History Highlight:

James Mercer, lead singer of the Shins, is 54. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Dec. 26, 1970, Mercer later lived in New Mexico and formed the Shins in Albequerque in 1999. The indie-rock band has released six full-length albums, and celebrated the 20th anniversary of Chutes Too Narrow earlier this year. In 2009, Mercer and Danger Mouse formed the experimental Broken Bells. They released their third album, Into the Blue, in 2022.

Also, Today In:

1963 - The Beatles released their first hit single in the United States - "I Want To Hold Your Hand", backed with "I Saw Her Standing There." It was their first single issued by Capitol Records and within months the group became a sensation.

1964 - The Rolling Stones took out an ad in New Musical Express wishing British hairdressers a Merry Christmas.

1966 - Jimi Hendrix wrote the lyrics to "Purple Haze" in his dressing room between performances at London's Uppercrust Club.

1967 - The BBC premiered The Beatles' self-directed movie "Magical Mystery Tour". The following day the British press and viewing public pronounced the movie a disaster. The U.S. television deal for broadcasting the movie was cancelled soon afterwards.

1968 - Led Zeppelin played their first U.S. gig in Boston. They opened for Vanilla Fudge and MC5.

1970 - George Harrison became the first Beatle to top the Hot 100 as a solo artist as "My Sweet Lord" hit No. 1.

1976 - The Sex Pistols recorded their epic "God Save The Queen" at a London studio.

1981 - AC/DC started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with For Those About To Rock We Salute You, the follow-up to their highly successful album Back In Black.

1999 - Chicago soul pioneer Curtis Mayfield died in Roswell, Georgia, at 57 years old. On August 14, 1990, he was paralyzed from the neck down when a stage lighting rig fell on top of him at a concert in Brooklyn.

2007 - Amy Winehouse's second album Back to Black was named the biggest-selling album of the year. The album spawned five singles: "Rehab," "You Know I'm No Good," "Back to Black," "Tears Dry on Their Own," and "Love Is a Losing Game." Released at the end of 2006, the album had sold over 12 million copies worldwide, and won five Grammys, tying the then record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night.

2010 - R&B and soul singer Teena Marie — “Lovergirl,” “Ooo La La La,” “Square Biz,” and more — was found dead by her daughter in her Pasadena home.

2012 - R&B singer Fontella Bass, known for the 1965 hit "Rescue Me," died of complications from a heart attack at age 72.

2017 - Jim Burns, the co-creator of MTV's iconic MTV Unplugged series, famous for hosting shows by artists as diverse as Eric Clapton, Nirvana and Jay-Z died at the age of 65. He was struck by a taxi while crossing Fifth Avenue in Manhattan three days earlier walking with his seeing-eye dog near his Upper East Side home.

Birthdays:

Steve Allen, singer/pianist and the first host of The Tonight Show, was born on this date in 1921.

Abdul “Duke” Fakir, founding member of the Four Tops, was born today in 1935. He died on July 22, 2024, at the age of 88.

Musical pioneer (and convicted murderer) Phil Spector was born on this date in 1939.

Henning Schmitz, of Kraftwerk, is 71.

Lars Ulrich, drummer for Metallica, is 61.

Jay Farrar, lead singer of Son Volt and cofounder of Uncle Tupelo, is 58.

Jared Leto, lead singer of 30 Seconds to Mars, is 53.

Jon Bellion is 34.

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