History Highlight:

Bob Dylan is 75 today. Born Robert Allen Zimmerman in 1941 in Duluth, he has been influential in popular music and culture for more than five decades. Early songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'" became anthems for the American civil rights and anti-war movements and his six-minute single "Like a Rolling Stone" altered the range of popular music. Dylan has sold more than 100 million records, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. Today you can hear special programming all day at The Current and on Local Current. Happy Birthday, Bob Dylan!

Also, Today In:

1968 - Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull were arrested on charges of marijuana possession, the same day the Rolling Stones release "Jumpin' Jack Flash".

1969 - The Who peaked at number nineteen on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with "Pinball Wizard", their fourth top forty single in the U.S.

1970 - Fleetwood Mac performed their last concert with Peter Green as their guitarist in Bath, U.K. at the Bath Festival.

1974 - All-time genius of jazz composing, arranging, piano, and band-leading (he led a star-studded orchestra continuously for almost 50 years), Duke Ellington died in New York City at the age of 75.

1978 - Van Halen's self-titled debut album was certified Gold by the RIAA. It later went on to sell ten million copies in the U.S.

1980 - Patrons looking to buy tickets to Genesis' benefit show at the Roxy in Los Angeles were surprised to see the band members selling the tickets themselves.

1991 - Founder member of The Byrds, Gene Clark, died of a heart attack aged 49.

1999 - "What's Really Happening," a song David Bowie had composed in collaboration with Alex Grant, the winner out of 80,000 contenders in a lyric/songwriting contest, was broadcast over the Internet. The cybercast of this recording session utilized a 360 degree full-view camera for the first time.

1999 - Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991, was honored on a new set of millennium stamps issued by the Royal Mail.

2005 - Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne put the Beverly Hills house that was featured on the hit reality television show The Osbournes up for sale. Pop superstar Christina Aguilera eventually purchased the house.

Birthdays:

Rosanne Cash is 61 today.

Albert Bouchard, drummer for Blue Oyster Cult, is 69.

Rich Robinson, guitarist for The Black Crowes, is 47.

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