In September, the UN announced Earth's population has hit 3 billion
In 1962, the first Taco Bell opened in Downey, California -- it would be a few years before the franchise would reach Lincoln, Nebraska.
In December, the Tamla-Motown Motortown Revue played for a week at the Apollo Theater in New York. The label used the opportunity to promote its newest star, Little Stevie Wonder and his new recording, "Fingertips, Pt. 2." The record was originally recorded live in June of '62 -- it would reach #1 in August of '63.
December -- the number of color television in use in the U.S. passed the 1 million mark.
Spider Man first appeared in August of 1963 in an issuie of "Amazing Fantasy."
In 1963, the average cost of a gallon of gas was 29 cents.
On April 20th, 1963, Rick Nelson married Kristin Harmon.
In March, Sid Bernstein, a New York music agent contacts Brian Epstein and books The Beatles into Carnegie Hall for the next February -- even though the group is not selling well in the U.S.
The "Tom Swiftly" game catches on in 1963: "I'll have a martini," said Tom dryly.
In August, the Food & Drug Administration reports that over a million women are now taking "the pill."
TaB soda debuted in May of 1963. The Coca Cola company had taken notice of the growing popularity of Royal Crown's Diet-Rite Cola and made a big push to get their own diet drink to the market. Some believed the unique name came as an abbreviation to "totally artificial beverage" but it was actually the product of a computer generated search done by Coca Cola. Incidentally, TaB wasn't actually credited to Coke -- it was distributed as part of the Coca Cola subsidiary, Fanta. Coke didn't want to mess with its brand -- of course that would change in the 1980's with Diet Coke.
Pebbles first appeared on The Flintstones on February 22, 1963 -- she was reportedly born at Bedrock Rockapedic Hospital. The ABC series was in its third season -- it would last through 1966. The original concept was for the Flintstone baby to be a boy, but it was changed to a girl in order to capitalize on the marketing of a Pebbles doll. The male void would be filled when Bam-Bam would be adopted by the Rubbles in the next season and become Pebbles life-long friend (and eventual husband).
The First Family -- "The Press Conference": : LOVE ME DO: :
"The First Family" was a comedy album recorded by Vaughn Meader. It was recorded in October of 1962 and by December was beginning a 12 week run as the number one album. The album consists of 17 skits about the President and his family. It received the Grammy for album of the year in 1963. When President Kennedy was asked if he was annoyed by the album, the President quipped, “I listened to Mr. Meader’s record and, frankly, I thought it sounded more like Teddy than it did me. So, now he’s annoyed.” The Beatles released their first record, "Love Me Do," in the UK in October of 1962 and it peaked at #17. In January of 1963, "Please, Please Me" was released and it went to #1 -- Beatlemania in the UK was born. Veejay records had acquired the rights to the Beatles in the U.S. in a package deal led by Frank Ifield. The label thought they might duplicate the British success and released "Please, Please Me" in February. It failed to chart. There was little promotion -- note the misspelling of the name on the record.
In August of 1963, American Bandstand ended its run as a week day daytime program. By 1963, the show had been cut back from its original 90 minutes to a 30 minute program. In September it would become a Saturday morning program for ABC.
The crowd at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival in June got excited when Bob Dylan joined Joan Baez on stage. Then they really got excited when he did his solo performance. Two years later when he "went electric" they weren't so sure.
SPORTS CHAMPIONS
Football:
NFL - Green Bay Packers
AFL - Dallas Texans
NCAA - Texas
Basketball:
NBA - Boston Celtics
NCAA - Loyola of Chicago
In 1963, the Boston Celtics were in the middle of their eight consecutive NBA titles, led by Hall of Fame center, Bill Russell.
Baseball - World Series
New York Yankees
Micky Mantle led the Yankees to their 20th title.
Hockey - Stanley Cup
Toronto Maple Leafs
Golf:
Masters - Jack Nicklaus
In 1963, Jack Nicklaus won the first of his six Masters titles.
US Open - Julius Boros
British Open - Bob Charles
PGA - Jack Nicklaus
Tennis:
Australian Open - Roy Emerson
Australian Open - Margaret Smith
French Open - Roy Emerson
French Open - Leslie Turner
Wimbledon - Chuck McKinley
Wimbledon - Margaret Court
US Open - Rafael Osuna
US Open - Maria Bueno
Horse Racing:
Kentucky Derby - Chateaugay
Preakness - Candy Spots
Belmont - Chateaugay
Chateaugay came close, but only managed 2/3 of the Triple Crown.