Elton John incorporated elements of Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound production techniques in recording “Step Into Christmas.” “We wanted to make an homage to Phil Spector,” John told the Sunday Post. “Part of what made Phil Spector records were the rooms, the musicians and the ambience.”

The Drifters would place nine records in the R&B Top 10, including the greatest holiday song ever put on vinyl: “White Christmas.”

Things came to a head when one of the Drifters, who had been drinking, argued and cursed at Dr. Jive and Apollo owner Frank Schiffman. Treadwell fired the entire group backstage and offered four of the Five Crowns the opportunity to become the new lineup of the Drifters.

1. Roger McGuinn got a Dylan lyric wrong in A. “My Back Pages” B. “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” C. “Mr. Tambourine Man”

“Want to take a mind excursion? How ‘bout a little diversion? The hippest of all trips. The return to reality. Well, join me.”

The Hawks left Hawkins in 1964 and started working as Bob Dylan’s backing band a year later. After he suffered a motorcycle accident in 1966, Dylan invited the Hawks to join him in Woodstock.

The song only reached №63 but is a fan favorite. Its lyrics describe their arrest, along with Fagen’s girlfriend, Dorothy White, in a marijuana raid.

“One night, one of the guys jumped off the stage and opened up the cash register and started throwing money all around the place. That made the papers. After that, a couple of the cash registers would be stacked with ones. We did that in that one club, then in another club we’d tear out the ceiling tiles.”

Kip Cohen: Paul would come with Linda, who wasn’t well known, and they bought tickets to sit in the back of the orchestra. We would take a couple of the ushers who were on to it and we would bring them food and drinks and they would visit three or four times. They were very sweet about it.

Bleecker Bob’s was much more than an oldies record shop. Plotnik recognized new trends in music and it was the source of hard-to-find punk rock releases in the genre’s early days. Thousands of albums and singles were stacked in countertop compartments and posters and memorabilia covered the walls.

“Renée was Mike Brown’s big love, and Tommy liked her a lot too,” said Cameron. “Tall, blonde and quiet. Mike was like a little kid around her. He’d bring her up to the studio to hear his latest songs, and then we’d all come out and sing. She’d just sit there and listen and smile a lot.”

On November 13, 1963, the Trashmen released the surf rock classic “Surfin’ Bird.” Despite its sound, the band recorded the song 2,000 miles away from the sun, sand, and surf of Southern California.