History Highlight:

Ben Folds was born today in 1966, making him 52 today. First made famous as the frontman and pianist for Ben Folds Five, Folds went solo in 2000 and has been writing and performing since. Though Ben Folds Five reunited in 2011, his latest project is So There, released in 2015 with the yMusic Ensemble.

Also, Today In:

1966 - The first episode of The Monkees TV show aired in the US. The series ran for a total of 58 episodes.

1986 - Public Image Ltd. guitarist John McGeoch needed 40 stitches in his face after a two-liter wine bottle was thrown at the stage during a gig in Vienna.

1987 - Michael Jackson began a two-month siege on top of the charts with Bad.

1990 - Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie from Fleetwood Mac announced they were leaving the band at the end of their current tour. At the time, some believed that Nicks' and McVie's departures were hastened by bad blood in the wake of Fleetwood's memoir, Fleetwood: My Life and Adventures in Fleetwood Mac which revealed some "sordid revelations" about life in Fleetwood Mac.

1996 - Jack Gillis marries Meg White. He takes her last name, and the couple forms The White Stripes. They tell reporters they are brother and sister, which goes over until a reporter for the Detroit Free Press uncovers their marriage license in 2001.

2003 - Johnny Cash died in a Nashville hospital. He was 71. One of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Cash's career had spanned rockabilly, country, gospel, and rock n' roll, and his flouting of musical boundaries continued right up until the end of his life. Cash died four months after the passing of his beloved wife and partner, June Carter Cash.

2007 - The surviving members of Led Zeppelin announced they would reform for a star-studded tribute concert in London. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones would play at a show to remember the late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun.

2013 - Ray Dolby, the sound engineer who invented the noise-reduction system which bears his name, died of leukemia in San Francisco, California, at age 80.

2017 - Stevie Wonder, Demi Lovato and Dave Matthews are among the performers at the "Hand in Hand" telethon, which benefits victims of hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Birthdays:

Country legend George Jones was born today in 1931.

Barry White was born today in 1944.

Drummer Neil Peart (Rush) is 66.

Barry Andrews, keyboard player for XTC, is 62.

Jennifer Hudson is 37.

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