History Highlight:

Today in 1994, one of the most mysterious albums in Prince's catalogue and one of the most widely bootlegged albums in rock history — The Black Album — got its official release. Originally scheduled for commercial distribution in December 1987, just eight months after the release of Sign o' The Times, The Black Album was said to be Prince's response to criticism from the Black community that his music had become too soft and pop-oriented. The Black Album, in sharp contrast to the "soft" allegations, is a much more somber, unabashed and funky record. Just before The Black Album went to record stores, however, Prince recalled the project and had the inventory destroyed. Nevertheless, more than 100 promo CDs had already gone out to reviewers and radio stations, which may have led to the album being repeatedly bootlegged. At long last, in 1994, Prince and Warner Brothers agreed to release the album to fulfill terms of Prince's recording contract with the label ... but the album quickly went out of print a few weeks later. Songs on The Black Album include "Rockhard In A Funky Place," "Cindy C.," "United 4 West Compton," and "Superfunkycalifragisexy." Perhaps not coincidentally, Prince released The Black Album on the same date, November 22, as the Beatles released what came to be known as The White Album (q.v.).

Also, Today In:

1957 - Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel appeared as Tom and Jerry on American Bandstand.

1963 - U.S. president John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas. The incident inspires several songs, including Connie Francis' "In The Summer Of His Years" and The Beach Boys' "Warmth Of The Sun."

1968 - The Beatles released their self-titled record that came to be known colloquially as The White Album — a double album that contains both the soothing "Blackbird" and discomfiting "Helter Skelter."

1975 - KC and the Sunshine Band started a two week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "That's The Way (I Like It)," the group's second U.S. No. 1 of the year.

1987 - Jesus and Mary Chain singer Jim Reid was arrested in Canada after being accused of assaulting members of the audience with his microphone stand, he was released on $2,000 bail.

1990 - Bill Wyman announced that his 17-month marriage to model Mandy Smith was over. With the consent of her mother, Smith had started dating the 47-year-old Rolling Stones bassist when she was aged 13.

1994 - Pearl Jam released their third studio album, Vitalogy, which was first released on vinyl and became the first vinyl album to appear on the U.S. chart, since the domination of the compact disc format. They followed the release in other formats two weeks later, whereupon it became the second-fastest-selling CD in history, behind only the band's previous release Vs.

1994 - Prince released his 16th album, The Black Album. It features “Le Grind,” “When 2 R in Love,” "Superfunkycalifragisexy," and “Bob George.” It was originally set to come out in 1987.

1997 - Michael Hutchence of INXS died in Sydney. The frontman was just 37.

2004 - U2 released their 11th studio album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. It features “Vertigo,” “Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own,” “City of Blinding Lights,” and “All Because of You.”

2005 - Poems written by Bob Dylan in his college days sold for $78,000 at a New York City auction. The 16 pages of poems were the first known time Robert Zimmerman used the Dylan name and came from his studies at the University of Minnesota during 1959-60.

2005 - Chamillionaire released his debut studio album, The Sound of Revenge. It features “Ridin’.”

2009 - At the American Music Awards, Adam Lambert makes a statement with a lascivious performance of his debut single, "For Your Entertainment," where he drops a smooch on his (male) keyboard player

2010 - After just one week of availability on the iTunes store, The Beatles music sold more than 450,000 albums and 2 million individual songs. The Fab Four's debut on iTunes was accompanied by an extensive world-wide marketing campaign.

2010 - Robyn released her seventh studio album, Body Talk. It features “Indestructible,” “Dancing on My Own,” and “Call Your Girlfriend.”

2010 - Kanye West released his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. It features “Power,” “Runaway,” “Monster,” and “All of the Lights.”

2010 - Nicki Minaj released her debut studio album, Pink Friday. It features “Super Bass.”

2011 - At her concert in Madison Square Garden, Taylor Swift brought out James Taylor - whom she's named after - to perform "Fire And Rain" and "Fifteen."

2017 - Singer-songwriter Tommy Keene died at the age of 59.

2019 - Beck released his 14th studio album, Hyperspace. It features “Saw Lightning,” “Uneventful Days,” “Dark Places,” and “Everlasting Nothing.”

2019 - Coldplay released their eighth studio album, Everyday Life. It features “Orphans” and “Arabesque.”

2020 - For the third consecutive year, Taylor Swift won Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards. She accepted the award from a Nashville studio where she is re-recording her first six albums.

Birthdays:

Tin Pan Alley songwriter Hoagy Carmichael (“Stardust,” “Georgia on My Mind,” and “Heart and Soul”) was born today in 1899.

Rodney Dangerfield, comedian and occasional rapper, was born today in 1921.

Jesse Colin Young of the Youngbloods is 83.

Floyd Sneed, drummer of Three Dog Night, was born today in 1942.

Rod “The Magician of Slide” Price, guitarist for Foghat, was born today in 1947.

Steven “Little Steven” Van Zandt, guitarist for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, is 74.

Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club is 74.

Lawrence Gowan of Styx is 68.

Jason Ringenberg, leader of Jason & the Scorchers, is 66.

Karen Orzolek (Karen O) of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is 46. Born in Busan, South Korea and growing up a mild-mannered, well-behaved child, Karen is now known for her stage antics like spitting water on herself and wearing crazy outfits made by her fashion-designer friend Christian Joy. Fun fact: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' first ever gig was opening for The White Stripes.

Shawn Fanning, founder of Napster, is 44.

Tyler Hilton is 41.

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