History Highlight:

On this day in 1984, the Cars released their fifth studio album, Heartbeat City. Containing the singles "Drive," “Magic,” “Hello Again,” and "You Might Think," the album was heralded as a comeback by critics, and sold well. The album arrived after a two-year hiatus following their 1982 tour. It was their only collaboration with superproducer “Mutt” Lange, who has also worked with AC/DC, the Boomtown Rats, Foreigner, Bryan Adams, Shania Twain, and many more. (Note: Lange nearly had to turn down producing Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” and the rest of their Hysteria album because he was already committed to working with the Cars. But delays helped their schedules realign.) Featuring bassist Benjamin Orr on vocals, “Drive” became the band’s most commercially successful single.

Also, Today In:

1956 - Elvis Presley’s self-titled debut studio album is released.

1958 - The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) introduced its precious-metal-themed awards for record sales. The Beatles hold the record for the most awards, with 76 platinum certifications.

1965 - The Beatles started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Eight Days A Week", the group's seventh No. 1 hit in America.

1965 - Eric Clapton, concerned that the band is becoming too commercial, leaves The Yardbirds. His replacement is Jeff Beck.

1975 - Tammy Wynette and George Jones divorced after six years of marriage. Although the song "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" wasn't written about her and Jones, many of Wynette's songs dealt with classic themes of loneliness, divorce and the difficulties of man-woman relationships. "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" is one of Tammy Wynette's signature tunes.

1976 - The Four Seasons started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "December 1963 (Oh What A Night)", the group's fifth U.S. No. 1.

1977 - Iggy Pop and David Bowie kicked off a North American tour at Le Plateau Théâtre in Montreal, with Blondie as the opening act.

1989 - Depeche Mode released the live double album and documentary film 101.

1993 - Eric Clapton started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Unplugged.

1999 - Cher started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Believe".

2006 - The Sex Pistols refused to attend their own induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Blondie, Herb Alpert and Black Sabbath were all inducted, but the Pistols posted a handwritten note on their website, calling the institution "urine in wine," adding, "We're not your monkeys, we're not coming. You're not paying attention."

2007 - Coffeehouse Starbucks and the Concord Music Group announced the launch of the Hear Music record label. Artists signed to this label include Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Sia, Elvis Costello, The Cars and James Taylor.

2014 - Two people were killed and 23 injured after a drunk driver crashed through barricades set up for the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas.

Birthdays:

Sammy Kaye was born today in 1910.

Roy Haynes is 99.

English drummer Terry Cox is 87.

Neil Sedaka is 85.

Scatman John was born today in 1942.

Rustee Allen from Sly and the Family Stone is 71.

Today in 1959, Greg Norton was born - making him 65 today. Norton first began playing with the band that would become Hüsker Dü with Grant Hart, Bob Mould, and keyboardist Charlie Pine in 1979 as "Buddy and the Returnables," after meeting them through his job at St. Paul record store Cheapo Records. Norton played bass on all of Hüsker Dü's recordings from its formation to its breakup album Warehouse: Songs and Stories. In 2016, Norton joined La Crosse, Wisconsin band Porcupine as their bass player.

U2 bassist Adam Clayton is 64.

Common is 52.

David Draiman of Disturbed is 51.

Jack Harlow 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.