History Highlight:

Today in 1989, Neil Young played "Rockin' In the Free World" as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. Young, who was 43 at the time, came onstage wearing a leather jacket, Elvis T-shirt and faded jeans stitched with Toronto Maple Leafs motifs; he was backed by Charlie Drayton on bass, Steve Jordan on drums, and longtime sideman Frank "Poncho" Sampedro on second guitar.

Also, Today In:

1965 - Donovan made his U.S. television debut on Shindig! along with The Hollies, The Turtles and the Dave Clark Five. Initially emerging from the British folk scene, Donovan reached fame in the U,K. with live performances on the pop TV series, Ready Steady Go!. His most successful singles were the early U.K. hits "Catch the Wind", "Colours" and "Universal Soldier" in 1965.

1974 - Police were called to a Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blue Öyster Cult concert after a fight broke out between two sound engineers. The kerfuffle began when the Skynyrd tech claimed that the sound had been deliberately turned off during the band's set.

1977 - Mary Ford — one-half of the musical team she formed with her husband, Les Paul — died from cancer after being in a diabetic coma for 54 days. Between 1950 and 1954, Les Paul and Mary Ford had 16 top-ten hits; in 1951 alone, they sold six million records.

1978 - Exile started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Kiss You All Over."

1992 - Steve Earle was arrested in Nashville, Tenn., after he failed to report for jury duty.

1993 - Kate Pierson of The B-52's was charged with criminal mischief and trespassing during an anti-fur protest at Vogue magazine's New York City offices.

1995 - Mariah Carey made chart history when she started an eight-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Fantasy," making her the first woman to enter the chart in the No. 1 spot.

2006 - Justin Timberlake started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with his second solo album, FutureSex/LoveSounds. It also became the biggest album ever for pre-orders on iTunes.

2011 - Guitarist and songwriter Marv Tarplin died at age 70. He was best-known as the guitarist for the Miracles from the 1950s through the early 1970s, and he co-wrote several of their biggest hits, including "The Tracks of My Tears". Tarplin also worked with Marvin Gaye, The Marvelettes and The Supremes.

Birthdays:

Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney Houston, is 86.

Singer Johnny Mathis is 84.

Frankie Lymon, singer, Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, was born today in 1942.

Marc Bolan, frontman of T. Rex, was born today in 1947.

Sylvia Peterson of The Chiffons is 74.

Trey Anastasio of Phish is 55.

Ben Lovett, keyboardist for Mumford and Sons, is 33.

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