1965 in music
List of notable events in music that took place in the year 1965.
Specific locations
- 1965 in British music
- 1965 in Norwegian music
Specific genres
- 1965 in country music
- 1965 in jazz
Events
- January 4 – Fender Musical Instruments Corporation is sold to CBS for $13 million.
- January 12 – Hullabaloo premieres on NBC. The first show includes performances by The New Christy Minstrels, comedian Woody Allen, actress Joey Heatherton and a segment from London in which Brian Epstein introduces The Zombies and Gerry & the Pacemakers.
- January 17 – The Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts' book Ode to a High Flying Bird, a tribute to jazz great Charlie Parker, is published.
- January 21
- *The Animals' show at New York's Apollo Theater is canceled after the U.S. Immigration Department forces the group to leave the theater.
- *The Rolling Stones and Roy Orbison travel to Sydney to begin their Australian tour.
- January 23 – "Downtown" hits #1 in the US singles chart, making Petula Clark the first British female vocalist to reach the coveted position since the arrival of The Beatles.
- January 24 – The Animals appear a second time on The Ed Sullivan Show.
- January 27 – Paul Simon broadcasts on BBC'Five to Ten show, discussing and playing 13 songs, 12 of which would appear on his May-recorded and August-released UK-only solo album, The Paul Simon Song Book.
- February 6 – Donovan performs the first of three performances on the British television program Ready, Steady, Go! This presents him to a widespread audience for the first time.
- February 12 – NME reports the Beatles will star in a film adaptation of Richard Condon's novel A Talent for Loving. The story is about a horse race that takes place in the old west. The film is never made.
- February 24 – The Beatles begin filming their second film, Help!
- March 6 – The Temptations' "My Girl", written by Smokey Robinson and Ronald White, from Motown Records, reaches number 1.
- March 18 – The Rolling Stones members Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, and Bill Wyman are fined five pounds for urinating on the wall of a London petrol station. The band had asked to use the restroom, but it was out of order.
- March 20 – The 10th Eurovision Song Contest in Naples, Italy, is won by 17-year-old France Gall, representing Luxembourg, with the Serge Gainsbourg-composed "Poupée de cire, poupée de son".
- March 21 – The Supremes have their fourth number-one single, "Stop! In The Name Of Love", written by H-D-H.
- April 11 – The New Musical Express poll winners' concert takes place featuring performances by The Beatles, The Animals, The Rolling Stones, Freddie and the Dreamers, the Kinks, the Searchers, Herman's Hermits, The Anita Kerr Singers, The Moody Blues, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Donovan, Them, Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield and Tom Jones.
- April 21 – The Beach Boys appear on Shindig! performing their most recent hit, "Do You Wanna Dance?"
- April 26 – Leopold Stokowski conducts the first complete performance of Charles Ives' Symphony No. 4, more than ten years after the composer's death.
- May 5 – Alan Price leaves The Animals, to be replaced temporarily by Mick Gallagher and permanently by Dave Rowberry.
- May 6
- * Keith Richards and Mick Jagger begin work on "Satisfaction" in their Clearwater, Florida, hotel room. Richards comes up with the classic guitar riff while playing around with his brand new Gibson "Fuzz box".
- * The Symphony of the New World, the first racially integrated orchestra in the United States, plays its first concert, under its founding conductor Benjamin Steinberg in Carnegie Hall, New York City.
- May 8 – The British Commonwealth comes closer than it ever has, or will, to a clean sweep of the US Hot 100's top 10, lacking only a hit at number 2 instead of "Count Me In" by the American group Gary Lewis & The Playboys.
- May 9 – Bob Dylan performs the first of two concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall, concluding his tour of Europe. Audience members include The Beatles, and Donovan.
- May 30 – The Animals appear a third time on The Ed Sullivan Show.
- June
- *Producer Tom Wilson, records a heavy backing band onto the song "The Sound of Silence", without the knowledge of Paul Simon, for release on a 45 rpm single, and the B-side, "We've Got A Groovey Thing Goin'". The single will eventually reach number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on New Year's Day 1966.
- *The US music press popularize the term "folk rock", which has been in print at least since the November 2, 1963, issue of Billboard magazine, in which "Devil's Waitin'" by the Glencoves was said to have a "wide open folk-rock sound." The term was also used of "Twins" by Kingtones, the Men, and even of Hoyt Axton. People outside the trade begin to take notice of the term in June, 1965.
- June 6 – The Supremes have their fifth consecutive number-one single, "Back in My Arms Again, written by H-D-H, from Motown Records.
- July 5 – Maria Callas gives her last operatic performance, as Tosca at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
- July 9 – The release of the Tamil musical film Aayirathil Oruvan marks the end of the composing partnership between T. K. Ramamoorthy and M. S. Viswanathan.
- July 25 – Electric Dylan controversy: Bob Dylan, playing a second day at the Newport Folk Festival, is booed for playing an electric set with The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Joan Baez and Donovan also play sets.
- August 6
- *The Small Faces release "Whatcha Gonna Do About It", their first single.
- *The Beatles release the soundtrack to their second movie Help!
- August 14 – The husband-and-wife American pop duo Sonny & Cher earn their first number one hit I Got You Babe. It peaks at that position in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand.
- August 15 – The Beatles play at Shea Stadium, the first rock concert to be held in a venue of this size. The concert also sets new world records for attendance and for revenue.
- August 27 – The Beatles visit Elvis Presley at his home in Bel-Air. It is the only time the band and the singer meet.
- September 30 – Donovan appears on Shindig! in the U.S. and plays Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Universal Soldier".
- October 15 – Guitarist Jimi Hendrix signs a three-year recording contract with Ed Chaplin, receiving $1 and 1% royalty on records with Curtis Knight. The agreement will later cause continuous litigation problems with Hendrix and other record labels.
- October 17 – The Animals appear a fourth time on The Ed Sullivan Show.
- October 26 – The Beatles are appointed Members of the British Empire by the Queen. Since it is unusual at this time for popular musicians to be appointed as MBEs, a number of previous recipients complain and protest.
- November 5 – The Who release their iconic single "My Generation" in the UK. This song contains the famous line: "I hope I die before I get old"
- November 14 – The Supremes have their sixth number-one record, "I Hear A Symphony", for Motown Records.
- November 26 – Arlo Guthrie is arrested in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, for the crime of littering, perpetrated the day before in the nearby town of Stockbridge. The resultant events and adventure will be immortalized in the song "Alice's Restaurant".
- December 3
- *The Beatles release their album Rubber Soul, along with the double A-sided single "Day Tripper / We Can Work It Out". George Harrison's performance on the sitar on the track "Norwegian Wood" leads to his becoming a pupil of Ravi Shankar.
- *The Who release their debut album My Generation''.
- Undated
- *Rockfield Studios becomes the world's first residential recording studio.
- *Toho College of Music is established in Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan.
- *Michael Tippett is invited as guest composer to the music festival in Aspen, Colorado. The visit leads to major changes in his style.
New bands
- See :Category:Musical groups established in 1965
Bands disbanded
- Paul & Paula
Albums released
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Release date unknown
- 12 éxitos para 2 guitarras flamencas – Paco de Lucía & Ricardo Modrego
- A Charlie Brown Christmas – Vince Guaraldi
- Andy Williams' Dear Heart – Andy Williams
- A World of Our Own – The Seekers
- The Best of Al Hirt – Al Hirt
- Blue Kentucky Girl – Loretta Lynn
- Blues for Easy Livers – Jimmy Witherspoon
- Buscando Un Amor – Los Freddy's
- By Myself – Julie London
- :it:Canzoni napoletane classiche|Canzoni napoletane classiche – Mario Trevi
- Catch Us if You Can – The Dave Clark Five
- Celebrations For a Grey Day – Richard Farina and Mimi Farina
- Cliff Richard – Cliff Richard
- Complete Communion – Don Cherry
- Concert in the Virgin Islands – Duke Ellington
- Country Songs for City Folks – Jerry Lee Lewis
- Country Willie – His Own Songs – Willie Nelson
- Country Willie: His Own Songs – Willie Nelson
- Creation – John Coltrane
- Do I Hear a Waltz? – Sergio Franchi, Elizabeth Allen, Original cast
- Downtown – Petula Clark
- Drive-In Movie Time – Bobby Vinton
- Duke Ellington Plays Mary Poppins – Duke Ellington
- Ella at Duke's Place – Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington
- Ella in Hamburg – Ella Fitzgerald
- Em Som Maior – Sambrasa Trio
- Feeling Good – Julie London
- Fiddler on the Roof – Original Soundtrack
- Fire Music – Archie Shepp
- The Fugs First Album – The Fugs
- The Gigolo – Lee Morgan
- Hang on Sloopy – The McCoys
- The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Volume One – Sun Ra
- Hey Ho – The Guess Who
- Hoodoo Man Blues – Junior Wells' Chicago Blues Band w/ Buddy Guy
- Houston – Dean Martin
- Here Are The Sonics – The Sonics
- I Ain't Marching Anymore – Phil Ochs
- I Know a Place – Petula Clark
- In Concert – The Dubliners
- Is It Love? – Cilla Black
- The In Crowd – The Ramsey Lewis Trio
- In The Beginning – The Animals
- Introducing Herman's Hermits – Herman's Hermits
- I'll Make All Your Dreams Come True – Ronnie Dove
- The John Coltrane Quartet Plays – John Coltrane
- Live at Carnegie Hall – Al Hirt
- Live at the Coconut Grove – Sergio Franchi
- Live at The Plugged Nickel – Miles Davis
- Live at the Regal – B. B. King
- L-O-V-E – Nat King Cole
- A Man and His Music – Frank Sinatra
- Maria Bethânia – Maria Bethânia
- Mary Poppins – Original Soundtrack
- Meanwhile Back at the Whisky à Go Go – Johnny Rivers
- My Fair Lady – Original Soundtrack
- My Kind of Broadway – Frank Sinatra
- The Nancy Wilson Show! – Nancy Wilson
- One Kiss for Old Times' Sake – Ronnie Dove
- Orbisongs – Roy Orbison
- Our Fair Lady – Julie London
- Our Shining Hour – Sammy Davis, Jr. and Count Basie
- Papa's Got a Brand New Bag – James Brown
- Pastel Blues – Nina Simone
- Patrick Sky – Patrick Sky
- Reencontro com Sambalanço Trio – Sambalanço Trio
- Rolando Alarcón y sus canciones – Rolando Alarcón
- The Scene Changes – Perry Como
- See What Tomorrow Brings – Peter, Paul & Mary
- She's Just My Style – Gary Lewis & the Playboys
- Slightly Latin – Rahsaan Roland Kirk
- Smokin' at the Half Note – Wynton Kelly and Wes Montgomery
- Song for My Father – Horace Silver
- Songs from My Heart – Loretta Lynn
- A Song Will Rise – Peter, Paul & Mary
- The Sound of Music – Original Soundtrack
- Sounds Like the Searchers – The Searchers
- Stan Getz and Bill Evans – Stan Getz and Bill Evans
- Storm Warning! – Dick Morrissey Quartet
- The Sweetheart Tree – Johnny Mathis
- Take It Easy – The Walker Brothers
- That Honey Horn Sound – Al Hirt
- That Was the Year That Was – Tom Lehrer
- They're Playing Our Song – Al Hirt
- The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death – John Fahey
- That Travelin' Two-Beat – Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney
- Visor i närheten – Fred Åkerström
- ¡Viva! Vaughan – Sarah Vaughan
- The Wonderful World of Antonio Carlos Jobim – Antonio Carlos Jobim
- The World's Greatest International Hits'' – Petula Clark
Biggest hit singles
in the charts of 1965.
# | Artist | Title | Year | Country | Chart Entries |
1 | The Rolling Stones | Satisfaction | 1965 | UK 1 – Aug 1965, US BB 1 – Jun 1965, Canada 1 – Jun 1965, Netherlands 1 – Aug 1965, Norway 1 – Aug 1965, Éire 1 – Sep 1965, 1 in 2FM list, DDD 1 of 1965, Europe 2 of the 1960s, Rolling Stone 2, Acclaimed 2, US CashBox 5 of 1965, Virgin 6, RYM 8 of 1965, RIAA 16, US BB 26 of 1965, POP 26 of 1965, Belgium 43 of all time, OzNet 48, Italy 62 of 1965, Germany 79 of the 1960s, Party 212 of 1999 | |
2 | The Byrds | Mr. Tambourine Man | 1965 | UK 1 - Jun 1965, US Billboard 1 - May 1965, Record World 1 - 1965, Keener 1 - May 1965, Eire 1 for 1 week - Jul 1965, Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, Canada 2 - May 1965, Germany 2 - Aug 1965, Holland 3 - Jun 1965, Norway 4 - Aug 1965, DDD 6 of 1965, KQV 10 of 1965, D.Marsh 10 of 1965, South Africa 14 of 1965, US Radio 16 of 1965, Flanders 18 - Aug 1965, WABC NY 21 of 1965, nuTsie 21 of 1960s, US BB 25 of 1965, US CashBox 26 of 1965, Acclaimed 29, Europe 37 of the 1960s, Brazil 40 of 1965 | |
3 | The Beatles | Help! | 1965 | UK 1 – Jul 1965, US BB 1 – Aug 1965, Canada 1 – Jul 1965, Netherlands 1 – Aug 1965, Norway 1 – Aug 1965, Éire 1 – Aug 1965, Australia 1 for 3 weeks May 1965, Germany 2 – Aug 1965, Australia 5 of 1965, RYM 6 of 1965, South Africa 8 of 1965, US CashBox 11 of 1965, Europe 18 of the 1960s, Italy 24 of 1965, DDD 25 of 1965, Rolling Stone 29, Scrobulate 77 of classic rock, Acclaimed 134, Germany 143 of the 1960s, Belgium 193 of all time, OzNet 232, WXPN 427 | |
4 | The Beatles | Yesterday | 1965 | US BB 1 – Oct 1965, Canada 1 – Sep 1965, Netherlands 1 – Oct 1965, Norway 1 – Nov 1965, Europe 5 of the 1960s, DDD 7 of 1965, UK 8 – Mar 1976, Germany 8 – Jan 1966, RYM 11 of 1965, Rolling Stone 13, Australia 14 of 1965, OzNet 14, US BB 25 of 1965, POP 25 of 1965, Virgin 33, Scrobulate 39 of classic rock, WXPN 48, TheQ 49, Poland 51 of all time, Belgium 53 of all time, RIAA 56, US CashBox 68 of 1965, Italy 88 of 1965, Acclaimed 117, Germany 373 of the 1960s | |
5 | The Beatles | Ticket to Ride | 1965 | UK 1 – Apr 1965, US BB 1 – May 1965, Canada 1 – Apr 1965, Netherlands 1 – Apr 1965, Norway 1 – Apr 1965, Éire 1 – Apr 1965, Australia 1 for 2 weeks Jan 1965, Germany 2 – May 1965, South Africa 3 of 1965, RYM 5 of 1965, DDD 9 of 1965, Scrobulate 16 of 60s, US CashBox 36 of 1965, Acclaimed 249, Germany 333 of the 1960s, Rolling Stone 384, WXPN 594, OzNet 613 |
Other notable singles
- "Absent Friend" – Ingvar Wixell
- "...and Roses and Roses" – Andy Williams
- "1–2–3" – Len Barry
- "A Change Is Gonna Come" – Sam Cooke
- "A Little Bit of Heaven" – Ronnie Dove
- "A Must to Avoid" – Herman's Hermits
- "A Taste of Honey" – Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
- "A World of Our Own" – The Seekers
- "Act Naturally" – The Beatles
- "Ain't That Peculiar" – Marvin Gaye
- "Aline" – Christophe
- "All Day and All of the Night" – The Kinks
- "All I Really Want to Do", recorded by
- *The Byrds
- *Cher
- "Al's Place" – Al Hirt
- "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" – The Who
- "Arrastão" – Elis Regina
- "Arriba en la Cordillera" – Patricio Manns
- "As Tears Go By", recorded by
- *Marianne Faithfull
- *The Rolling Stones
Published popular music
- "Call Me" w.m. Tony Hatch
- "The Carnival Is Over" w. Tom Springfield
- "Do I Hear a Waltz?" w. Stephen Sondheim m. Richard Rodgers. Introduced by Elizabeth Allen in the musical Do I Hear a Waltz?.
- "Goldfinger" w. Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley m. John Barry. Introduced by Shirley Bassey on the soundtrack of the film Goldfinger
- "Honey Come Back" w.m. Jimmy Webb
- "I Have Confidence" w.m. Richard Rodgers, from the film The Sound of Music
- "I Know a Place" w.m. Tony Hatch
- "The Impossible Dream" w. Joe Darion m. Mitch Leigh Introduced by Richard Kiley in the musical Man of La Mancha
- "Jeannie" w.m. Hugo Montenegro and Buddy Kaye, theme from the TV series I Dream of Jeannie
- "Michelle" w.m. John Lennon & Paul McCartney
- "Moment To Moment" w. Johnny Mercer m. Henry Mancini from the film Moment to Moment
- "On A Clear Day " w. Alan Jay Lerner m. Burton Lane introduced by John Cullum in the musical On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. Performed in the 1970 film version by Yves Montand.
- "The Shadow of Your Smile" w. Paul Francis Webster m. Johnny Mandel
- "She Touched Me" w. Ira Levin m. Milton Schafer. Introduced by Elliott Gould in the musical Drat! The Cat!
- "Somewhere My Love" Paul Francis Webster m. Maurice Jarre from the film Doctor Zhivago'
- "Spanish Flea" m. Julius Wechter
- "What The World Needs Now Is Love". Hal David m. Burt Bacharach
- "What's New Pussycat?" w. Hal David m. Burt Bacharach from the film What's New Pussycat?
- "Who Can I Turn To?" w.m. Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley from the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd
- "A World of Our Own" w.m. Tom Springfield
- " Wonderful Day Like Today" w.m. Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley from the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd''
Classical music">European classical music">Classical music
Premieres
Compositions
- Gilbert Biberian – Greek Suite for guitar
- Carlos Chávez – Soli III for bassoon, trumpet, timpani, viola, and orchestra
- George Crumb
- *Madrigals, Books I for soprano, vibraphone, and double bass
- *Madrigals, Books II for soprano, flute/alto flute/piccolo, and percussion
- Mario Davidovsky – Inflexions for chamber ensemble
- Henri Dutilleux – Résonances for piano
- Roberto Gerhard – Concerto for Orchestra
- Vittorio Giannini – Symphony no. 5
- Wojciech Kilar – Springfield Sonnet for orchestra
- Jan Klusák
- *Rejdovák for bass clarinet, viola and double bass
- *Sonata for String and Wind Instruments
- *Fantaisie lyrique
- György Ligeti – Requiem for Soprano and Mezzo Soprano solo, mixed Chorus and Orchestra
- Henri Pousseur
- *Miroir de Votre Faust for piano with soprano ad libitum
- *Jeu de Miroirs de Votre Faust for piano, soprano ad libitum, and two-channel tape
- Karlheinz Stockhausen – Mikrophonie II
- Eduard Tubin – Sonata for viola and piano
Opera
- Jack Beeson – Lizzie Borden, March 25, New York City Opera
- Ned Rorem – Miss Julie, November 4, New York City Opera
[Jazz]
[Musical theater]
- Baker Street Broadway production opened at The Broadway Theatre and ran for 311 performances
- Carousel – Broadway revival
- Charlie Girl London production opened at the Adelphi Theatre on December 15.
- Do I Hear A Waltz? – Broadway production opened at the 46th Street Theatre and ran for 220 performances
- Drat! The Cat! – Broadway production opened at the Martin Beck Theatre and ran for 8 performances
- Flora the Red Menace Broadway production opened on May 11 and ran for 87 performances. Starring Liza Minnelli.
- Half a Sixpence – Broadway production opened at the Broadhurst Theatre and ran for 511 performances
- Hello, Dolly! – London production
- Man of La Mancha – Broadway production opened at the Martin Beck Theatre and ran for 2,328 performances. The show won five Tony Awards
- On a Clear Day You Can See Forever – Broadway production
- Pickwick – Broadway production opened at the 46th Street Theatre and ran for 56 performances
- The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd – Broadway production opened at the Schubert Theatre and ran for 231 performances
- Twang! London production opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre on December 20.
[Musical film]s
- Bangaru Panjaram Telugu musical drama
- Help! directed by Richard Lester, starring The Beatles
- Inside the Forbidden City Hong Kong musical opera film
- Janwar Hindi film
- The Sound of Music directed by Robert Wise, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer
- Waqt Hindi film
- When the Boys Meet the Girls starring Connie Francis
Births
- January 4
- *Beth Gibbons, English singer-songwriter, British vocalist
- *David Glasper, British vocalist Breathe
- January 9 – Haddaway, Trinidadian-German singer, songwriter and musician
- January 12 – Rob Zombie, American musician, filmmaker and screenwriter and heavy metal musician
- January 14 – Slick Rick, English rapper
- January 15 – Adam Jones, American guitarist and songwriter
- January 20
- *Greg K.
- *Heather Small, British soul singer
- January 22
- *Steven Adler
- *DJ Jazzy Jeff, American rapper and actor
- January 25 – Toni Halliday, lead singer and bass guitarist of Curve and Photofitz
- January 26 – Siavash Shams, Iranian singer
- February 9 – Stephin Merritt from The Magnetic Fields
- February 18 – Dr. Dre, American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur
- February 20 – Inna Zhelannaya, Russian singer-songwriter
- February 25 – Brian Baker of Minor Threat, the Meatmen and Bad Religion
- February 27 – Frank Peter Zimmermann, German violinist
- March 4
- *Andrew Collins, British radio DJ and journalist
- *WestBam, German DJ
- March 12 – Liza Umarova, Chechen singer and actress
- March 23 – Marti Pellow, Scottish vocalist
- March 24 – Patrick Scales, British-German electric bass guitar player
- April 1 – Robert Steadman, English composer
- April 3 – Nazia Hassan, Pakistani pop singer
- April 6 – Black Francis, vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist
- April 12 – Pinchers, reggae/dancehall artist
- April 15 – Linda Perry, American singer-songwriter and record producer.
- April 18 – Vinnie Moore, guitarist
- April 19
- *Suge Knight, American record producer
- *Natalie Dessay, French soprano
- April 23 – Tommy DeCarlo, vocalist
- April 25 – Eric Avery
- May 7 – Chris O'Connor, vocalist and guitarist
- May 13 – Tasmin Little, English violinist
- May 16 – Krist Novoselic, Croatian-American bassist Nirvana
- May 17 – Trent Reznor, American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and film score composer
- May 22 – Catie Curtis, American singer-songwriter
- May 28 – Chris Ballew, American rock musician
- May 31 – Lisa I'Anson, British DJ
- June 5 – Tyler Bates, American musician, music producer, and composer for films, television, and video games
- June 7
- *Jean-Pierre François, French footballer and singer
- *Christine Roque, French singer
- June 10
- *Jimmy Chamberlin
- *Joey Santiago
- June 19 – Sean Marshall, American child actor and singer
- June 28 – Sonny Strait, American voice actor and singer
- July 4 – Jo Whiley, British radio DJ
- July 5 – Eyran Katsenelenbogen, Israeli jazz pianist
- July 9
- *Courtney Love, American singer, songwriter, actress, and visual artist.
- *Frank Bello
- July 13
- *Akina Nakamori, Japanese pop singer
- *Eileen Ivers, American fiddler
- July 19 – Evelyn Glennie, Scottish percussionist
- July 23
- *Rob Dickinson, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- *Slash, guitarist
- July 28 – Daniela Mercury, Brazilian singer
- August 6
- *Ravi Coltrane, American saxophonist
- *Yuki Kajiura, Japanese composer
- August 18 – Koji Kikkawa, Japanese singer
- August 19 – Johan Botha, South African operatic tenor
- August 28 – Shania Twain, Canadian country-pop singer-songwriter and performer
- September 1 – Craig McLachlan, Australian actor and singer
- September 3 – Todd Lewis,
- September 7 – Angela Gheorghiu, Romanian soprano
- September 11 – Moby, American musician
- September 12 – Norwood Fisher, Fishbone
- September 13 – Zak Starkey, drummer, son of Ringo Starr
- September 16 – Stephen Shareaux, American singer-songwriter
- September 23 – Marco Blaauw, trumpeter
- September 26 – Cindy Herron, American singer
- October 8 – C.J. Ramone, bassist
- October 14 – Constantine Koukias, Australian composer
- October 18 – Curtis Stigers, American jazz musician and singer
- October 20 – Jil Caplan, French singer and songwriter
- October 22 – John Wesley Harding, singer
- October 26
- *Aaron Kwok, Hong Kong singer and actor
- *Sakari Oramo, Finnish conductor
- October 30 – Gavin Rossdale, English musician
- November 4
- *Pata, Japanese rock guitarist
- *Jeff Scott Soto, American musician
- *Wayne Static, American rock singer
- November 9 – Bryn Terfel, Welsh bass-baritone
- November 10 – Jonas Åkerlund, Swedish music video director and drummer
- November 20 – Yoshiki Hayashi, Japanese rock composer, piano and drummer
- November 21
- *Björk, Icelandic singer, songwriter, musician, businesswomen, record producer, and DJ
- *Gabrielle Glaser
- November 18 – Tim DeLaughter, American singer-songwriter
- November 22 – Sen Dog
- November 25 – Tim Armstrong, American singer and musician
- December 5 – John Rzeznik, American rock singer
- December 23 – Bobby Schayer
- December 29 – Dexter Holland, American rock singer
- Date unknown
- *Kepa Junkera, Basque accordionist and composer
- *Joakim Sundström, Swedish sound editor, sound designer and musician
Deaths
- January 13 – Leo Funtek, violinist, conductor and arranger, 79
- January 14 – Jeanette MacDonald, singer and actress, 61
- January 20 – Alan Freed, DJ who first used the phrase Rock and Roll, 43
- January 21 – Reino Helismaa, singer-songwriter
- February 2 – Charles W. Harrison, ballad singer, 86
- February 7 – Viggo Brodersen, pianist and composer, 85
- February 14 – Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht, conductor and composer, 84
- February 15 – Nat King Cole, singer and pianist, 45
- February 25 – Leo Sirota, pianist
- March 2 – Ján Valašťan Dolinský, composer
- March 4 – Asadata Dafora, drummer
- March 8 – Tadd Dameron, jazz pianist and composer, 48
- March 22 – Harry Tierney, musical theatre composer
- March 29 – Zlatko Baloković, violinist, 70
- April 7 – David Hellström, songwriter, 81
- April 12 – La Belle Otero, dancer and courtesan
- April 26 – Michael Bohnen, operatic bass-baritone and actor, 77
- May 1 – Spike Jones, comedy musician, 53
- May 14 – Joe Sanders, jazz pianist, singer and bandleader, 68
- June 18 – George Melachrino, English conductor, singer and composer
- July 8 – Willie Dennis, jazz trombonist, 39
- July 14 – Spencer Williams, pianist, singer and composer
- July 17 – Frank Ryan, tenor, 65
- September 4 – Albert Schweitzer, missionary, musician, and author on Bach
- September 8 – Dorothy Dandridge, actress and singer, 42
- September 9 – Julián Carrillo, Mexican composer, conductor, violinist and music theorist, 90
- September 10 – Bobby Jordan, actor and musician, 42
- September 15 – Steve Brown, jazz musician
- September 25 – Nikolai Sokoloff, violinist and conductor, 79
- October 17 – Cléo de Mérode, dancer
- October 21 – Bill Black, US musician, 39
- October 25 – Hans Knappertsbusch, German conductor, 77
- October 27 – Peter La Farge, folk singer-songwriter, 34
- November 6
- *Edgard Varèse, French composer, 81
- *Clarence Williams, jazz musician and composer, 67
- November 18 – Lou Black, banjo player, 64
- November 19 – Joe Falcon, Cajun accordionist, 65
- November 21
- *Cecil Brower, jazz violinist, 50
- *Naoum Blinder, violinist and teacher born in the Ukraine, 76
- November 25 – Dame Myra Hess, pianist, 75
- December 3 – Hank D'Amico, jazz and swing musician
- December 10 – Henry Cowell, composer
- December 11 – Rafael Hernández Marín, composer, 73
- December 16 – Tito Schipa, tenor, 76
- December 20 – Charlie Burse, blues musician, 64
- date unknown – Craig Campbell, operatic tenor, 77
Awards
[Grammy] Awards
- Grammy Awards of 1965
[Eurovision Song Contest]
- Eurovision Song Contest 1965