History Highlight:

Today in 1954, David Lee Roth was born, making him 70. Although David Lee Roth has enjoyed success as a solo artist, he is best known for his work as lead singer for Van Halen. Nicknamed “Diamond Dave,” Roth was a member of Van Halen from 1974 to 1985, in 1996, and from 2006 to 2020, when the band disbanded. The apex of Roth’s time with Van Halen came in 1984, when they released the album 1984 — their most critically praised and commercially successful album — that features such hits as “Jump,” “Panama,” “Hot For Teacher,” and “I’ll Wait.” In 2007, Van Halen were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Also, Today In: 

1956 - Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender" entered the U.S. chart for a 19 week stay, peaking at No. 1 for 5 weeks. The song was an adaptation from the tune of "Aura Lee" (or "Aura Lea"), a sentimental Civil War ballad. 

1902 - The Gibson Mandolin guitar company was formed. 

1962 - The BBC somehow determined that "Monster Mash," by Bobby "Boris" Pickett was offensive and banned it from their airwaves. 

1963 - Cabaret singer Edith Piaf dies of liver cancer in her villa on the French Riviera, at age 47. 

1970 - The Carpenters were at No. 2 on the U.S. singles chart with "We've Only Just Begun." The song was originally written for a TV commercial advertising a bank. 

1970 - Neil Diamond went to No.1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Cracklin' Rosie", his first No.1 as an artist. 

1970 - Black Sabbath were at No. 1 on the U.K. chart with their second album Paranoid. 

1970 - The head of the FCC issues a statement in rebuttal to Vice President Spiro Agnew's complaint that radio stations were playing too many songs about drugs. The statement reads: "If we really want to do something about drugs, let's do something about life... The song writers are trying to help us understand our plight and deal with it. It's about the only leadership we're getting. They're not really urging you to adopt a heroin distribution program, Mr. Vice President." 

1972 - James Brown alienates much of his audience by meeting with President Richard Nixon in the White House and endorsing him in his bid for re-election. 

1978 - Joe Perry and Steve Tyler from Aerosmith were injured after a cherry bomb was thrown on stage during a gig in Philadelphia. The group performed behind a safety fence for the rest of the tour. 

1979 - The Rose, a film loosely based on the life of Janis Joplin, with Bette Midler portraying the Janis-like title character, was screened for the first time in L.A. 

1981 - The Police went to No. 1 on the U.K. album chart with Ghost In The Machine, the band's third No. 1 album. 

1985 - Luciano Pavarotti's 1976 Christmas album 0 Holy Night becomes the first classical album certified Platinum, with sales of over a million copies in America. 

1986 - The film True Stories, directed by and starring David Byrne, is released in theaters. The soundtrack serves as Talking Heads' seventh album. 

1987 - Whitesnake went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Here I Go Again", a No. 9 hit in the U.K. 

1995 - Green Day released their fourth studio album, Insomniac. It features “Geek Stink Breath,” “Stuck with Me,” “Walking Contradiction,” and “Brain Stew / Jaded.”

1995 - No Doubt released their third studio album, Tragic Kingdom. It features “Just a Girl,” “Spiderwebs,” and “Don’t Speak.”

1995 - Poe released her debut album, Hello. It features “Angry Johnny.”

1995 - Black Grape released their debut album, It’s Great When You’re Straight… Yeah. It features “Reverend Black Grape,” “In the Name of the Father,” and “Kelly’s Heroes.”

1995 - KRS-One released his second solo studio album, KRS-One. It features "MC's Act Like They Don't Know."

1995 - Rocket from the Crypt released their major-label debut album, Scream, Dracula, Scream!. It features "On a Rope," "Born in '69" and "Young Livers.”

1995 - The compilation Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon was released. It features covers by Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Flaming Lips, Collective Soul, Mad Season, Sponge, George Clinton, and more.

1997 - Davy Jones sings "Daydream Believer" to Melissa Joan Hart on the Sabrina, the Teenage Witch episode "Dante's Inferno." 

1997 - Jimmy Osmond, who is the youngest of the singing Osmond family, welcomes his second child, Zachary, who is the 50th grandchild of George and Olive Osmond, the parents of the nine Osmond siblings. 

1999 - A charity auction selling Elvis Presley's belongings was held at The Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. A wristwatch sold for $32,500, a cigar box $25,000, an autographed baseball sold for $19,000, and a 1956 Lincoln Continental sold for $250,000. 

2001 - Under pressure to change their name because of letter attacks using anthrax germs, the metal band Anthrax issues a press release explaining they will not. "In light of current events, we are changing the name of the band to something more friendly, 'Basket Full Of Puppies,'" they state. "Actually, just the fact that we are making jokes about our name sucks." 

2002 - Jay-Z releases "'03 Bonnie And Clyde," featuring Beyoncé in her first solo appearance since the breakup of Destiny's Child. It's the first hint the couple are dating, as Jay declares them "the new Bobby and Whitney" on the track. 

2002 - Twelve protesters dressed as monkeys picketed outside the north Wales holiday home of former Stone Roses singer Ian Brown. The demonstrators argued Brown was selling the five-bedroom house, in the small village of Llithfaen on the Llyn Peninsula for an inflated price which local people could not afford. The monkey costumes worn by the anonymous protesters referred to the name of Brown's recent solo album Unfinished Monkey Business. 

2005 - Danger Mouse and MF Doom, credited as Danger Doom, released their only studio album, The Mouse and the Mask. It features “Sofa King” and “Old School.”

2006 - Twenty-one-year-old Lily Allen, who had gained fame in her native England, played for the first time in the United States, performing at the Hiro Ballroom in New York City. 

2006 - Sting releases Songs From the Labyrinth, an album of 16th-century lute songs. 

2007 - Radiohead took an innovative approach with the release of their seventh studio album, In Rainbows, by offering it as a pay-what-you-want download. Most people paid nothing for the download, but the album still fared well. 

2009 - Pearl Jam went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Backspacer, the group's ninth studio album. 

2010 - R&B/soul singer Solomon Burke died on an airplane at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Though the cause of death was not known, the singer had long struggled with his health, and his doctor suspected he had a pulmonary embolism. 

2011 - Lana Del Rey releases her first single, "Video Games," a song inspired by two fractured relationships. 

2013 - Paul McCartney and his band surprised New Yorkers by performing songs from his "New" album in a short impromptu free concert to roughly 3,000 people on a long truck parked in the middle of Times Square. 

2014 - Taylor Swift was named Billboard's Woman of the Year 2014, making her the first artist to receive the award twice. The award goes to the female artist who "has shaped and inspired the music industry with her success, leadership and innovation" over the last year. 

2015 - Tenor saxophone player Steve Mackay who worked with the Stooges, Violent Femmes, Snakefinger, Commander Cody and others died at the age of 66. 

Birthdays: 

Ivory Joe Hunter (“Since I Met You Baby”) was born today in 1914.

Harry Edison — trumpeter for Count Basie Orchestra and Frank Sinatra — was born today in 1915.

The jazz great Thelonious Monk was born today in 1917.

Jerry Lacroix of Blood Sweat & Tears was born today in 1943. He passed away in 2014.  

Headman Shabalala of Ladysmith Black Mambazo was born today in 1945.

John Edward Prine was born in Maywood Illinois today in 1946. Prine was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. After serving in West Germany with the U.S. Army, he returned to Chicago in the late 1960s, where he worked as a mailman, writing and singing songs first as a hobby and then as a club performer. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He was known for an often-humorous style of original music that has elements of protest and social commentary.  

Cyril Neville of the Meters and the Neville Brothers is 76.

Midge Ure is 73.

David Lee Roth is 70. 

Tanya Tucker is 66.

Kirsty MacColl is 65. 

Eric Martin of Mr. Big is 64.

Simon Townshend (brother of Pete), who has performed with the Who and others, is 64. 

Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet is 63. 

Crystal Waters (“100% Pure Love”) is 60.

Mike Malinin of Goo Goo Dolls is 57. 

Dean Roland of Collective Soul is 52.

Mýa (of “Lady Marmalade” fame) is 45.

Lzzy Hale of Halestorm is 42.

Marina Diamandis of Marina and the Diamonds is 39.

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