History Highlight:
Today in 2000, Outkast released their fourth album, Stankonia, featuring the No. 1 hit “Ms. Jackson” as well as “B.O.B.” and “So Fresh, So Clean.” The album represented a big leap forwards artistically for the duo of Big Boi and André 3000, as they incorporated a variety of influences — including gospel, funk, and rock — as well as more melodic singing by André 3000, all while remaining firmly rooted in the Atlanta hip-hop sound. Stankonia would go on to win Best Rap Album at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards, and it is considered one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time.

Today In: 

1952 - Pianist Johnnie Johnson hired 26-year-old Chuck Berry as a guitarist in his band. While playing evening gigs in the St. Louis area, Berry kept his day job as a hairdresser for the next three years. 

1962 - The "Monster Mash" rules the airwaves, becoming the most popular Halloween song of all time. 

1963 - Gerry and the Pacemakers were at No .1 on the U.K. singles chart with "You'll Never Walk Alone," the group's third and final No. 1. 

1963 - The Beatles returned to London from Sweden and were greeted by hundreds of screaming fans and a mob of photographers and journalists. Ed Sullivan was at Heathrow as The Beatles arrived, and was struck by the sight of Beatlemania in full swing. He decided to look into getting this group to appear on his television program. 

1964 - The Supremes started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Baby Love", the group's second of five consecutive U.S. No. 1's. Making them the first Motown act with two No. 1 hits. (The first was “Where Did Our Love Go”). 

1967 - Iggy and the Stooges made their live debut when they played at a Halloween party in Michigan. During this early period, the Stooges were originally billed as the "Psychedelic Stooges" and had a very different sound from what they eventually developed - it was much more avant-garde and experimental, with Pop incorporating such household objects as a vacuum cleaner and a blender into intense walls of feedback that one observer described as sounding like "an airplane was landing in the room." 

1969 - David Bowie appeared at a Halloween night at the General Gordon, Gravesend, England. The gig lasted about 15 minutes, after Bowie sang "Space Oddity" to everyone's delight and then dragged a stool on stage, along with a huge book. He then sat and read poems and was booed off stage. 

1970 - Led Zeppelin started a four week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Led Zeppelin III - the band's second U.S. chart topper. 

1974 - Led Zeppelin held the U.K. launch for their new record label Swan Song in Kent, England. Drinks were served by nuns in suspenders, a naked woman lay in a coffin covered in jelly and naked male wrestlers cavorted in recesses of the caves. Label mates Bad Company, The Pretty Things and Maggie Bell also attended. 

1975 - Queen released "Bohemian Rhapsody". It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band's 1975 album A Night at the Opera and it was reportedly the most expensive single ever made at the time of its release, although the exact cost of production cannot be determined. 

1988 - Soundgarden issue their full-length debut album, Ultramega OK, on SST Records. 

1989 - The very first MTV Unplugged show was recorded in New York, featuring U.K. band Squeeze. 

1990 - During a gig in Seattle, Billy Idol dumped 600 dead fish in Faith No More's dressing room. They responded by walking on stage naked during Idol's set. The Los Angeles Times reported: "When the pay-back came, Idol grinned widely as the naked men cavorted onstage in a conga line, wearing only masks or T-shirts over their heads. 

1991 - After meeting up at their ex-manager's funeral, Spinal Tap announce a reunion. "It was destiny and also because none of us were really making a great amount of money," bass player Derek Smalls says. 

1992 - “End of the Road” by Boyz II Men is the No. 1 song on the Hot 100 for the 12th consecutive week, breaking the record. 

1994 - Jimmy Page and Robert Plant released the live album, No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded. It features a mix of new songs and Led Zeppelin classics.

1997 - The Cure embraced the burgeoning internet by cybercasting their Halloween concert at Irving Plaza in New York City. The show, which promoted their greatest hits set Galore, was also broadcast by more traditional means on over 60 radio stations. 

1997 - Jane’s Addiction reunited for a Halloween show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. 

1995 - The Rentals released their debut album, Return of the Rentals. It features “Friends of P.”

1996 - Slash announced he was no longer in Guns N' Roses. The guitarist said that Axl Rose and he had only been civil to each other on two occasions since 1994. 

1998 - D'Angelo released "Devil's Pie," the lead single from his second album, Voodoo. 

2000 - Outkast released their fourth album, Stankonia, featuring the No. 1 hit “Ms. Jackson” as well as “B.O.B.” and “So Fresh, So Clean.” 

2000 - Jay-Z released his fifth studio album, The Dynasty: Roc-La-Familia. It features "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)," "Change the Game," and "Guilty Until Proven Innocent."

2000 - Lifehouse released their debut album, No Name Face. The first single, "Hanging By a Moment," took off, becoming the most-played song on American radio in 2001. 

2002 - The mother of pop star Bjork ended a hunger strike she had staged to protest against plans for a US company to build an aluminum smelter and hydroelectric plant power plant in the Icelandic wilderness. Hildur Runa Hauksdottir began eating again after four weeks of fasting. 

2005 - The white suit worn by John Lennon on the cover of the Beatles' Abbey Road album sold for $118,000 at an auction in Las Vegas. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the items went to Amnesty International. 

2005 - Wolfmother released their debut studio album, Wolfmother. It features “Mind’s Eye,” “White Unicorn,” “Dimension,” “Woman,” “Love Train,” and “Joker & the Thief.”

2011 - The album Lulu, the baffling collaboration between Metallica and Lou Reed, is released. 

2013 - Marvin Gaye's family took legal action against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for copyright infringement over "Blurred Lines". Three of Gaye's children accused them of copying elements of the song "Got to Give it Up". The Gaye family cited excerpts of magazine interviews given by Thicke to support their claim he had admitted to drawing on "Got to Give it Up" when producing "Blurred Lines". 

2013 - Blues guitarist Bobby Parker dies of a heart attack at age 76. 

2017 - At his show in London, the crowd pelts Harry Styles with kiwi fruit when he performs his song "Kiwi." To protect the singer when he plays Manchester three days later, the grocery store Asda refuses to sell the fruit to anyone under age 25. 

2020 - MF Doom died at the age of 49 in Leeds, England.

Birthdays: 

Fiddle and banjo player “Aunt Samantha” Bumgarner was born in 1878. In 1924, Bumgarner and her friend and fellow musician Eva Davis became the first women country artists ever to be recorded when they put down a dozen tracks for Columbia Records. A festival performance by Bumgarner in 1936 inspired a young Pete Seeger to learn to play banjo. And in 1939, Bumgarner performed for President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt and their guests King George VI and Queen Elizabeth during a showcase of American music in Washington, D.C.

Blues singer Julia Lee — “(Opportunity Knocks But Once) Snatch and Grab It” was a No. 1 R&B hit and later used in ads — was born today in 1902.

Jazz saxophonist Illinois Jacquet was born today in 1922.

Folk singer-songwriter Tom Paxton is 87. 

Ali Farka Touré was born today in 1939.

Russ Ballard of Argent and songwriter of America’s “You Can Do Magic” is 79.

Bob Sieberberg, drummer for Supertramp, is 75.

Bernard Edwards, producer and member of Chic, was born today in 1952. He died in 1996. 

Robert Pollard, frontman for Guided by Voices, is 67.

Peter Jackson — director of the documentary The Beatles: Get Back (2021) — is 63.

U2 drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. is 63. 

Mikkey Dee of The Scorpions is 61. 

Johnny Marr is 61. Marr was part of several bands with Andy Rourke as a teen before forming the Smiths with Morrissey in 1982. Marr's jangle pop guitar style became a distinctive part of the Smiths sound, who separated in 1987 due to personal differences between him and Morrissey. Since then, Marr has played with the Pretenders, The The, Electronic, Modest Mouse, and the Cribs. He has also gained a reputation as a coveted session musician, working with Kirsty MacColl, Pet Shop Boys, Talking Heads, Hans Zimmer and others.   

Colm Ó Cíosóig, drummer of My Bloody Valentine, is 60.

Darryl Worley is 60. 

Ad-Rock, aka Adam Horovitz of The Beastie Boys, is 58. 

Vanilla Ice is 57. 

Adam Schlesinger was born today in 1967. He passed away in 2020. 

Linn Berggren of Ace of Base is 54.

Frank Anthony Lero of My Chemical Romance is 43. 

JID is 34.

Johanna Söderberg of First Aid Kit is 34.

Willow Smith is 24.

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