History Highlight:

Sly Stone is 73 today. Born Sylvester Stewart, Stone led Sly and The Family Stone in the 1970s - a tremendously successful and influential act combining funk, soul, and pop with a string of hits including "Everyday People," "Thank You (Fallentinme Be Mice Elf Agin)", and "Dance To The Music." Sly's drug use and personal problems led to his career taking a tumble in the late 70s from which he never recovered; today he lives a shadowy life in semi-obscurity and may or may not be homeless.

Also, Today in:

1968 - Life magazine described Jimi Hendrix as "the most spectacular guitarist in the world."

1975: Electric Light Orchestra peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with "Can't Get It Out of My Head" which was their first top ten single in the U.S.

1976: Kiss released their fourth studio album Destroyer which went on to become their first album to be certified Platinum and contained such Kiss staples as "Detroit Rock City", "Shout It Out Loud", "God of Thunder" and "Beth".

1977 - Kansas received their first Platinum album for their fourth studio album Leftoverture which later went on to sell four million copies in the U.S.

1980 - The Clash's movie "Rude Boy" premiered at London's Prince Charles Cinema. The band members were disenchanted with the movie and it didn't get released in the U.S. until 2006.

1986 - The Bangles were at No. 2 on the US singles chart with "Manic Monday," a song written by Prince under the pseudonym Christopher, held off No.1 by Prince with "Kiss."

1989 - The Rolling Stones signed a contract for $70 million to play 50 concerts in the U.S. It was, at the time, the richest fee for a series of gigs in the history of rock.

1999 - Bruce Springsteen was inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame by U2's Bono.

2002 - Yoko Ono unveiled a seven-foot bronze statue of John Lennon, which overlooked the check-in area of Liverpool's John Lennon Airport. The newly renamed airport's logo featured a sketch of Lennon's face with the inscription, "Above Us Only Skies."

2004 - The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inducts Prince at their annual ceremony in New York City. Other inductees that year: Bob Seger, George Harrison, The Dells, ZZ Top, Jackson Browne, and Traffic.

2005 - Stone Roses singer Ian Brown was arrested after a fight during a concert in San Francisco after a fan jumped on stage and attacked the singer, who then became involved in a fight with a security guard.

Birthdays:

Sam "Lightnin" Hopkins, influential blues guitarist and singer, was born today in 1912.

Phil Lesh, bassist for Grateful Dead, is 76.

Mike Love of the Beach Boys is 75.

Dee Snider, singer for Twisted Sister, is 61.

Bret Michaels, singer for Poison, is 53.

Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray is 48.

will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas is 41.

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