History Highlight:

Paul Frederic Simon was born on this day in 1941, making him 79 today. Simon found much fame and success as half of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, formed in 1956 with Art Garfunkel (and getting multiple No. 1 hits including "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson", and "Bridge over Troubled Water"), but he ventured out on his own in 1970 and would go on to find decades of more success as a solo artist. Simon has earned sixteen Grammy awards for his solo and collaborative work, including three for Album of the Year (Bridge Over Troubled Water, Still Crazy After All These Years, and Graceland), and a Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a two-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- first in 1990 as a member of Simon & Garfunkel and again in 2001 for his solo career.

Also, Today In:

1962 - Don Everly collapsed during rehearsals on stage at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London on the eve of a 22-date Everly Brothers U.K. tour. He was flown back to the U.S. for treatment and the tour continued with Phil Everly performing solo.

1973 - The Rolling Stones started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Goats Head Soup, the group's fourth U.S. No. 1.

1974 - Renowned television host Ed Sullivan dies of esophageal cancer in New York City, at age 73. One of the biggest events in music history unfolded on his program, The Ed Sullivan Show, when a new group from Liverpool called The Beatles made their live U.S. debut.

1978 - Queen released their "Fat Bottomed Girls"/"Bicycle Race" single, featuring a cover photo that combines imagery from both songs.

1979 - Michael Jackson went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough," his second solo chart-topper. The song is the first single from Jackson's fifth studio album, Off the Wall, and was the first solo recording over which Jackson had creative control. It remained at No. 1 for six weeks on Billboard's Soul chart and won Jackson his first solo Grammy and American Music Award.

1984 - Stevie Wonder started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "I Just Called To Say I Love You," it was his seventh U.S. No. 1.

1990 - George Michael went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Praying For Time," his sixth U.S. solo No. 1.

1998 - The Frasier Fair, a male version of the Lilith Fair, begins in San Diego. The tour is organized by Rugburns member Steve Poltz, and features John Doe and Pete Droge. The festival is named after the character Frasier Crane from the shows Cheers and Frasier. The character spent a lot of time on the shows involved with a serious woman named Lilith.

2000 - Eddie Vedder, Ani DiFranco, Ben Harper and Patti Smith all take part in a Madison Square Garden rally for U.S. presidential candidate Ralph Nader. George Bush eventually wins the election, with Nader taking key votes from his Democratic challenger Al Gore.

2002 - The band Muse took legal action against Céline Dion after she announced her forthcoming Las Vegas show would be called "Muse." Singer Matt Bellamy from the band said, "We don't want anyone to think we're Céline Dion's backing band."

2004 - The Internal Revenue Service charged 63-year-old Ronald Isley, lead singer of the Isley Brothers, with tax evasion for failing to report income from royalties and performances by the band between 1997 and 2002. Isley was later found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison.

2008 - Ringo Starr announced that he no longer has time to respond to fan mail or to sign autographs. In a video message on his website, Starr asked fans not to send him any mail at all. "No more fan mail and no objects to be signed. Nothing," he said. "Peace and love." Two days later, following a backlash from fans, Starr explained that his announcement was "in direct response to an inordinate amount of items which have recently appeared for sale on eBay." Starr was also concerned that all the correspondence amounted to "a waste of paper, and we all should be mindful of our carbon footprint."

2016 - Bob Dylan was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature, becoming the first songwriter to win the prestigious award. The 75-year-old rock legend received the prize "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".

More Birthdays:

Sammy Hagar is 73.

Marie Osmond is 61.

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