History Highlight:

Today in 1994, Jamiroquai released their second album, The Return of the Space Cowboy. It features the songs “The Kids,” “Space Cowboy,” “Half the Man,” “Light Years,” and “Stillness in Time.” Considered a continuation of Jamiroquai’s debut album a year earlier, the follow-up The Return of the Space Cowboy contains more complex songwriting, dealing with more topical matters including loss, street life, drug use, hope, protests, and issues facing Indigenous Americans. The track “Space Cowboy” reached No. 1 in Billboard’s U.S. Dance Club Songs chart.

Also, Today In: 

1962 - The Beatles made their first TV appearance in Britain on Granada Television's People & Places. They sang "Love Me Do." 

1969 - Despite problems obtaining permits from the American Federation of Musicians as a result of drinking and fighting onstage at previous engagements, The Kinks finally launched their first U.S. tour in four years. 

1975 - Paul Simon released his fourth studio album, Still Crazy After All These Years. It features the title track, “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” “My Little Town,” and “Gone at Last.”

1977 - Lynyrd Skynyrd released Street Survivors, the last album with frontman Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines, as both were killed three days later after the band's plane went down en route to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 

1978 - Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand record "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." The superstar session is produced by Bob Gaudio, who keeps a full orchestra standing by in the lobby. 

1980 - Dire Straits released their third studio album, Making Movies. It features “Tunnel of Love,” “Skateaway,” and “Romeo and Juliet.”

1980 - Bruce Springsteen released The River. It features “Hungry Heart,” “Fade Away,” “Sherry Darling,” “The River,” “Cadillac Ranch,” and “Point Blank.”

1981 - Thieves attempting to steal Rolling Stones tickets in Maryland shot one man dead and wounded another. 

1984 - Whodini released their second studio album, Escape. It features “Friends” and “Freaks Come Out at Night.”

1986 - Sid and Nancy, the biopic of Sex Pistols bass player Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen, graced the silver screen for the first time. 

1989 - Billy Joel releases the album Storm Front, with his enduring hit "We Didn't Start The Fire."

1994 - Jamiroquai released their second album, The Return of the Space Cowboy. It features “The Kids,” “Space Cowboy,” “Half the Man,” “Light Years,” and “Stillness in Time.”

1995 - Rhino released all 58 episodes of the The Monkees in a deluxe VHS box set. It's a big box: 21 tapes, making it the largest video release of all time. 

1998 - "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies hit No. 1 in the U.S., where it stays for... one week. 

2000 - Johnny Cash released his 66th studio album, American III: Solitary Man. It features “I Won’t Back Down,” “Solitary Man,” “One,” and “I See a Darkness.”

2000 - The Mountain Goats released their fifth album, The Cornoner’s Gambit.

2000 - Superdrag released their third studio album, In the Valley of Dying Stars. It features “Lighting the Way” and “Keep It Close to Me.”

2000 - At a charity auction organized by Mick Fleetwood in London, singer George Michael paid 1.5 million pounds for the upright piano on which John Lennon wrote the 1971 hit "Imagine." 

2002 - The Ronettes lost their case against Phil Spector, claiming they were owed royalties for songs used in movies, TV shows and commercials. 

2004 - At the ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) Music Awards, Jet dominated the competition, winning awards for six of their seven nominations, including Album of the Year, Single of the Year, Best Group and Breakthrough Artist. 

2005 - Fats Domino returned to his Ninth Ward home for the first time since Hurricane Katrina to find it utterly destroyed, with his piano and several of his gold records among the ruined items. 

2005 - Boards of Canada released their third studio album, The Campfire Headphase. It features “Dayvan Cowboy.”

2006 - Stevie Wonder receives a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. 

2008 - Four Tops singer Levi Stubbs died at his Detroit home, aged 72. 

2009 - Johnny Depp presented Keith Richards with the 'Rock Immortal' Award at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, California, as part of that year's Scream Awards. 

2017 - Canadian rock musician Gord Downie died of glioblastoma at age 53. He was the lead singer and lyricist for The Tragically Hip, and he also released six solo albums. The band's final concert was held at the Rogers K-Rock Centre in Kingston, Ontario, on August 20, 2016 and was broadcast and streamed live by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on television, radio and internet. It was viewed by an estimated 11.7 million people. For more on Downie, you can read tributes from musicians and friends and a rundown of the songs we played during a Coffee Break in his honor. 

2020 - Directed by Spike Lee, the film version of David Byrne's American Utopia, which ran on Broadway from October 2019 to February 2020, debuts on HBO. Many of the songs from Stop Making Sense, the concert film Byrne did with the Talking Heads, are also in this one, but a showstopper is a cover of Janelle Monáe's "Hell You Talmbout," which ties into the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Birthdays: 

Rita Hayworth was born today in 1918.

The Singing Nun was born today in 1933.

Rico Rodriguez, trombone player from The Specials, was born today in 1934. 

Earl Thomas Conley was born today in 1941.

Jim Seals of Seals & Croft was born today in 1941. He passed away in June 2022. 

Gary Puckett of Gary Puckett & the Union Gap is 82.

Michael Hossack of the Doobie Brothers was born today in 1946.

Jim Tucker of The Turtles was born today in 1946. He passed away in 2020. 

Michael McKean (David St. Hubbins of Spinal Tap and wacky neighbor Lenny Kosnowski in Laverne & Shirley) is 77. McKean gained widespread recognition as a member of the fictional rock band "Spinal Tap" in the classic mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap. McKean has also been part of musical collaborations with Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer, collectively known as "The Folksmen” In 1994, he became a Saturday Night Live cast member — the only person to date to have been a musical guest and a host on SNL before becoming a cast member. 

Fran Cosmo of Boston is 68.

Pino Palladino — bassist for the Who, John Mayer, Gary Numan, Nine Inch Nails, Tears for Fears, and more — is 67.

Alan Jackson is 66. 

Beavis and Butthead creator Mike Judge is 62.

René Dif of Aqua is 57.

Ziggy Marley is 56. 

Wyclef Jean is 55. 

Chris Kirkpatrick of NSYNC is 53. 

Eminem is 52. 

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