History Highlight:

Paul Humphreys was born today in 1960, making him 59 today. He is best-known for being a member of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), a new wave band which he founded alongside Andy McCluskey in 1978. He was in the group until 1989, then returned when the band reformed in 2006. You might recognize their music from iconic 80s films "Pretty in Pink" or "Weird Science".

Also, Today In:

1961 - Chubby Checker started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Pony Time," his second No. 1 of the 1960s.

1967 - Pink Floyd laid down tracks for their first single, the psychedelic nugget "Arnold Layne," written by Syd Barrett. It made it to No. 1 in the U.K. but had no impact whatsoever in the U.S. The song tells the story of a cross-dresser who procures his ladies' clothing by stealing from laundry lines.

1970 - Members of Jefferson Airplane were fined $1,000 for using profane language during a concert in Oklahoma City.

1971 - Janis Joplin's album Pearl hit No. 1 in the U.S., where it stayed for nine weeks. Joplin died of a heroin overdose three months before the album was released.

1972 - More than 25,000 people attended a Led Zeppelin concert in Sydney, Australia. Jimmy Page appeared clean shaven, having shaved off the beard he had been growing since the summer of 1970.

1977 - Keith Richards' Toronto hotel suite was raided by Royal Canadian Mounted Police while he was sleeping. Police seized 22 grams of heroin and five grams of cocaine as well as narcotics paraphernalia. Richards was arrested and charged with possession of heroin with intent to traffic, and with possession of cocaine.

1980 - Winners at the Grammy Awards included the Doobie Brothers' "What A Fool Believes" for Song of the Year, Billy Joel's 52nd St for Album of the Year, Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" for Best Disco Record, and Michael Jackson won his first Grammy for Best R&B Performance for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."

1991 - James Brown was granted an early parole and set free in Columbia, S.C., after serving two years of a six-year prison sentence for resisting arrest after a car chase across two States.

1993 - Whitney Houston's single "I Will Always Love You" reached its 14th week at No. 1, a new record. In 1995, this record was broken by "One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men.

2001 - Carlos Santana returned to the Mexican town where he grew up, Autlan De Navarro, for the first time in 46 years. A statue honor of Carlos and his father, mariachi player Jose Santana, was unveiled.

2005 - Ray Charles hit no. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Genius Loves Company.

2010 - U2 earned more money than any other music act that performed in the U.S. in 2009, making $109 million from touring, record sales and other royalties, which was almost twice as much as the second best, Bruce Springsteen, who took home $58 million in America that year.

2011 - Blues musician Eddie Kirkland died at age 87.

2013 - Richard Street, singer with The Monitors and The Temptations, died at age 70.

2015 - Madonna said she suffered whiplash as a result of her accident at the 2015 Brit Awards. The 56-year-old was pulled backwards off stage by a cape, which was supposed to fall from her shoulders, causing the singer to fall down a flight of steps.

2015 - R&B singer Charmayne Maxwell of the 90s group Brownstone died in a freak accident at age 46 when she fell on a broken wine glass and cut her neck.

2015 - Leonard Nimoy died at age 83. The actor, best known for playing Spock on Star Trek, also made a musical impact: His albums Mr. Spock's Music From Outer Space and Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy both charted in the U.S. (No. 83 and 97, respectively), and his voice was sampled in the Information Society hit "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)."

Birthdays:

Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden is 62.

Josh Groban is 38.

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