History Highlight:

Today in 1958, Michael Jackson was born. Referred to as the King of Pop, he was one of the most influential musicians of all time. After making his professional debut in 1964 with his brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5, he went on to have a massively successful solo career, releasing 10 albums between '72 and '01, including Thriller and Bad. He passed away on June 25, 2009.

Also, Today In:

1958 - 15-year-old George Harrison joined a local Liverpool band called The Quarrymen, which featured Paul McCartney and John Lennon.

1964 - "Oh, Pretty Woman," by the great Roy Orbison, was released on this day.

1976 - Jimmy Reed, the influential Big Boss Man of the Blues, died at the age of 50.

1970 - The gender-bending single "Lola" by The Kinks was released. The song details a romantic encounter between a young man and a possible transvestite or transgender person he meets in a club in Soho, London, with the narrator describing his confusion towards a person named Lola who "walked like a woman and talked like a man".

1976 - Spirit reformed with its original lineup for the first time in five years to perform a concert in Santa Monica, CA. Neil Young joined them onstage during the encore for a rendition of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone".

1977 - Elvis Presley's body was removed from a Memphis cemetery and re-entombed at Graceland after three people were arrested while attempting to steal his corpse.

1991 - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers kicked off their world tour in support of Into the Great Wide Open at Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre in Denver.

1992 - Guns N' Roses peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with "November Rain" which was their sixth and final top ten single in the U.S.

2005 - 77-year-old Fats Domino was rescued from the flooding in New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina.

2005 - Barry Cowsill (The Cowsills) died by drowning during the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana, at age 50.

Birthdays:

Sterling Morrison, guitarist for The Velvet Underground, was born today in 1942.

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