History Highlight:

On this day in 1989 Los Angeles rapper Tone Lōc released his debut album, Lōc-ed After Dark, which features “Wild Thing” and “Funky Cold Medina.” “Wild Thing” hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and its music video was in heavy rotation on MTV. Once the song became a hit, an uncleared sample of Van Halen’s “Jamie’s Cryin’” in it sparked a legal dispute between the band and Tone Lōc’s label, Delicious Vinyl. Later in 1989, “Funky Cold Medina” rose to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The songs, both co-written by Marvin “Young MC” Young, became the first platinum-certified rap singles in history.

Also, Today In:

1956 - Rock 'n' Roll fans in Cleveland under 18 were banned from dancing in public (unless accompanied by an adult), after Ohio Police enforced a law dating back to 1931.

1965 - "Downtown" made Petula Clark the first U.K. female singer to have a No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart since Vera Lynn in 1952. The song was also a No. 2 hit in the U.K.

1969 - Working at Apple studios in London, The Beatles (with Billy Preston on keyboards) recorded ten takes of a new song called "Get Back." Originally released as a single on April 11, 1969 and credited to "The Beatles with Billy Preston," a different mix of the song later became the closing track of Let It Be, which was the Beatles' last album released just after the group split.

1971 - Dawn started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Knock Three Times", the group's first No. 1, which was also a U.K. No. 1.

1976 - David Bowie released his tenth studio album Station to Station which was the vehicle for his latest character - the Thin White Duke. The album made the top five in both the U.K. and U.S. charts.

1977 - Carole King's Tapestry set a new record: 302 weeks on the Billboard Albums chart.

1977 - Patti Smith broke her vertebra when she fell off the stage at a gig in Tampa, Florida.

1978 - Terry Kath, guitarist with Chicago, died from an accidentally self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

1981 - After signing with Boardwalk Records, Joan Jett re-released her debut studio album with the new title Bad Reputation. The album was positively received by critics and reached number 51 on the Billboard 200.

1986 - The first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame include Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Fats Domino.

1986 - Ray Charles was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the first induction dinner, held in New York City. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings. He also helped racially integrate country and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success on ABC Records, most notably with his Modern Sounds albums. While with ABC, Charles became one of the first African American musicians to be given artistic control by a mainstream record company. Rolling Stone ranked Charles No. 10 on their list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" in 2004, and No. 2 on their November 2008 list of "100 Greatest Singers of All Time."

1988 - At age 16, Tiffany became the youngest female singer with a No. 1 album in the U.S. when her self-titled debut topped the chart.

1988 - Nirvana recorded a 10-song demo with Seattle producer Jack Endino. Sub Pop records boss Jonathan Poneman heard the tape and offered to put out a Nirvana single.

1988 - Michael Jackson went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "The Way You Make Me Feel". It was the third single from Jackson's seventh studio album Bad for which Jackson had written over sixty songs for the album, with plans of releasing a three-disc album, but producer Quincy Jones convinced Jackson to make Bad a one-disc LP.

1988 - The California Raisins' "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" peaked at No. 84 on Billboard's Hot 100.

1990 - Allen Collins, guitarist from Lynyrd Skynyrd, died of pneumonia after being ill for several months.

1990 - David Bowie announced his forthcoming Sound And Vision 1990 tour, during which he invited each local audience to decide on a "greatest hits" running order, organized through local radio stations.

1991 - The Albuquerque, New Mexico, radio station KLSK FM played the Led Zeppelin song "Stairway To Heaven" over and over for 24 hours to inaugurate a format change to classic rock. It played more than 200 times, eliciting hundreds of angry calls and letters.

1997 - "Louie Louie" composer (and original performer) Richard Berry dies of heart failure at age 61.

1998 - The Spice Girls movie "Spice World" hit theaters in America.

2000 - Santana started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Supernatural, the album which went on to win eight Grammy awards spent a total of nine weeks at No. 1 during this year.

2017 - Bobby Freeman, who wrote and recorded the 1958 hit "Do You Want to Dance," died at age 76.

2018 - Trumpeter Hugh Masekela (“Grazing in the Grass”) died at the age of 78.

Birthdays:

Django Reinhardt, famous for a 2-finger guitar style, was born today in 1910.

Joe Dowell (“Wooden Heart”) was born today in 1940.

Anita Pointer, of the Pointer Sisters, was born today in 1948.

Robin Zander, lead singer of Cheap Trick, is 71.

Jonatha Brooke is 60.

Nick Harmer, bassist for Death Cab for Cutie is 49.

Rapper XXXTentacion was born today in 1998.

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