History highlight:

Today in 1994, New York rapper Nas released his debut studio album, Illmatic. He said the title meant "Realness — the epitome of ill." With singles like “It Ain’t Hard to Tell” and “The World Is Yours” the 20-year-old Nasir Jones quickly established himself as a master lyricist and creative rhymer on par with the greatest. The album is frequently cited among the most significant hip-hop releases in history. Its stellar production and Nas’ detailed storytelling about his life experiences in the Queensbridge housing projects in Queens make it a classic worth returning to.

Also, today in:

1973 - David Bowie released his sixth studio album, Aladdin Sane, the follow-up to his breakthrough album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

1978 - Arista Records released the Patti Smith single "Because The Night." After Bruce Springsteen left the track off his album Darkness At The Edge Of Town, Smith somehow got a copy, changed some of the words, and took a co-writing credit with Springsteen. It would be her only charting single, reaching No. 13 later in the year.

1980 - Blondie hit No. 1 in the U.S. with "Call Me," which is featured in the Richard Gere movie American Gigolo.

1982 - Simon and Garfunkel, who had made a big splash with their New York Central Park concert the year before, reunited for a European tour. The U.S. leg never materialized because of continued friction between the two.

1986 - Prince hits #1 in the US with "Kiss." The #2 song is "Manic Monday" by the Bangles, which he wrote.

1988 - Sonny Bono (of Sonny & Cher) was inaugurated as mayor of Palm Springs, California.

1994 - Superchunk released their fourth studio album, Foolish. It was recorded at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. It features “Driveway to Driveway.”

1999 - Although the Madison Square Garden marquee in New York read "Bob Dylan, Tonight At 8pm," Neil Young was actually slated to perform. Following one number during the show, Neil quipped, "That was Bob playing guitar with me on the last song."

1999 - The Cranberries released their fourth studio album, Bury the Hatchet. It features “Promises” and “Just My Imagination.”

2002 - Alice In Chains lead singer Layne Staley is discovered dead in his Seattle apartment after police break down his door to investigate reports that he is missing. Staley, whose addictions led him to cut off contact with friends and family, had died on April 5 of a drug overdose. He was 34.

2003 - The White Stripes joined Loretta Lynn onstage at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. Jack introduced Lynn as “the greatest female singer/songwriter of the 20th century," and performed two songs with her, "Fist City" and "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man," one of many duets she's recorded with Conway Twitty. After the White Stripes set, Loretta came back onstage for a performance of “Rated X” with the band.

2004 - A stage musical version of the Elvis Presley film Jailhouse Rock opened in London.

2012 - Levon Helm died of throat cancer aged 71. A drummer, singer and multi-instrumentalist, Helm formed his own high school band, the Jungle Bush Beaters, at 17. He later joined The Hawks (who became Bob Dylan's backing group), who then became known as The Band. He sang on The Band classics like "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," "Up on Cripple Creek," "Rag Mama Rag," and "The Weight.”

2012 - Greg Ham, multi-instrumentalist with the band Men At Work, best known for playing the saxophone on "Overkill" and "Who Can It Be Now" and the flute on "Down Under," was found dead at his home in Melbourne, Australia, having suffered a fatal heart attack. He was 58 years old. In January 1983, Men At Work were the first Australian artists to have a simultaneous No. 1 album (Business as Usual) and No. 1 single ("Down Under") on the US Billboard charts. Following his time with Men At Work, Ham taught guitar at a primary school in Melbourne, and he worked with high school music students on their assessment exams.

2014 - The White House refused to comment on a campaign to deport Justin Bieber from the US. Around 275,000 people had signed a petition on the campaign's website calling for the Canadian singer to be removed from the country. The campaign had been set up in January 2014 when the 20-year-old was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and illegally drag racing.

2014 - Pixies released their fifth studio album, Indy Cindy. It was their first album since 1991.

2019 - The New York Yankees and Philadelphia Flyers pull Kate Smith's version of "God Bless America" when it is revealed that she sang racist songs in the 1930s.

2019 - Lizzo released her third album, Cuz I Love You.

2019 - Jade Bird released her self-titled debut album. It features “Lottery,” “Uh Huh,” and “I Get No Joy.”

2019 - Cage the Elephant released their fifth album, Social Cues. It features “Ready to Let Go.”

2021 - Jim Steinman, who wrote songs for Meat Loaf, died at the age of 73.

Birthdays:

Alexis Korner, the godfather of British blues, was born today in 1928.

Bobby Russell (“Saturday Morning Confusion”) was born today in 1941.

Alan Price of the Animals is 82.

South African producer and engineer Eddie Kramer is 82. He worked with many artists including The Beatles, (Magical Mystery Tour), David Bowie, (Young Americans), Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, The Kinks, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and Carlos Santana. Kramer and his crew attended the 1969 Woodstock Festival, where they recorded the entire festival.

Alan Price of The Animals is 81.

Bernie Worrell, keyboardist and founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic, was born today in 1944.

Mark Volman of The Turtles is 77.

Tony Martin of Black Sabbath is 67.

Suge Knight is 59.

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