Birthday Highlight:

Happy 50th birthday to Mike D, rapper, songwriter and founding member of the Beastie Boys. Born Michael Diamond in New York City in 1965, he formed the Beastie Boys in 1981 with members of a previous band, the Young Aborigines. Originally hardcore punk, the Beastie Boys' sound shifted to hip hop and the band's lineup crystallized as Mike D on vocals and drums, Adam "MCA" Yauch on vocals and bass, and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz on vocals and guitar. The group sold 26 million albums in the United States and 50 million albums worldwide, making them, according to Billboard, the biggest-selling rap group since the magazine began recording sales data in 1991; between 1986 and 2004, they posted seven platinum or better albums. The Beastie Boys were one of the longest-lived hip hop acts worldwide, but their trajectory came to a sad end in 2012 when MCA died of cancer. In June 2014, Mike D said the Beastie Boys would not continue, fulfilling a promise to their late friend and bandmate, Adam Yauch.

Today In:

1955 - Bo Diddley appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show television show. The show had requested Diddley sing his version of "Sixteen Tons," but when he appeared on stage, he sang his own song, "Bo Diddley," resulting in him being banned from further appearances on the show.

1961 - Bob Dylan started recording his debut album over two days at Columbia Recording Studios in New York.

1967 - Strawberry Alarm Clock went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Incense And Peppermints."

1968 - The Monkees' film Head opened in six U.S. cities. Reviews were harsh and the picture was a box-office disaster.

1971 - Isaac Hayes started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Theme From Shaft."

1973 - During a concert at San Francisco's Cow Palace, Who drummer Keith Moon collapsed onstage after someone spiked his drink with horse tranquilizer. An audience member, 19-year-old Scot Halpin, filled in for the final three songs of The Who's set.

1976 - Paul Simon hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live, where he performed live with George Harrison on "Here Comes The Sun" and "Homeward Bound."

1981 - Prince played the first night on his 56-date North American "Controversy" tour at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, Pa.

1991 - The Rolling Stones signed a three-album deal with Virgin Records for $45 million, making it the biggest recording contract up to that time.

2002 - Former Ultravox member Midge Ure was fined the equivalent of more than $800 by magistrates in King's Lynn, Norfolk, England — hometown of The Current's Mark Wheat — after Ure admitted driving without due care and attention. The court heard that Ure was involved in a minor accident in Norfolk while driving his Chrysler to a gig.

2007 - Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke admitted he was among the thousands of people who paid nothing to download the band's latest album In Rainbows. Speaking to BBC 6 Music's Steve Lamacq, Yorke said, "There wasn't any point. I just move some money from one pocket to the other."

More Birthdays:

Norman Greenbaum, known for his one-hit wonder, "Spirit in the Sky," is 73.

Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers was born today in 1946.

Joe Walsh is 68.

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