Birthday Highlight:

Sting is 64 today. Born Gordon Sumner in Wallsend in the northeast of England, he gained his moniker while playing with the Phoenix Jazzmen; Sumner often wore a black-and-yellow sweater, prompting bandleader Gordon Solomon to say Sumner looked like a bee, and "Sting" evolved from that. Sting was the principal songwriter, lead singer and bassist for the new wave rock band the Police from 1977 to 1983, before launching his solo career. As a solo musician and a member of the Police, Sting has received 16 Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards, a Golden Globe and an Emmy, as well as three Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song. One of the world's best-selling artists, Sting's solo and Police sales total more than 200 million records. Beyond music, Sting has worked as an actor, and he is also very involved in social and philanthropic causes. In 2003, Sting received a CBE from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace for his services to music, and in 2014, Sting was made a Kennedy Center Honoree at the White House.

Also, Today In:

1959 - Fifteen Elvis Presley fans were arrested in Germany after marching through the streets of Leipzig shouting, "Long live Elvis Presley," and making unkind remarks about German music.

1965 - The McCoys were at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Hang On, Sloopy."

1967 - All six members of The Grateful Dead were busted by California narcotics agents for possession of marijuana at the group's 710 Ashbury Street House in San Francisco.

1971 - Rod Stewart started a five-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Maggie May / Reason To Believe," his first solo No. 1. Perhaps not coincidentally, Stewart's album, Every Picture Tells A Story, also started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.K. and U.S. charts.

1982 - Despite minimal airplay, Bruce Springsteen's acoustic and stark Nebraska album cracked the charts. Sparsely recorded on a cassette-tape Portastudio, Nebraska remains one of the most highly regarded albums in Springsteen's catalogue.

1983 - Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler was at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Total Eclipse Of The Heart." The song made Tyler the only Welsh artist to score a U.S. No. 1 hit.

1995 - Oasis released their much-anticipated second album, (What's The Story) Morning Glory.

1998 - America's singing cowboy Gene Autry died at age 91. During his career, he scored 25 successive Top 10 country hits. In addition to his signature song, "Back in the Saddle Again", Autry is still remembered for his Christmas holiday songs, "Here Comes Santa Claus", which he wrote, "Frosty the Snowman", and his biggest hit, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." With his earnings from music, Autry was a keen investor; he owned television and radio stations as well as Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In 1995, it was estimated Autry was worth $320 million.

2002 - Adam Ant escaped a prison sentence after a judge ruled that an incident in which he threatened drinkers with a replica pistol in a London pub was a result of mental illness.

Birthdays:

"American Pie" singer Don McLean is 70.

Richard Hell (born Richard Lester Meyers) is 66.

Damon Gough, aka Badly Drawn Boy, is 46.