History Highlight:

Today in 1974, Natalie Maines of the Chicks was born, making her 50. Born in Lubbock, Texas, Maines’ father is an Austin City Limits Hall of Fame musician and producer, which seemed to predispose Natalie Maines to a career in music. After nearly completing her studies at the Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1995, Maines was invited to audition to replace the lead singer of the band now known as the Chicks. Since Maines joined the group, the Chicks have released five studio albums, the most recent being 2020’s Gaslighter, and they have won eight Grammy Awards.

Also, Today In:

1957 - Although it was banned by some U.S. radio stations for its suggestive lyrics, The Everly Brothers had their first No.1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Wake Up Little Susie.”

1968 - The Jackson Five made their national TV debut on ABC's Hollywood Palace.

1969 - Police in New Jersey issued a warrant for the arrest of Frank Sinatra in relation to his connections with the Mafia.

1972 - Michael Jackson went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Ben." The song was Jackson's first U.S. No. 1 solo hit; he was 14 years old at the time.

1975 - Art Garfunkel released his second solo studio album, Breakaway. It features “I Only Have Eyes for You,” “Break Away,” and “My Little Town.”

1977 - David Bowie released his twelfth studio album, Heroes.

1977 - Bing Crosby dies of a heart attack after finishing a round of golf in Spain, at age 74.

1980 - Earth, Wind & Fire released their 10th studio album, Faces. It features “Let Me Talk,” “You,” “Back on the Road,” and “And Love Goes On.”

1983 - Cyndi Lauper, formerly a member of the group Blue Angel, issues her first solo album, She's So Unusual. Six singles were released from the album, with "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" becoming a worldwide hit and her first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. "Time After Time" became her first number-one hit on the chart and experienced similar success worldwide. Lauper found success with the next two singles as well, with both "She Bop" and "All Through the Night" peaking in the top five. This makes Lauper the first female singer to have four top-five singles on the Hot 100 from one album. Lauper earned several awards and accolades for the album, including two Grammy Awards at the 27th Grammy Awards, one of which was for Best New Artist. She's So Unusual peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 chart and stayed in the chart's top forty for 65 weeks. It has sold over 6 million copies in the United States and 16 million copies worldwide. This makes it Lauper's best-selling album to date and one of the best-selling albums of the 1980s.

1985 - INXS released their fifth studio album, Listen Like Thieves. It features “What You Need,” “This Time,” “Kiss the Dirt (Falling Down the Mountain),” and the title track.

1985 - The Jets — from Robbinsdale, Minnesota — released their debut studio album, The Jets. It features “Crush on You,” “Curiosity,” “Private Number,” and “You Got It All.”

1988 - Def Leppard became the first act in chart history to sell seven million copies of two consecutive LPs, with Pyromania (released in 1983) and Hysteria, (released in 1987 and which became the band's best-selling album to date, selling more than 20 million copies worldwide, and spawning six hit singles).

1989 - Mötley Crüe started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Dr. Feelgood.

1990 - Renowned American composer, pianist and conductor Leonard Bernstein died of pneumonia. He composed music for the 1954 crime drama On the Waterfront and for the 1957 musical West Side Story. Bernstein conducted the New York Philharmonic at age 25. He wrote three symphonies, two operas, five musicals, and numerous other pieces.

1996 - Madonna gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Lourdes. The father is her personal trainer, Carlos Leon.

2000 - The Beatles' official autobiography Anthology hit No. 1 on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list.

2004 - Eric Clapton was suspended from driving in France after being caught speeding at 134 mph in his Porsche 911 Turbo in the countryside south of Dijon. He was given a fine and his U.K. license was confiscated. After paying his fine, Clapton posed for photographs with the local gendarmes and then left the scene in his Porsche; his secretary was behind the wheel.

2006 - Freddy Fender died of complications from lung cancer at the age of 69. Fender is known for the hits "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" (U.S. No. 1 in 1975) and "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights."

2006 - Opening for Rascal Flatts at Madison Square Garden, Eric Church went off-kilter, playing "Crazy Train" and staying on stage past his allotted time. He was kicked off the tour and replaced by a talented newcomer named Taylor Swift.

2008 - Illustrator and rock cartoonist Ray Lowry died. He contributed illustrations for NME, Punch, Private Eye and The Guardian and designed the artwork for The Clash album London Calling.

2009 - Paul McCartney was named Songwriter of The Year at the 29th Annual ASCAP Awards in London, England. The awards presentation honored songwriters and publishers of the most performed works in the U.S. during 2008.

2011 - Chuck Ruff (drummer for Edgar Winter Group and Sammy Hagar) died in San Francisco, California, after a lengthy illness at age 60.

2011 - After 27 years of marriage, Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth announced they were breaking up.

2014 - Isaiah "Ikey" Owens the American keyboardist known for his work with The Mars Volta, Jack White and an array of bands from the Long Beach music scene died aged 39.

2014 - Pop singer Kesha filed a civil lawsuit against her longtime producer, Dr. Luke (Lukasz Gottwald), in a bid to be released from her contract. She cited years of physical, verbal, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of the producer, who denied all charges.

2020 - Post Malone won nine awards including top artist at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards held at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. While many artists performed in person, there was no live audience.

Birthdays:

Joyce Bryant (“Love for Sale”) was born today in 1927.

Robert Parker (“Barefootin’”) was born today in 1930.

Melba Montgomery (“No Charge”) is 86.

Cliff Richard is 84.

Justin Hayward, frontman for the Moody Blues, is 78.

Dan McCafferty, frontman for Nazareth, was born today in 1946.

Marcia Barrett of Boney M is 76.

Thomas Dolby, best known for his 1982 hit "She Blinded Me with Science" and 1984 single "Hyperactive!", is 66.

Karyn White (“Romantic”) is 59.

Jay Ferguson of Sloan is 56.

Natalie Maines of the The Chicks is 50.

Usher is 46.

Madison Cunningham is 28.

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