History Highlight:

Vince Clarke was born today in 1960, making him 58. Clarke is an English synthpop musician and songwriter primarily known for being in Erasure since 1985. He was previously the main songwriter of several groups, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo, and The Assembly. Early in life, Clarke's focus was the violin, but things changed and he was inspired to make electronic music after hearing Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD).

Also, Today In:

1969 - The Rolling Stones' Brian Jones drowned in his backyard swimming pool. Suicide, accident or murder? The rumors have swirled for years.

1969 - It was the first and last time that the Newport Jazz Festival featured rock artists, among them Led Zeppelin, Jeff Beck and Ten Years After. The crowd was not amused.

1971 - Jim Morrison was discovered dead in his bathtub in Paris, France. Ten years later, the surviving Doors conducted a graveside memorial with many fans in attendance.

1972 - Blues singer and guitarist Mississippi Fred McDowell died of cancer at age 68. The Rolling Stones covered his "You Got To Move" on Sticky Fingers. Fun fact: McDowell coached Bonnie Raitt on slide guitar technique.

1973 - After 182 Ziggy Stardust concert performances, David Bowie announced he was about to retire from live performing, although it eventually came to light that Ziggy Stardust -- the stage persona -- was being retired and not Bowie himself. Only his guitarist Mick Ronson knew about the announcement, which came as a complete shock not only to the audience but the rest of Bowie's band and crew.

1976 - For the first time in a dozen years, Brian Wilson joined The Beach Boys onstage at a concert in Anaheim, California. He sang the lead vocal on "In My Room."

1985 - "Back to the Future", starring Michael J. Fox as a time-traveling teenager, opened in theaters. When he plays "Johnny B. Goode" in 1955 at the "Enchantment Under the Sea" dance, he gives birth to rock and roll. In the real-life present, a new generation gets a lesson in Chuck Berry from the scene.

1986 - U2 crew member Greg Carroll died in a motorcycle accident in Dublin while running an errand for Bono. The song "One Tree Hill" Joshua Tree is dedicated to Carroll.

1995 - The members of TLC file for bankruptcy despite continued success. The group claims their money was mismanaged by Perri "Pebbles" Reid and her production company Pebbitone Inc. Reid denied the claim and said she was trying to get TLC a better deal with their record label, LaFace Records.

2003 - Libertines singer Pete Doherty was arrested after breaking into band member Carl Barat's flat and stealing a laptop computer and a guitar.

2011 - Unable to walk since a botched operation two years earlier, Little Richard was wheeled in with a piano to perform at the "A Capitol Fourth" concert at the National Mall in Washington, DC. It was his first performance since the operation.

2012 - KISS announced that they were set to release a guitar size book containing unseen photographs from their 40-year career. The limited edition called Monster would have a $4,299 price tag and at 3 feet tall, 2.5 feet wide, was reported to be the largest music book ever published.

2017 - Singer Tony Hadley said he had left 1980s group Spandau Ballet, and "will not be performing" with them in the future. In an oddly-worded statement, he said, "I am required to state that I am no longer a member of the band". He did not indicate why he was leaving, but blamed "circumstances beyond my control".

Birthdays:

Elle King 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.