History Highlight:

David Howell Evans, AKA The Edge, is 63. He was born on August 8, 1961. The Irish guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist and songwriter was born in Barking, England, but moved to Dublin, Ireland as a child, where he would eventually form U2 with his school friends in 1976. The Edge's distinctive guitar sound, characterized by the use of delay and echo effects, has become one of the defining elements of U2's music. The Edge has been instrumental in creating the band’s impressive most iconic work, such as The Joshua Tree (1987) and Achtung Baby (1991), among others. From September of 2023 until March of 2024, U2 performed a 40-concert residency at Sphere, a new venue in Las Vegas, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Achtung Baby.

Also, Today In: 

1960 - 16-year old Brian Hyland went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini". 

1964 - The single by The Young World Singers called "Ringo For President" was released in the U.S. The Beatles drummer had so much appeal that fans launched a "Ringo for President" campaign in the midst of the Johnson/Goldwater race. A well-organized contingent - most of whose members were below the voting age of 21 - banded together to enter the drummer as a third-party write-in candidate for President. 

1966 - In response to John Lennon's remark about The Beatles being bigger than Jesus, The South African Broadcasting Corporation banned all Beatles records. Also on this day The Beatles LP Revolver was released in the U.S., the band's seventh album featured: 'Taxman', 'Eleanor Rigby', 'I'm Only Sleeping', 'Here, There and Everywhere', 'She Said She Said', 'And Your Bird Can Sing' and 'Tomorrow Never Knows'. It spent 77 weeks on the Billboard chart peaking at No. 1. 

1967 - The Killer, aka Jerry Lee Lewis, worked the crowd into such a frenzy at the Sunberry Blues & Jazz Festival in Britain that he was asked to leave the stage. 

1969 - Photographer Iain MacMillan shot the cover for The Beatles' Abbey Road just outside the studios of the same name where the band recorded most of its classic songs. 

1970 - Janis Joplin bought a headstone for the grave of her greatest influence Bessie Smith at the Mont Lawn Cemetery in Philadelphia. The blues singer's grave was unmarked until that time. Smith was one of the most popular blues singers of the 1920s and 30s, but sadly died in a car crash in 1937. 

1975 - Hank Williams, Jr. nearly met his doom when he fell 500 feet down Ajax Mountain in Montana. He survived, but with facial scars that he would often cover with a hat, beard, and sunglasses. 

1980 - The Greater London Council banned The Plasmatics from blowing a car up on stage during their UK live debut at London's Hammersmith Odeon. 

1981 - MTV broadcast its first stereo concert with REO Speedwagon who performed in Denver, Colorado, having just released the album Hi Infidelity and the hit singles, 'Keep On Loving You,' 'Take It On the Run' and 'Don't Let Him Go.' 

1986 - David Crosby of Crosby, Stills and Nash was released from prison after serving three years for drug and weapons possession. His conviction would be overturned by a Texas appeals court in November 1987. 

1987 - U2 scored their second U.S. No. 1 single from their Joshua Tree album with 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For'. The song received two nominations for the 30th Grammy Awards in 1988, for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. 

1988 - N.W.A's debut album Straight Outta Compton was released. 

1991 - On A Friday, (later to become known as Radiohead), appeared at The Jericho Tavern, Oxford, England. The band had met while attending Abingdon School, a boys-only public school. "On a Friday", referred to the band's usual rehearsal day in the school's music room. 

1992 - Madonna went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with 'This Used To Be My Playground'. A No. 3 hit in the U.K., the track was taken from the film 'A League Of Their Own.' 

1994 - The Notorious B.I.G. releases his debut solo single, "Juicy." 

1999 - It's a nu-metal moment at the Family Values Tour in Kansas City when Puddle Of Mudd frontman Wes Scantlin sneaks backstage and slips a demo tape to Fred Durst's security guard. The Limp Bizkit leader gives it a listen and signs the band to his label, Flawless Records. 

2000 - A class action lawsuit is filed against the major record labels, claiming that they kept CD prices high by punishing retailers who sold the discs for less than their "minimum advertised price." The case was eventually settled for $143 million, with 3.48 million claimants who bought CDs between January 1, 1995 and December 22, 2000 receiving checks for $13.86. 

2004 - There was a big stink (hey-o!) when The Dave Matthews Band tour bus dumped its sewage into an Illinois river. The band was not on the bus, and their driver denied it until he was confronted with surveillance video. 

2007 - Amy Winehouse overdosed on a mixture of alcohol, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine after a London pub crawl. Her hospitalization causes the cancellation of her first US tour. The singer refused her record company's request to enter rehab for alcohol abuse, inspiring her hit record "Rehab." 

2014 - The Gaslight Anthem released their fifth studio album, Get Hurt. It features the title track, “Rollin’ and Tumblin’,” and “Stay Vicious.”

2015 - Rapper Sean Price died at the age of 43.

2016 - The judge overseeing Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway To Heaven' trial ruled against the band and their publishing company's attempts to recoup nearly $800,000 in legal fees. While a federal jury determined that Led Zeppelin were not guilty of plagiarizing Spirit's 'Taurus' in a copyright infringement trial, judge R. Gary Klausner ruled that, since the lawsuit itself was not frivolous and meritless, the estate of Spirit guitarist Randy (California) Wolfe and their attorney Francis Malofiy were not obligated to repay the defendants' legal fees. 

2017 - Glen Campbell died at 81 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. Campbell released more than 70 studio albums and sold 45 million records worldwide. His hits include: "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston" and "Rhinestone Cowboy". His guitar playing can be heard on "Strangers in the Night" by Frank Sinatra, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" by The Righteous Brothers and "I'm a Believer" by The Monkees. 

2020 - Taylor Swift becomes the first artist to debut at #1 on both the Hot 100 and US albums chart when Folklore and its lead single, "Cardigan," both go to the top. Folklore is her seventh consecutive #1 album. 

2022 - Olivia Newton-John dies at 73 after a long battle with breast cancer. 

2023 - Sixto Rodriguez, who was featured in the documentary Searching for Sugar Man, died at the age of 81.

Birthdays: 

Jimmy Witherspoon, jump blues singer who had a hit with “Ain’t Nobody’s Business (Parts 1 & 2),” was born today in 1920.

Webb Pierce — honky-tonk guitarist with hits “In the Jailhouse Now,” “Slowly,” and “Teenage Boogie” — was born today in 1921.

Mel Tillis (“I Ain’t Never”) was born today in 1932.

Joe Tex (“Hold What You’ve Got,” “I Gotcha”) was born today in 1935.

John Gustafson — bassist for the Merseybeats, Roxy Music, and more — was born today in 1942.

Michael Johnson (“Bluer Than Blue”) was born today in 1944.

John Renbourn of Pentangle was born today in 1944.

Willie Hall, drummer for Isaac Hayes and the Blues Brothers band, is 74.

Ali Score of A Flock Of Seagulls is 72. 

Chris Foreman, guitarist for Madness, is 68.

Dennis Drew, keyboardist for 10,000 Maniacs, is 67.

Daniel House — bassist for Skin Yard and former owner of C/Z Records, which put out music by Built to Spill, the Melvins, the Presidents of the United States of America, and more — is 63.

Rikki Rockett of Poison is 63.

Kool Moe Dee is 62.

Huey Morgan of Fun Lovin’ Criminals is 56.

Scott Stapp of Creed is 51. 

JC Chasez of *NSYNC is 48.

Drew Lachey of 98 Degrees is 48. 

Shawn Mendes is 26. 

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