History Highlight:

The “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul” Mary J. Blige was born on this date in 1971 in the Bronx borough of New York City. In 1992, she released her debut album, What’s the 411?, which was a breakout critical and commercial hit, selling more than 3 million copies. The single “Real Love” hit No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Blige’s 14 studio albums have sold an estimated 100 million copies worldwide, and she has won nine Grammy Awards. She performed as part of the Super Bowl halftime show in both 2001 and 2023, and is an Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated actress.

Also, in:

1958 - The release date for the Elvis Presley single 'Jailhouse Rock' was put back a week after Decca Records, a U.K. pressing plant, was unable to meet the advance orders of 250,000 copies.

1963 - The Beatles recorded their first national TV show 'Thank Your Lucky Stars'. They lip synched to their new single 'Please Please Me' which was released that day.

1964 - 'Louie Louie' by The Kingsmen was the No. 1 song on the U.S. Cash Box music chart. For a while, the record was banned by a handful of U.S. radio stations because of its indecipherable lyrics, which were rumored to contain some "naughty words." Even the F.B.I. investigated the song, but finally concluded that they could find nothing wrong.

1964 - The Whisky a Go Go opened in West Hollywood, CA. This club would go on to be a launching pad for such acts as The Doors and Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention.

1964 - Ring Of Fire The Best of Johnny Cash became the first No. 1 album when Billboard debuted their Country Album Chart. It was his sixteenth album in total and his first compilation album.

1967 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded "Purple Haze" at Olympic Studios in London.

1971 - Pearl, the second and final solo album by Janis Joplin, is released - three months after her death.

1975 - Led Zeppelin performed "Kashmir" live for the first time during a concert at the Ahoy in Rotterdam, Holland. The song was written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (with contributions from John Bonham) over a period of three years. It became a concert staple, performed by the band at almost every concert after its release. The song has been described as one of Led Zeppelin's most overtly progressive epics.

1985 - A Brazilian rock Festival held in Rio claimed to be the biggest ever staged. The festival featured Queen, Rod Stewart, AC/DC, Whitesnake, Yes and Iron Maiden.

1992 - Nirvana's landmark album Nevermind reached the top of the Billboard 200 Album Chart for the first of two non-consecutive weeks at number one. They also peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and made their debut appearance on U.S. television on Saturday Night Live on this night.

1993 - Ted Nugent was fined $1,000 for shooting off two flaming arrows during a Damn Yankees concert at Cincinnati Gardens. Nugent was also given a three-day suspended sentence for a misdemeanor fire-code violation.

2003 - T. Rex drummer Mickey Finn died from alcohol related liver problems in a London hospital. He was 55 years old.

2005 - Former Bread guitarist and Academy Award-winning songwriter James Griffin died at his home in Nashville at the age of 61.

2005 - The Fiery Furnaces put out their third release, EP. It features “Single Again.”

2005 - Cass McCombs released his second studio album, PREfection.

2017 - Rockabilly guitarist Tommy Allsup, who narrowly avoided boarding the plane that killed Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper, died at age 85. The musician famously lost a coin toss for a seat on the plane and his place was taken by teen star Ritchie Valens, who also died when the plane crashed. Allsup went on to become a Grammy-winning musician, who played with Merle Haggard, Roy Orbison and Willie Nelson.

Birthdays:
Laurens Hammond, inventor of the Hammond organ, was born today in 1895. The sound of the Hammond was used by many rock artists including Procol Harum, Keith Emerson, Led Zeppelin, The Allman Brothers and The Faces. Hammond died on July 3, 1973.

Slim Harpo, blues musician ("Baby Scratch My Back"), was born today in 1924.

Clarence Clemons, saxophonist for the E Street Band, was born today in 1942.

Tony Kaye, keyboardist for Yes, is 80.

Naomi Judd was born today in 1946. She passed away in 2022.

Terry Williams, drummer for Rockpile and Dire Straits, is 77.

Charlie Huhn, of Foghat and Ted Nugent’s band, is 74.

Lee Ritenour is 73.

Big Bank Hank (Henry Lee Jackson), rapper from The Sugarhill Gang, was born today in 1956.

Vicki Peterson of The Bangles is 67.

Tom Dumont of No Doubt is 57.

Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers is 54.

Highlights for Today in Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Song Facts and Wikipedia.