Birthday Highlight:

Happy birthday to Jeff Tweedy; the Wilco frontman turns 49 today. Tweedy was born in Belleville, Ill., located in the eastern edge of the St. Louis, Mo., metropolitan area. He started playing guitar at age 12, and in high school, he befriended Jay Farrar, with whom he would eventually go on to form the band Uncle Tupelo. After four albums (including the lauded No Depression), Uncle Tupelo split, and Tweedy started Wilco. Check out Jill Riley and Brian Oake's interview with Tweedy from this past weekend.

Also, Today In:

1958 - Staten Island, N.Y., doo-wop group The Elegants went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with their re-worked version of the Mozart lullaby, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," re-titled "Little Star."

1962 - Little Eva went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "The Loco-motion." Songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin had offered the tune to Dee Dee Sharp ("Mashed Potatoes"), but she turned it down. As a result, King and Goffin asked their babysitter, Eva Boyd, to record it — and she took it to No. 1.

1967 - Bobbie Gentry started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Ode To Billy Joe."

1967 - Brian Wilson returned to performing live with The Beach Boys in Honolulu after a two-year hiatus.

1970 - Elton John performed in the U.S. for the first time. His gig at the Troubadour Club in Los Angeles launched a 17-date tour and the first big impact Elton John would make in America.

1973 - At the Las Vegas Hilton, Bobby Darin performed his final concert. Darin died at the on Dec. 20, 1973, following open-heart surgery. He was 37 years old.

1979 - The Knack started a five-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "My Sharona," the group's only chart topper.

1986 - Paul Simon released his epic Graceland album.

1994 - Jimmy Page and Robert Plant taped a show in London for MTV's Unplugged series. It was later released as Unledded.

2009 - During a radio broadcast on BBC Radio 6 Music, Bob Dylan revealed that he was speaking to a number of car companies about becoming the voice of their GPS systems. Dylan said he thought it be would be good for drivers to hear him saying things like, "Take a left at the next street. No, a right. You know what, just go straight."

Birthdays:

Composer Leonard Bernstein (West Side Story, others) was born today in 1918.

Gene Simmons of KISS is 67.

Rob Halford of Judas Priest is 65.

Elvis Costello, born Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus, is 62.

Billy Ray Cyrus is 55.

Guitarist Viv Campbell of Def Leppard is 54.

Norman Rogers of Public Enemy is 50.

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