History Highlight:

Today in 1968, Otis Redding had his only Gold record with "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay." It was released on Stax Records' Volt label three months after Redding's untimely demise in a plane crash in Madison, Wis. Redding started writing the lyrics to the song in August 1967, while he was sitting on a rented houseboat in Sausalito, Calif. He completed the song with the help of Stax producer and session guitarist Steve Cropper. The song features mimicked seagull whistles and sounds of the waves washing on the shore.

Also, Today In:

1977 - As The Clash played the Roxy Club in London, the openers were the first all-female punk-rock group, The Slits, who were making their live debut.

1993 - Oasis recorded their first demos at The Real People's studio in Liverpool. The set included "Rock 'n' Roll Star", "Columbia" and "Fade Away."

1997 - At the age of 54, former Beatles and Wings member Paul McCartney received one of Britain's highest honors when he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

2005 - The front door of Ozzy Osbourne's childhood home in Birmingham went up for sale because the current owner was fed up with fans defacing it. Ali Mubarrat, who owned the house, auctioned the door on eBay and gave the money to charity.

2006 - The soundtrack to The Disney Channel Original Movie, High School Musical was at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart.

2008 - Madonna was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a star-studded ceremony in New York City. She received her honor from Justin Timberlake. John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen, The Ventures and The Dave Clark Five were also among the inductees.

Birthdays:

Bobby McFerrin is 66.

Lisa Loeb is 48.

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