History Highlight:

Drummer Stewart Copeland was born July 16, 1952, in Alexandria, Virginia. He is 72 today. Copeland rose to international renown as a drummer for the innovative rock band the Police from 1976-1986. The band reunited for a world tour in 2007-08. He has also appeared on albums by Peter Gabriel, Animal Logic, Oysterhead, and Gizmodrome. Beyond his work as a rock drummer, Copeland has also forged a successful career as a composer, creating music for films, television and the stage. He also recently won a Grammy for Best New Age Album for his work with composer Ricky Kej on the album Divine Tides. While promoting a visit to the Twin Cities in 2022, Copeland connected with The Current’s Jill Riley.

Also, Today In:

1900 - His Master's Voice, the logo of the Victor Recording Company and later RCA Victor, was registered with the U.S. Patent Office. The logo shows the dog, Nipper, looking into the horn of a gramophone.

1962 - The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records.

1966 - Tommy James and the Shondells started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Hanky Panky," a song first recorded by The Raindrops.

1966 - Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton formed Cream.

1970 - Pink Floyd recorded a show at the BBC Paris Cinema, in London, England for broadcast on the John Peel Sunday Concert on BBC Radio 1.

1973 - Bob Dylan's soundtrack album to Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid was released.

1977 - Shaun Cassidy went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Da Doo Ron Ron," his only U.S. No. 1 hit. Shaun is the half-brother of David Cassidy.

1984 - Sade released their debut album, Diamond Life, in the United Kingdom. (The U.S. release followed on Feb. 27, 1985.) It features “Smooth Operator.”

2007 - The White Stripes played their shortest live show ever at George Street, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. Jack White played a single C-sharp note accompanied by a bass drum and crash cymbal hit from Meg. At the end of the show, Jack announced, "We have now officially played in every province and territory in Canada." The concert is captured in the documentary, Under Great White Northern Lights, which tracks the White Stripes' entire 2007 tour across Canada.

2012 - Country music singer Kitty Wells, the first female country singer to top the U.S. country charts in 1952, died in Madison, Tenn., from complications of a stroke. She was 92. She is known for the big crossover pop hit "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", her chart topping hits continued until the mid-1960s. In 1976, she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and in 1991, she became the third country music artist and the eighth woman to receive the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

2014 - Blues guitarist Johnny Winter died at the age of 70 in Zurich, just days after playing at the Lovely Days Festival in Austria. Winter, who was instantly recognizable by his long white hair, worked with some of the greatest bluesmen, producing several albums for his childhood hero Muddy Waters - with whom he won a number of Grammys.

2015 - A sports car belonging to Grandmaster Flash which contained valuable vintage records was mistakenly given away by a parking attendant. The incident happened in a Manhattan garage where the musician returned to pick up the vehicle after nearly two hours, the attendant said he had given it to someone else thinking he was the owner.

2016 - American vocalist, punk icon and visual artist Alan Vega died aged 78. Primarily known for his work with the electronic duo Suicide. The duo released their influential self-titled debut in 1977, one of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

2017 - DMX was charged with tax fraud in the US after allegedly hiding millions of dollars in earnings. The rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, was arrested in New York. Law enforcement officers claimed he owed millions of dollars in taxes from songs and said he "went out of his way" to break the law.

2020 - Drummer Jamie Oldaker, whose career included stints alongside Eric Clapton and Peter Frampton, died of cancer at the age of 68. In 1974, Oldaker played on Clapton's 461 Ocean Boulevard, the first of 11 Clapton albums to feature Oldaker on drums.

2021 - Rapper Biz Markie died at the age of 57 due to severe complications from type 2 diabetes at a Baltimore hospital.

Birthdays:

Ginger Rogers was born today in 1911.

Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete was born today in 1923.

Blues singer Denise LaSalle (“Trapped by a Thing Called Love”) was born today in 1934.

Tony Jackson, bassist for The Searchers, was born today in 1938.

Soul singer William Bell (“Tryin’ to Love Two,” “Born Under a Bad Sign”) is 85. He performed his hit "Born Under a Bad Sign" alongside Gary Clark Jr. at the 2017 Grammy Awards. In 2024, the Recording Academy announced that Bell's 1961 hit single "You Don't Miss Your Water" would be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Desmond Adolphus Dacres, better-known as Desmond Dekker, was born today in 1941. He passed away in 2006.

Rubén Blades is 76.

Will Ferrell actor, comedian, and sometime drummer is 57.

Ed Kowalczyk of Live is 53.

Wizkid is 34.

Lindsey Jordan, who performs as Snail Mail, is 25.

Highlights for Today in Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Song Facts and Wikipedia.