History Highlight:

Today in 1939, Grace Slick was born, making her 85 today. Regarded as a prominent figure in San Francisco’s psychedelic music scene of the 1960s, Slick came to fame as the lead singer and frontwoman of Jefferson Airplane and the subsequent spinoff bands, Jefferson Starship and Starship. Slick retired from the music business, stating in a 2007 interview, "You can do jazz, classical, blues, opera, country until you're 150, but rap and rock and roll are really a way for young people to get that anger out.” She has since put more energy into painting and drawing, sometimes depicting fellow 1960s musicians, such as Janis Joplin, Jerry Garcia and others.  

Today In: 

1964 - Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman" was certified Gold after spending 15 weeks on the singles chart. 

1968 - Marvin Gaye scored his first No.1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Heard It Through The Grapevine.” Though the Norman Whitfield/Barrett Strong song is now a soul classic affiliated with Gaye, that wasn’t always the case. Gaye’s rendition was actually the third to be released, following versions by The Miracles (1966), as well as by Gladys Knight & the Pips, who also scored a major hit with the song in 1967. 

1970 - Jim Morrison of The Doors was sentenced to six months in jail and fined $500 for exposing himself during a concert in Miami. 

1970 - Elton John released his third studio album Tumbleweed Connection. The cover photo for the album was taken at Horsted Keynes railway station, 30 miles south of London and captured John and Bernie Taupin in front of the late-nineteenth-century station to represent the album's rural Americana concept, despite the English location. 

1971 - Pink Floyd released their sixth studio album, Meddle, in the U.S. The U.K. release would follow on Nov. 13. 

1975 - Bob Dylan performed the first show of his Rolling Thunder Revue at the War Memorial Auditorium in Plymouth, Massachusetts, which later became the subject of two documentaries. 

1982 - Australian band Men At Work went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Who Can It Be Now,'' the group's first U.S. No. 1. 

1990 - Axl Rose was released on $10,000 bail after being arrested for allegedly hitting a neighbor over the head with a bottle. The incident happened after a complaint to the police about loud music coming from the singer's house. 

1990 - Monie Love released her debut album, Down to Earth. It features the hit “It’s a Shame (My Sister)” and “Monie in the Middle.”

1995 - Pulp released their fifth studio album, Different Class. It features “Common People,” "Mis-Shapes," "Sorted for E's & Wizz," “Disco 2000,” and “Something Changed.”

1998 - All four original members of Black Sabbath reunited to perform "Paranoid" on Late Night with David Letterman. Prior to that date, Black Sabbath had not appeared on television since 1976. 

1999 - Santana's Supernatural album went to No. 1 in America, giving the group its first chart-topping album in 28 years. 

1999 - It's an early attempt at video over the web, as Neil Young's annual Bridge School Benefit concert is "cybercast" to a few brave souls trying to get their modems to work. The Who, Pearl Jam, and Brian Wilson perform at the show. 

2000 - U2 released their 10th studio album, All That You Can’t Leave Behind. It features “Beautiful Day,” “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of,” “Elevation,” and “Walk On.”

2002 - Jason William Mizell, better known as Jam Master Jay, was murdered by an unknown assassin's single bullet at his recording studio in Queens, New York. Jam Master Jay was the DJ of Run-D.M.C., who. became one of the biggest hip-hop groups in the 1980s and are credited with breaking hip-hop into mainstream music. 

2003 - Steve O'Rourke suffered a stroke and died in Miami. O'Rourke had managed Pink Floyd since 1968, and was the executive producer for their 1982 film The Wall. 

2006 - Keane becomes the first major act to release a song on a USB memory stick. For £3.99, fans can purchase the 512MB drive at HMV stores, plug it into a computer, and transfer the track "Nothing In My Way" along with various videos and screensavers. The "single on a stick" format would fail to catch on. 

2008 - American producer and saxophonist Mike Terry died in Detroit aged 68. Worked with Martha And The Vandellas, Jackie Wilson, Mary Wells, The Four Tops, The Supremes, Kim Weston, Marvin Gaye, The Isley Brothers and Edwin Starr. 

2009 - Weezer released their seventh studio album, Raditude. It features "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" and “I’m Your Daddy.”

2010 - Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) made a rare public appearance, performing "Peace Train" at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, which was organized and hosted by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Midway through the song, Colbert interrupted him and introduced Ozzy Osbourne, who started performing "Crazy Train." Stevens and Osbourne went back and forth, resulting in a strange and hilarious train wreck. 

2015 - Car Seat Headrest released their ninth studio album, Teens of Style. It features “No Passion,” Something Soon,” and “Times to Die.”

2015 - The Neighbourhood released their second studio album, Wiped Out!. It features “Daddy Issues” and “R.I.P. 2 My Youth.”

2016 - With the Cubs in the World Series for the first time since 1945 (they hadn't won since 1908), longtime fan Eddie Vedder led the crowd in "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch. 

2016 - American songwriter Curly Putman died aged 85. He wrote "Green, Green Grass of Home" which was covered by many artists including Elvis Presley, Johnny Darrell, Gram Parsons, Joan Baez, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Porter Wagoner, Merle Haggard, Joe Tex and Tom Jones. He also co-wrote (with Bobby Braddock), "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" made famous by Tammy Wynette. 

2020 - Ariana Grande released her sixth studio album, Positions. It features the title track, “34+35,” and “POV.”

2020 - Sam Smith released their third album, Love Goes. It features “My Oasis,” “Diamonds,” and “Kids Again.”

2021 - Carole King, Tina Turner, Jay-Z, LL Cool J, Todd Rundgren, the Go-Go's and Foo Fighters are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

Birthdays: 

Patsy Montana (“I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart”) was born today in 1908.

Jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown (“Sandu”) was born today in 1930.

Eddie Holland of Motown's legendary Holland-Dozier-Holland production team is 85. 

Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, and The Great Society is 85. 

Otis Williams of The Temptations is 83.

Chris Slade, drummer for Manfred Mann’s Earth Band and AC/DC, is 78.

Timothy B. Schmit, bassist for the Eagles and Poco, is 77.

T. Graham Brown (“Hell and High Water”) is 70.  

Jeannie Kendall of the Kendalls is 70.

Grayson Hugh (“Talk It Over”) is 64.

Gavin Rossdale of Bush is 59.

Ken Stringfellow of the Posies and Big Star is 56.

Snow (“Informer”) is 55. 

Eels bassist Tommy Walter is 54. 

Stalley is 42.

Vanessa White is 35. 

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