History Highlight:

Today in 1984, The Replacements released their third studio album, Let It Be. The album represented an artistic shift for the band as they moved from their post-punk, loud and fast sound to a broader palette, and with lyrics that explored more personal themes of angst and coming of age. Among the songs on the album are “I Will Dare” (which features a guitar solo by R.E.M.’s Peter Buck), “Androgynous,” “Sixteen Blue” (which features piano by the Suburbs’ Chan Poling), “Answering Machine” and “Unsatisfied.” The album’s cover art is a photo taken by Daniel Corrigan of the band members — Paul Westerberg, Bob Stinson, Chris Mars and Tommy Stinson — sitting on the roof of the Stinsons’ mother’s house in Minneapolis.

Also, Today In: 

1959 - Fifteen Elvis Presley fans were arrested in Germany after marching through the streets of Leipzig shouting, "Long live Elvis Presley," and making unkind remarks about German music. 

1965 - The McCoys were at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Hang On, Sloopy." 

1967 - All six members of The Grateful Dead were busted by California narcotics agents for possession of marijuana at the group's 710 Ashbury Street House in San Francisco. 

1968 - Motown sues their most prolific songwriting team, Holland-Dozier-Holland, for their refusal to write more songs until their royalty rate is increased. The trio are eventually released from the label and go on to start their own Invictus and Hot Wax labels 

1970 - Pink Floyd release their fourth album, Atom Heart Mother, in the U.K. It becomes their first No. 1 album in that territory. 

1971 - Rod Stewart started a five-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Maggie May / Reason To Believe," his first solo No. 1. Perhaps not coincidentally, Stewart's album, Every Picture Tells A Story, also started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.K. and U.S. charts. 

1974 - Elvis Presley played two back-to-back, sold-out concerts at the St. Paul Civic Center. The Pioneer Press described the audience, who paid $5 to $10 per ticket, as “teeny-bop bubble-gummers, middle-aged women with beehive hairdos and grandparents.”

1982 - "Jack And Diane," a little ditty about two American kids growin' up in the heartland, hit No. 1 in America. 

1982 - Despite minimal airplay, Bruce Springsteen's acoustic and stark Nebraska album cracked the charts. Sparsely recorded on a cassette-tape Portastudio, Nebraska remains one of the most highly regarded albums in Springsteen's catalogue. 

1983 - Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler was at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Total Eclipse Of The Heart." The song, which was Tyler's biggest hit of her career, made her the only Welsh artist to score a U.S. No. 1 hit. Worldwide, the single has sales in excess of 6 million copies. Fun fact about the song -- it was written and produced by Jim Steinman, who said of the song in an interview with Playbill: "with 'Total Eclipse of the Heart', I was trying to come up with a love song and I remembered I actually wrote that to be a vampire love song. Its original title was 'Vampires in Love' because I was working on a musical of Nosferatu, the other great vampire story. If anyone listens to the lyrics, they're really like vampire lines. It's all about the darkness, the power of darkness and love's place in the dark.  

1986 - The Everly Brothers are awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Blvd. 

1989 - Neil Young released his 19th studio album, Freedom. It features “Rockin’ in the Free World.”

1992 - Madonna's racy "Erotica" video, featuring footage from the making of her Sex book, debuts on MTV. The clip, which features the sultry singer guiding viewers through increasingly sexual scenarios, airs just three times before being banned. 

1995 - Oasis released their much-anticipated second album, (What's The Story) Morning Glory. 

1997 - Juanita L. Evans filed a suit against Wu-Tang Clan members RZA and Method Man, rapper Redman, and a Pennsylvania university and its student government. Evans claims that she was distracted by Redman and therefore did not see Method Man when he leapt off stage and landed on her. Evans was knocked unconscious. 

1998 - America's singing cowboy Gene Autry died at age 91. During his career, he scored 25 successive Top 10 country hits. In addition to his signature song, "Back in the Saddle Again", Autry is still remembered for his Christmas holiday songs, "Here Comes Santa Claus", which he wrote, "Frosty the Snowman", and his biggest hit, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." With his earnings from music, Autry was a successful investor; he owned television and radio stations as well as Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In 1995, it was estimated Autry was worth $320 million. 

2000 - Radiohead released their fourth studio album, Kid A, the highly anticipated follow-up to their acclaimed 1997 album OK Computer. Issued with no videos or singles, it baffled many listeners but still went to No. 1 in many territories, including the U.S. and U.K. 

2002 - Adam Ant escaped a prison sentence after a judge ruled that an incident in which he threatened drinkers with a replica pistol in a London pub was a result of mental illness. 

2002 - At the 2002 Jammy Awards, Trey Anastasio picked up two awards; his band Phish won one. 

2002 - Twenty-five years after his death, Elvis Presley has a No. 1 album in 17 countries - including the United States - when Elv1s 30 No. 1 Hits makes its debut. 

2003 - Despite trashing Radiohead's latest album Hail to the Thief, Q magazine gives them the award for Best Act In The World Today for the third consecutive year at their annual Q Awards in London. The band doesn't appear. 

2009 - Mumford & Sons released their debut studio album, Sigh No More. It features “Little Lion Man,” “Winter Winds,” “The Cave,” and “Roll Away Your Stone.”

2010 - On Season 7 of The X Factor (U.K.), One Direction performed as a group for the first time, singing a cover of "Torn" for judge Simon Cowell at his villa in Marbella, Spain. The guys had been eliminated as soloists and tried their luck as a group. They finished the competition in third place. 

2012 - The Mumford & Sons single "Babel" became the highest-selling debut single of the year, officially, with 600,000 copies sold. 

2015 - Janet Jackson released her 11th studio album, Unbreakable.

2017 - Tom Petty, 66, went into cardiac arrest at his Malibu home. Later that night, after his friends and family gathered, he was taken off life support. 

2018 - Geoff Emerick, the engineer on most Beatles' recordings, died of a heart attack at 72. 

2020 - Dawes released their seventh studio album, Good Luck With Whatever. It features "St. Augustine At Night," "Still Feel Like A Kid," and "Who Do You Think You're Talking To?"

2020 - Jónsi of Sigur Rós released his second studio album, Shiver. It features “Exhale, “Swill, “Cannibal, and “Salt Licorice.”

2022 - Kim Shattuck, the guitarist, singer and songwriter of The Muffs, The Pandoras and The Coolies and former Pixies bassist died after a two-year-long battle with ALS at age 56. "We are very sorry to announce the passing of our bandmate and dear friend Kim Shattuck," the Muffs' Ronnie Barnett and Roy McDonald wrote in a statement. "Besides being a brilliant songwriter, rocking guitarist and singer/screamer extraordinaire, Kim was a true force of nature. While battling ALS, Kim produced our last album, overseeing every part of the record from tracking to artwork. She was our best friend and playing her songs was an honor. Goodbye Kimba. We love you more than we could ever say." 

Birthdays: 

Groucho Marx was born today in 1890.

Dave Somerville of the Diamonds was born today in 1933.

Ron Meagher of the Beau Brummels is 83.

"American Pie" singer Don McLean is 79. 

Richard Hell (born Richard Lester Meyers) is 75.

Annie Leibovitz — photographer who took iconic photos of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, the Rolling Stones, Linda Ronstadt, Fleetwood Mac, Dolly Parton, and many others for Rolling Stone — is 75. 

Mike Rutherford of Genesis is 74.

Sting is 73.

Philip Oakey of the Human League is 69.

Freddie Jackson is 68.

Robbie Nevil (“C’est la Vie,” “Dominoes”) is 66. 

Gillian Welch is 57.

Kelly Willis is 56.

Damon Gough, aka Badly Drawn Boy, is 55. 

Tiffany ("I Think We're Alone Now") is 53.

Jim Root of Slipknot and Stone Sour is 53. 

Lene Nystrøm of Aqua is 51.

Sam Roberts is 50.

Brittany Howard is 36. Howard rose to prominence as the lead singer and guitarist of Alabama Shakes, whose debut album Boys & Girls (2012) earned widespread critical acclaim before the band was even signed. Beyond her work with Alabama Shakes, Brittany Howard has fronted other bands and pursued a successful solo career, releasing her debut solo album, Jaime, in 2019, which earned her seven Grammy nominations, and won Best Rock Song for "Stay High". 

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