History Highlight:

Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, who is half of the masked French electronic music duo Daft Punk, is 50. He was born on Feb. 8, 1974, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. He met his future collaborator Thomas Bangalter at the Lycée Carnot school in Paris in 1987, and the pair later formed an indie rock trio called Darlin’ with another friend. Their eventual name was inspired by a negative review describing the band’s music as “a daft punky thrash.” Homem-Christo designed the Daft Punk logo featured on their 1997 debut, Homework. In addition to four Daft Punk albums, Homem-Christo has also produced songs for the Weeknd, Travis Scott, Kavinsky, and more. Daft Punk broke up in 2021, though the pair reportedly still share a studio.

Also, Today In:

1956 - Buddy Holley becomes "Buddy Holly" when he signs a recording contract with Decca Records that leaves out the "e" in his last name.

1969 - TCB by The Supremes with Temptations went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart.

1971 - Frank Zappa was forced to cancel a concert at London's Royal Albert Hall after venue officials deemed Zappa's classical opus "200 Motels" to be obscene and refused to allow its performance.

1973 - Max Yasgur died of a heart attack at age 53. He was the owner of the dairy farm in Bethel, New York at which the Woodstock Music and Art Fair was held between August 15 and August 18, 1969.

1975 - Bob Dylan went No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with his 15th studio album Blood On The Tracks, his second U.S. No. 1 album.

1975 - Queen released "Killer Queen" which went on to become their first hit single in the U.S., later peaking at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. Written by lead singer and pianist Freddie Mercury, it was featured on their third album Sheer Heart Attack and later appeared on the band's first compilation album, Greatest Hits. Besides using his grand piano like he normally did, Mercury overdubbed the song with an upright piano to give the track a vaudeville sound.

1977 - Television release their debut album, Marquee Moon. It doesn't chart in the U.S. but is later hailed by many critics as a landmark, with a guitar sound that influences a number of New Wave and rock acts.

1981 - R.E.M. held their first recording sessions at Bombay Studios in Smyrna, GA. Among their first recordings was the band's first single "Radio Free Europe," as well as the EP "Chronic Town" and the band's album debut "Murmur." According to an interview in Online Athen's "R.E.M. in the Hall" series, producer/engineer Joe Perry said the band arrived to their first recording session focused and ready to rock. "They wanted to record eight songs, complete with overdubs, vocals, mixing and cassette (copies), which was really ambitious. I was probably charging them $12 or $15 an hour, and they were all business. They were very serious."

1994 - Oasis was forced to cancel their first foreign tour after they were deported from Holland. The band was involved in a drunken brawl on a cross-channel ferry resulting in members of the band being arrested and locked in the brig on the ferry.

1994 - Ben Harper released his debut album, Welcome to the Cruel World.

2000 - Ghostface Killah released his second studio album, Supreme Clientele. It features “Apollo Kids.”

2000 - Joni Mitchell released her 17th album, Both Sides Now. It features her renditions of classic jazz songs and two of her songs, “Both Sides Now” and “A Case of You.”

2000 - 3 Doors Down released their debut album, The Better Life. It features “Kryponite.”

2004 - At the Grammy Awards, Outkast was the first hip-hop duo to win Album of the Year for Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. It was the group's fifth album and was issued as a double album, with a playtime of more than two hours, consisting of solo albums from Big Boi and Andre 3000. Speakerboxxx is a Southern hip hop album with a P-Funk influence, while The Love Below features psychedelic, pop, funk, electro, and jazz styles.

2005 - Andrew Bird released his third album, Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs. It features "A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left" and “Fake Palindromes.”

2005 - Keith Knudsen, drummer for The Doobie Brothers, died of chronic pneumonia in Kentfield, CA. He was 56 years old.

2009 - About four months after the plane crash that nearly killed their drummer, Travis Barker, Blink-182 announce that they are getting back together during the Grammy Awards.

2010 - Yeasayer released their second album, Odd Blood. It features “Ambling Alp,” “O.N.E.,” and “I Remember.”

2010 - Massive Attack released their fifth studio album, Heligoland. It features “Psyche” and “Paradise Circus.”

2013 - LA Superior Court Judge Charles Palmer threw out a claim by Axl Rose of fraud and misrepresentation against Guitar Hero III. Rose claimed that his deal with the company to license the song "Welcome to the Jungle" for use in the game included a promise from Activision that no images of Slash would be used in the game.

2015 - Sam Smith won four Grammy Awards, including Record and Song of the Year for "Stay With Me" and Best New Artist. Album of the Year went to Beck for Morning Phase.

2021 - Mary Wilson, the only member of The Supremes with the group throughout their tenure, dies at 76.

Birthdays:

John Williams — acclaimed composer of music for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jaws, and many others — is 92.

Tom Rush is 83.

Terry Melcher, who was behind hits by the Byrds, Ry Cooder and the Beach Boys (and the son of actress Doris Day) was born on this day in 1942.

Creed Bratton, from the band Grass Roots and from the TV show The Office, is 81.

Dan Seals was born on this day in 1948.

Vince Neil, singer for Motley Crue, is 63.

Jet guitarist Cameron Muncey is 44.

Former Paramore bassist Jeremy Davis is 39.

Anderson .Paak is 38.

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