History Highlight:

Singer-songwriter, musician, performer and dancer Kate Bush is 56 today. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 35 years. In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart with her debut single "Wuthering Heights", becoming the first woman to have a UK number one with a self-written song. She has since released ten albums, three of which topped the UK Albums Chart, and has had 25 UK Top 40 hit singles including the Top 10 hits "Wuthering Heights", "Running Up that Hill", and "The Man with the Child in His Eyes."

Also, Today In:

1968 - The Beatles closed their Apple Boutique in London after seven months of business, giving away all their stock to passing strangers and Apple staff.

1986 - Variety magazine reported that RCA had dropped John Denver from its roster after the release of his single, "What Are We Making Weapons For." Variety said the song upset the record company's new owner, General Electric, one of the largest defense contractors in the US.

1986 - Boy George was fined £250 by a London court for possession of heroin.

2003 - When the SARS disease spread to Toronto, the city hosted an open-air benefit concert featuring The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Rush, The Guess Who, Justin Timberlake, The Flaming Lips, Sass Jordan, and The Isley Brothers. There were around 450,000 people in attendance.

2003 - Sun Records founder Sam Phillips died of respiratory failure in Memphis, Tennessee at 80-years old. Phillips discovered Elvis Presley and worked with Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Ike Turner, B.B. King and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Birthdays:

Chicago blues legend Buddy Guy is 78 today.