History Highlight:

Jackie Wilson was born today in 1934. A tenor with a four octave vocal range, he was nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", and was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Gaining fame in his early years as a member of the R&B vocal group Billy Ward and His Dominoes, he went solo in 1957 and recorded over 50 hit singles that spanned R&B, pop, soul, doo-wop and easy listening. Wilson suffered a massive heart attack while playing a Dick Clark show at the Latin Casino in New Jersey on September 29, 1975, falling head-first to the stage while singing "Lonely Teardrops", and remained in a coma until his death 8 years later.

Also, Today In:

1964 - During an evening session Bob Dylan recorded "Mr. Tambourine Man" at Columbia Recording Studios in New York City.

1970 - Princeton University bestowed an honorary Doctorate of Music upon Bob Dylan.

1971 - Paul McCartney's second solo effort, Ram, was certified Gold.

1972 - Bruce Springsteen signed with Columbia Records and started to assemble the E Street Band from various former bandmates.

1978 - The Rolling Stones released Some Girls, their first studio album recorded with Ronnie Wood as a full member.

1984 - Cyndi Lauper started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Time After Time." The song appeared on Lauper's 1983 debut album She's So Unusual, and featured Rob Hyman of The Hooters singing backup vocals. Fun fact: Lauper gained inspiration for the song from the 1979 science fiction film "Time After Time", which she read about in TV Guide magazine.

1990 - M.C. Hammer's debut album, Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em, started a record breaking 21-week stay at the top of the U.S. album charts, making it the longest uninterrupted stay at the top since the album charts started.

1990 - Wilson Phillips went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Hold On." Twenty-five years earlier to the day, Wendy and Carnie Wilson's father, Beach Boy Brian, had been at No. 1 with "Help Me, Rhonda."

1998 - The Ronettes appeared in the Supreme Court of New York for their lawsuit against producer Phil Spector. The Ronettes, whose hits included "Be My Baby" and "Walking In The Rain," claimed that Spector had breached the group's 34-year-old contract by paying the members no royalties since 1963.

2011 - A Belgian music festival, which prided itself on its horse-meat sausages announced it was going meat-free on the day that vegetarian singer Morrissey appeared. In 2009, the singer left the stage at California's Coachella festival saying he could "smell burning flesh".

Birthdays:

Les Paul was born today in 1915.

Chemical Brothers keyboardist Ed Simons is 50.

Matthew Bellamy of Muse is 42.

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