History Highlight:

Billie Holiday was born today in 1915. Nicknamed “Lady Day,” Holiday was the once-in-a-generation voice that defined songs like “Strange Fruit” and “God Bless the Child.” She influenced countless jazz and pop music artists, and still stands out as an icon. She was just 44 when she died in 1959.

Read more: Musicheads Essential Artist: Billie Holiday

Also, Today In:

1956 - The CBS Radio Network premiered the first regularly scheduled national broadcast rock 'n' roll show, Alan Freed's Rock 'n' Roll Dance Party.

1962 - Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and early Rolling Stones pal Dick Taylor met Brian Jones for the first time at the Ealing Club, a London spot where Brit blues lovers liked to hang out.

1969 - Leanord Cohen released his second studio album, Songs from a Room.

1970 - B.J. Thomas wins the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" from the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The song was written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach, and hit No. 1 on the U.S. charts.

1973 - Diana Ross started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Lady Sings The Blues.

1978 - Prince released his debut album For You. The album had the singles "Soft and Wet" and "Just as Long as We're Together". All tracks were produced, arranged, composed, and performed by Prince. He started recording in September 1977 at Sound 80 in Minneapolis, where he had previously made a demo.

1984 - A second British Invasion? Forty of the artists on the U.S. Top 100 singles chart were Brits - a new record.

1994 - Courtney Love was arrested on drug and theft charges after a reported overdose. At this time, Love was unaware that her husband Kurt Cobain was dead at their home (his body wasn't discovered until April 8 by an electrician who had arrived to install a security system at their house).

1998 - George Michael was arrested for disorderly conduct at a park restroom in Beverly Hills, CA after an undercover officer observed Michael performing a "lewd act." Michael plead no contest to the charge and was sentenced to community service.

2008 - Bob Dylan got an honorary Pulitzer Prize for his "profound impact on popular music and American culture." He was the first Rock musician to win the award.

2008 - Feist won five prizes, including Album of the Year at the Junos, Canada's top music awards. The Canadian singer-songwriter won single of the year for "1234," Album and Pop Album for The Reminder, as well as Artist and Songwriter of the Year.

2014 - 25-year-old Peaches Geldof, daughter of the Live Aid mastermind Bob Geldof, was found dead in Kent, England. The official cause of death was a drug overdose. Tragically, her mother, Paula Yates, died from similar causes in 2000, when Peaches was 11.

2016 - Jimmie Van Zant died in a hospice in Florida after several years of treatment for liver cancer. He began playing guitar and piano as a child, mentored by his cousin Ronnie Van Zant, but largely gave up music until the 1977 plane crash in which Ronnie, the founder and lead singer of Lynyrd Skynyrd, was killed. He then took up a career playing Southern rock music.

2016 - Bruce Springsteen cancelled a concert in North Carolina, joining business groups in condemning a state law that rolled back protection for gay and transgender people. In a statement Springsteen said, "Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry which is happening as I write is one of them."

2020 - American guitarist, composer and lyricist Steve Farmer died at age 71. He is best-known for his composition with Ted Nugent in 1968, 'Journey to the Center of the Mind', performed by their group The Amboy Dukes.

2020 - John Prine died at age 73 due to complications from Covid-19. He released his debut album in 1971, and put out a total of 19 studio albums. While wider mainstream success eluded him for years, he earned a sizable following, including some of the 20th century's greatest songwriters. Bob Dylan said in 2009: "Prine's stuff is pure Proustian existentialism. Midwestern mind trips to the nth degree. And he writes beautiful songs."

Birthdays:

Ravi Shankar was born today in 1920.

Cuban percussionist and bandleader Mongo Santamaría (“Watermelon Man”) was born today in 1917.

Nigerian-American drummer Babatunde Olatunji — who was part of Mickey Hart’s Planet Drum projects and was covered by Santana ("Jin-go-lo-ba") — was born today in 1927.

Cal Smith (“Country Bumpkin”) was born today in 1932.

Bobby Bare Sr. (“Marie Laveau,” “Detroit City”) is 89.

Charlie Thomas of the Drifters was born today in 1937.

Spencer Dryden, drummer for Jefferson Airplane, was born today in 1938.

Gary Kellgren — cofounder of the Record Plant recording studios; worked with Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, B.B. King, Stevie Wonder, the Velvet Underground, Carole King, and many more — was born today in 1939.

Mick Abrahams of Jethro Tull is 81.

Patricia Bennett of The Chiffons is 77.

Florian Schneider-Esleben of Kraftwerk was born on this day in 1947.

Carol Douglas of The Chantels is 76.

American session drummer Dallas Taylor was born on this day in 1948.

John Oates of Hall & Oates is 76.

Bruce Gary, drummer for The Knack, was born on this day in 1951.

Grammy award-winning American singer/songwriter Janis Ian is 73. She went to No. 1 in 1975 with her song "At Seventeen."

Karin Dreijer Andersson of the Knife and Fever Ray is 49.

Minnesota singer-songwriter Ber is 26.

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