History Highlight

Today in 1985, A-ha went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Take On Me," making them the first Norwegian group to achieve a No. 1 hit in America. The song's success might be attributed to its distinctive music video - which features the band in a pencil-sketch animation method called rotoscoping - which won six awards and was nominated for two others at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards.

Also, Today In:

1973 - David Bowie released his seventh album Pin Ups. The album is a collection of cover versions of some of Bowie's favorite songs, including tracks by Pink Floyd, The Pretty Things, The Who, The Yardbirds and The Kinks.

1991 - At a concert in their hometown of Manchester, Oasis played their first gig with Noel Gallagher in the lineup.

1995 - Nirvana were at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with the live compilation album, From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah.

2005 - A survey conducted by the U.K. branch of Prudential concluded that the average person spent around $42,000 on music during their lives; the total included the amount spent on sound equipment, concerts and albums. Survey participants who identified as music enthusiasts were likely to spend more than double that, parting with slightly more than $89,000 in a lifetime.

2007 - Johnny Marr was made a visiting professor of music at the University of Salford in Manchester. The former Smiths guitarist delivered a series of workshops and master classes to students pursuing the bachelor of arts degree in Popular Music and Recording.

2011 - Coldplay released their fifth studio album, Mylo Xyloto, which charted at No. 1 in 34 countries. In the U.S., Mylo Xyloto became Coldplay's third album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and the album tracks "Paradise" and "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall" received a total of three Grammy Award nominations in 2012. Produced by Brian Eno, Markus Dravs, Daniel Green and Rik Simpson, Mylo Xyloto earned critical praise for its electronic sound and uplifting tone. Coldplay drummer Will Champion described the album a a story of two characters "falling in love and trying to escape together," with a general theme of "love conquering all."

Birthdays:

Peter Tosh of The Wailers was born today in 1944.

Madness drummer Daniel Woodgate is 57.

Jennifer Holliday ("And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going") is 57.

Pras Michel of the Fugees is 45.

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