History Highlight:

Today in 1943, Eva Narcissus Boyd, also known as Little Eva, was born. Most famously known for the hit "The Loco-motion", Boyd's other single recordings were "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby", "Let's Turkey Trot" and a remake of the Bing Crosby standard "Swinging on a Star," recorded with Big Dee Irwin. As a teenager, she worked as a maid and earned extra money as a babysitter for songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin, who wrote "The Loco-Motion" for her and had her record it as a demo. The song reached No. 1 in the United States in 1962, and it sold over one million copies.

Also, Today In:

1901 - Celebrated American singer and actor Nelson Eddy was born. In his heyday, he was the highest paid singer in the world. During his 40-year career, he earned three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (one each for film, recording, and radio), left his footprints in the cement at Grauman's Chinese Theater, earned three Gold records and was invited to sing at the third inauguration of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941. He also introduced millions of young Americans to classical music and inspired many of them to pursue a musical career.

1957 - The government of Iran officially banned rock and roll after declaring rock dancing "as harmful to health". The ban stayed in place until the 1990s.

1969 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience played at Mile High Stadium in Denver in what was to be their final gig together.

1975 - An upbeat Elton John turned up unannounced at a concert at the Oakland Coliseum featuring the Eagles and The Doobie Brothers; he sang with both bands.

1975 - Singer-songwriter Tim Buckley, father of Jeff Buckley, died of an overdose at the age of 28.

1984 - Bruce Springsteen kicked off the first leg of his Born in the USA Tour with a three-night run at the St. Paul Civic Center (now the site of the Xcel Energy Center) in Minnesota's capital city. The day before the show, director Brian DePalma (Wiseguys, The Untouchables, Scarface) filmed the video for Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" inside the St. Paul Civic Center with the participation of 200 audience extras and a 20-year-old Courteney Cox as the young fan pulled onstage to dance with Bruce. Springsteen's Born in the USA tour would go on to comprise a total of 156 shows before concluding 15 months later on Oct. 2, 1985, in Los Angeles.

1985 - John Lennon's 1965 Rolls-Royce Phantom V limousine, with psychedelic paintwork, sold for a record sum of $3,006,385 at a Sotheby's auction in New York.

1988 - The Guardian newspaper reported that many music CDs would fade and distort over the next few years due to manufacturing faults, sending shockwaves through the music industry.

1993 - George Harrison announced that he would be undergoing chemotherapy for throat cancer, with assurances that, "I'm not going to die on you folks just yet." He succumbed to the disease three years later.

1994 - Oasis made their debut on BBC TV's Top Of The Pops performing their new single "Shakermaker."

1996 - Record producer George Martin received a Knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for his services to music.

2007 - Lily Allen was questioned by police over an alleged assault on a photographer outside a nightclub in London. She was freed on police bail after questioning.

Birthdays:

Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice is 68.

Colin Hay, singer-songwriter and former Men at Work frontman, is 63.

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