History Highlight:

Today in 1980, The B-52’s released their second studio album, Wild Planet. The Athens, Georgia band — Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland, Cindy Wilson and Ricky Wilson — traveled to the Bahamas to record the album at Compass Point studios, the same studio where they had recorded their debut self-titled album. Many of the songs on Wild Planet had already been performed live by the B-52’s, a strategy the band employed to help build enthusiasm for the album’s eventual release. Wild Planet includes such signature B-52’s songs as “Private Idaho,” “Give Me Back My Man,” “Quiche Lorraine” and “Party Out of Bounds.”

Also, Today In:

1965 - Elvis Presley played host to The Beatles, the "successors to the throne," in a reportedly awkward four-hour meeting at Presley's Bel Air, Calif., mansion.

1966 - The Beach Boys “God Only Knows” peaked at No. 2 on the U.K. singles chart. The song broke new ground in many ways. It was one of the first commercial songs to use the word 'God' in its title and Brian Wilson used many unorthodox instruments, including the French horns that are heard in the song's famous introduction.

1975 - Donna Summer released her second studio album, Love to Love You Baby. It features the hit 16:48-long title track.

1988 - "Monkey" gave George Michael his eighth U.S. No. 1 single of the 1980s; only Michael Jackson had more U.S. No. 1 hits in the '80s.

1988 - Tracy Chapman's self-titled debut album hits No. 1 in the U.S. as her song "Fast Car" peaks at No. 6.

1991 - Pearl Jam released their debut album Ten. Produced by Rick Parashar and recorded at London Bridge Studios in Seattle, most of the songs began as instrumental jams, to which Eddie Vedder added lyrics about topics such as depression, homelessness, and abuse. The album would prove the group's most commercially successful to date, selling more than 13 million copies. It contains the hit singles "Alive," "Even Flow" and "Jeremy." In his review of the album, AllMusic staff writer Steve Huey called Ten a "flawlessly crafted hard rock masterpiece."

1990 - Stevie Ray Vaughan perished when the helicopter in which he was flying crashed in East Troy, Wis., during a dense fog. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Stevie Ray Vaughan No. 7 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of all time.

1994 - Boyz II Men started a 14-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "I'll Make Love To You." Ultimately, they knocked themselves out of the No. 1 slot with their follow-up hit, "On Bended Knee."

2013 - A risqué performance at the MTV Video Music Awards drew a formal grievance from the Parents Television Council (PTC), which issued a complaint against MTV in response to Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke dancing suggestively to the song, "Blurred Lines," two days earlier. Reacting to the controversy, Cyrus responded to her critics, saying, "They're overthinking it."

2013 - The band Alabama reunited for their 40th anniversary.

Birthdays:

Saxophonist Lester Young was born today in 1909.

Carter Stanley, of the Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys, was born today in 1925.

Alice Coltrane was born today in 1937.

Tommy Sands (“Teen-Age Crush”) is 87.

Edward Patten, of Gladys Knight & the Pips, was born today in 1939.

Chip Douglas of The Turtles is 82.

Daryl Dragon of The Captain and Tennille was born today in 1942. He passed away in 2019.

Jeff Cook of Alabama was born today in 1949.

Neil Murray — bassist for Whitesnake, Black Sabbath, and more — is 74.

Paul Reubens was born today in 1952.

Guitarist Alex Lifeson of Rush is 71.

Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols is 68.

Yolanda Adams is 63.

Eric “Bobo” Correa — percussionist for Beastie Boys, Cypress Hill, and Rage Against the Machine — is 56.

No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal is 54.

Jimmy Pop of the Bloodhound Gang is 52.

Rapper Mase is 49.

Sarah Neufeld, the violinist for Arcade Fire, is 45.

Mario is 38.

Sean Foreman frontman of 3Oh!3 is 39.

Kim Petras a singer-songwriter important in the LBGTQ+ community is 32.

Rod Wave is 26.

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