Birthday Highlight:

Today in 1957, Mike Watt was born, making him 61 today. Best-known for being a founding member of Minutemen, Dos, and fIREHOSE; as of 2003, he is also the bassist for the reunited Stooges and a member of the art rock/jazz/punk/improv group Banyan as well as many other post-Minutemen projects.

Also, Today In:

1958 - George Harrison, Paul McCartney and John Lennon performed as The Quarrymen at the wedding reception of Harrison's brother, Harry.

1967 - Joan Baez was sentenced to 45 days in prison after being arrested during an anti-war demonstration.

1967 - The Hollies released "He Ain't Heavy (He's My Brother)." Originally recorded by Kelly Gordon in 1969, the title comes from a phrase whose origins can be traced back to the late 19th century: it's an expression meaning the burden of assisting someone is lessened when there is love for that person (i.e., "he may look heavy, but I don't mind carrying him, because he's my brother").

1968 - The Beatles sixth Christmas record The Beatles' 1968 Christmas Record, was sent to fan club members in the UK and the US. It included the song "Nowhere Man" sung by Tiny Tim.

1969 - Peter Paul and Mary went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Leavin' On A Jet Plane". John Denver wrote the song in 1966 with the original title of "Oh Babe I Hate to Go".

1969 - One of the great Rolling Stones albums, Let It Bleed, highlighted by "Midnight Rambler," "Gimme Shelter" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want," hit No. 1 on the album charts.

1973 - Bobby Darin died aged 37. One of the first teen idols, he had the 1959 No. 1 hit with "Dream Lover" plus 20 other U.S. Top 40 hits during the 60s including "Mack the Knife", (Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1960). Darin travelled with Robert Kennedy and worked on his 1968 presidential campaign. He was with Kennedy when he travelled to Los Angeles on June 4, 1968 for the California Primary. Darin was at the Ambassador Hotel later that night when Kennedy was assassinated.

1986 - The Bangles started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Walk Like An Egyptian".

1999 - Canadian Country singer Hank Snow died. "The Singing Ranger" released over 100 albums and scored more than seventy singles on the Billboard country charts from 1950 until 1980. A regular at the Grand Ole Opry, in 1954 Snow persuaded the directors to allow a new singer by the name of Elvis Presley to appear there.

2012 - Adele was named Billboard's top artist of 2012, while her hit record 21 was named top album of the year in the music magazine's annual review. The 24-year-old was the first to receive both accolades two years in a row. Her second album 21 went straight to No. 1 when it was released in March 2011 and did not leave the top 10 until the beginning of September 2012. In that span of time, the album spent 24 weeks at the top spot.

Birthdays:

Former Kiss drummer Peter Criss is 73.

Billy Bragg is 61.

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