History Highlight:

Today in 1963, James Brown went to No. 2 on the U.S. album chart with Live At The Apollo. Recorded on the night of Oct. 24, 1962, at Brown's own expense, it spent 66 weeks on the Billboard Albums chart. In 2003, the album was ranked No. 25 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Also, Today In:

1957 - John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time in Woolton, Liverpool, at the St. Peter's Church Parish festival where 16-year-old Lennon's skiffle band, The Quarrymen, were appearing. McCartney impressed Lennon by playing "Twenty Flight Rock" by Eddie Cochran and "Be-Bop-A-Lula" by Gene Vincent. Lennon was even more impressed when McCartney showed Lennon and Eric Griffiths how to tune their guitars, something they'd been paying someone else to do for them.

1964 - The Beatles film A Hard Day's Night premiered at The Pavilion in London.

1968 - The Rolling Stones scored their fifth U.S. No. 1 single when "Jumpin Jack Flash" reached the top of the charts. Keith Richards has recalled that he and Mick Jagger wrote the lyrics while staying at Richards' country house, where they were awoken one morning by the sound of gardener Jack Dyer walking past the window. When Jagger asked what the noise was, Richards responded: "Oh, that's Jack — that's jumpin' Jack."

1971 - American jazz trumpeter, singer and bandleader, Louis Armstrong died.

1971 - Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog of ABBA were married in Verum, Sweden.

1984 - The Jacksons kicked off their North American Victory tour at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. More than two million people attended the 55 concerts, which grossed more than $75 million. Michael Jackson donated $5 million to various charities.

1985 - Phil Collins went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Sussudio," his third U.S. No. 1.

1989 - Tom Petty's first solo album apart from The Heartbreakers, Full Moon Fever, charted at No. 3.

1998 - Cowboy singer and actor Roy Rogers died of heart failure in his sleep at his desert home in Apple Valley, Calif., at the age of 86.

Birthdays:

Bill Haley (born William John Clifton Haley) considered "the first rock 'n' roll star," was born today in 1925. Performing as the frontman of Bill Haley and his Comets, Haley had the 1955 U.S. and U.K. No.1 single, "Rock Around The Clock." (More about Bill Haley on Local Current: 'Blackboard Jungle' turns 60: Revisiting the movie that marked the beginning of the rock and roll era)

Nanci Griffith is 63.

Curtis James Jackson III, better known as 50 Cent, is 41.

Kate Nash is 29.

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