History Highlight:

Today in 1974, John Lennon was at No. 1 in the U.S. singles chart with "Whatever Gets You Through The Night." Elton John played on the session and made a deal with Lennon that if the song reached No. 1, Lennon would have to appear on stage live with Elton. Lennon kept his side of the deal, and on Thanksgiving Day 1974, the two played three songs together during a show at New York's Madison Square Garden: "I Saw Her Standing There," "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and "Whatever Gets You Through the Night." The public had no idea Lennon was going to appear during the show. According to a BBC documentary about the event, Elton John says the crowd gave Lennon a 10-minute standing ovation.

Also, Today In:

1963 - Nino Tempo and April Stevens went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Deep Purple."

1968 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Electric Ladyland. The double album included "Crosstown Traffic," "Voodoo Chile" and "All Along the Watchtower."

1977 - Rush received their first Gold records in the U.S. for 2112, All the World's A Stage and A Farewell To Kings.

1985 - Starship started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "We Built This City."

2002 - The Rolling Stones and John Mellencamp played a private concert for billionaire David Bonderman's 60th birthday party at The Joint in Las Vegas. Robin Williams entertained guests between acts. The party cost $7 million.

2010 - The Beatles back catalogue was finally made available on iTunes, after years of negotiations.

2014 - U2 singer Bono was involved in what doctors called a "high energy bicycle accident." The singer was rushed to New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center's emergency department and underwent five hours of surgery. The injury forced the group to postpone a planned weeklong residency on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.

Birthdays:

Songwriter Teenie Hodges, who wrote many hits for Al Green, including "Take Me to the River", "Love and Happiness", "L-O-V-E (Love)", and "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)", was born today in 1945. He died on June 22, 2014.

Stone Roses bassist Gary "Mani" Mounfield is 53.

Diana Krall is 51.

Former Modest Mouse bassist Eric Judy is 41.

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