1966 in music
See also: 1965 in music, other events of 1966, 1967 in music and the list of 'years in music'.
Events
- January 3 - Hullabaloo shows promotional videos of The Beatles songs "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out".
- January 8 - Shindig! airs for the last time on ABC, with musical guests the Kinks and the Who
- January 14 - Young singer David Jones changes his last name to Bowie to avoid being confused with Davy Jones of the Monkees
- January 17 - Simon and Garfunkel release Sounds of Silence, which hits #21 on Billboard charts
- January 21 - Beatle George Harrison marries fashion model Patti Boyd. The couple met on the set of the Beatles' first movie, A Hard Day's Night.
- February 19 - Jefferson Airplane and Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin perform at the Fillmore
- July 29 - Bob Dylan is involved in a motorcycle accident
- August 5 - John Lennon is quoting as saying that the Beatles are now more popular than Jesus. Beatles protests and record burnings follow in the U.S.'s "Bible Belt"
- August 29 - The Beatles perform their last concert in San Francisco
- September - George Harrison travels to India for 6 weeks to study sitar with Ravi Shankar
- October 10 - Simon and Garfunkel release Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, which hits #4 on Billboard charts
- Gram Parsons' musical career begins
- Charley Pride's musical career begins
- Freddie King's musical career begins
- Neil Young's musical career begins
- Wishbone Ash forms
- The Crystals break up
- Gerry & the Pacemakers break up
Albums Released
- Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys
- Revolver - The Beatles
- Days of Future Passed - The Moody Blues
- East-West - The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
- Sounds of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel
- Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme - Simon and Garfunkel
- A Quick One - The Who
Top Hits
- "The Sounds Of Silence" - Simon and Garfunkel
- "Homeward Bound" - Simon and Garfunkel
- "I Am A Rock" - Simon and Garfunkel
- "The Dangling Conversation" - Simon and Garfunkel
- "A Hazy Shade Of Winter" - Simon and Garfunkel
- "Paperback Writer" - The Beatles
- "Yellow Submarine" - The Beatles
- "Eleanor Rigby" - The Beatles
- "You Keep Me Hanging On" - The Supremes
- "Good Lovin'" - The Young Rascals
- "Gloria" - Shadows of Knight
- "Reach Out And I'll Be There" - The Four Tops
- "Wild Thing" - The Troggs
- "Hey Joe" - Jimi Hendrix
- "Summer In The City" - Lovin' Spoonful
- "Last Train To Clarksville" - The Monkees
- "Good Vibrations" - The Beach Boys
- "Monday Monday" - The Mamas and Papas
- "Kicks" - Paul Revere & the Raiders
- "This Ole Heart Of Mine" - The Isley Brothers
- "Winchester Cathedral" - New Vaudeville Band
Births
- January 4 - Deanna Carter
- January 5 - Kate Schellenbach, Luscious Jackson
- January 8 - Andrew Wood, Mother Love Bone
- January 12 - Rob Zombie, White Zombie
- January 16 - Maxine Jones, En Vogue
- January 20 - Wes King, guitarist, singer
- February 2 - Robert DeLeo, Stone Temple Pilots
- February 6 - Rick Astley
- February 9 - Rachel Bolan, Skid Row
- March 3 - Tone-Loc
- March 10 - Edie Brickell
- March 18 - Jerry Cantrell, Alice In Chains
- March 23 - Marti Pellow, Wet Wet Wet
- April 13 - Marc Ford, The Black Crowes
- May 13 - Darius Rucker, Hootie & The Blowfish
- May 16 - Janet Jackson
- May 16 - Krist Novoselic, Nirvana
- May 26 - Tommy Stewart, Godsmack
- July 20 - Stone Gossard, Pearl Jam
- September 5 - Terry Ellis, En Vogue
- September 10 - Robin Goodridge, Bush
- September 20 - Nuno Bettancourt, Extreme
- October 18 - Tim Cross, Sponge
- October 31 - King Ad-Rock, The Beastie Boys
- November 17 - Jeff Buckley
- November 23 - Charlie Grover, Sponge
- November 24 - Joseph Run Simmons, Run D.M.C.
- November 25 - Stacy Lattislaw
- December 8 - Sinead O'Connor
- December 20 - Chris Robinson, The Black Crowes
- December 29 - Dexter Holland of The Offspring