*David Bowie's musical career begins with the single "Space Oddity", the unofficial anthem for the moon landing in July of this year
*Brian Eno's musical career begins as a member of Cardew's Scratch Orchestra

Bands Formed

*Black Sabbath forms in Birmingham, England
*Jim Croce's musical career begins
*Roberta Flack's musical career begins
*Mott the Hoople's musical career begins
*King Crimson's musical career begins
*Bonnie Raitt's musical career begins
*Judas Priest forms in Birmingham, England
*Elton John's first album, Empty Sky, is released in the UK.
*Alice Cooper form
*The Doobie Brothers form
*Melanie's musical career begins
*Melissa Manchester's musical career begins
*Earliest line-up of UK pop group Brotherhood of Man are formed.
*Mashina Vremeni form

Albums released

*"A Way of Life" - The Family Dogg
*"Abbey Road" - The Beatles
*"Aoxomoxoa" - Grateful Dead
*"Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire" - The Kinks
*"As I Am" - The Troggs
*"At San Quentin" (live) - Johnny Cash
*"Ball" - Iron Butterfly
*"Ballad of Easy Rider" - The Byrds
*"The Band" - The Band
*"Barabajagal" - Donovan
*"Basket of Light" - Pentangle
*"Bayou Country" - Creedence Clearwater Revival
*"The Best of Top of the Pops '69" - Top of the Poppers
*"Bless Its Pointed Little Head" - Jefferson Airplane
*"Blind Faith" - Blind Faith
*"Blood Sweat & Tears" - Blood, Sweat & Tears
*"Blue Matter" - Savoy Brown
*"Blues Obituary" - The Groundhogs
*"The Book of Taliesyn" - Deep Purple
*"" - The Isley Brothers
*"Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show" - Neil Diamond
*"Caetano Veloso" - Caetano Veloso
*"Canta In Italiano" - Dalida
*"Chicago Transit Authority" - Chicago (debut)
*"Clouds" - Joni Mitchell
*"Concerto for Group and Orchestra" - Deep Purple & the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
*"Contact" - Silver Apples
*"Country Folk" - Waylon Jennings
*"Crosby, Stills & Nash" - Crosby, Stills & Nash
*"David's Album" - Joan Baez
*"Deep Purple III - Deep Purple
*"Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5" - Jackson 5
*"Dizzy" - Tommy Roe
*"Doing His Thing" - Ray Charles
*"Donovan's Greatest Hits" - Donovan
*"Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde" - The Byrds
*"Easy" - Marvin Gaye
*"Edwards Hand" - Edwards Hand
*"Elephant Mountain" - The Youngbloods
*"Ella" - Ella Fitzgerald
*"Empty Sky" - Elton John
*"English Rose" - Fleetwood Mac
*"Everybody Knows This is Nowhere" - Neil Young
*"Family Entertainment" - Family
*"Five Leaves Left" - Nick Drake
*"Four in Blue" - Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
*"From Elvis in Memphis" - Elvis Presley
*"From Genesis to Revelation" - Genesis (debut)
*"From Memphis to Vegas/From Vegas to Memphis" (live) - Elvis Presley
*"Galveston" - The Lawrence Welk Orchestra
*"Get Down to It" - James Brown
*"Gilberto Gil" - Gilberto Gil
*"Goodbye" - Cream
*"Grand Canyon Suite" - Johnny Cash
*"Grand Funk" - Grand Funk Railroad
*"Green River" - Creedence Clearwater Revival
*"Hair (West End)" - Original Cast
*"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" - The Hollies
*"Hollies Sing Dylan" - The Hollies
*"Hollies Sing Hollies" - The Hollies
*"The Holy Land" - Johnny Cash
*"Hot Rats" - Frank Zappa
*"House of Blue Lights, The" - Don Covay
*"I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!" - Janis Joplin (solo debut)
*"I'm All Yours-Baby!" - Ray Charles
*"Instant Replay" - The Monkees
*"The Instrumental Sounds of Merle Haggard's Strangers" - Merle Haggard & the Strangers
*"In the Court of the Crimson King" - King Crimson (debut)
*"I Say a Little Prayer" - Aretha Franklin
*"It's a Mother" - James Brown
*"It's Our Thing" - The Isley Brothers
*"Jackson" - Johnny Cash
*"J.J. Jackson's Greatest Little Soul Band in the Land" - J. J. Jackson
*"Joe South's Greatest Hits Vol.1" - Joe South
*"Johnny Cash" - Johnny Cash
*"Joy of a Toy" - Kevin Ayers
*"Just to Satisfy You" - Waylon Jennings
*"Kick Out the Jams" - MC5
*"Led Zeppelin" - Led Zeppelin
*"Led Zeppelin II" - Led Zeppelin
*"Let It Bleed" - The Rolling Stones
*"Live/Dead" - Grateful Dead
*"Live at Yankee Stadium" - The Isley Brothers
*"Love Man" - Otis Redding
*"Ma Mère me disait" - Dalida
*"A Man Alone" - Frank Sinatra
*"Man of Words/Man of Music" - David Bowie (later re-released as "Space Oddity")
*"Memories" - The Vogues
*"Moby Grape '69" - Moby Grape
*"The Monkees Present" - The Monkees
*"Monster Movie" - Can
*"More of Old Golden Throat" - Johnny Cash
*"Mothermania" - The Mothers of Invention
*"Mott the Hoople" - Mott the Hoople
*"M.P.G." - Marvin Gaye
*"Mutantes" - Os Mutantes
*"My Brother the Wind, Vol. 1" - Sun Ra
*"My Brother the Wind, Vol. 2" - Sun Ra
*"My Cherie Amour" - Stevie Wonder
*"My Own Peculiar Way" - Willie Nelson
*"My Way" - Frank Sinatra
*"Nashville Skyline" - Bob Dylan
*"A Natural Woman" - Peggy Lee
*"Neil Young" - Neil Young
*"New York Tendaberry" - Laura Nyro
*"The Nice" - The Nice
*"Odessa" - The Bee Gees
*"Offering" (re-released as "Ticket to Ride" - The Carpenters
*"Okie from Muskogee" - Merle Haggard & the Strangers
*"On the Threshold of a Dream" - The Moody Blues
*"On Time" - Grand Funk Railroad
*"The Open Mind" - The Open Mind
*"Ornette at 12" - Ornette Coleman
*"Phallus Dei" - Amon Düül II
*"Pongo En Tus Manos Abiertas" - Víctor Jara
*"The Popcorn" - James Brown
*"Pretties For You" - Alice Cooper
*"Pride in What I Am" - Merle Haggard & the Strangers
*"Rehearsals for Retirement" - Phil Ochs
*"Rhymes and Reason" - John Denver (debut)
*"A Salty Dog" - Procol Harum
*"Same Train, Different Time" - Merle Haggard & the Strangers
*"At San Quentin" - Johnny Cash
*"Santana" - Santana
*"Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud" - James Brown
*"Scott 3" - Scott Walker
*"Scott 4" - Scott Walker
*"Seattle" - Perry Como
*"The Simon Sisters Sing The Lobster Quadrille And Other Songs For Children" - The Simon Sisters
*"The Soft Parade" - The Doors
*"Soul Shakedown" - Bob Marley & the Wailers (debut)
*"More" - Pink Floyd
*"Spooky Two" - Spooky Tooth
*"Stand Up" - Jethro Tull
*"The Stooges" - The Stooges (debut)
*"Sunshine of your Love" - Ella Fitzgerald
*"Surround Yourself with Cilla" - Cilla Black
*"Take a Message to Mary" - Don Cherry
*"The Allman Brothers Band" - The Allman Brothers Band (debut)
*"The Good Rats" - Good Rats
*"Then Play On" - Fleetwood Mac
*"This Is" - Desmond Dekker
*"Three in the Attic" - Chad and Jeremy
*"Three Week Hero" - P.J. Proby
*"Till" - The Vogues
*"Tommy" - The Who
*"To Our Children's Children's Children" - The Moody Blues
*"Touching You, Touching Me" - Neil Diamond
*"Trogglomania" - The Troggs
*"Truly Fine Citizen" - Moby Grape
*"Turtle Soup" - The Turtles
*"20/20" - The Beach Boys
*"Ummagumma" - Pink Floyd
*"Uncle Meat" - The Mothers of Invention
*"Unhalfbricking" - Fairport Convention
*"The Velvet Underground" - The Velvet Underground
*"The Vogues' Greatest Hits" - The Vogues
*"Volunteers" - Jefferson Airplane
*"Waylon Jennings" - Waylon Jennings
*"What We Did on Our Holidays" - Fairport Convention
*"Willy and the Poor Boys - Creedence Clearwater Revival
*"Wonder Where I'm Bound" - Dion DiMucci
*"Words and Music by Bob Dylan" - The Hollies
*"Yellow Submarine" - The Beatles
*"Yes" - Yes (debut)
*"The Young Mods' Forgotten Story" - The Impressions
*"Yummy Yummy Yummy" - Julie London

Biggest hit singles

The following songs achieved the highest [http://tsort.info/music/yr1969.htm chart positions] in the charts of 1969.

ome top American and/or British hit singles

*"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" - Fifth Dimension
*"Baby Make It Soon" - The Marmalade
*"Badge" - Cream
*"Ballad of John and Yoko" - The Beatles
*"Blackberry Way" - The Move
*"But You Know I Love You" - Kenny Rogers and The First Edition
*"The Boxer" - Simon and Garfunkel
*"(Call Me) Number One" - The Tremeloes
*"Cloud Nine" - The Temptations
*"Crimson and Clover" - Tommy James & the Shondells
*"Curly" - The Move
*"Don't Give In To Him" - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
*"Everyday People" - Sly & the Family Stone
*"Get Back" - The Beatles
*"Get Together" - The Youngbloods
*"Gimme, Gimme Good Lovin'" - Crazy Elephant
*"Give Peace a Chance" - John Lennon
*"Hawaii Five-O" - The Ventures
*"Hello Susie" - Amen Corner
*"Hello World" - The Tremeloes
*"Honky Tonk Women" - Rolling Stones
*"I Can Hear Music" - The Beach Boys
*"I Can't Get Next to You" - The Temptations
*"I Don't Know Why" - Stevie Wonder
*"I Started a Joke" - The Bee Gees
*"(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice" - Amen Corner
*"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" - Marvin Gaye
*"In the Ghetto" - Elvis Presley
*"In the Year 2525" - Zager and Evans
*"The Israelites" - Desmond Dekker and the Aces
*"It Miek" - Desmond Dekker and the Aces
*"Lay Lady Lay" - Bob Dylan
*"The Liquidator" - Harry J All Stars
*"Listen to the Band" - The Monkees
*"Living In The Past" - Jethro Tull
*"Love Child" - Diana Ross & the Supremes
*"My Cherie Amour" - Stevie Wonder
*"Pinball Wizard" - The Who
*"Proud Mary" - Creedence Clearwater Revival
*"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" - B. J. Thomas
*"Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" - Kenny Rogers and The First Edition
*"Run Away Child, Running Wild" - The Temptations
*"Someday We'll Be Together" - Diana Ross & the Supremes
*"Something/Come Together" - The Beatles
*"Soulful Strut" - Young-Holt Unlimited
*"Spinning Wheel" - Blood, Sweat & Tears
*"" - Crosby, Stills & Nash
*"Suspicious Minds" - Elvis Presley
*"Sugar, Sugar" - The Archies
*"This Girl Is A Woman Now" - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
*"This Girl's In Love With You" - Dionne Warwick
*"This Magic Moment" - Jay and the Americans
*"Touch Me" - The Doors
*"Wait A Million Years" - The Grass Roots
*"Whole Lotta Love" - Led Zeppelin
*"Winter World of Love" - Engelbert Humperdinck
*"Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday" - Stevie Wonder
*"You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" - Dionne Warwick

Published popular music

* "The April Fools" w. Hal David m. Burt Bacharach from the film "The April Fools"
* "Bad Moon Rising" w.m. John C. Fogerty
* "The Brady Bunch theme", by Frank DeVol
* "Bridge over Troubled Water" w.m. Paul Simon
* "But, Mister Adams" w.m. Sherman Edwards
* "Cool, Cool Considerate Men" w.m. Sherman Edwards
* "Didn't We?" w.m. Jimmy Webb
* "Down On The Corner" w.m. John C. Fogerty
* "The Egg" w.m. Sherman Edwards
* "Everybody's Talkin'" w.m. Fred Neil
* "Hawaii Five-O" m. Mort Stevens
* "He Plays The Violin" w.m. Sherman Edwards
* If You Could Read My Mind" w.m. Gordon Lightfoot
* "In The Ghetto" w.m.Mac Davis
* "Is Anybody There?" w.m. Sherman Edwards
* "Is That All There Is?" w.m. Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller
*"Israelites" w.m. Desmond Dekker & Leslie Kong
* "Keem-O-Sabe" m. Bernard Binnick & Bernice Borisoff
* "Jean" w.m. Rod McKuen from the film "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie"
* "Just Leave Everything to Me" w.m. Jerry Herman, from the film version of "Hello, Dolly!"
* "Leaving on a Jet Plane" w.m. John Denver
* "The Lees of Old Virginia" w.m. Sherman Edwards
* "Marrakesh Express" w.m. Graham Nash
* "Molasses To Rum" w.m. Sherman Edwards
* "Momma, Look Sharp" w.m. Sherman Edwards
* "Odds And Ends (Of A Beautiful Love Affair)" w. Hal David m. Burt Bacharach
* "Piddle, Twiddle And Resolve" w.m. Sherman Edwards
* "Proud Mary" w.m. John C. Fogerty
* "Put A Little Love In Your Heart" w.m. Jimmy Holiday, Randy Myers & Jackie DeShannon
* "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" w.Hal David m.Burt Bacharach. Introduced by B. J. Thomas on the soundtrack of the film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". The song won the Academy Award.
* "Suspicious Minds" w.m. Fred Zambon
* "Sweet Caroline" w.m. Neil Diamond
* "Till Then" w.m. Sherman Edwards
* "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" w. Alan Bergman & Marilyn Bergman m. Michel LeGrand
* "Yellow River" w.m. Christie (band)
* "You Don't Love Me When I Cry" w.m. Laura Nyro
* "Yours, Yours, Yours" w.m. Sherman Edwards

Classical music

*Benjamin Britten - "Harp Suite"
*Gavin Bryars - "The Sinking of the Titanic"
*Sylvano Bussotti - "Rara Requiem"
*George Crumb - "Night of the Four Moons" for alto, alto flute/piccolo, banjo, electric cello, and percussion; "Madrigals, Books III" (for soprano, harp, and percussion) and "Books IV" for soprano, flute/alto flute/piccolo, harp, double bass, and percussion
*Mario Davidovsky - "Synchronisms No. 5" for percussion players and tape
*Peter Maxwell Davies - "St Thomas Wake"
*Vagn Holmboe - "String Quartet no. 10", op. 102
*György Ligeti - "Ramifications" for 12 solo strings (1968-69)
*Francis Jackson - "Sonata for Organ No. 1"
*Miklós Rózsa - "Concerto for Cello"
*Dmitri Shostakovich - "Symphony No. 14, Op. 135" for soprano, bass, string orchestra and percussion
*Leif Thybo - "Concerto for violin and orchestra"

Opera

*Jakov Gotovac - "Petar Svačić"

Musical theater

* "1776" Broadway production opened at the 46th Street Theatre on March 16, transferred to the St. James Theatre on December 28, 1960 and transferred to the Majestic Theatre on April 27, 1971 for a total run of 1217 performances
* "Ann Veronica" ( Music: Cyril Ornadel, Lyrics: David Croft) London production opened at the Cambridge Theatre on April 17 and ran for 44 performances
* "Canterbury Tales" Broadway production
* "Coco" ( Music: André Previn, Lyrics: Alan Jay Lerner, Book: Alan Jay Lerner Broadway production opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on December 18 and ran for 329 performances
* "Dear World" Broadway production opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on February 6 and ran for 132 performances
* "La Strada" (Music and Lyrics: Lionel Bart) Broadway production opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on December 14 and ran for one performance
* "Lend An Ear" Off-Broadway revival
* "Mame" London production opened at the Theatre Royal on February 20 and ran for 443 performances
* "Oklahoma!" (Rodgers & Hammerstein) - Broadway revival
* "Promises, Promises" London production opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre on October 2 and ran for 560 performances

Musical films

* "Hello, Dolly!"
* "Oh! What a Lovely War"
* "Paint Your Wagon"
* "Sweet Charity"

Births

*January 4 - Boris Berezovsky, pianist
*January 5 - Marilyn Manson, rock singer
*January 14 - Dave Grohl, Nirvana, Foo Fighters
*January 27 - Cornelius, musician
*February 5 - Bobby Brown, New Edition
*February 21 - James Dean Bradfield, Manic Street Preachers
*March 1 - Dafydd Ieuan, drummer, Super Furry Animals
*March 11 - Pete Droge, folk musician
*March 25 - Cathy Dennis, singer
*April 11 - Cerys Matthews, singer
*April 27
**Darcey Bussell, ballerina
**Mica Paris, singer
*April 29 - Master P, rapper, record label owner
*May 14 - Danny Wood, New Kids on the Block
*May 18 - Martika, singer
*May 24 - Rich Robinson, The Black Crowes
*May 29 - Chandler Kinchla, Blues Traveler
*June 5 - Brian McKnight, singer-songwriter
*June 13 - Søren Rasted, Aqua
*June 15 - Ice Cube, rapper
*June 16 - Bénabar, singer-songwriter
*July 5 - RZA, rapper, record producer
*August 6 - Elliott Smith
*August 17 - Donnie Wahlberg, New Kids on the Block
*August 18 - Everlast, singer
*August 19 - Clay Walker, country singer
*August 29 - Me'Shell NdegeOcello
*September 5 - Dweezil Zappa, guitarist and son of Frank Zappa
*September 6 - CeCe Peniston, singer
*September 16 - Marc Anthony, singer-songwriter
*September 24
**DeVante Swing, singer-songwriter, record producer
**Shawn "Clown" Crahan, percussionist/backing vocalist for Slipknot
*October 3 - Gwen Stefani, No Doubt
*October 9 - PJ Harvey
*October 16 - Wendy Wilson, Wilson Phillips
*October 30 - Snow, reggae musician
*November - Scarface, rapper
*November 3 - Robert Miles, DJ
*November 4 - P. Diddy, rapper
*November 19 - Travis McNabb, Better Than Ezra
*November 29 - Jon Knight, New Kids on the Block
*December 4
**Scott St. John, viola player
**Jay-Z, rapper
*December 9 - Jakob Dylan, The Wallflowers, son of Bob Dylan and Sara Lownds
*December 26 - Peter Klett, Candlebox
*"date unknown" - Buckethead (born Brian Caroll), guitarist.

Deaths

*January 4 - Paul Chambers, jazz bassist
*February 2 - Boris Karloff, actor
*February 15 - Pee Wee Russell, jazz clarinetist
*February 20 - Ernest Ansermet, conductor
*February 23 - Constantin Silvestri, conductor and composer
*March 25 - Billy Cotton, bandleader
*April 10 - Fernando Ortiz, ethnomusicologist
*April 20 - Benny Benjamin ("Papa Zita"), drummer
*April 23 - Krzysztof Komeda, jazz musician and composer
*April 29 - Julius Katchen, pianist
*May 1 - Ella Logan, actress and singer
*May 23 - Jimmy McHugh, US composer and pianist
*June 2 - Leo Gorcey, American actor "Bowery Boys/Dead End Kids"
*June 14 - Wynonie Harris, R & B singer known as Mister Blues
*June 17 - Rita Abatzi, rebetiko musician
*June 22 - Judy Garland, singer and actress
*July 3 - Brian Jones, of The Rolling Stones
*July 5 - Wilhelm Backhaus, pianist
*July 26 - Frank Loesser, US songwriter
*July 28 - Gabriel von Wayditch, American opera composer
*August 6 - Theodor Adorno, exponent of the "New Music"
*August 26 - Richard Walker, singer
*September 5 - Josh White, blues musician
*October 3 - Skip James, blues musician
*October 4 - Natalino Otto, Italian singer
*October 22 - Tommy Edwards, singer
*November 8 - Ricardo Aguirre, protest singer
*November 18 - Ted Heath, bandleader
*November 23 - Spade Cooley, swing musician and murderer
*December 1 - Magic Sam, blues musician
*December 22 - Wilbur Hatch, pianist, composer and conductor
*"date unknown"
**Fortunio Bonanova, baritone
**Jacob do Bandolim, mandolin player and composer
**Mississippi Joe Callicott, blues musician
**Marcel LaFosse, trumpeter
**Nicola Salerno, Italian lyricist

Awards

Grammy Awards

*Grammy Awards of 1969

Eurovision Song Contest

*Eurovision Song Contest 1969

Leeds International Piano Competition

*Radu Lupu

External Charts

* [http://www.popculturemadness.com/Music/Pop-Modern/1969.html Pop Culture Madness 1969 Pop Music Chart]