History Spotlight:

Keith Relf, lead singer of The Yardbirds, was born today in 1943. He died in 1976 from an electric shock received while playing his electric guitar at home. Relf started playing in bands around the summer of 1956 as a singer, guitarist, and harmonica player. Later, he would find success as not only a multi-talented musician but also as a songwriter, co-writing many of the original Yardbirds songs ("Shapes of Things", "I Ain't Done Wrong", "Over Under Sideways Down", "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago").

Also, Today In:

1956 - Carl Perkins was almost fatally injured in an automobile accident near Wilmington, Delaware, while on his way to New York City to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show. Perkins had to spend several months in the hospital. By the time he was well enough to resume his career, Elvis Presley had covered his hit "Blue Suede Shoes," and Perkins never really rebounded.

1969 - Two days after their wedding in Gibraltar, John Lennon and Yoko Ono began their "Bed-in," inviting members of the media into their Amsterdam hotel room where they were promoting peace with songs, signs and dialogue. These events were outlined in the song "The Ballad of John and Yoko."

1976 - While campaigning for U.S. President, Jimmy Carter tells NARM (The National Association of Record Merchandisers) that he listened to Dylan, Grateful Dead, and Led Zeppelin while Governor of Georgia.

1978 - The Beatles' parody 'The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash' aired on NBC with Eric Idle, Neil Innes, etc. Coming out a full 4 years before This Is Spinal Tap, it was considered the first Rock Mockumentary.

1986 - Heart had the No. 1 Billboard hit with, "These Dreams."

1993 - Depeche Mode became the first alternative British band to go to No. 1. on the Billboard 200 album chart, with Songs of Faith and Devotion.

2001 - Loretta Lynn was hospitalized with pneumonia. She rebounded and published her second best-selling autobiography shortly after.

2009 - Lady Gaga started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart with "Poker Face", her second U.K. chart topper and a No. 1 hit in over 20 countries.

2016 - Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest died at the age of 45 from complications resulting from diabetes.

Birthdays:

Stephen Sondheim is 87. He has won an Academy Award, eight Tony Awards (more than any other composer), eight Grammys, A Pulitzer and the 2015 Presidential Medal Of Freedom.

Andrew Lloyd Webber is 69.

Aaron Wright North, guitarist from Nine Inch Nails, is 38.

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