This Day in Music History: Dylan is released, John Lennon performs with Elton John

1960 – Patsy Cline records “I Fall To Pieces.”

1964 – The Animals record “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.”

1973 – Dylan is released. Compiled and issued by the label with no input from Bob Dylan himself, the album contains no new songs. The material consists of covers, two outtakes from Self Portrait, and another seven from New Morning. It follows his departure from Columbia for Asylum Records.

1973 – David Bowie is the host of a special edition of Midnight Special. He performs a duet of “I Got You Babe” with Marianne Faithfull, who wears a nun’s habit with an open back.

1974 – John Lennon’s “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night” hits #1. Elton John, who sang and played piano on the track, had bet Lennon that it would hit the top spot. As the bet’s loser, Lennon had to join Elton on stage at a Madison Square Garden concert, which he did on November 28 to a manic ovation. They played three songs together: “I Saw Her Standing There,” “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” and “Whatever Gets You Through the Night.”

1996 – The Beatles become the first artists to score three Number One albums in the same year when Anthology 3 tops the American charts.

2010 – For the first time, The Beatles’ music is made available for digital download, as iTunes adds most of their catalog. Apple Computer spent decades battling the Beatles’ Apple Corps record label over the rights to sell music using the Apple name, but a 2007 agreement allowed the companies to work together, setting the stage for the deal.

Information for this post was gathered from This Day in Music, The Music History Calendar, On This Day, and Wikipedia.