History Highlight:

Dana Elaine Owens, known professionally as Queen Latifah, was born on this day in 1970, making her 55 today. The rapper/singer/actress released her debut album All Hail the Queen in 1989, featuring the lead single "Ladies First." Queen Latifah’s 1993 album Black Reign became the first record from a solo woman rapper to be certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, and it includes the hit single, “U.N.I.T.Y.” Her work in music, film and TV has earned her a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, an Academy Award nomination and sales of more than two million records. Queen Latifah currently stars in the CBS drama The Equalizer, which averages 10 million viewers per week across broadcast and streaming platforms.

Also, today in:

1939 - Frank Sinatra made his first recording, a song called "Our Love,” with the Frank Mane band.

1967 - The Beatles had their 13th U.S. No. 1 single with McCartney's "Penny Lane."

1972 - Neil Young started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Heart Of Gold."

1977 - The Clash released their first single, "White Riot."

1978 - The brothers Gibb held the top three positions on the U.S. singles charts, with the Bee Gees’ "Night Fever" at No. 1; “(Love is) Thicker Than Water" by Andy Gibb at No. 2, and "Emotion" by Samantha Song, which was written and produced by The Bee Gees, at No. 3.

1978 - California Jam II took place at Ontario Motor Speedway outside of Los Angeles. The largest festival of the late '70s, Cal Jam II featured Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Foreigner, Santana and Heart. An estimated 350,000 fans attended; the Los Angeles Times reported that 700 of them were treated for overdoses of PCP.

1991 - U2 were fined about $750 after being convicted of selling condoms illegally at the Virgin Megastore in Dublin.

1994 - Nirvana leader Kurt Cobain had four guns and 25 boxes of ammo confiscated after his wife, Courtney Love, notified police. She was afraid he would die by suicide. Sadly, he did about three weeks later.

1994 - After a long search and many auditions, The Rolling Stones hired Darryl Jones to replace bassist Bill Wyman; Wyman had earlier announced that he was tired of the whole thing.

1996 - The Sex Pistols announced that they were reuniting for a 20th anniversary tour.

2001 - John Phillips, singer, songwriter and leader of southern California's The Mamas & The Papas, died at the age of 65.

2002 - The Ramones were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, a close friend of the Ramones.

2011 - Jet Harris, bass guitarist for The Shadows, died from throat cancer at the age of 71. Jet played on the hit "Apache," and during the Shadows’ days as Cliff Richard's backing band, he performed on the chart-topper "Living Doll." In 1962 he left the group and had solo hits with "Bésame Mucho" and "The Man With The Golden Arm.”

2013 - David Bowie's first album in a decade become the fastest-selling of the year. The Next Day was the 66-year-old's first No. 1 album since 1993's Black Tie White Noise and sold 94,000 copies in the first week.

2014 - The War on Drugs released their third album, Lost in the Dream. The acclaimed psych-rock collection features “Red Eyes” and “Under the Pressure.” Frontman and primary songwriter Adam Granduciel is featured on the cover next to a window in his home. Inspired by Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and more, the album was recorded over a two-year stretch in Philadelphia, New York City, New Jersey, and North Carolina at several different studios.

2014 - American musician, percussionist, actor and voice actor Joe Lala died from complications of lung cancer at the age of 66. As a drummer and percussionist, he worked with The Byrds, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Manassas, The Bee Gees, Whitney Houston, Joe Walsh, Andy Gibb and many others. He played the trademark congas that drove the Bee Gees' 1976 U.S. chart-topper "You Should Be Dancing," which was included on the multi-million selling Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.

2017 - Chuck Berry died at age 90. The American guitarist, singer and songwriter was one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956), "Rock and Roll Music" (1957) and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958), Berry refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock ‘n’ roll distinctive.

Birthdays:

Singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player Charley Pride was born on this day in 1934.

Wilson Pickett, forefather in the American soul movement, was born today in 1941.

Scottish songwriter, lyricist, vocalist, producer, pianist, and co-creator of The Alan Parsons Project Eric Woolfson was born today in 1945.

B.J. Wilson, drummer for Procol Harum, was born today in 1947.

John Hartman, drummer for The Doobie Brothers, was born today in 1950.

Bill Frisell is 74.

Irene Cara was born today in 1959.

Hüsker Dü drummer Grant Hart was born today in 1961. He passed away in September of 2017, but not before talking with The Current about his life and the legacy of Hüsker Dü for the "Do You Remember?" podcast.

James McMurtry is 63.

Vanessa Williams is 62.

Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains is 59.

Miki Berenyi, singer and guitarist for Lush, is 58.

Stuart Zender, bassist with Jamiroquai, is 51.

Adam Levine is 46.

Lykke Li is 39.

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