Today in 1965, the Beatles sought “Help” in purchasing an album:

Two years later, Beatles manager Brian Epstein tried to help quell the worldwide furor over John Lennon’s “bigger than Jesus” comment:

“The quote which John Lennon made to a London columnist has been quoted and misrepresented entirely out of context of the article, which was in fact highly complimentary to Lennon as a person. … Lennon didn’t mean to boast about the Beatles’ fame. He meant to point out that the Beatles’ effect appeared to be a more immediate one upon, certainly, the younger generation. John is deeply concerned and regrets that people with certain religious beliefs should have been offended.”

Today in 1972, Procol Harum recorded with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra:

Birthdays start with Isaac Hayes:

Green Bay native Pat Macdonald of Timbuk 3, which formed in Madison and found that …

Randy DeBarge of DeBarge:

One death of note today: Rick James, in 2004: