Birthday Highlight:

Singer/songwriter/guitarist Brendan Benson was born today in 1970, making him 48 today. Benson has enjoyed a successful indie career with a devoted cult fanbase for over 20 years, has released six solo albums, and has also been a member of Jack White's band The Raconteurs.

Also, Today In:

1954 - Rock & Roll arrived as Bill Haley & The Comets made the Top Ten with "Shake, Rattle & Roll."

1960 - Ray Charles went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Georgia On My Mind", a No. 24 hit in the U.K.

1962 - The Beatles played the final show of a 14 night run at the Star-Club, Hamburg, West Germany.

1969 - "Sugar Sugar" by The Archies was at No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart. The single became the longest running One Hit Wonder in the UK with eight weeks at the top of the charts. It was the first No. 1 performed by cartoon characters.

1975 - Queen played the first of two nights at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool, England, the first nights on their 78-date "A Night At The Opera World Tour".

1981 - The Police had their fourth U.K. No. 1 single with "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", a No. 3 hit in the U.S.

1987 - George Michael went to No. 1 on the U.K. album chart with his debut solo album Faith. The album won several awards including the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1989. To date, the album has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Between 1987 and 1988, Faith produced six Top 5 Billboard Hot 100 hits, four of which ("Faith", "Father Figure", "One More Try", and "Monkey") reached No. 1, making him the only British male singer to have four No. 1 singles from one LP on the Billboard Hot 100.

1990 - Record producer Frank Farin fired Milli Vanilli singers Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan because they were insisting on singing on their new album.

1991 - Over 1,000 New Kids On The Block fans were given medical treatment after a minor riot during a concert in Berlin, Germany.

1995 - The Rolling Stones released their acoustic live album Stripped .

1995 - Blur brought chaos to traffic in central London, England when over 3,000 fans turned up for a signing at "Book's Etc." in Charring Cross Road.

1996 - Michael Jackson married Debbie Rowe in Sydney Australia. The couple had met when he was diagnosed with vitiligo in the mid-1980s, and she was working as his dermatologist's assistant. The couple divorced on October 8, 1999, with Rowe giving full custody rights of the children to Jackson with Rowe receiving an $8 million settlement.

2013 - Paul McCartney posted a letter on his website calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to release 30 Greenpeace activists whom Russian authorities arrested during a protest over Arctic oil drilling in September. All the activists involved had their charges dropped in late December of this year.

2015 - A pair of white boots worn by Elvis Presley during his famous '68 Comeback TV Special performance were bought by a U.K. collector for $44,500. Elvis had worn the size-11 Verde boots while singing "If I Can Dream", two months after the assassination of Martin Luther King. The lyrics included quotes from the civil rights leader.

Birthdays:

Freddie Garrity of Freddie and the Dreamers was born today in 1936.

Cornell Gunter of The Platters was born today in 1936.

James Young of Styx is 69.

Frankie Banali, drummer for Quiet Riot, W.A.S.P. and Billy Idol is 67.

Alec John Such of Bon Jovi is 67.

Joseph Ward Simmons, aka Joey Simmons/"Run"/"Reverend Run"/"Rev Run"/"DJ Run", of Run-DMC, is 54.

Brian Yale of Matchbox Twenty is 50.

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