History Highlight:

Today in 2016, Bobby Vee died at age 73 after a long battle with Alzheimer's. Born Robert Velline in Fargo, N.D., Vee released his first single, "Suzie Baby," on Minneapolis-based Soma Records in 1959. He had a string of hits in the 1960s, including "Rubber Ball", "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" and the 1961 No. 1 hit, "Take Good Care of My Baby." Bobby Vee was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 2011 and into the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame in 2014.

Today In:

1962 - James Brown recorded his legendary Live At The Apollo album. The album sold more than a million copies was listed at No.24 in Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and in 2004, it was one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.

1966 - Newsweek interviewed The Monkees. When asked how their music is created, singer Davy Jones tells them, "This isn't a rock 'n' roll group. This is an act."

1970 - "Lola" peaks at No. 9 in the U.S., giving The Kinks their first American Top 10 since "Tired of Waiting for You" in 1965. After their U.S. tour in 1965, they were denied visas for the next three years, killing their momentum in the U.S.. Following their return in 1969, "Lola" got them back on the airwaves.

1973 - John Lennon began litigation against the U.S. government, accusing them of tapping his telephone.

1978 - The movie version of The Wiz, which debuted as a Broadway stage production in 1975, hit theaters. The cast includes Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow.

1979 - Paul McCartney received a medallion cast in rhodium from the Guinness Book of World Records after being declared the most successful composer of all time. From 1962 to 1978, McCartney had written or co-written 43 songs that had sold over a million copies each.

1987 - Michael Jackson started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with Bad.

1995 - Smashing Pumpkins released their album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The band's third studio album featured the tracks "Bullet with Butterfly Wings", "1979", "Zero", "Tonight, Tonight", "Muzzle" and "Thirty-Three". The record debuted at number one on the Billboard charts and earned the band seven Grammy Award nominations in 1997, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year.

1996 - Motown founder Berry Gordy was honored with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

1998 - Former Stone Roses lead singer Ian Brown was jailed for 4 months after being found guilty of disorderly behavior during a flight from Paris to Manchester. Brown had threatened to chop the hands off a stewardess during a heated exchange.

2004 - Queen became the first rock act to receive an official seal of approval in Iran. Western music was still strictly censored in the Islamic republic, where homosexuality was considered a crime, but an album of Queen's greatest hits was released this week in Iran.

2006 - Forbes.com revealed that Kurt Cobain had overtaken Elvis Presley as the highest earning dead celebrity.

2017 - American pianist and singer-songwriter Fats Domino died aged 89 at his home in Harvey, Louisiana after a long-term illness.

Birthdays:

Bill Wyman, former bass player for the Rolling Stones, is 82.

Jerry Edmonton of Steppenwolf was born today in 1946.

Debbie Googe, of My Bloody valentine is 56.

Drake is 32.

Dale Griffin, drummer and founding member of Mott The Hoople was born today in 1948.

Monica ("The Boy Is Mine") is 38.

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