History Highlight:

Today in 1973, Stevie Wonder released his 16th studio album Innervisions. Wonder played nearly all instruments on six of the album's nine tracks. The album includes the singles "Higher Ground", "Living for the City", "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" and "He's Misstra Know-It-All". Three days after the album's release, Wonder was in a terrible car accident and lay in a coma for four days before his friend and tour director Ira Tucker was able to get a response from him: "I got right down in his ear and sang 'Higher Ground'. His hand was resting on my arm and after a while his fingers started going in time with the song. I said yeah, yeah!! This dude is going to make it!" 

Also, Today In: 

1963 - The Beach Boys released "Surfer Girl," the first song Brian Wilson ever wrote and the first one he produced. It was released as a single and it then appeared on the 1963 album of the same name, Surfer Girl. The B-side of the single was "Little Deuce Coupe". 

1968 - The Doors started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Hello I Love You," the group's second U.S. No. 1. 

1969 - Creedence Clearwater Revival released their third studio album, Green River. Their second of three albums released that year, Green River featured such hits as the title track and “Bad Moon Rising.” 

1971 - Paul McCartney announced the formation of his new group, Wings, with his wife Linda and former Moody Blues guitarist and singer Denny Laine. 

1979 - Talking Heads release their third album, Fear of Music. Produced by Brian Eno, it includes "Heaven," "Air" and "Drugs." 

1974 - Bad Company went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with their self-titled debut album. 

1985 - "Drive" by the Cars was re-released following its dramatic use on TV during the Live Aid concert. All the royalties from the record went to the Band Aid trust. 

1985 - Tears For Fears started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Shout," the duo's second U.S. No. 1. 

1987 - Def Leppard released their fourth studio album Hysteria, which became their best-selling album to date, selling more than 20 million copies worldwide. The title of the album was thought up by drummer Rick Allen, relating to his experiences during the time of his car accident and the worldwide media coverage that followed. 

1996 - Los Del Rio started a 14-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Macarena." The song, which has sold 11 million copies worldwide, was ranked the No. 1 Greatest One-Hit Wonder of all Time by VH1 in 2002. 

1999 - Country legend Patsy Cline is awarded a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

2002 - After an absence of 37 years, Bob Dylan returned to the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island, where he performed a two-hour show of 19 songs, wearing a false beard and a wig. Songs played included "Subterranean Homesick Blues," "Desolation Row," "Positively 4th Street," "The Wicked Messenger," "Like A Rolling Stone" and "Mr. Tambourine Man." 

2010 - 2010 Madonna launches her "Material Girl" line of clothing, shoes, jewelry and handbags at Macy's. 

2014 - Rosetta Hightower (lead singer of The Orlons) dies at age 70. 

2006 - Arthur Lee singer and guitarist of the influential 1960s band Love died in Memphis at the age of 61 following a battle with acute myeloid leukemia. 

2007 - Queen guitarist Brian May handed in his astronomy PhD thesis at Imperial College, London — 36 years after abandoning it to join the band. May graduated on May 14, 2008, making him Dr. Brian May. He remains active in astronomy as a Visiting Researcher at Imperial College and through his involvement with the Imperial Astrophysics Group. 

2012 - Stevie Wonder representatives confirmed that the singer had filed for divorce, ending his 10-year marriage to Kai Millard Morris.  

2015 - Gwen Stefani files for divorce from Gavin Rossdale, her husband since 2002. She soon starts dating Blake Shelton, her co-star on the TV competition The Voice. 

2019 - Henri Belolo, who co-founded The Village People and co-wrote many of their hits, dies at 82. 

Birthdays: 

Singer-songwriter Connie Converse was born today in 1924. She has been missing since Aug. 10, 1974.

Tony Bennett was born today in 1926. He passed away in July 2023. 

Beverly Lee, of The Shirelles, is 83.  

John York of The Byrds is 78.

B.B. Dickerson, bassist for War, was born today in 1949. 

Johnny Graham, multi-instrumentalist of Earth, Wind & Fire, is 73. 

Ian Bairnson — guitarist for Pilot, The Alan Parsons Project and Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights” — was born today in 1953. He passed away in 2023. 

Martin Atkins — drummer for Public Image Ltd, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Pigface, and Killing Joke — is 65.

Lee Rocker of Stray Cats is 63.

Tasmin Archer (“Sleeping Satellite”) is 61.

James Hetfield of Metallica is 61. 

Ed Roland, frontman of Collective Soul, is 61.

Graham “Gizz” Butt of the Prodigy is 58. 

Dean Sams, keyboardist for Lonestar, is 58.

Skin, lead singer of Skunk Anansie, is 57.

Stephen Carpenter, of Deftones, is 54. 

Gina G (“Ooh Aah… Just a Little Bit”) is 54.

DJ Spinderella of Salt-N-Pepa is 53.

Sierra Ferrell is 36.

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