History Highlight:

Today in 1986, Ray Charles was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the first induction dinner, held in New York City. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings. He also helped racially integrate country and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success on ABC Records, most notably with his Modern Sounds albums. While with ABC, Charles became one of the first African-American musicians to be given artistic control by a mainstream record company. Rolling Stone ranked Charles number ten on their list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" in 2004, and number two on their November 2008 list of "100 Greatest Singers of All Time".

Also, Today In:

1977 - Patti Smith broke her vertebra when she fell off the stage at a gig in Tampa, Florida.

1988 - Nirvana recorded a 10-song demo with Seattle producer Jack Endino. Sub Pop records boss Jonathan Poneman heard the tape and offered to put out a Nirvana single.

1990 - Allen Collins, guitarist from Lynyrd Skynyrd died of pneumonia after being ill for several months.

1990 - David Bowie announced his forthcoming Sound And Vision 1990 tour, during which he invited each local audience to decide on a "greatest hits" running order, organised through local radio stations.

Birthdays:

Nick Harmer, bassist for Death Cab for Cutie is 40 today.

Robin Zander, lead singer of Cheap Trick, is 62 today.