History Highlight:

Today in 1988, the legendary Motown songwriting and production team made up of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland, known as Holland-Dozier-Holland, were inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame. The trio of Holland-Dozier-Holland wrote, arranged and produced many songs that helped define the Motown sound in the 1960s. They would write and produce scores of songs for Motown artists, including 25 number-one hit singles. Their most celebrated productions were singles for the Four Tops and for the Supremes, including 10 out of the Supremes' 12 U.S. No. 1 singles, such as "Baby Love", "Stop! In the Name of Love", and "You Keep Me Hangin' On." Other hits include the songs "Heat Wave" for Martha and the Vandellas and "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" for Marvin Gaye. More recently, Holland-Dozier-Holland reunited to compose the score for the musical production of The First Wives Club, based on the novel by Olivia Goldsmith and a later hit film. The musical, which premiered in 2009, included 22 new songs from the songwriting trio.

Also, Today In:

1973 - 19-year-old Declan "Costello" McManus played his first solo gig in Twickenham, England. He would change his first name to Elvis by the time his 1977 debut, My Aim Is True, was released.

1975 - John Lennon released his cover of "Stand By Me."

1975 - Four Bay City Rollers fans were taken to the hospital and 35 others required on site treatment after they attempted to swim across a lake to meet their heroes.

1984 - Michael Jackson underwent surgery in a Los Angeles hospital to repair damage done after his hair caught fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial.

1988 - The trial began in Jamaica for the September 11, 1987, murder of reggae star Peter Tosh.

2015 - Green Day was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Birthdays:

Blues musician Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown was born today in 1924.

Les Pattinson, co-songwriter and bassist for Echo and the Bunnymen, is 59.

Mark 'Bez' Berry, of Happy Mondays, is 53.

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