List of notable events in music that took place in the year 1969.
Specific locations 1969 in British music 1969 in Japanese music 1969 in Norwegian music
Specific genres 1969 in country music 1969 in heavy metal music 1969 in jazz 1969 in progressive rock
Events Summary Among the most significant 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 significant was the Woodstock festival, where some of the most famous performers in the world at the time played 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 presence of Ravi Shankar reflected a growing interest in Indian and other Eastern music; Shankar later said that the 1960s "got India wrong". "Black Woodstock", the Harlem Cultural Festival, took place in New York City. The Beatles' rooftop concert was the last time the band played together in public. The 1967 musical Hair, originally performed off-Broadway, had generated an album and multiple chart hits in successive years, such as "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" and "Good Morning Starshine".Zoglin, Richard. "A New Dawn for Hair", Time, July 31, 2008 (in the August 11, 2008 issue, pp. 61–63)
The Isle of Wight Festival in the UK saw the return of Bob Dylan to live performance after his motorbike accident in 1966.
US and UK pop music remained popular worldwide, with few European acts making the charts outside their home countries; exceptions included Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg, Shocking Blue, Georges Moustaki, Aphrodite's Child and Christian Anders.
David Bowie's "Space Oddity" was 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 background music 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 Bowie as a major performer and songwriter.
King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King, a pioneering album in the development of progressive rock, drew upon contemporary influences to form a sound melding rock and roll with classical influences in long 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 album released in the United States to little critical or popular acceptance, 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.
Johnny Cash's At San Quentin included his first Top Ten pop hit, "A Boy Named Sue". The album was a sequel to 1968'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 cemented their success from the previous year. Having had a single US number 11 hit in 1968 with "Suzie Q", they releases their second, third and fourth proper studio albums 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.
The UK band Family released their second album, Family Entertainment, their first top 10 album in the United Kingdom, hitting number six, with "The Weaver's Answer" becoming their most popular song in their concert performances. By the end of the year, however, their first attempt to break through commercially in the United States had failed miserably.
Elvis Presley returned to live performances at the International Hotel in Las Vegas; breaking all attendance records in his 57-concert run. He also enjoyed great success with his singles "In the Ghetto" and "Suspicious Minds".
The Wendy Carlos album Switched-On Bach was one of the first classical albums to sell 500,000 copies, and helped bring classical music into the popular sphere, as did Mason Williams' "Classical Gas", played on classical guitar, in addition to being accompanied by one of the first successful music videos. The composition won three Grammy Awards: Best Instrumental Composition, Best Contemporary-Pop Performance, Instrumental, and Best Instrumental Arrangement. In the meantime, German trumpeter Manfred Schoof's free jazz album, European Echoes, a recording of his half-hour free improvisation broadcast on German radio in June 1969, featured international musicians and is regarded as a seminal album in the genre.
After the commercial failure of her last two albums, Cher starred in the film "Chastity" which had a soundtrack album produced by Sonny Bono. SHer 6th solo studio album, 3614 Jackson Highway, was also a commercial failure, but was where she first explored blues and soul music, being highly praised by critics for her musical and vocal evolution.
Chutney music was also first recorded in 1969, in Trinidad and Tobago by Sundar Popo.
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.
New York City Ballet celebrated their 25th anniversary with performances at the David H. Koch Theater Lincoln Center.
Major events 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. January 12 – Led Zeppelin's eponymous debut album is released. January 18 – Pete Best wins his defamation lawsuit against The Beatles. Best had originally sought $8 million, but ends up being awarded much less. January 30 – The Beatles' rooftop concert: The Beatles perform for the last time in public, on the roof of the Apple building at 3 Savile Row, London. The performance, which is filmed for the Let It Be movie, is stopped early by police after neighbors complain about the noise. February 3 Eric Burdon & The Animals disband. 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 Records. 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 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 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. February 24 – Johnny Cash performs "A Boy Named Sue" at California's San Quentin State Prison. 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 2 – John Lennon performs publicly outside The Beatles for the first time, with Yoko Ono at an improvised concert in Cambridge, England. March 7 – The Who release "Pinball Wizard" as a single with a B-Side of "Dogs (Part Two)." March 12 The 11th Grammy Awards are presented in Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville and New York. Glen Campbell's By the Time I Get to Phoenix wins Album of the Year, Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" wins Record of the Year and Roger Miller's "Little Green Apples", performed by Miller and O. C. Smith, wins Song of the Year. José Feliciano wins Best New Artist. Paul McCartney marries Linda Eastman in London. George Harrison and his wife Pattie are arrested in the UK on charges of hashish possession. March 15 – Judy Garland marries Mickey Deans in London. 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). March 26 – Lotti Golden records her debut LP Motor-Cycle (Atlantic SD 8223) at Atlantic Studios in New York City, featured in Newsweek (July 1969). March 29 – At the 14th annual Eurovision Song Contest held at the Teatro Real, Madrid, Spain, the final result is a four-way tie for first place between Spain ("Vivo cantando" – Salomé); United Kingdom ("Boom Bang-a-Bang" – Lulu); Netherlands ("De Troubadour" – Lenny Kuhr) and France ("Un jour, un enfant" – Frida Boccara). As there is no tie-break rule in force at this time, the four entries involved, who each scored 18 points, are declared ex-aequo winners. 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. April 22 The first complete performance of The Who's rock opera Tommy during a performance in Dolton, Devon, UK A Garland for Dr. K., a celebratory collection in honour of the 80th birthday of Alfred Kalmus, consisting of eleven compositions by David Bedford, Harrison Birtwistle, Richard Rodney Bennett, Luciano Berio, Pierre Boulez, Cristóbal Halffter, Roman Haubenstock-Ramati, Henri Pousseur, Bernard Rands, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Hugh Wood is performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in the Southbank Centre, London, on a programme that also featured the word premieres of Eight Songs for a Mad King by Peter Maxwell Davies and Linoi II by Birtwistle.