History Highlight:

Wendy Melvoin, who was a member of Prince’s band the Revolution, is 60. Melvoin was born on this date in Los Angeles in 1964, and grew up amid a musical family: her father Mike Melvoin was a member of the Wrecking Crew, her brother Jonathan Melvoin was a touring keyboardist with Smashing Pumpkins, and her twin sister, Susannah, was also a regular Prince collaborator. Beyond her work with Prince on 1999, Purple Rain, Around the World in a Day, and more, Wendy’s many creative collaborations include five studio albums with Lisa Coleman as Wendy & Lisa, and session work or songwriting with Madonna, Joni Mitchell, Pearl Jam, Sheryl Crow, Liz Phair, Seal, and many more. After Prince’s death, Wendy took part in several performances with a reunited Revolution.

Also, in:

1956 - Buddy Holly's first recording session for Decca Records took place in Nashville. Holly began his career as an opening act for Elvis Presley, performing with him three times in 1955. Formerly focused on country western music, Holly shifted entirely to rock and roll. He tragically lost his life on the way to a show in Moorhead when his plane crashed, killing Holly, Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper and the pilot in a tragedy later referred to as "The Day the Music Died". During his short career, Holly wrote, recorded, and produced his own material and is often regarded as the act that defined the traditional rock-and-roll lineup of two guitars, bass, and drums.

1962 - Bishop Burke of the Buffalo, New York, Catholic Diocese prohibited the dance of the devil, "The Twist". It couldn't be danced, sung about or listened to at any Catholic school, parish or youth event. Later in the year, "The Twist" was also banned from community center dances in Tampa, Florida.

1963 - The Rooftop Singers started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Walk Right In".

1965 - During a Rolling Stones tour of Australia and New Zealand, guitarist Keith Richards had his shirt torn off after 50 fans invaded the stage during the gig at The Town Hall in Brisbane.

1970 - The Simon & Garfunkel album Bridge Over Troubled Water was released, with the title track simultaneously issued as a single.

1973 - Elton John issues his sixth studio album, Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player, in America. It features two of his most popular songs: the '50s flashback "Crocodile Rock" (Elton's first No. 1 hit in America) and the Vietnam War-inspired "Daniel”.

1974 - Ringo Starr went No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with his version of the Johnny Burnette 1960 hit "You're Sixteen".

1980 - Prince performs on American Bandstand, where he's interviewed on national TV for the first time. Host Dick Clark has a hard time getting more than a few words out of him. When he asks how many instruments Prince plays, he pauses before answering, "a thousand."

1991 - At the second Rock in Rio festival, Norwegian pop trio a-ha draw a crowd of 198,000, breaking the world record for paid attendance at a rock concert - and is snubbed by the press.

2003 - Billy Joel was airlifted to hospital after his car smashed into a tree.

2004 - Air released their third album, Talkie Walkie. It features “Cherry Blossom Girl,” “Surfing on a Rocket,” “Alpha Beta Gaga,” and “Alone in Kyoto.”

2008 - Alicia Keys was at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with her third album As I Am.

2009 - Franz Ferdinand released their third album, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand. It features “Ulysses,” “No You Girls,” “Can’t Stop Feeling,” and “What She Came For.”

2010 - Beach House released their third album, Teen Dream. It features “Zebra,” “Silver Soul,” “Norway,” and “Used to Be.”

2010 - Los Campesinos! released their third album, Romance Is Boring. It features "There Are Listed Buildings," "The Sea Is a Good Place to Think of the Future," and the title track.

2011 - Gladys Horton died aged 66. She was the founder and lead singer of the Motown vocal group The Marvelettes who had the hits "Please Mr. Postman" (when Horton was reportedly just fifteen years old), "Playboy", "Beechwood 4-5789" and "Too Many Fish in the Sea".

2020 - Billie Eilish swept the 2020 Grammys, winning five awards including best new artist and song of the year becoming the first person to achieve the feat since Christopher Cross in 1981. The 18-year-old also won album of the year for her debut, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go. She replaced Taylor Swift as the youngest person ever to win the award.

2020 - Singer and guitarist Bob Shane died at age 85. He was a founding member of The Kingston Trio, a folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s.

2022 - Neil Young removed his music from Spotify. Young's issue is with the Spotify podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, which he felt is spreading false information about vaccines. Joni Mitchell also removed her music.

2011 - Wilco announced the launch of their own label, dBpm Records. The band stated the label will put out all future Wilco releases "and more."

Birthdays:

Huey “Piano” Smith ("Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu") was born today in 1934.

Jean Knight, soul singer known for "Mr. Big Stuff" was born today in 1943.

Ashley Hutchings of Fairport Convention is 79.

David Briggs, of Little River Band, is 73.

Andy Hummel, bassist of Big Star, was born today in 1951.

Today in 1953, Lucinda Williams was born, making her 71. A multi-Grammy and Americana Award-winning singer/songwriter, Williams' greatest success came in 1998 with her album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road that went Gold and was praised by critics. Time magazine named her "America's Best Songwriter" in 2002.

Eddie Van Halen, guitarist for Van Halen, was born on this day in 1955.

Anita Baker is 66.

Norman Hassan of UB40 is 66.

Andrew Ridgeley of Wham! is 61.

Kirk Franklin is 54.

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