History Highlight:

Today in 2018, soul musician Eddie Willis died from complications of polio at the age of 82. Willis played electric guitar and occasional electric sitar for Motown's in-house studio band, The Funk Brothers, during the 1960s and early 1970s. He performed many hits including 'Please Mr. Postman' by The Marvelettes, 'The Way You Do the Things You Do' by The Temptations, 'You Keep Me Hanging On' by The Supremes, and 'I Was Made to Love Her' by Stevie Wonder.

Also, Today In:

1966 - The Beatles, touring America for the last time, were forced to cancel and reschedule their performance in Cincinnati's open-air stadium, Crosley Field. Heavy rain (and no cover provided) made electrocution a virtual certainty if The Beatles had attempted to perform.

1975 - Bob Dylan released Slow Train Coming, an album of religious songs, including the Grammy Award-winning single, "Gotta Serve Somebody." The album alienated many of his longtime fans.

1977 - The Voyager 2 space probe is launched, carrying with it a "Golden Record" of sounds and images representing Earth.

1980 - John Lennon began recording his final album, Double Fantasy. It would be released on Nov. 17, 1980, by the newly formed Geffen Records and would win the 1982 Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

1986 - Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen made his first live appearance with the band after losing an arm in a car accident, playing at the Monsters Of Rock Festival, in Castle Donington, England.

1988 - Steve Winwood went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with his fifth solo album Roll With It. The title cut also topped the U.S. singles charts.

1990 - Prince releases his album Graffiti Bridge, which contains the tracks "Thieves In The Temple" and "New Power Generation."

2000 - Janet Jackson went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Doesn't Really Matter."

2008 - The daughter of late country star Johnny Cash called the use of her father's name to endorse a U.S. presidential candidate "appalling." According to media reports, country star John Rich, appearing at a rally in Florida, implied that Cash would have backed Republican hopeful John McCain. Writing on her website, Roseanne Cash called the remarks "presumptuous," adding, "Even I would not presume to say publicly what I 'know' he thought or felt."

2013 - Lady Gaga asked her fans to stop sending online threats to her critics. The singer said she would not condone "hateful or abusive language" directed towards others, adding "this is not a healthy way to handle your emotions." Some of her fans had tweeted death threats to dance producer Deadmau5, who criticized Gaga's video collaboration with artist Marina Abramovic.

2016 - Former 3 Doors Down guitarist Matt Roberts died at the age of 38 from a prescription drug overdose.

Birthdays:

Country singer Jim Reeves was born today in 1923.

'Sneaky' Pete Kleinow of the Flying Burrito Brothers was born today in 1934.

Ralf Hutter of Kraftwerk is 73.

James Pankow of Chicago is 72.

Doug Fieger of The Knack was born today in 1952.

Isaac Hayes was born today in 1942.

Robert Plant is 71.

Phil Lynott, lead singer of Thin Lizzy, was born today in 1949.

Dimebag Darrell of Pantera was born today in 1966.

John Hiatt is 67. His songs have been covered by a variety of artists including Bob Dylan, The Searchers, Ry Cooder, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Three Dog Night, Joan Baez, and Iggy Pop.

Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit is 49.

Queens of the Stone Age bassist Michael Schuman is 34.

Demi Lovato is 27.

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