History Highlight:

Today in 1947, Emmylou Harris, one of the most esteemed artists in Americana and country music, was born, making her 78. Like many people in her age group, Harris was inspired to get involved in music by the American folk revival of the late 1950s and early 60s. Beginning in New York’s Greenwich Village scene and later moving to Nashville, Harris’ career had a rather inauspicious start until she was invited to sing harmony vocals with Gram Parsons. The two became friends as well as musical collaborators, and Harris credits Parsons for helping her firm up her artistic direction and for fueling her interest in authentic country music sounds. When Parsons died in 1973, Harris embarked on her own solo career, continuing in the country or country-rock mold that she had established working with Parsons. In a career that has spanned 40 years and counting, Harris has released 28 studio albums, six of which were collaborations with other esteemed artists; namely Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Rodney Crowell and Mark Knopfler.

Also, Today In:

1964 - The Beach Boys recorded their next single "I Get Around," which became their first U.S. No. 1 in the summer of that year.

1969 - Bruce Springsteen's early band, Child, made their live debut at the Pandemonium Club in Wanamassa, New Jersey.

1971 - Janis Joplin was at No. 1 on the U.S. album charts with Pearl.

1977 - Fleetwood Mac went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Rumours. The album is Fleetwood Mac's most successful release; along with winning the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978, the record has sold more than 45 million copies worldwide.

1987 - One of the greatest jazz drummers of all time, Buddy Rich, died at age 69 due to complications caused by a brain tumor.

1990 - Nirvana went into Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin, and started work on demo versions of "In Bloom," "Dive," "Lithium," "Pay To Play," "Imodium," "Sappy," and "Polly", with Butch Vig producing.

2003 - Soul singer Edwin Starr died at age 61 of a heart attack at his home near Nottingham, England. Best-known for his 1970 No. 1 song "War", his songs "25 Miles" and "Stop the War Now" were also major successes in the 1960s.

2004 - Coldplay singer Chris Martin was accused of attacking a photographer after leaving a London restaurant with his then-wife, Gwyneth Paltrow.

2006 - Marvin Gaye was honored when a park in Washington D.C. that was formerly called Watts Branch Park was officially renamed Marvin Gaye Park on what would have been the singer's 67th birthday. Gaye grew up near the east end of the park that now bears his name.

2011 - LCD Soundsystem played their final ever gig (at the time) at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show lasted four hours and featured Arcade Fire and Reggie Watts. They have since reformed several times.

2014 - Recordings by U2, (“The Joshua Tree”), the Everly Brothers, (“Cathy's Clown”), Jeff Buckley, (“Hallelujah”), Linda Ronstadt, (“Heart Like a Wheel”) and Creedence Clearwater Revival (“Fortunate Son”) were among those newly selected for induction into the Library of Congress National Recording Registry.

2019 - Electronica, soul, gospel, and house music singer Kim English died at age 48. By 2007, English had earned her sixth, seventh and eighth U.S. dance No. 1s with “It Makes a Difference,” “C'est La Vie” and “My Destiny.”

Birthdays:

Serge Gainsbourg was born today in 1928.

Booker Little was born today in 1938.

Marvin Gaye was born today in 1939. First coming to prominence as a session musician for Motown in the 1960s, he had many hit singles when he later went solo, such as "Ain't That Peculiar," "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." He is also known for his popular duets with musicians such as Mary Wells, Kim Weston, Diana Ross and Tammi Terrell. In 1982, he released the Grammy award-winning hit song "Sexual Healing." Gaye died in 1984, one day before his birthday, when his father fatally shot him. His legacy lives on through many posthumous awards and honors including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and inclusion in the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Dr. Demento is 84.

Sonny Throckmorton is 84.

Leon Russell was born today in 1942.

Kurt Winter of The Guess Who was born today in 1946.

Leon Wilkeson, Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist, was born today in 1952.

David Robinson, drummer for The Cars and The Modern Lovers, is 76.

Emmylou Harris is 78.

Keren Woodward of Bananarama is 64.

Greg Camp, Smash Mouth guitarist, is 58.

Clifford Smith (Method Man) is 55.

Quavo of Migos is 34.

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