June 6: The Beatles’ Merseybeat brethren Gerry and the Pacemakers’ first single, “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying,” becomes a Top Forty summertime-radio staple, eventually peaking at No. 4.

June 10: “A Hard Day’s Night,” the theme song to the Beatles’ film mockumentary of the mania they live in, is released as a single, along with an LP of the same name.

June 15: The British folk duo Peter and Gordon arrive in the U.S. on the strength of a huge U.K. hit, “World Without Love,” which will eventually go to No. 1 in the U.S. The song was written for them by Lennon and McCartney.

July 11: Dusty Springfield’s “Wishin’ and Hopin’” enters the U.S. Top Forty chart. Later in the summer it will hit No. 6 and become one of Springfield’s eleven Top Forty singles.

August 7: The Beatles’ movie A Hard Day’s Night opens in the U.S. Time’s review is headlined BEATLES BLOW IT . The movie takes in $1.3 million in its first week.

August 19: The Beatles start their U.S. tour at the Cow Palace in San Francisco.

August 22: “It’s All Over Now,” the second Rolling Stones single to be released in the States (the first was “Tell Me [You’re Coming Back]“), enters the Top Forty for a sixweek stay, where it will top out at No. 26.

September 4: The Animals debut their English hit single “House of the Rising Sun” before American audiences at the start of a ten-nightstand at New York’s Brooklyn Paramount Theater.

September 12: Manfred Mann’s first single, “Do Wah Diddy Diddy,” enters the Billboard Top Forty, where it will reside for three months, including two weeks at No. 1.

September 16: “Shindig” premieres on ABC-TV, becoming the nation’s showcase for the fresh product of the British Invaders.

September 19: Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, an act put together by the Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, releases its fourth single of 1964 to crack the Top Forty. Three of them, including “Bad to Me,” were written by Lennon and McCartney.

September 20: The Beatles finish their month-long U.S. tour.

October 24: The Kinks’ single “You Really Got Me” enters the Top Forty singles chart and will ultimately crack the Top Ten.

November 1: The Dave Clark Five appear on “Ed Sullivan,” shouting their hit “Glad All Over” while Ed beams his approval over their cleancut looks.

November 7: “She’s Not There,” by the Zombies, a Hertfordshire band, enters the Top Forty and stays at No. 2 for a week.

December 4: The

December 19: “Downtown,” by Petula Clark, enters the U.S. charts. By the end of January 1965, it will be the No. 1 song in the country. Clark will produce five more Top Ten hits, including “I Know a Place.” “Love Potion Number Nine,” the Clovers’ 1959 R&B classic, now covered by the Searchers, enters the Top Forty today, destined for a No. 3 finish.

December 31: The Beatles’ single “I Feel Fine” and their album Beatles 65 are certified gold, meaning sales of one million units for each. In 1964 British acts held the No. 1 spot on the American singles chart for twenty-four weeks (eighteen of them by the Beatles).

1965: VICTORY

January 12: NEC-TV’s “Hullabaloo” musical variety show premieres. In a segment shot in London, Brian Epstein presents the American debut of the Zombies and Gerry and the Pacemakers.

January 20: The Rolling Stones and the Kinks debut on “Shindig,” along with the Dave Clark Five, Petula Clark, and Gerry and the Pacemakers.

February 12: Donovan, a Scottish folksinger who is compared to Bob Dylan in the U.K., is signed by Pye Records; his first U.S. hit, “Catch the Wind,” will four months later enter the Top Forty.

February 28: The Kinks’ “Tired of Waiting for You” becomes the No. 1 single in the U.K.; an American tour is planned.

March 1: Petula Clark’s “Downtown” goes gold, with sales of one million records. Freddie and the Dreamers appear on “Hullabaloo.” Two weeks later the British band’s first single, “I’m Telling You Now,” will appear on American charts, eventually climbing to No. 1 for two weeks in April, the high-water mark of Freddie’s American impact.

March 5: The Yardbirds (with Eric Clapton) release “For Your Love” in the U.K. It will become their first Top Ten hit in the U.S. when it is released later that spring.

March 13: The Kinks’ “Tired of Waiting for You” begins its climb to the Top Ten, eventually reaching No. 6.

March 20: “Game of Love,” by Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, enters the Hot Hundred U.S. singles chart on its way to a No. 1 spot later in the year.

April 10: Freddie and the Dreamers hit No. 1 with “Fm Telling You Now.” Their follow-up novelty single, “Do the Freddie,” will hit No. 18 on the pop chart.

April 13: The Grammy goes to … the Beatles’ “Hard Day’s Night” for Best Performance by a Vocal Group; the Fab Four are the Best New Artist of 1964. The judges cite “Downtown” by Petula Clark as the “Best Contemporary (Rock & Roll) Recording of 1964.” Go figure.