History Highlight

Today in 1963, Stevie Wonder first entered the U.S. singles chart as Little Stevie Wonder with "Fingertips Parts One and Two"; Wonder was only 13 years old, making him the youngest artist ever to top the chart. The track, which featured a young Marvin Gaye on drums, was recorded in June 1962 at the Regal Theater in Chicago and was the first live, non-studio recording to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart since 1952. On the recording, Wonder appeared to bring the song to its conclusion and the band went into the exit music — but Wonder unexpectedly changed his mind and returned to sing the "goodbye" encore. The other musicians were caught out, and the bass players had changed over to prepare for the next act on the bill; as a result, the new bass player, Larry Moses, can be heard on the recording, yelling out, "What key? What key?"

Also, Today In:

1956 - Elvis Presley started a three-day run playing 10 shows at the Paramount Theater in Atlanta.

1968 - Herb Alpert started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "This Guy's In Love With You," his first No. 1.

1969 - Minnesota-born singer and actress Judy Garland died of a drug overdose at age 47.

1970 - Led Zeppelin played a concert in Reykjavik on the group's one and only visit to Iceland.

1985 - Bryan Adams started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Heaven," his first No. 1 single.

1990 - Billy Joel became the first rock artist to perform at Yankee Stadium.

2000 - After giving himself various new identities during the 1990s, The Artist Formally Known As Prince announced he wanted to be known as Prince again.

2013 - "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke started a 13-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart.

2016 - Robert Plant told a court hearing in the "Stairway To Heaven" copyright dispute that he had a dim memory of the time the song was written. Plant also said he could not remember meeting the band Spirit, who claimed the band stole their guitar riff for Stairway to Heaven in the 1970s. "I don't have a recollection of almost anyone I've hung out with," Plant said, causing roars of laughter in the court. The case was brought on behalf of Spirit's late guitarist, Randy Wolfe. His estate claimed the opening riff of the 1968 song Taurus is fundamentally the same as the iconic opening bars of Stairway to Heaven.

Birthdays:

Singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson is 79. His hits include "Me And Bobby McGee" and "Help Me Make It Through The Night."

Todd Rundgren is 68.

Cyndi Lauper is 63.

INXS bassist Gary Beers is 59.

Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies is 47.

Editors' Chris Urbanowicz is 36.

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