History Highlight:

Bill Withers was born today in 1938. He died at the age of 81 in 2020. Withers’ hits include "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me" (1972), "Lean on Me" (1972), "Lovely Day" (1977) and "Just the Two of Us" (1980). He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.

Also, Today In:

1995 - Foo Fighters released their self-titled debut album. It features “Big Me” and “This Is a Call.”

2003 - Grammy-winning R&B star Barry White died at the age of 58 in Los Angeles after suffering cardiac arrest.

2005 - Sufjan Stevens released his fifth studio album, Illinois. It features "Go! Chicago! Go! Yeah!"

2005 - Missy Elliott released her sixth studio album, The Cookbook. It features “Lose Control.”

2007 - Bill Pinkney, the last surviving original member of The Drifters, died at the age of 81 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

2017 - John Blackwell Jr. — a drummer who played with Patti LaBelle, Prince, Justin Timberlake, and D’Angelo — died at the age of 43 in Land o’ Lakes, Florida.

Birthdays:

Fred Wesley, trombonist for Parliament-Funkadelic and James Brown, is 81.

Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson, co-lead singer and co-founder of Canned Heat, was born today in 1943.

Jeremy Spencer, a member of Fleetwood Mac from 1967-1971, is 76.

Ralph Johnson, percussionist for Earth, Wind & Fire, is 73.

John Waite — singer for the Babys and Bad English as well as a solo artist (“Missing You”) — is 72.

Kirk Pengilly, saxophonist and guitarist for INXS, is 66.

Mark Slaughter, singer and founder of Slaughter, is 60.

Melanie Fiona is 41.

Post Malone is 29.

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