History Spotlight:

In 2013, 10 million viewers tuned in to the finale of the TV series Breaking Bad, which ended with "Baby Blue," a song by Badfinger. The song represents lead character Walter White's love of his creation: blue methamphetamine. Written by Pete Ham, produced by Todd Rundgren, and released on Apple Records as a single in the U.S. in 1972, the song went to No. 14 on the charts.  

Also, Today In: 

1954 - The original musical version of A Star Is Born, featuring Judy Garland, opens in Hollywood. The first non-musical version debuted in 1932 as What Price Hollywood?, starring Constance Bennett. 

1961 - The New York Times publishes a glowing review of a Bob Dylan performance, giving the 20-year-old upstart his first press in a major publication. 

1967 - At Abbey Road Studios in London, The Beatles mixed the new John Lennon song, "I Am the Walrus." Lennon composed the song by combining three songs he had been working on. When he learned that a teacher at his old primary school was having his students analyze Beatles' lyrics, Lennon added a verse of nonsense words. 

1967 - Mickey Hart joins Grateful Dead as its new drummer. 

1968 - The Supremes ditched their elegant dresses and went casual to perform "Love Child" on The Ed Sullivan Show. Diana Ross wore a sweatshirt, which was in line with the character in the song. 

1969 - Merle Haggard released "Okie From Muskogee," a song that protests Vietnam war protesters. The single goes on to reach No. 1 on the Country chart and No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

1973 - Grand Funk Railroad went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "We're An American Band," the group's first of two chart toppers. 

1976 - Enjoying his own birthday celebrations, Jerry Lee Lewis accidentally shot his bass player, Norman Owens, in the chest. Lewis had been blasting holes in an office door. Owens survived but sued his boss. 

1980 - Kurtis Blow released his self-titled debut on Mercury Records — the first rap album on a major label. It features “The Breaks,” "Throughout Your Years," and "Hard Times."

1980 - Stevie Wonder released his 19th studio album, Hotter than July. It features "Master Blaster (Jammin')," "I Ain't Gonna Stand for It," "Lately," and “Happy Birthday.”

1980 - Kool & the Gang released their 12th studio album, Celebrate! It features “Celebration.”

1984 - Prince and the Revolution started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Let's Go Crazy." 

1984 - The English girl group Bananarama has their U.S. breakthrough when "Cruel Summer" peaked at No. 9 on the pop chart, thanks to the song's appearance in the summer smash The Karate Kid. 

1989 - While on a motorcycle trip from Los Angeles to the Grand Canyon, Bruce Springsteen stopped in at a small saloon in Prescott, Ariz., and wound up jamming with the house band. The Boss and The Mile High Band burned through "Don't Be Cruel," "I'm On Fire," "Route 66" and a couple of other songs. One of the bartenders, Brenda Techanec, was talking about her problems paying her hospital bills. Springsteen overheard her and a week later she received $100,000 from Springsteen. 

1991 - MTV played the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video for the first time, giving most Americans their first look at Nirvana. A little over a month later, the song was No. 1 on the Hot 100. 

1992 - Stone Temple Pilots released their debut album Core, featuring the radio hit "Plush." The album sold over 8 million copies in America and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard charts making it the band's best-selling album of their career. In 2019, Rolling Stone ranked the album at No. 11 on its list of the "50 Greatest Grunge Albums." 

1994 - The Pointer Sisters receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Pointers are the first African-American female music group to receive the honor. 

1994 - Oasis temporarily split during their first US tour, with guitarist Noel Gallagher walking off stage mid-show in Los Angeles. During a lackluster performance, singer Liam hits his brother over the head with a tambourine. After being tracked down in Las Vegas, Noel is persuaded to return and rejoins the band in Minneapolis. 

1999 - Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk launches the video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater with a punk and ska soundtrack that introduces gamers to acts like Goldfinger, Dead Kennedys, Primus, and The Vandals. 

2002 - American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "A Moment Like This." 

2003 - "Stacy's Mom" by Fountains of Wayne is released. The music video stars model/actress Rachel Hunter, who plays Stacy's mom - the obsession of her teenage daughter's friend. 

2003 - McDonald's launches the "I'm Lovin' It" ad campaign in America, with Justin Timberlake singing the "ba da ba ba bah" hook and releasing a full-length version of the jingle as a single. It becomes the company's longest-running ad campaign. 

2004 - The advance U2 single, "Vertigo," was all over the radio after leaking onto the Internet. 

2008 - T.I. releases the album Paper Trail, made mostly under house arrest while awaiting trial on gun charges. It includes collaborations with Justin Timberlake ("Dead And Gone") and Rihanna ("Live Your Life"), and the hit "Whatever You Like." 

2009 - The Avett Brothers released I and Love and You. Their first major-label release, I and Love and You came out on Rick Rubin’s American Recordings imprint; Rubin also produced the album. Paste magazine would go on to name I and Love and You the best album of 2009. 

2009 - Paramore released their third album, Brand New Eyes. The album produced five singles: "Ignorance," "Brick by Boring Brick," "The Only Exception," "Careful," and "Playing God."

2011 - Sylvia Robinson, a singer and rap impresario who brought us "Rapper's Delight," dies at age 75. 

2013 - Keith "Sabu" Crier (bass player for GQ) dies at age 58. Known for the 1979 hit "Disco Nights (Rock-Freak)." 

2013 - Ten million viewers tune in to the finale of the TV series Breaking Bad, which ended with "Baby Blue," a song by Badfinger. The song represents lead character Walter White's love of his creation: blue methamphetamine. The song was written by Pete Ham, produced by Todd Rundgren, and released on Apple Records as a single in the U.S. in 1972, where it went to No. 14 on the charts. 

2015 - The original contract signed by The Beatles and manager Brian Epstein sold for p365,000, ($548,000). The 1962 document was said to be one of the most important contracts in pop music, marking the beginning of the band's journey to international fame. 

2018 - Blues guitarist and singer-songwriter Otis Rush died from complications of a stroke aged 84. His distinctive guitar style featured a slow-burning sound and long bent notes. His first single, 'I Can't Quit You Baby', in 1956 reached No.6 on the Billboard R&B chart. Two of his other best-known songs, are 'Double Trouble' and 'All Your Love (I Miss Loving).' 

2020 - Mac Davis, who wrote the Elvis Presley hits "A Little Less Conversation" and "In The Ghetto," dies at 78. 

2020 - Helen Reddy (“I Am Woman”) died at the age of 78.

2021 - In downtown Detroit, Eminem opens the restaurant Mom's Spaghetti, named after a line in his song "Lose Yourself." The first fans in line are served by Slim Shady himself. 

2021 - Granting her petition, a judge suspends Britney Spears' father, Jamie, as her conservator, a role he has held since 2008. 

Birthdays: 

America's singing cowboy, Gene Autry, was born today in 1907. He died in 1998. 

"Great Balls of Fire" singer Jerry Lee Lewis was born in 1935. He passed away in 2022.  

Songwriter Tommy Boyce, whose hits include "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight," "Last Train to Clarksville," "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone," and "Scooby Doo, Where Are You," was born today in 1939. He passed away in 1994. 

Mike Post — who composed theme music for the TV shows Law & Order; Magnum, P.I.; Hill Street Blues; L.A. Law; The A-Team; and many more — is 80.

Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad is 76. 

Suzzy Roche of the Roches is 68.

Mick Harvey of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds is 66. 

Primus bass player Les Claypool is 61. 

Brett Anderson of Suede is 57.

Dallas Green of Alexisonfire and City and Colour is 44.

Joshua Farro of Paramore is 37. 

Halsey is 30. 

Julien Baker of Boygenius is 29.

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