History Highlight:

Adam Yauch, a.k.a. MCA of the Beastie Boys, would have turned 51 today. He died of cancer in 2012. The gravelly-voiced member of the Beasties, Yauch became a practicing Buddhist and peace activist, as well as an outspoken proponent of feminism and LGBT rights, subsequently apologizing for early lyrics he retroactively deemed offensive. In 1999, the Beastie Boys sent a letter to Time Out New York apologizing for homophobic lyrics, and in their song "Sure Shot" Yauch sings "I want to say a little something that's long overdue/ The disrespect to women has got to be through/ To all the mothers and sisters and wives and friends/ I want to offer my love and respect to the end."

Also, Today In:

1957 - American Bandstand went national when it aired for the first time on ABC. Hosted by Dick Clark throughout its national run, the show remained on network TV until 1987. The first song the kids danced to was "That'll Be The Day" by Buddy Holly.

1966 - The Beatles' seventh album, Revolver, was released in the U.K. The band's seventh album, Revolver is often cited as one of the greatest albums in rock music history - and sometimes as the greatest, usually ranking along with The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds and The Beatles' own Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. It has been credited with ushering in the psychedelic era in music, with its use of innovative studio effects, varying musical genres from track to track, and relation (both in it's creation and consumption) to the use of psychedelic drugs.

1972 - Aerosmith signed to CBS Records for $125,000 after record company boss Clive Davis saw them play at Max's Kansas City Club New York.

1975 - Drummer Sandy West and guitarist Joan Jett formed the first-ever all-female heavy-rock band, The Runaways. The band released four studio albums, and among their best-known songs are "Cherry Bomb," "Queens of Noise" and a cover of The Velvet Underground's "Rock n Roll."

1978 - The Rolling Stones went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Miss You," the group's eighth U.S. No. 1.

1979 - Def Leppard signed to Phonogram records with an advance of £120,000 ($180,000), giving them a 10 percent royalty on 100 percent of sales for the first two years.

1996 - Long a mainstay of U.K. television, the music show "Top Of The Pops" reported its lowest audience ever, only 2.5 million viewers. In its heyday, the show attracted more than 17 million viewers each week.

2007 - DNA testing on about a dozen people who claimed late soul star James Brown was their father revealed that at least two of them were telling the truth.

2009 - Steven Tyler of Aerosmith fell off the stage at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, suffering injuries to his head and neck, which forced the rest of their tour to be canceled. Tyler fell when he was entertaining the crowd with a dance while a technical problem was being sorted.

Birthdays:

Guitarist Pat Smear (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) is 57.

Stuart Croxford of Kajagoogoo is 56.

Bassist Jennifer Finch of L7 is 50.

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