Birthday Highlight:

Today in 1973, Cher started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Half-Breed," her second No. 1 hit. The song is backed by L.A. sessions musicians from the Wrecking Crew and was Cher's second U.S. solo No. 1 hit. The single was certified Gold in the U.S. for the sales of over 1 million copies, and centers around the story of a young woman who is half-white and half-Cherokee.

Also, Today In:

1964 - The Beatles spent the afternoon recording "Eight Days A Week" at Abbey Road studios in London.

1969 - George Harrison's song "Something" was released as the A-side of a Beatles' 45, a first for Harrison.

1972 - During sessions at RCA Studios, New York City, David Bowie recorded "The Jean Genie", which became the lead single from his 1973 album Aladdin Sane. The line "He's so simple minded, he can't drive his module" would later give the band Simple Minds their name.

1978 - Australia's King of rock 'n' roll, Johnny O'Keefe, died aged 43 of a heart attack. He was the first Australian rock performer to tour the United States, and he was Australia's most successful chart performer, with 29 Top-40 hits between 1958 and 1974. O'Keefe's 1958 hit, "Real Wild Child," was covered by Iggy Pop in 1986.

1979 - Led Zeppelin's In Through The Out Door was at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart. Six versions of the cover were released, each depicting the same bar scene photographed from one of six different angles.

1979 - "Gotta Serve Somebody" gave Bob Dylan his 12th U.S. top 40 hit when it entered the chart for the first time. Recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Muscle Shoals, Ala., the song won Dylan a 1980 Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Male.

1991 - Michael Jackson gave away the bride at Elizabeth Taylor's seventh wedding, held at Jackson's Neverland Ranch. The groom was construction worker Larry Fortensky, whom Taylor would divorce in 1997.

1998 - A music industry poll was published by Time Out London, naming the top stars from the past 30 years: fifth place was Marvin Gaye; fourth was James Brown; third was Bob Marley; second were The Beatles; and first place went to David Bowie.

2010 - A set of John Lennon's fingerprints were seized by the FBI from a New York memorabilia dealer who intended to sell them for $100,000 minimum bid. The prints were taken at a New York police station in 1976 when Lennon applied for permanent US residence.

2011 - Starship's "We Built This City" was named "the worst song of the 1980s" in a poll by Rolling Stone magazine. "The Final Countdown" by the Swedish band Europe came in second and "Lady in Red" by Chris de Burgh was third. Also, making the top (?) five were Wham!'s "Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go)" and "The Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats.

Birthdays:

Bobby Farrell was born today in 1949.

Thomas McClary, guitarist for The Commodores, is 68.

REO Speedwagon frontman Kevin Cronin is 66.

Los Lobos frontman David Hidalgo is 63.

Matthew Sweet is 53.

Tommy Stinson is 51.

William Butler of Arcade Fire is 35.

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