History Highlight:

The Streets, aka Mike Skinner, is 40 today. As the English, alternative hip hop group The Streets, he has released five studio albums, an internet-only album, and a string of successful singles in the mid-2000s, including "Has It Come to This?", "Fit But You Know It", "Dry Your Eyes", "When You Wasn't Famous" and "Prangin' Out".

Also, Today In:

1964 - Mick Jagger was fined 16 Euro for driving offences. Jagger's lawyer (or as they say over there, "solicitor") told the court: "The Duke of Marlborough had longer hair than my client and he won some famous battles. His hair was powdered, I think because of fleas. My client has no fleas."

1968 - Steppenwolf's self-titled debut album is certified gold.

1969 - The Rolling Stones record "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!" at New York City's Madison Square Garden. In the audience was Jimi Hendrix, celebrating his 27th (and last) birthday.

1970 - George Harrison released his epic triple solo album All Things Must Pass. The record was produced by Phil Spector and featured Eric Clapton, Dave Mason and Ringo Starr, among others. Many critics say that his 1970 triple album is the finest solo Beatles effort. It is a great body of work which, with the release of the worldwide no.1 hit "My Sweet Lord," well and truly established Harrison as an equal to Lennon and McCartney.

1981 - The British Phonographic industry placed advertisements in the press claiming that "home taping is wiping out music". The Boomtown Rats, 10cc, Elton John and Cliff Richard all backed the campaign.

1982 - Lionel Richie, who had already topped the Hot 100 with his group Commodores ("Three Times A Lady," "Still") and with Diana Ross ("Endless Love"), reached the top spot on his own with "Truly."

1990 - MTV banned the video for Madonna's "Justify My Love," which was apparently too racy for the network. The singer responded by releasing the video on VHS, which sold over a million copies.

1991 - Freddie Mercury's funeral service was conducted by a Zoroastrian priest, for 35 of his close friends and family, with Elton John and the remaining members of Queen among those in attendance.

1995 - The Beatles' Anthology I sets a first-week sales record of $1.2 million copies.

1999 - Pavement announced that they have broken up. During their show at London's Brixton Academy, band member Stephen Malkmus told the crowd that the show will be the band's last.

2006 - Alan Leslie "Fluff" Freeman, longtime Pick of the Pops host, died at age 79.

2009 - Pop singer Al Alberts (of The Four Aces) died of complications from renal failure at age 87.

2014 - Taylor Swift was at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with her fifth studio album 1989. The total U.S. sales figure from the debut week of 1989 was the highest of any album since 2002 and it became the best-selling album of 2014 in the U.S. The album has now sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

Birthdays:

Al Jackson, founding member and drummer from Booker T and the MG's, was born today in 1935.

Jimi Hendrix was born today in 1942.

Lori Barbero of Babes in Toyland is 57.

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