History Highlight:

Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records, was born today in 1929. Gordy got his start in the music business by by opening a jazz music record store and becoming a songwriter. Through family connections, Gordy met Jackie Wilson, who recorded "Reet Petite" (co-written by Gordy) and six more songs co-written by Gordy over the next two years. Gordy then got interested in producing and discovered the Miracles in 1957. After building up a portfolio of other acts, in 1959 he borrowed $800 and formed Tamla Records, which was then merged with the Motown record label, incorporating the Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. We have Gordy and Motown Records to thank for bringing to the masses such artists as the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, Jimmy Ruffin, the Contours, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips, the Commodores, the Velvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, Stevie Wonder and the Jackson 5. Gordy did occasionally sign white musicians, but he largely promoted African-American artists, and to this day, the Motown sound is practically a genre of its own. Gordy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, was the first living individual to receive the Songwriters Hall of Fame's Pioneer Award in 2013, and in 2016 received the National Medal of Arts from President Obama for "helping to create a trailblazing new sound in American music" and helping "shape our Nation's story".

Today In:

1960 - Elvis Presley started a six-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Are You Lonesome Tonight", his third U.S. No. 1 of 1960.

1987 - R.E.M. had their first entry in the Top 10 on the U.S. singles chart with "The One I Love". The record has ironically become a popular dedication to loved ones (on radio and even at weddings) due to a misinterpretation of its refrain, "This one goes out to the one I love," and a failure to note the contradiction within the same verse: "A simple prop to occupy my time."

1991 - Nirvana recorded a performance for BBC TV music show Top Of The Pops in London. When asked to lip-sync "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to a pre-recorded tape, Kurt Cobain protested by singing in a low-pitched funny voice with the rest of the band not even trying to mime in-time to the track.

1999 - Rage Against The Machine were at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with The Battle Of Los Angeles, the band's second U.S. No. 1.

2000 - David Bowie was crowned the musician's musician. Bowie beat the Beatles and alternative rockers Radiohead in a survey by the NME (New Musical Express) that asked hundreds of top rock and pop stars to name their biggest musical influence.

2007 - Kanye West and stuntman Evel Knievel settled a copyright dispute over West's use of the name "Evel Kanyevel" in a music video. The 69-year-old daredevil had claimed his image was tarnished by the video's "vulgar, sexual nature."

Birthdays:

Matt Cameron, drummer for Pearl Jam (formerly of Soundgarden and Temple of the dog) is 54 today.

Randy Newman, who Paul McCartney once hailed as the greatest songwriter alive, is 73.

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