John Glenn became the fifth person in space, the third American in space and the
first American to orbit the Earth, aboard Friendship 7 on Tuesday,February 20, 1962,
on the Mercury-Atlas 6 mission, circling the globe three times during a flight lasting 4 hours, 55 minutes, and 23 seconds.

At left is John Glenn with Scott Carpenter. The two men are the lone survivors of the original Mercury 7 astronauts. They joined the remaining veterans of NASA’s Project
Mercury team on Saturday at Kennedy Space Center in celebrating Glenn’s 50th
anniversary of his historic orbital flight.   

The hit record “This Diamond Ring” is attributed to Gary Lewis & the Playboys,
though it is widely believed none of the Playboys played their instruments on   
the recording and Lewis’ vocals were heavily supported by overdubs made 
by The Ron Kicklin Singers. a group of Los Angeles studio singers who
were backed by session musicians. Leon Russell was one of those
musicians who played keyboards and assisted with production.
   
 

1961

From the Oregon Journal

 
It was “Keep Time” — with Barney Keep on 1190 KEX