History Highlight:

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was born in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, today in 1915. Nicknamed “the Godmother of rock and roll,” Tharpe was a pioneer in using an electric guitar with heavy distortion, and was influential to many of the first stars of rock — such as Little Richard, Elvis Presley, and Chuck Berry. Her 1945 hit “Strange Things Happening Every Day” has been called the first rock ‘n’ roll record. She had a stroke in 1970, and then another led to her death on October 9, 1973, at the age of 58 in Philadelphia. Tharpe was inducted posthumously into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.

Also, Today In:

1961 - Elvis Presley started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Surrender," his fifth No. 1 of the 1960s. The song was based on a 1911 Italian song, "Return To Sorrento."

1964 - The Temptations released their debut album Meet the Temptations on the Gordy (Motown) label.

1965 - The first Motown tour of the U.K. began, and it featured Martha & the Vandellas, Stevie Wonder, the Supremes and the Temptations.

1969 -John Lennon and Yoko Ono were married in a 10-minute ceremony in Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory on Spain's south coast. The duo wanted to get married in France, at first, but were unsuccessful. These events were documented in The Beatles song "The Ballad of John and Yoko," where he wrote: "Finally made the plane into Paris / Honeymooning down by the Seine / Peter Brown called to say / You can make it OK / You can get married in Gibraltar near Spain." They spent their honeymoon in Amsterdam campaigning for an international "Bed-In" for peace.

1971, Janis Joplin started a posthumous two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with her cover of Kris Kristofferson's "Me And Bobby McGee". Joplin died the year before the song charted, on Oct. 4, 1970, at age 27.

1977 - Lou Reed was banned from appearing The London Palladium because of his punk image.

1977 - T Rex played their final gig ever, when they appeared at The Locarno in Portsmouth, England.

1980 - At Asylum Records in New York, 28-year-old Joseph Riviera held employees at gunpoint, demanding to talk to either Jackson Browne or one of the Eagles. When informed that they lived in California, Riviera pocketed his pistol and left the building, later surrendering to police.

1982 - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts started a seven-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "I Love Rock 'n' Roll". The song was a cover of a B-side by '60s band The Arrows. In 1993, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts made another music video for the song as part of the Wayne's World 2 soundtrack.

1982 - The duo Buckner & Garcia appear on American Bandstand to perform their hit single "Pac-Man Fever," the first successful song about a video game.

1990 - Near Scranton and heading for a show in Syracuse, Miami Sound Machine's tour bus was hit by a tractor trailer on a snowy highway. Gloria Estefan suffered a serious spinal injury requiring four hours of surgery.

1991 - Eric Clapton's 4-year-old son Conor died after falling out of a window at his mother's apartment. Clapton later wrote "Tears In Heaven" about Conor.

1993 - Reggae rules as "Oh Carolina" by Shaggy hits #1 in the UK while Snow's "Informer" holds the top spot in America. It's the first #1 for both artists - Snow is Canadian; Shaggy is Jamaican-American.

2009 - The quirky garden store Fountains Of Wayne, which provided the moniker for the band of that name, closes shop after more than 40 years in business. The Wayne, New Jersey, landmark was a Christmas hotspot, as giant Santa’s and holiday displays appeared every season. It was also the backdrop for some scenes from the HBO series The Sopranos.

2010 - Three days after their lead singer Alex Chilton died, Big Star play the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, with several guests joining to pay tribute to Chilton.

2015 - The series finale of Glee, titled "Dreams Come True," airs on FOX. During its six-year run, the influential musical drama made old music new again with a stream of hit covers... and broke records from Elvis Presley and The Beatles along the way.

2015 - Drummer A. J. Pero died from an apparent heart attack. He was a member of Twisted Sister and Adrenaline Mob.

2017 - Rihanna begins her stint as Marion Crane on Bates Motel, a role originated by Janet Leigh as the infamous shower-stabbing victim in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Psycho.

2020 - The Weeknd releases After Hours, an album filled with the kind of anxiety and paranoia many are feeling in the early weeks of coronavirus lockdown. It goes to #1 in the United States and many other territories, and the single "Blinding Lights" becomes one of the most-streamed songs of the spring and summer.

2020 - Kenny Rogers dies at 81.

Birthdays:

Vera Lynn was born today in 1917.

Mr. Fred Rogers was born today in 1928.

Drummer and vocalist Sam Lay was born today in 1935.

Lee “Scratch” Perry was born today in 1936.

Guitarist Jerry Reed was born today in 1937.

Don Edwards was born today in 1939.

Glenn Schwartz, the original guitar player of the James Gang, was born today in 1940.

Ranger Doug is 78.

Carl Palmer, drummer for Emerson, Lake and Palmer (and let's not forget Asia), is 74.

Jimmie Vaughan of the Fabulous Thunderbirds is 73.

Phil Judd, cofounder of Split Enz, is 71.

Spike Lee is 67.

Ultra Naté is 56.

Music writer Touré is 53.

Chilly Gonzales is 52.

Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand is 52.

Chester Bennington of Linkin Park was born today in 1976.

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