Birthday Highlight:

Today in 1966, Cheryl James a.k.a. "Salt" of Salt-n-Pepa was born. Rap trio Salt-n-Pepa, which also includes Pepa (Sandra Denton) and Spinderella (Deidra "Dee Dee" Roper), was formed in 1985 and was one of the first all-female rap groups. Through their career, Salt-N-Pepa won five awards including a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1995. You also might remember "The Salt-n-Pepa Show", a reality TV series focusing on reforming the group.

Also, Today In:

1958 - Eddie Cochran recorded "Summertime Blues", which was later covered by artists such as Blue Cheer, The Who and Rush.

1958 - W.C. Handy, widely regarded as the "Father of the Blues" died at the age of 84. At his funeral, more than 150,000 people gathered near the church to pay their respects.

1967 - Working on session for the new Beatles album Sgt Pepper at Abbey Road studios in London, John Lennon recorded his lead vocal for "Good Morning Good Morning," and Paul McCartney added a lead guitar solo to the track. Lennon had decided he wanted to end the song with animal sound effects, and asked that they be sequenced in such a way that each successive animal was capable of scaring or eating the preceding one.

1968 - Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" hits No. 1 about three months after his death, becoming the first ever posthumous No. 1 hit.

1970 - John Lennon peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles Chart with "Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)" which was Lennon's first top ten single as a solo artist in the U.S.

1970 - Simon and Garfunkel were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with "Bridge Over Troubled Water," the duo's only UK No.1. Only Art Garfunkel sang on the track.

1973 - Pink Floyd's LP Dark Side of the Moon hits No. 1.

1976 - Genesis began their first North American tour since Peter Gabriel left the band, appearing in Buffalo, New York, with Phil Collins taking over as lead singer. The world had no idea of the horror that awaited them within just a few short years. The band had auditioned over 400 vocalists to be Gabriel's replacement, but ended up going with the guy who'd been their main backup singer all along.

1982 - David Crosby was arrested after crashing his car on the San Diego Highway. Police also found cocaine and a pistol in his car. When the police asked Crosby why he carried the gun, his reply was, "John Lennon."

1992 - Over a $100,000 worth of damage was caused in California, when Ozzy Osbourne invited the first two rows of the audience on stage. Several other rows took up the offer, and the band was forced to exit the stage.

1994 - Nirvana singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain checked into the Exodus Recovery Center in Marina del Rey, CA after Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic threatened to disband Nirvana if he didn't enter rehab. Cobain walked out of the center three days later.

2000 - Jimmy Page accepted substantial undisclosed libel damages from a magazine which claimed he had caused or contributed to the death of his Led Zeppelin bandmate John Bonham.

2005 - Queen kicked off their first tour with Paul Rodgers of Bad Company and Free replacing Freddie Mercury on vocals at London's Brixton Academy.

2010 - Rush were inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. They were recognized for the songs "Closer to the Heart", "The Spirit of Radio", "Tom Sawyer", "Limelight" and "Subdivisions".

Birthdays:

Chuck Portz of The Turtles is 71.

John Evan (born John Spencer Evans) of Jethro Tull is 68.

Reba McEntire is 61.

Dave Keuning of The Killers is 40.

Lady Gaga is 30.

Highlights for Today in Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Paul Shaffer's Day in Rock, and Wikipedia.