History Spotlight:

Today in 1970, guitarist, singer and songwriter Jimi Hendrix died in London of an accidental barbiturate overdose. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, the Seattle-born Hendrix is widely regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music, and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes Hendrix as "arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music." Hendrix's music has received a number of posthumous awards, including a Hall of Fame Grammy award in 2000 for his original composition, "Purple Haze," and in 2001 for his recording of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower." Hendrix's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was honored with a Grammy in 2009.

Also, Today In:

1960 - On his 21st birthday, Frankie Avalon was given $600,000 that he earned from such hits as his 1959 No. 1 single, "Venus." Payment was deferred due to Avalon's age.

1968 - Working at Abbey Road studios on new songs for their forthcoming album, The Beatles recorded 20 takes of "Birthday." Roadie Mal Evans added handclaps, and Yoko Ono and Pattie Harrison contributed backing vocals on the track.

1971 - Pink Floyd became the first rock band to perform at the Classical Music Festival in Montreux, Switzerland. They played their "Atom Heart Mother Suite".

1976 - One-hit wonders Wild Cherry started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Play That Funky Music."

1983 - Kiss appeared without their makeup for the first time. It happened during an interview on MTV in which the band members were promoting the release of their newest album, Lick It Up.

1993 - Garth Brooks went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with In Pieces. The album spent 25 weeks on the chart and sold more than six million copies.

2006 - Willie Nelson and four members of his band were charged with drug possession after police in Lafayette, La., found marijuana and magic mushrooms on Nelson's tour bus.

2009 - Leonard Cohen collapsed on stage during a concert in Valencia in Spain and was taken to hospital. He was later discharged after doctors told him he had food poisoning.

2014 - Taylor Swift was at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Shake It Off".

Birthdays:

Singer Frankie Avalon is 77.

Dee Dee Ramone, was born today in 1951.

Joanne Catherall, vocalist with The Human League, is 55.

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