History Highlight:

On this day in 1953, English singer-songwriter and guitarist Robyn Hitchcock was born - making him 71 today. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the influential Underwater Moonlight, Hitchcock launched a prolific solo career. His musical and lyrical styles have been influenced by Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Syd Barrett, Captain Beefheart, Martin Carthy, Lou Reed, Roger McGuinn and Bryan Ferry.

Also, Today In:

1966 - The Rolling Stones went into RCA's Hollywood Studios in Los Angeles to begin work on the album Aftermath.

1966 - Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay formed Buffalo Springfield in Los Angeles.

1967 - In Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, The Animals refused to play a slated concert unless they were paid up front. Consequently, more than 3,000 fans in the audience broke into a riot, causing about $5,000 in damages.

1972 - Harry Nilsson snagged a Gold record for Nilsson Schmilsson, the best-selling album of his career; it featured "Without You," "Jump Into The Fire" and "Coconut." The album performed well at the 1973 Grammy Awards, earning a nomination for Album of the Year, while "Without You," a Badfinger cover, won a Nilsson a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

1973 - The Grammy Awards were held at the Tennessee Theatre in Nashville. The Album Of The Year award went to George Harrison's The Concert For Bangladesh, and the band America were named Best New Artist.

1975 - Earth, Wind & Fire released their sixth studio album, That’s the Way of the World. It features “Shining Star” and the title track.

1982 - The reformed Mamas & Papas, with original members John Phillips and Denny Doherty — joined by Phillips' daughter MacKenzie (also known for her work on TV's One Day at a Time) and Spanky McFarlane of Spanky & Our Gang — played the first show of their brief reunion tour.

1986 - Metallica release their third album, Master Of Puppets, featuring an anthemic title track that becomes their most-played live song.

1989 - De La Soul released their debut studio album, 3 Feet High and Rising.

1995 - R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry underwent surgery to halt bleeding caused by a brain aneurysm. The operation was a success, but he still felt it was best that he retire from the band.

1995 - Foo Fighters made their live debut during a benefit show at The Satyricon in Portland, Ore.

2005 - 50 Cent released his second studio album, The Massacre. It features “Candy Shop,” “Disco Inferno,” and “Just a Lil Bit.”

2008 - Duffy released her debut album Rockferry featuring the hit "Mercy." It sold about 9 million copies worldwide and was the best-selling album of 2008 in the UK. In 2009, Duffy received the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album for Rockferry, one of three nominations, and won three out of four Brit Awards nominations. In February 2011, Duffy announced an indefinite hiatus from music. Minus one brief return to appear in the film Legend and contribute three songs to its soundtrack, she has yet to make a full return to music. In 2020, she explained her long term absence from the music industry in a shocking instagram post.

2008 - Chumbawamba break the record for longest album title with their 160-word release The Boy Bands Have Won... The record of longest album title was established in 1999 with Fiona Apple's 90-word title for her second album, When The Pawn... The Belgian group Soulwax broke it with a 103-word title for a compilation album in 2007 before Chumbawamba claimed it.

2009 - Neko Case released her fifth studio album, Middle Cyclone. It features "People Got A Lotta Nerve."

2009 - To celebrate the release of U2's 12th studio album and their appearance every night for a week on The Late Show with David Letterman, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg temporarily renamed part of 53rd Street in Midtown Manhattan "U2 Way."

2010 - Gorillaz released their third studio album, Plastic Beach. It features “Stylo,” “Superfast Jellyfish,” and “On Melancholy Hill.”

2013 - American musician and tenor singer Bobby Rogers died aged 73. He was a member of The Miracles who with Smokey Robinson had the 1970 UK & US No.1 single 'Tears of a Clown'. Rogers was a part-time Motown songwriter; his most notable composition with bandmate Smokey Robinson, was The Temptations' first hit single, 'The Way You Do the Things You Do. Rogers also co-wrote The Temptations' 1965 hit 'My Baby.'

2014 - American Authors released their debut studio album, Oh, What a Life. It features “Best Day of My Life.”

2015 - Brandi Carlile released her fifth studio album, The Firewatcher’s Daughter. It features “The Eye.”

2017 - Guitarist Jim Fuller from The Surfaris died at age 69. The Surfaris had the 1963 U.S. No. 2 and U.K. No. 3 single 'Wipe Out' and Fuller was known as the "Godfather" of surf music, a Californian instrumental music. With his Fender guitar he contributed to the popularity of Fender instruments.

2017 - American jazz ukulele musician Lyle Ritz died at the age of 87. As a session musician on the bass guitar he joined the Wrecking Crew - a group of studio musicians in the Los Angeles recording industry. Ritz compiled over 5,000 recording credits including such notable tracks as Herb Alpert's 'A Taste of Honey', The Righteous Brothers' 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'', and The Beach Boys 'Good Vibrations.'

Birthdays:

Doc Watson was born today in 1923.

Jimmy Garrison, bassist for John Coltrane, was born today in 1934.

Mike Pender of The Searchers is 83.

Jennifer Warnes (“Up Where We Belong,” “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life”) is 77.

Snowy White — guitarist who collaborated with Pink Floyd and Rogers Waters — is 76.

Ira Glass, host of NPR's This American Life, is 65.

Tone-Loc is 58.

Lil’ Flip is 43.

Jess Wolfe of Lucius is 39.

Camila Cabello is 27.

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