History Spotlight:

Today in 2009, Legendary Motown drummer Uriel Jones died. He was a recording session drummer for Motown's in-house studio band, the Funk Brothers, during the 1960s and early 1970s. Jones had a hard-hitting, funky sound, best heard on the tracks for the hits "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" - both versions, by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell in 1967 and the 1970 remake by Diana Ross, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Ain't That Peculiar" by Marvin Gaye.

Also, Today In:

1945 - Billboard published the first U.S. LP chart. Nat King Cole was at No. 1 with A Collection Of Favorites.

1958 - Elvis Presley, at 23 years old, was inducted into the Army in Memphis.

1962 - Mick Jagger and Keith Richards perform their first paid gig when they appear as Little Boy Blue & the Blue Boys at a club in Ealing, England.

1965 - On the first date of their anniversary tour, Rolling Stones bass player Bill Wyman was zapped and knocked out by an electrical shock from a microphone stand in Odense, Denmark.

1966 - Simon & Garfunkel made their first appearance on the Brit singles chart with "Homeward Bound."

1973 - Lou Reed was bitten on the buttocks by a zealous fan at a concert in Buffalo, N.Y. No kidding. This display of affection happened as Reed got ready to play the classic Velvet Underground tune "Waitin' For The Man." The crazed fan — screaming, "Leather!" — evaded security as he attacked Reed. The fan was ejected, and Reed commented afterward that the U.S. "seems to breed real animals."

1973 - The O'Jays went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Love Train." The song's lyrics of unity mention a number of countries, including England, Russia, China, Egypt and Israel, as well as the continent of Africa.

1979 - The Bee Gees started a two week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Tragedy," the group's eighth U.S. No. 1.

1990 - Canadian singer Alannah Myles started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Black Velvet."

1992 - A Chicago court settled the Milli Vanilli class action suit by approving cash rebates of up to $3 to anyone proving they bought the group's music before Nov. 27, 1990, the date the lip-synching scandal broke.

2000 - Jack and Meg White of The White Stripes get divorced not long after releasing their second album, De Stijl. Despite the split, the band stays together until 2011.

2009 - Motown drummer Uriel Jones, died aged 74 after suffering complications from a heart attack. Jones played on many Motown classics, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," by Marvin Gaye, "Cloud Nine" by the Temptations, "I Second That Emotion" by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and "For Once In My Life" by Stevie Wonder.

Birthdays:

Nick Lowe is 67.

Nena ("99 Luftballons") is 56.

Sharon Corr, vocalist and violinist of the Corrs, is 46.

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