History Highlight:

Today in 1971, Janis Joplin started a posthumous two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with her cover of Kris Kristofferson's "Me And Bobby McGee". Joplin and Kristofferson were friends, but Kristofferson has stated he did not write this song for her, but the song is associated with her — especially, he has said, in the line "Somewhere near Salinas, Lord, I let her slip away." Joplin died the year before the song charted, on Oct. 4, 1970, at age 27.

Also, Today In:

1961 - Elvis Presley started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Surrender," his fifth No. 1 of the 1960s. The song was based on a 1911 Italian song, "Return To Sorrento."

1964 - The Temptations released their debut album Meet the Temptations on the Gordy (Motown) label.

1965 - The first Motown tour of the U.K. began, and it featured Martha & the Vandellas, Stevie Wonder, the Supremes and the Temptations.

1969 - John Lennon married Yoko Ono at the British Consulate Office in Gibraltar. They spent their honeymoon in Amsterdam campaigning for an international "Bed-In" for peace.

1977 - Lou Reed was banned from appearing The London Palladium because of his punk image.

1977 - T Rex played their final gig ever, when they appeared at The Locarno in Portsmouth, England.

1980 - At Asylum Records in New York, 28-year-old Joseph Riviera held employees at gunpoint, demanding to talk to either Jackson Browne or one of the Eagles. When informed that they lived in California, Riviera pocketed his pistol and left the building, later surrendering to police.

1982 - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts started a seven-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "I Love Rock 'n' Roll". The song was a cover of a B-side by '60s band The Arrows. In 1993, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts made another music video for the song as part of the Wayne's World 2 soundtrack.

1990 - Near Scranton and heading for a show in Syracuse, Miami Sound Machine's tour bus was hit by a tractor trailer on a snowy highway. Gloria Estefan suffered a serious spinal injury requiring four hours of surgery.

1991 - Eric Clapton's 4-year-old son Conor died after falling out of a window at his mother's apartment. Clapton later wrote "Tears In Heaven" about Conor.

2015 - Drummer A. J. Pero died from an apparent heart attack. He was a member of Twisted Sister and Adrenaline Mob.

Birthdays:

Carl Palmer, drummer for Emerson, Lake and Palmer (and let's not forget Asia), is 68.

Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand is 46.

Chester Bennington of Linkin Park was born today in 1976.

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