History Highlight:

Today in 1977, CBS released The Clash's self-titled debut album in the U.K. CBS in the U.S. refused to release it until 1979. Until that time, Americans bought more than 100,000 imported copies of the record, making it one of the biggest-selling import records of all time. Several songs from the album including "Janie Jones", "White Riot", and "London's Burning" became classics of the punk genre and were among the first punk songs to see significant presence on singles charts. The album featured Jones and Strummer on guitars and vocals, with Paul Simonon on bass and Terry Chimes on drums.

Also, Today In:

1959 - The winners of the first Grammy Awards were announced. Domenico Modugno's "Volare" was Record of the Year; Henry Mancini's Peter Gunn was Album of the Year and The Champs' "Tequila" won Best R&B Performance.

1966 - John Lennon made his infamous remarks that led to an uproar — and even led to the banning and burning of Beatles records for a brief period in some communities. In an interview with The Evening Standard, Lennon commented, "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first, rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary." Lennon later apologized.

1967 - The Rolling Stones went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Ruby Tuesday," the group's fourth No. 1 single. According to a 1971 Rolling Stone interview, Keith Richards said he wrote the song in a Los Angeles hotel room in early 1966 about a groupie he knew. Marianne Faithfull, however, recalls it differently; according to her, Brian Jones presented an early version of this melody to the rest of the Rolling Stones, and many believe that Jones actually wrote the song.

1971 - The Rolling Stones announced they were moving to France, mostly for tax purposes.

1973 - At the Dane County Memorial Coliseum in Madison, Wis., Pink Floyd played the first night of a 19-date North American tour.

1986 - 41-year-old Richard Manuel of The Band committed suicide in a hotel room in Florida. His band mate, Robbie Robertson, honored his friend with the song, "Fallen Angel," in 1987.

1989 - Debbie Gibson started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Lost In Your Eyes", her second U.S. No. 1.

1994 - Kurt Cobain was rushed to hospital after overdosing on alcohol and drugs in a Rome hotel during a Nirvana European tour. Cobain had taken 50 to 60 pills of Rohypnol mixed with champagne; rumors circulated that Kurt was dead.

1999 - Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham gave birth to a baby son, Brooklyn; husband David Beckham, a star midfielder with Manchester United at the time, greeted the media with the news.

1997 - Raymond Edwards, The Silhouettes bassist died. The doo wop/R&B group's single "Get A Job" was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard R&B singles chart and pop singles chart in 1958 and is included in the soundtracks of American Graffiti, Trading Places and Stand By Me. The doo-wop revival group Sha Na Na derived their name from the song's lyrics.

2001 - Village People singer Glenn Hughes died of lung cancer at age 50 in his Manhattan apartment in New York. He was the original "Biker" character in the disco group who scored the 1978 U.S. No. 2 single Y.M.C.A.

2009 - Britney Spears kicked off a world tour in New Orleans, her first concert tour in five years. The 27-year-old dressed as a ringmaster in the show and featured jugglers, acrobats and martial arts dancers.

2015 - Daryl Hall and John Oates sued cereal maker Early Bird Foods & Co. over the company's use of the name Haulin' Oates for their maple syrup granola bars. The two musicians accused the Brooklyn-based firm of infringing on their trademark by creating a phonetic play on the band's well-known name.

2019 - Keith Flint, singer and dancer with English electronic dance group The Prodigy was found dead at his home in Essex, England age 49.

Birthdays:

Bobby Womack was born on this day in 1944.

Yes bassist Chris Squire was born today in 1948.

Evan Griffith Dando of the Lemonheads is 53.

The Cranberries' drummer Feargal Lawlor is 49.

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