History Highlight:

Today in 1981, Justin Randall Timberlake was born, making good ol' JT 37 today. He is officially here in Minnesota as the star of the big game's halftime show, but early in his career he got his start on the television shows Star Search and The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, then as a member of NSYNC, which was one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. We now know him as a solo artist, especially from his hits "Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body".

Also, Today In:

1970 - The Jackson 5 went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "I Want You Back". The song was originally written for Gladys Knight & the Pips and was the first of four No. 1's for the group. It appeared on the The Jackson 5's first album Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5 and was ranked 121st on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

1970 - American blues musician Slim Harpo died of a heart attack while recording in London aged 46. Had the 1966 U.S. No. 16 single "Baby Scratch My Back". The Rolling Stones, Pretty Things, Yardbirds and Them all covered his songs.

1972 - Joan Baez received a Gold record for her album Any Day Now, with songs written entirely by Bob Dylan.

1976 - ABBA knocked Queen from the U.K. No. 1 position on the UK singles chart with "Mamma Mia". Queen's single "Bohemian Rhapsody" had enjoyed a nine-week run at the top of the charts, and by coincidence, Queen's single contains the famous "mamma mia, mamma mia, mamma mia let me go" line.

1979 - With Bo Diddley as their opening act, The Clash began their first U.S. tour.

1981 - Blondie had their third No. 1 single with "The Tide Is High".

1986 - "Down And Out In Beverly Hills" opened. The film co-starred Little Richard.

2015 - R&B singer/songwriter Don Covay passed away at the age of 78. His most successful recordings include "Mercy, Mercy" (1964), "See-Saw" (1965), and "It's Better to Have (and Don't Need)" (1974). He also wrote "Pony Time'", a U.S. No. 1 hit for Chubby Checker, and "Chain of Fools", a Grammy-winning song for Aretha Franklin.

Birthdays:

John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, is 62.

British singer-songwriter Lloyd Cole is 57.

Jason Cooper, drummer for The Cure, is 51.

Marcus Mumford, lead singer of Mumford and Sons, is 31.

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