History highlight:

Aretha Franklin, the singer who helped define the sound of soul and influenced countless artists across genres, was born today in 1942. A pioneering vocalist and powerful pianist rightly dubbed "the Queen of Soul," Franklin was raised singing gospel and parlayed that experience into a iconic crossover career in popular music. Not only did Franklin's voice raise the bar for pop and soul singers to follow, she embodied a powerful model of an African-American woman artist addressing her experiences and demanding — in her signature song — "Respect." You can read more about Aretha Franklin in a post on TheCurrent.org written at the time of her death in August of 2018.

Also, today in:

1961 - Elvis performed what would be his last live show for nearly eight years at Block Arena in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The concert was a benefit, and $62,000 was raised for the USS Arizona memorial fund.

1970 - The first studio album by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Deja Vu, went gold.

1985 - Prince won an Oscar for Best Original Song Score for the film Purple Rain. Even without the movie, Purple Rain is regularly called one of the greatest albums in music history, but as a soundtrack, it is even more highly praised; in 2007, Vanity Fair magazine named it "the best soundtrack of all time." It's notable that Prince's Oscar marked the last time the Best Original Song Score award was presented; since then, the Academy has changed the category name to Best Original Musical, which helps distinguish it from Best Original Score.

1995 - Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder was rescued from drowning after a riptide dragged him 250 feet offshore in New Zealand.

2001 - At the Academy Awards, where she was nominated for Best Song from her movie "Dancer In The Dark," Bjork wore a swan dress complete with a purse that looked like an egg, which she "laid" on the red carpet. Such bold fashion would not be seen again until Lady Gaga's stunning raw beef frock.

2002 - Bono appeared at the "air rage" trial of R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, and spoke on his behalf. "I came to court," Bono said, "because Peter is actually famously known for being a peaceable person. I once had to twist his arm to get him to a boxing match."

2006 - Country musician, singer, songwriter and band leader Alvis Edgar "Buck" Owens, Jr. died. One of the most successful American singer-songwriters ever, he had 21 No. 1 country songs in the ‘60s and ‘70s with his band the Buckaroos. Beginning in 1969, Owens co-hosted the TV series Hee Haw with Roy Clark and remained until 1986.

2007 - Elton John set the record for the most performances at New York's Madison Square Garden when he performs there for the 60th time — on his 60th birthday.

Birthdays:

Bonnie Guitar was born today in 1923.

Cecil Taylor was born today in 1929.

Celebrated American songwriter Hoyt Axton was born on this day in 1938. He wrote "Joy To The World" and many more hits for other artists.

Elton John is 77.

Saxophonist Steve Norman is 64.

Jeff Healey was born today in 1966.

Cathy Dennis is 55.

Juvenile is 49.

Melanie Blatt of All Saints is 49

Katharine McPhee is 40

Ryan Lewis (of Macklemore &...) is 36.

Rapper Big Sean is 36.

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