History Highlight:

Joni Mitchell was born today in 1943, making her 81 today. Mitchell began her career in small nightclubs in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and grew to become one of the most influential singer-songwriters in modern music history. Rising to fame during the 1960s, Mitchell became a key narrator in the folk music movement, alongside others like Bob Dylan. Over the decades, she has released 19 studio albums, including the seminal “Blue,” which was rated the third best album ever made in Rolling Stone's 2020 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” In 2023, Joni Mitchell at Newport was released, a live album of her 2022 performance at the Newport Folk Festival.  

Today In: 

1951 - Frank Sinatra married his second wife, actress Ava Gardner. The couple split up in 1953 and divorced in 1957. Sinatra was married three other times - to his first wife Nancy Barbato, to the actress Mia Farrow and finally to Barbara Marx, to whom he was married at his death. 

1958 - Eddie Cochran made his U.K. chart debut with "Summertime Blues". It reached No. 18 in the U.K. and No. 8 in the U.S. The song has been covered by many artists, including being a No. 1 hit for country singer Alan Jackson and a notable hit for The Who. 

1963 - The Beatles went to Ireland to make their only two appearances ever in the country playing two shows at the Adelphi Cinema, Dublin. 

1967 - Pink Floyd appear on US TV for the first time, performing "Apples And Oranges" on American Bandstand. 

1967 - Elton John, still going by his given name of Reg Dwight, and songwriting partner Bernie Taupin sign their first major publishing deal. Their parents are there to witness the signing, as both are still minors. 

1969 - The Rolling Stones opened their first U.S. concert tour in three years. By this time they were notorious bad boys after tales of drug busts, censorship battles and wildlife on the road, so the tour had become a full-blown media circus. 

1969 - After Life magazine tracked down Paul McCartney at his farm in Scotland, they put him on the cover with his family, dispelling the "Paul is dead" rumors with the headline, "Paul Is Still With Us." 

1973 - Bob Dylan records "Forever Young" and "On A Night Like This." 

1975 - Elton John started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Rock Of The Westies, the singer's tenth studio album and seventh U.S. No. 1. 

1975 - A new world record was set for continuous guitar string plucking by Steve Anderson who played for 114 hours and 17 minutes. 

1979 - The Rose, starring Bette Midler as a rock singer who hits the big time, opens in theaters. The film is based on the life of Janis Joplin, but filmmakers can't secure the rights to use her image or story. Midler gets an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for the role. 

1981 - Hall and Oates started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Private Eyes", the duo's third U.S. No. 1, a No. 32 hit in the U.K. 

1987 - Tiffany became the youngest act to score a U.S. No. 1 since Michael Jackson ("Ben", in 1972) with "I Think We're Alone Now". The song written by Ritchie Cordell was initially a 1967 hit for Tommy James & the Shondells. Fun fact: Tiffany hated the idea of recording a version of her own for her album because she thought the song wasn't modern or hip enough. 

1989 - Queen Latifah released her debut studio album, All Hail the Queen. It features “Ladies First.”

1995 - Alice in Chains released their self-titled third album. It features “Grind,” “Heaven Beside You,” and “Again.”

1995 - Coolio released his second studio album, Gangsta’s Paradise. It features the title track, “Too Hot,” and “1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New).”

1995 - GZA released his second studio album, Liquid Swords. It features the title track, “Cold World,” and “Shadowboxin’.”

1995 - Sunny Day Real Estate released their second studio album, LP2. It features “Red Elephant.”

2005 - Twelve years after the release of her previous album, The Red Shoes, Kate Bush returns to the music scene with Aerial. The double album features the Elvis-inspired single, "King Of The Mountain. 

2009 - Wale released his debut studio album, Attention Deficit. It features “Chillin’,” “World Tour,” and “Pretty Girls.”

2011 - Andrea True (of The Andrea True Connection) dies of heart failure at age 68. Andrea True was an adult film star who sang on one of the most popular disco songs of the 1970’s “More, More, More.” The Canadian group Len sampled “More, More, More” for their ‘90s one hit wonder “Steal My Sunshine.”

 2011 - Azealia Banks released her debut studio album, Broke With Expensive Taste. It features "Yung Rapunxel," "Heavy Metal and Reflective," "Chasing Time," and "Ice Princess."

2014 - Two wealthy fans paid $300,000 to eat lasagna with Bruce Springsteen at his house. Springsteen started off the annual Stand Up For Heroes event by playing an acoustic set, then offering the instrument to the highest bidder. When bidding reached $60,000, he threw in a guitar lesson, which someone offered $250,000 for. At this point, he offered up a lasagna dinner at his house, a ride around the block in the sidecar of his motorbike and the shirt off of his back. All the money went to the Bob Woodruff Foundation, which helps injured servicemen and their families when they return home. 

2015 - Pentatonix becomes the first acapella group to score a U.S. No. 1 album when their self-titled release tops the chart. 

2016 - Canadian singer, songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen died at the age of 82 at his home in Los Angeles. Cohen pursued a career as a poet and novelist during the 1950s and early 1960s, and did not launch a music career until 1967, at the age of 33. His first album, Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967), was followed by three more albums of folk music: Songs from a Room, Songs of Love and Hate and New Skin for the Old Ceremony. "Hallelujah" is a song written by Cohen, originally released on his album Various Positions. The song found greater popular acclaim through a recording by John Cale, which inspired a recording by Jeff Buckley. 

2016 - Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart star in the first episode of Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party, where they make fried chicken with Wiz Khalifa. 

2017 - Aretha Franklin plays at Elton John's AIDS Foundation gala at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City in what turns out to be her final performance. "We were witnessing the greatest soul artist of all time," Elton says. 

2020 - The Doobie Brothers, Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Whitney Houston, The Notorious B.I.G., and T. Rex enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Because of coronavirus, the ceremony is virtual and there are no performances. 

2021 - Missy Elliott gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She shouts out "my female MCs in hip-hop," including her forebears Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa, MC Lyte, Monie Love, Sha-Rock, Angie Stone, Roxanne Shanté, and Yo-Yo. 

Birthdays: 

Al Hirt (“Java”) was born today in 1922.

Dee Clark (“Raindrops”) was born today in 1938.

Johnny Rivers (“Memphis,” “Poor Side of Town”) is 82.

Joni Mitchell is 81. 

Kevin MacMichael of Cutting Crew was born today in 1951.

Drummer John "Jellybean" Benitez is 67. Also a songwriter and producer, he worked with Madonna, Whitney Houston, and Michael Jackson, among others.

Tommy Thayer, guitarist for Kiss, is 64.

Liam Ó Maonlaí of Hothouse Flowers is 60.

Steve Di Giorgio of Megadeth and other metal bands is 57. 

David Guetta is 57. 

Robin Finck of Nine Inch Nails and Guns N' Roses is 53. 

Otep Shamaya, leader of Otep, is 45.

Forrest Kline of Hellogoodbye is 41.

Andy Hull of Manchester Orchestra is 38.

Tinie Tempah is 36.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot is 35.

Lorde is 28. 

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