History Highlight:

Deborah Ann Harry, also known as Debbie Harry (born Angela Trimble) was born today in 1945, making her 74 today. Best known as the lead singer of Blondie, the band was a pioneer in the early American new wave and punk scenes of the mid 1970s. Their first two albums contained strong elements of both genres, and although successful in the United Kingdom and Australia, Blondie was regarded as an underground band in the United States until the release of Parallel Lines in 1978.

Also, Today In:

1956 - Elvis Presley appeared on NBC- TV's The Steve Allen Show and performed "Hound Dog" — to a live hound dog.

1963 - The Beatles taped "She Loves You" and "I'll Get You" at EMI Studios in London. The former would be released six weeks later, on Aug. 23, and become the group's first million-selling hit.

1968, The Band released their debut album Music From Big Pink. The music was composed partly in "Big Pink," a house shared by the Band's Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson in West Saugerties, N.Y. Many musicians have commented how Music From Big Pink profoundly affected their own writing style and career paths: Eric Clapton said it was the album that caused him to quit Cream and pursue the styles of Blind Faith, Derek and the Dominos and his debut solo album; and Roger Waters has called it "the second most influential record in the history of rock and roll" after Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and that it "affected Pink Floyd deeply, deeply, deeply."

1975 - David Bowie began filming in rural Northern New Mexico in his first starring film role as The Man Who Fell To Earth.

2004 - Glen Campbell began serving 10 nights in jail along with two years of probation for a November 2003 drink-driving, hit-and-run collision. He was also sentenced to 75 hours of community service and was fined $900.

2005 - American R&B and soul singer-songwriter Luther Vandross died at the age of 54 at the JFK Medical Center in New Jersey, two years after suffering a major stroke.

2009 - The week after Michael Jackson's death, The King Of Pop dominated the Top 10 of Billboard's album chart. Collectively, Jackson's solo albums sold 415,000 copies for the week, 58 percent of which were digital downloads. The week before his death, Jackson's titles sold a combined 10,000 units.

2013 - Boston guitarist Tom Scholz was ordered to pay $132,000 in court fees to the Boston Herald after he unsuccessfully sued the newspaper. The Herald had suggested that Scholz was responsible for the 2007 suicide of Boston lead singer Brad Delp, but a Superior Court judge ruled that the paper could not be held liable for defaming Scholz.

Birthdays:

Blues singer and guitarist Willie Dixon was born today in 1915.

Bobby Day ("Rockin' Robin") was born today in 1930.

Blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter James Cotton was born today in 1935.

Fred Schneider of the B-52's is 68.

Dan Aykroyd is 67.

Missy Elliott is 48.

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