History Highlight:

Today in 1940, Frank Zappa - musician, songwriter, composer was born. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed rock, jazz and orchestral works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. Zappa was a self-taught composer and performer, and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often difficult to categorize. Zappa died of prostate cancer on December 4, 1993.

Also, in:

1969 - The Supremes made their last TV appearance together with Diana Ross on The Ed Sullivan show, singing their last No. 1 "Someday We'll Be Together".

1985 - Lionel Richie started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Say You, Say Me".

1985 - Bruce Springsteen's album Born in the USA passed Michael Jackson's Thriller to become the second longest-lasting LP on the Billboard U.S. Top 10.

1992 - American blues singer and guitarist Albert King died from a heart attack in Memphis, Tennessee.

2003 - Michael Andrews feat. Gary Jules went to No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart with their version of the Tears For Fears song "Mad World". The song took just 90 minutes to record in 2001 and was featured in the film Donnie Darko.

2003 - American Idol winner Ruben Studdard was at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Soulful.

2010 - A concert by Kings of Leon was postponed after a fire broke out on two of their tour buses in London.

2012 - Paul Simon performed "The Sound of Silence" at the funeral of a teacher who died in the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting in Connecticut.

2012 - "Gangnam Style" by South Korean musician Psy became the first YouTube video to reach a billion views. By the end of 2012, the song had topped the music charts of more than 30 countries.

2014 - Elton John and his partner David Furnish formally converted their civil partnership to a marriage, hosting a ceremony at their Windsor estate in Berkshire.

Birthdays:

Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys was born today in 1946.

Emmett Jefferson "Murph" Murphy, drummer for Dinosaur Jr. and The Lemonheads, is 51 today.

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