History Highlight:

Andrew John Hozier-Byrne was born on this day in 1990, making him 34 today. He is an Irish musician, singer, and songwriter whose breakthrough single "Take Me to Church" was certified multi-platinum in several countries, including the U.S., the U.K., and Canada. In September 2018, he released the EP Nina Cried Power. Its lead single features Mavis Staples and mentions Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, and Staples herself. His new EP, Eat Your Young, is out today!

Also, today in:

1957 - Elvis Presley bought the Graceland mansion from Ruth Brown-Moore for $102,500. The house is named after the builder's daughter, Grace Toof.

1958 - The first "Greatest Hits" compilation is released, and it's by Johnny Mathis. It's a huge hit, and the format catches on quickly. The Mathis album stays in the Billboard 200 album chart for over nine years, a record not broken until Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon.

1958 - "Tequila" by The Champs hits #1 in America, becoming one of the most popular saxophone instrumentals of all time.

1962 - Ray Charles launched his own record label, Tangerine Records.

1967 - Working at Abbey Road studios in London, The Beatles finished the recording of "She's Leaving Home" after adding backing vocals to the track. Harpist Sheila Bromberg, who was part of the string section heard on the track, became the first woman to play on a Beatles recording.

1968 - The Bee Gees made their U.S. television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. They performed two of their pre-disco ballads, "To Love Somebody" and "Words."

1978 - U2 won £500 ($850) and a chance to audition for CBS Ireland in a talent contest held in Dublin, The Limerick Civic Week Pop '78 Competition. Just two years later, U2 were signed to Island Records and released their debut album, Boy. U2 have released 12 studio albums and are among the all time best-selling artists, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide. They have won 22 Grammy Awards, and in 2005, they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.

1984 - Van Halen's "Jump" peaked at No. 1 in the U.S.

1992 - No Doubt released their debut self-titled album.

1998 - Van Halen released their eleventh studio album, Van Halen III, which would be their only album with former Extreme singer Gary Cherone singing for them. It went on to become their first album not to go platinum, and they didn't release another studio album until 2012's A Different Kind of Truth.

2003 - On the very first episode of MTV's practical joke show Punk'd, host Ashton Kutcher stages a prank involving the IRS that makes Justin Timberlake cry.

2006 - The Smiths turned down a $5 million offer to reform for a set at the Coachella music festival.

2010 - At a hospital in New Orleans, Alex Chilton died due to heart problems at age 59.

2016 - Prince's ex-wife Mayte Garcia puts a collection of his memorabilia up for auction.

2019 - R&B musician Andre Williams died in Chicago, Illinois, at the age of 82. He started his career in the 1950s; his most famous songs include the hits “Jail Bait,” “Greasy Chicken,” “Bacon Fat” and “Cadillac Jack” (1966). He was also the co-author of the R&B hit “Shake a Tail Feather.”

Birthdays:

Nat "King" Cole was born on this day in 1919. He died of lung cancer in 1965.

Dick Curless (“A Tombstone Every Mile”) was born today in 1932.

Adam Wade (“The Writing on the Wall”) was born today in 1935.

Zola Taylor of the Platters was born today in 1938.

Paul Kantner (founding member of Jefferson Airplane) was born on this day in 1941.

Pattie Boyd — who inspired George Harrison's songs "I Need You," "If I Needed Someone," "Something," and "For You Blue," and Eric Clapton's songs "Layla," "Bell Bottom Blues," "Wonderful Tonight," and "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" — is 80.

Scott Gorham, guitarist for Thin Lizzy, is 73.

Paul Black of L.A. Guns is 65.

Janet Gardner, former lead singer of Vixen, is 62.

Flaming Lips' former bassist Michael Ivins is 61.

Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins is 57.

Gene Ween is 54.

Torquil Campbell, co-lead singer of Stars, is 52.

Bassist Melissa Auf der Maur (Hole, Smashing Pumpkins) is 52.

Justin Hawkins, frontman of the Darkness, is 49.

Miles Kane of the Last Shadow Puppets is 38.

Grimes is 36.

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