History Highlight:

Today in 1984, Bruce Springsteen released the album Born In the U.S.A., which became the best-selling album of 1985 in the United States — and also Springsteen's most successful album ever. A few fun facts about the album - Seven of the album's 12 songs were released as singles and entered the top 10, meaning that over half of all Springsteen's career top 10 hits came from the album. Born in the U.S.A. didn't produce a No. 1 single, but "Dancing in the Dark" peaked at No. 2, blocked from the top spot by the wild success of Prince's "When Doves Cry." The album's iconic cover was shot by Annie Liebovitz. Springsteen was forced to deny rumors that the image showed him urinating on the flag. "We took a lot of different types of pictures," he said, "and in the end, the picture of my (butt) looked better than the picture of my face, that's what went on the cover."

Also, Today In:

1942 - Glenn Wallichs launched Capitol Records in Hollywood. The label became home to such artists as Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Bobby Darin, Dean Martin, Glen Campbell, Steve Miller, Dr. Hook, Bob Seger, Tina Turner, Heart and countless others. Wallichs was the man who invented the art of record promotion by sending copies of new releases to disc jockeys.

1956 - Elvis Presley scored a rare trifecta as "Heartbreak Hotel" simultaneously held the No. 1 spots on Billboard's Pop, R&B and Country charts. Written by Tommy Durden and Mae Boren Axton, the lyrics to "Heartbreak Hotel" were based on a newspaper article about the suicide of a lonely man who jumped from a hotel window.

1967 - The Monkees' TV show scored an Emmy for outstanding comedy series.

1975 - The Rolling Stones became the first rock band to receive royalties for sales of their records in Russia (the Soviet Union at that time).

1979 - Fleetwood Mac recorded the USC Trojan Marching Band at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles for use in their song "Tusk," the title track to their first album since Rumours. A film crew captured the action (including Stevie Nicks deftly twirling a baton) which was made into the video for the song.

1984 - Sheila E. released her debut solo album, The Glamorous Life. All tracks, including the title track single, were written or co-written by Prince.

1993 - Police in Seattle arrested Kurt Cobain at his home after an argument with his wife, Courtney Love, over his collection of firearms.

1997 - Jeff Buckley's body was discovered in the Mississippi River. Buckley had disappeared when swimming on May 29 in Wolf River Harbor in Memphis, while wearing boots, all of his clothing, and singing the chorus of "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin. An autopsy ruled Buckley's death an accidental drowning.

2000 - A teenage Sisqó fan was shot in the leg at a concert by the R&B star in Phoenix, Arizona when violence erupted after concertgoers began objecting to parking fees of $30 at the venue. (Related: Sisqó now lives in Maple Grove, Minn.)

2001 - Americana Legend and banjo picker John Hartford died in Nashville. The three-time Grammy-winning singer/songwriter and session man (The Byrds/James Taylor/Jerry Garcia/David Grisman/Bela Fleck) passed away after a long battle with cancer.

2005 - System Of A Down's fourth album, Mezmerize, went No. 1 in America. Six months later, their next album, Hypnotize (recorded in the same sessions), took the top spot.

2007 - Soul singer Freddie Scott died at age 74.

2013 - Joey Covington (drummer for Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna) died in a single-vehicle accident in Palm Springs, California, at age 67.

2017 - Ariana Grande hosted the "One Love Manchester" benefit concert to honor the victims of the terrorist bombing at her May 22, 2017 concert at the Manchester Arena, which killed 22 people. The show took place at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground about three miles from the arena.

2020 - Producer Rupert Hine, whose credits include Tina Turner's hit "Better Be Good To Me" and the first four albums by The Fixx, died at 72.

2020 - Steve Priest, the bassist and co-founder of glam rock band Sweet, died at the age of 72. He was known for his playful humour and outrageous costumes when Sweet played hits like "Blockbuster", "Teenage Rampage" and "Little Willy" on Top of the Pops. The group was originally called Sweetshop.

Birthday:

Freddy Fender was born on this day in 1937.

Cliff Bennett of Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers is 84.

Roger Ball, saxophonist with Average White Band, is 80.

Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas is 80.

Anthony Braxton of the Association is 79.

Gordon Waller of Peter and Gordon was born today in 1945.

Jimmy McCulloch of Wings was born today in 1953.

Raphael Ravenscroft (sax on Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street”) was born today in 1954.

Reeves Gabrels (guitarist, songwriter and record producer who worked with David Bowie from 1987 to 2000 and a member of The Cure since 2012) is 68.

El DeBarge is 63.

Al B. Sure! is 56.

Richie Hawtin is 54.

Stefan Lessard, bassist from Dave Matthews Band, is 50.

Kasey Chambers is 48.

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