This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1962.
Burt Freeman Bacharach was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Starting in the 1950s, he composed hundreds of pop songs, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. Bacharach's music is characterized by unusual chord progressions and time signature changes, influenced by his background in jazz, and uncommon selections of instruments for small orchestras. He arranged, conducted, and produced much of his recorded output.
Robert George "Joe" Meek was an English record producer, sound engineer and songwriter who pioneered space age and experimental pop music. He also assisted in the development of recording practices like overdubbing, sampling and reverberation.
David Edward Leslie Hemmings was an English actor and director. He is best remembered for his roles in British films and television programmes of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, particularly his lead role as a trendy fashion photographer in the hugely successful avant-garde mystery film Blowup (1966), directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. Early in his career, Hemmings was a boy soprano appearing in operatic roles. In 1967, he co-founded the Hemdale Film Corporation. From the mid-1970s on, he worked mainly as a character actor and occasionally as director.
The Tornados were an English instrumental rock group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits in their own right, including the UK and US no. 1 "Telstar", the first US no. 1 single by a British group.
Patricia Ann Ruth Noble was an Australian singer and actress. Initially performing as Patsy Ann Noble, she was a teenage pop singer in the early 1960s, with regular appearances on the Australian music and variety television series Bandstand. In November 1961, she released her biggest hit single, "Good Looking Boy", which reached the Top 10 in Melbourne and Top 20 in Sydney. At the 1961 Logie Awards, she won the Best Female Singer of the Year award from TV Week. By 1962, she had transferred to the United Kingdom and continued her singing career by releasing singles there.
"Telstar" is a 1962 instrumental by the English band the Tornados, written and produced by Joe Meek. It reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100 in December 1962. It was the second instrumental single to hit number one in 1962 on both the US and UK weekly charts.
Dottie West was an American country singer and songwriter. She also had several credits as an actress. A distinguished figure in the country genre, West was among several people who helped to elevate the platform of female country artists. She was also known for mentoring up-and-coming artists and being the first woman to win a country music accolade from the Grammy Awards.
Jennifer Victoria Moss was an English actress and singer from Wigan, Lancashire. She was best known for her role as Lucille Hewitt on the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street, which she starred in from 1960 to 1974.
Venetta Lee Fields is an American-born Australian singer and musical theater actress, and vocal coach.
Heinz Burt was a German-born British rock and roll bassist and singer who performed under the stage name Heinz. He was also known as a member of the instrumental group the Tornados.
Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s.
Grace of My Heart is a 1996 American musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Allison Anders, and starring Illeana Douglas, Matt Dillon, Eric Stoltz, Patsy Kensit and John Turturro. The film charts the fictional music career of Denise Waverly, an aspiring singer who writes for other artists in the pop music world of the mid-1960s. It premiered at the 1996 Toronto International Film Festival and went into limited release on September 13, 1996.
It's Trad, Dad! is a 1962 British musical comedy film directed by Richard Lester in his feature directorial debut. It stars singer and actress Helen Shapiro alongside Craig Douglas, John Leyton, the Brook Brothers, and Chubby Checker, among other rock-and-roll singers, as well as several Dixieland jazz bands. The film was one of the first produced by Amicus Productions, a company known predominantly for horror films.
The Saints were an English instrumental band, that worked for the record producer, Joe Meek.
David Malcolm Adams was a British singer, keyboard player and songwriter.
Telstar: The Joe Meek Story is a 2008 film adaptation of James Hicks' and Nick Moran's play Telstar, about record producer Joe Meek, which opened at the New Ambassadors Theatre in London's West End in June 2005. The film is directed by Moran and stars Con O'Neill, who also played Joe Meek in the original play, while Kevin Spacey plays Meek's business partner, Major Wilfred Banks.
Be My Guest is a 1965 British musical film. It was filmed at Pinewood Studios, England. The film is notable for the appearances of Steve Marriott and Jerry Lee Lewis. It was released as a B movie to support the Morecambe and Wise feature film The Intelligence Men.
My Dream Is Yours is a 1949 American Technicolor musical romantic comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Jack Carson, Doris Day, and Lee Bowman.
Up Jumped a Swagman is a 1965 British musical comedy film directed by Christopher Miles and starring Frank Ifield, Annette Andre, Ronald Radd and Suzy Kendall. It includes the songs "Waltzing Matilda" and "I Remember You".
