History Highlight:

Mahalia Jackson was born on this day in 1911. She is referred to as "The Queen of Gospel" and recorded 30 albums during her career. Of her hits, many are in the "Christmas canon" such as "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear", "Silent Night", and "What Child Is This" but others are more mainstream like "Go Tell it on the Mountain", "Down By the Riverside", "Dig a Little Deeper", and "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen". But almost all the songs did have a religious theme. She once said, "I sing God's music because it makes me feel free. It gives me hope. With the blues, when you finish, you still have the blues."

Also, Today In:

1958 - Bill Haley and his Comets played one of the first rock 'n' roll concerts in Germany, held at the Sportpalast in Berlin. More than 7,000 rock 'n' roll fans turned the show into a riot: five policemen were severely beaten, six members of the audience were seriously injured, and damages amounted to 50,000 Deutschmarks (about $12,000 in 1958 dollars).

1962 - The Rolling Stones (then known as The Rollin' Stones), and consisting of Keith Richard, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones pianist Ian Stewart and drummer Tony Chapman, recorded their first demo tape at Curly Clayton Studios in Highbury in north London. They recorded three songs: Jimmy Reed's "Close Together," Bo Diddley's "You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover" and Muddy Waters' "Soon Forgotten."

1965 - Queen Elizabeth II awarded The Beatles with MBEs — Member of the British Empire, an order of chivalry of British democracy — at Buckingham Palace in London. According to an account by John Lennon, the group smoked marijuana in one of the palace bathrooms to calm their nerves. Following the Beatles' investiture, many previous recipients returned their MBEs in protest, to which John Lennon responded, "Lots of people who complained about us receiving the MBE received theirs for heroism in the war, for killing people … We received ours for entertaining other people. I'd say we deserve ours more."

1970 - Elton John released "Your Song."

1985 - Whitney Houston went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Saving All My Love For You."

1991 - Ozzy Osbourne broke his foot after an accident on stage at a gig in Chicago, causing him to cancel the remaining dates of a U.S. tour.

1993 - Michael Jackson was awarded a patent for the system that allows him to lean in unnatural angles during performances of "Smooth Criminal." To recreate the video on stage, Jackson and his dancers wore special shoes that they could insert into pegs set up on stage for the famous lean.

1998 - Pianist and singer-songwriter Fats Domino was awarded the National Medal of Arts from Bill Clinton. The award was later lost in the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina, and in 2006, President George W. Bush presented him with a replaced award. Five of Domino's records released before 1955 sold over a million copies and were certified as gold records, and he had 35 records in the Billboard Top 40. His 1949 release "The Fat Man" is widely regarded as the first million-selling rock and roll record, and two of his most famous songs are "Ain't That A Shame" and "Blueberry Hill".

2004 - Apple launched the U2 Special Edition iPod as part of a partnership between Apple, U2 and Universal Music Group. The new U2 iPod held up to 5,000 songs and featured a red Click Wheel and custom engraving of U2 band member signatures. The iPod was being introduced as the band released their new album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.

2006 - Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor permanently quit the band during the U.S. leg of a world tour.

2019 - Paul Barrere died at age 71. He was a member of Little Feat, which he joined in 1972. Barrere later played with Phil Lesh and Friends and also toured with Bob Dylan.

More Birthdays:

Session guitarist Al Casey was born on this day in 1936.

Maggie Roche, singer/songwriter of The Roches, was born on this day in 1951.

Bootsy Collins is 69.

B-52s guitarist Keith Strickland is 67.

Natalie Merchant is 57.

Country star Keith Urban is 53.

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