History Spotlight:

Today in 1977, the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 was Meco's "Star Wars Theme / Cantina Band". To date it is the biggest-selling instrumental single in the history of recorded music, selling two million units and being the only one ever go Platinum. The original music is from the movie soundtrack by John Williams, but Meco's version was the more popular in regards to the charts. Both Mico and John Williams issued competing versions of music from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", both reaching the U.S. and Canadian Top 40, but with Williams' version being more successful than Meco's.

Also, Today In:

1967 - At Abbey Road Studios in London, The Beatles mixed the new John Lennon song, "I Am the Walrus." Lennon composed the song by combining three songs he had been working on. When he learned that a teacher at his old primary school was having his students analyze Beatles' lyrics, Lennon added a verse of nonsense words.

1973 - Grand Funk Railroad went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "We're An American Band," the group's first of two chart toppers.

1976 - Enjoying his own birthday celebrations, Jerry Lee Lewis accidentally shot his bass player, Norman Owens, in the chest. Lewis had been blasting holes in an office door. Owens survived but sued his boss.

1980 - Kurtis Blow released his self-titled debut release on Mercury Records - the first rap album on a major label.

1984 - Prince and the Revolution started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Let's Go Crazy."

1989 - While on a motorcycle trip from Los Angeles to the Grand Canyon, Bruce Springsteen stopped in at a small saloon in Prescott, Ariz., and wound up jamming with the house band. The Boss and The Mile High Band burned through "Don't Be Cruel," "I'm On Fire," "Route 66" and a couple of other songs. One of the bartenders, Brenda Techanec, was talking about her problems paying her hospital bills. Springsteen overheard her and a week later she received $100,000 from Springsteen.

2002 - American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "A Moment Like This."

2004 - The advance U2 single, "Vertigo," was all over the radio after leaking onto the Internet.

2015 - The original contract signed by The Beatles and manager Brian Epstein sold for p365,000, ($548.000). The 1962 document was said to be one of the most important contracts in pop music, marking the beginning of the band's journey to international fame.

Birthdays:

America's singing cowboy, Gene Autry, was born today in 1907.

Songwriter Tommy Boyce, whose hits include "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight," "Last Train to Clarksville," "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone" and "Scooby Doo, Where Are You," was born today in 1939.

"Great Balls of Fire" singer Jerry Lee Lewis is 82.

Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad is 69.

Primus bass player Les Claypool is 54.

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