History Highlight:

Today in 1973, Bruce Springsteen released his debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ. The album garnered average sales but positive critical reviews and had the singles "Blinded by the Light" and "Spirit in the Night." Rolling Stone ranked the album at No. 379 in their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, however they named the album one of the "100 Greatest Debut Albums of All-Time." On Nov. 22, 2009, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. was played in its entirety for the first time by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York, to celebrate the last show of the 'Working on a Dream' tour.

Also, in:

1959 - Buddy Holly released his final single - "It Doesn't Matter Any More", backed with "Raining in My Heart". The former was one of the few he recorded that he didn't write. Paul Anka was the author.

1967: Paul McCartney recorded his vocal track for The Beatles' "Penny Lane" at Abbey Road Studios in London.

1968 - Nine months after its release, Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits went Gold.

1975 - The Wiz, a soul version of The Wizard of Oz, opened at the Majestic Theater on Broadway. It stars future disco diva Stephanie Mills ("Never Knew Love") as Dorothy. In 1978, the production was turned into a movie starring Michael Jackson and Diana Ross.

1978 - The Sex Pistols made their U.S. debut at the Great Southeast Music Hall in Atlanta. The band formed in London in 1975 and although they lasted just a few years, they initiated a punk movement and were one of the most influential acts in the history of popular music. In their one studio album they tackled heavy subjects such as the music industry, consumerism, abortion, violence, apathy, anarchy, fascism, the British Royal Family and the Holocaust.

1979 - Briefcase Full Of Blues by The Blues Brothers went to No. 1 and achieved Platinum status.

1980 - Donna Summer scored her third U.S. No. 1 album with On The Radio- Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 & II.

1980 - "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang became the first rap song to hit the Top 40 when it reached No. 37 on the chart.

1980 - KC and the Sunshine Band had their fifth U.S. No. 1 single and scored the first No. 1 of the 80s when "Please Don't Go" went to No. 1 in the U.K.

1991 - Madonna went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Justify My Love", a song co-written with Lenny Kravitz.

1991 - Iron Maiden went to No. 1 on the U.K. Singles Chart for the first and only time with "Bring Your Daughter...to the Slaughter", which spent one week on top.

1998 - Sonny Bono was killed in a skiing accident at a South Lake Tahoe, Nevada, resort.

2003 - Little Richard made a guest appearance on The Simpsons.

2004 - Ray Davies of The Kinks was shot in the leg when he pursued two men who snatched his girlfriend's purse.

2005 - Danny Sugerman, second manager for The Doors who wrote a number of books about the band, died of lung cancer at age 50.

2008 - Josh Groban was at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with his Christmas album Noel.

2010 - Record producer Willie Mitchell, who ran Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, dies of a cardiac arrest at age 81.

2010 - Kesha released her debut studio album, Animal. It features “Tik Tok” and “Blah Blah Blah.”

2015 - Taylor Swift was at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with her fifth studio album 1989 which was the best-selling album of 2014 in the U.S. market with over 5.5 million copies sold.

2019 - British musician Eric Haydock died at age 75. He is best-known as the original bass guitarist of The Hollies from December 1962 until July 1966. He was one of the first British musicians to play a Fender Bass VI, a six-string bass.

Birthdays:

Producer Sam Phillips of Sun Records was born today in 1923.

Producer Phil Ramone (Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Bono, Elton John, Quincy Jones, Barbra Streisand, and many more) was born today in 1934.

Athol Guy of the Seekers is 84.

Grady Thomas of Funkadelic is 83.

Chris Stein of Blondie is 74.

Iris DeMent is 63.

Grant Young of Soul Asylum is 60.

Kate Schellenbach of Luscious Jackson is 58.

Marilyn Manson is 55.

Troy Van Leeuwen of Queens of the Stone Age and A Perfect Circle is 54.

Danielle Ponder is 42.

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