History Spotlight

Today in 1992, singer Eddie Kendricks of The Temptations died in Birmingham, Ala., at age 52 from lung cancer. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded The Temptations and was one of the Motown group's lead singers from 1960 until 1971. His was the lead voice on the Temptations' hits, "The Way You Do The Things You Do," "Get Ready" and "Just My Imagination." As a solo artist, Kendricks recorded several hits of his own during the 1970s, including the U.S. No. 1 single "Keep On Truckin."

Also, Today In:

1965 - Johnny Cash was arrested crossing the Mexican border into El Paso, Texas, after customs officials found hundreds of pills in his guitar case. He received a suspended jail sentence and a $1,000 fine.

1974 - Olivia Newton-John started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "I Honestly Love You," her first of five U.S. chart toppers. Meanwhile on the album chart, the Beach Boys hit No. 1 with Endless Summer, their second No. 1 album.

1987 - Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr began rehearsals with The Pretenders in preparation for the band supporting U2 on their North American tour.

1991 - Guns N' Roses started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Use Your Illusion II.

1999 - Roger Daltrey announced that The Who were re-forming and that their first performance would be in Las Vegas on Oct. 29 of that year.

2000 - Beatles fans around the world rushed out to buy copies of the Fab Four's autobiography. Stores in Japan and Britain opened at midnight to satisfy demand for the book, the first written by the band members. Publishers said the 350,000-word volume had already attracted more than 1.5 million pre-orders worldwide.

2011 - David Cassidy filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Sony, claiming he had not been paid royalties for sales of Partridge Family merchandise which bear his image, including lunchboxes, magazines and board games. Cassidy told CNN, "It's just a matter of being fair and doing the right thing. Just be fair, be real, be genuine, don't be greedy."

Birthdays:

Richard Street of the Temptations was born today in 1942.

Steve Miller is 73.

Brian Connolly, lead singer with Sweet, was born today in 1945.

Russell Mael of Sparks is 68.

Fast Eddie Clarke, guitarist with Motörhead, is 66.

Bob Geldof is 65.

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