History Highlight:

Ray Erskine Parker Jr. — the man who asked “Who you gonna call?” — is 70 today. Parker was born on May 1, 1954, in Detroit. He built a career as a songwriter and session musician for Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra, Chaka Khan, the Supremes, Tina Turner, and many others. He later scored chart hits with his funk band called Raydio, and some more when he stepped out as a solo artist. But Parker saw his most visible success when he was invited to write and perform “Ghostbusters” for the hit 1984 film starring Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Rick Moranis, and Sigourney Weaver. (Lindsay Buckingham, hot off “Holiday Road” for National Lampoon’s Vacation, had apparently said no.) The song “Ghostbusters” rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for three weeks in 1984. Parker Jr. is credited with the vocals, guitars, synthesizers, and percussion on the track — and a bass line that sounded so similar to “I Want a New Drug” by Huey Lewis and the News that it sparked an out-of-court settlement. The song was revived by artists including Run-D.M.C., Fall Out Boy with Missy Elliott, and Walk the Moon for Ghostbusters sequels. In 2022, Parker Jr. appeared on The Masked Singer as “Sir Bug a Boo.”

Also, Today In:

1964 - The Beatles received $140,000 dollars for the rights to having their pictures included in packages of bubble gum in the USA.

1965 - Herman's Hermits started a three-week run at No. 1 in the U.S. singles chart with "Mrs Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter." Herman's Hermits recorded the song in two takes, and it features muted rhythm guitar by Keith Hopwood and heavily accented lead vocals by Peter Noone. The band never thought the track would be a single, much less a No. 1 hit. The song was written by Trevor Peacock, who went on to have a successful acting career and is widely known for playing the role of Jim Trott in the 1990s BBC comedy series, The Vicar of Dibley.

1967 - The F.B.I. arrested The Beach Boys Carl Wilson on charges of avoiding the military draft and refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance. He was later released and joined the rest of the band in Ireland for a British tour.

1969 - Bob Dylan recorded an appearance for The Johnny Cash Show at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. After two solo numbers from Dylan, Johnny Cash joined him for a rendition of 'Girl From The North Country'. In this primetime show, Cash enjoyed booking contemporary performers as guests; Neil Young, James Taylor, Ray Charles and Eric Clapton were all booked to appear on forthcoming shows.

1971 - One of The Rolling Stones' biggest singles, "Brown Sugar," was released.

1974 - The Carpenters performed at the White House, at the request of President Nixon.

1975 - During a press conference held at the 5th Avenue Hotel in New York City to announce The Rolling Stones forthcoming American tour, the Stones themselves came down the street playing live from the back of a flat-bed truck.

1976 - Led Zeppelin started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Presence, the group's fifth No. 1 album.

1977 - The Clash launched their first tour of the British Isles with a May Day concert at the Roxy in London. The 40-day "White Riot Tour" eventually wound up at London's Rainbow Theater where the audience went wild, ripping out seats bolted to the floor to create space for dancing.

1979 - Elton John became the first pop star to perform in Israel. In three weeks time he also became the first Western solo pop performer to tour Russia.

1980 - The South African government banned Pink Floyd's single "Another Brick In The Wall" after children adopted the song as their anthem in protest against inferior education.

1986 - American songwriter and producer Hugo Peretti died at age 70. Wrote and produced many classic hits including, 'Can't Help Falling In Love', 'Twistin' The Night Away', 'Shout', 'The Hustle' and 'You Make Me Feel Brand New.'

1994 - Influential modern-rock radio station REV105 goes on the air in the Twin Cities. The station aired for slightly less than three years, but left a lasting impact on the Twin Cities’ media landscape and music scene.

2003- American soul singer Barry White suffered a stroke while being treated for kidney failure. The singer died two months later on July 4, 2003.

2005 - Coldplay became the first British band to have a new entry in the U.S. Top 10 singles chart since The Beatles.

2013 - Chris Kelly, one half of the 1990s rap duo Kris Kross, died in an Atlanta hospital at the age of 34. Kelly had been found unresponsive at his home.

2013 - A Minnesota man was accused of pretending to be a member of Pink Floyd at a hospital and racked up as much as $100,000 in unpaid medical bills. Phillip Michael Schaeffer, 53, went for treatment April 20 and claimed he was Pink Floyd singer-guitarist David Gilmour and that he didn't have health insurance. The man was treated and released from the St. Cloud Hospital, Minnesota, but not before he signed an autograph for an employee's son.

2015 - Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars gave The Gap Band a writing credit on their hit "Uptown Funk", due to its similarities with their 1979 track "Oops Upside Your Head". "Uptown Funk", which topped the U.S. chart for 14 weeks, originally had six songwriters but is now credited to The Gap Band as well.

2023 - Gordon Lightfoot died at the age of 84 in Toronto.

Birthdays:

Kate Smith, the “First Lady of Radio,” was born today in 1907.

Jack Paar was born today in 1918.

Sonny James (“Young Love”) was born today in 1928.

Little Walter was born today in 1930.

Shirley Horn was born today in 1934.

Judy Collins is 85.

Rita Coolidge is 79.

Glen Ballard, best-known for co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's album Jagged Little Pill is 71.

Johnny Colt, bassist with The Black Crowes, is 57.

Tim McGraw is 57.

Former Smashing Pumpkins bassist D'arcy Wretzky-Brown is 56.

Wes Anderson is 55.

Bernard Butler is 54.

Jay Reatard was born today in 1980.

Victoria Monét is 35.

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