History Highlight:

Today in 1941, Jamaican singer Desmond Adolphus Dacres, better-known as Desmond Dekker, was born. Together with his backing group the Aces (Wilson James and Easton Barrington Howard), he had one of the earliest international reggae hits with "Israelites" in 1968. His other hits include "007 (Shanty Town)", "It Miek" and "You Can Get It If You Really Want". Dekker died in 2006 at age 64.

Also, Today In:

1900 - His Master's Voice, the logo of the Victor Recording Company and later RCA Victor, was registered with the U.S. Patent Office. The logo shows the dog, Nipper, looking into the horn of a gramophone.

1962 - The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records.

1966 - Tommy James and the Shondells started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Hanky Panky," a song first recorded by The Raindrops.

1966 - Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton formed Cream.

1970 - Pink Floyd recorded a show at the BBC Paris Cinema, in London, England for broadcast on the John Peel Sunday Concert on BBC Radio 1.

1973 - Bob Dylan's soundtrack album to Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid was released.

1977 - Shaun Cassidy went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Da Doo Ron Ron," his only U.S. No. 1 hit. Shaun is the half-brother of David Cassidy.

2007 - The White Stripes played their shortest live show ever at George Street, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. Jack White played a single C-sharp note accompanied by a bass drum and crash cymbal hit from Meg. At the end of the show, Jack announced, "We have now officially played in every province and territory in Canada." The concert is captured in the documentary, Under Great White Northern Lights, which tracks the White Stripes' entire 2007 tour across Canada.

2012 - Country music singer Kitty Wells, the first female country singer to top the U.S. country charts in 1952, died in Madison, Tenn., from complications of a stroke. She was 92.

2014 - Blues guitarist Johnny Winter died at the age of 70 in Zurich, just days after playing at the Lovely Days Festival in Austria. Winter, who was instantly recognizable by his long white hair, worked with some of the greatest bluesmen, producing several albums for his childhood hero Muddy Waters - with whom he won a number of Grammys.

2015 - A sports car belonging to Grandmaster Flash which contained valuable vintage records was mistakenly given away by a parking attendant. The incident happened in a Manhattan garage where the musician returned to pick up the vehicle after nearly two hours, the attendant said he had given it to someone else thinking he was the owner.

2016 - American vocalist, punk icon and visual artist Alan Vega died aged 78. Primarily known for his work with the electronic duo Suicide. The duo released their influential self-titled debut in 1977, one of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Birthdays:

Police drummer Stewart Copeland is 66.

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