History Highlight:

Today in 2002, Layne Staley, lead singer of Alice in Chains, passed away at age 34. The band rose to international fame in the early 1990s during Seattle's grunge movement, and became known for Staley's distinct vocal style, which is known as one of the most memorable voices in the history of grunge music. Staley was also a member of the supergroups Mad Season and Class of '99. From about 1996 on, he wasn't in the public spotlight much, and never performed live again. He struggled for much of his adult life with depression and drug addiction, which ultimately resulted in his death.

Also, Today In:

1958 - The first "Greatest Hits" compilation is released, and it's by Johnny Mathis. It's a huge hit, and the format catches on quickly. The Mathis album stays in the Billboard 200 album chart for over 9 years, a record not broken until Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon.

1968 - James Brown played Live at the Boston Garden and it was broadcast live in an effort to quell potential riots in the city.

1985 - At 3:50 pm GMT, 5,000 radio stations around the world played the benefit single "We Are The World" simultaneously.

1980 - R.E.M. played their first ever gig when they appeared at St Mary's Episcopal Church, Athens, Georgia. The band had no name at this point - according to Michael Stipe, they had considered "Twisted Kites", "Negro Wives" and "Cans of Piss" - but they settled on "R.E.M." after Stipe selected it at random from a dictionary. Fortunately.

1994 - Kurt Cobain of Nirvana committed suicide by firearm at his home in Seattle. Strangely, like Jimi, Janis, Jim Morrison and Brian Jones, he was 27 when he died. Cobain formed Nirvana with Krist Novoselic in in 1985 and established it as part of the Seattle music scene and grunge genre. Despite releasing only three full-length studio albums in their seven-year career, Nirvana has come to be regarded as one of the most influential and important rock bands of the modern era.

2006 - World-renowned American singer/songwriter Gene Pitney died at the age of 66. He charted 16 Top 40 US hits and 22 Top 40 hits in the UK. He also wrote the early 60s hits "He's A Rebel" by The Crystals and "Hello, Mary Lou" by Ricky Nelson. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 2002.

2008 - Apple's iTunes overtook Wal-Mart to become the largest music retailer in the US.

2008 - Toto broke up after performing their final concert in Seoul.

2009 - Donald Trump fired TLC member Tionne Watkins, better known by her stage name T-Boz, in the sixth week of The Celebrity Apprentice, season 8.

2011 - A statue in tribute to Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain was unveiled in his hometown of Aberdeen, Washington. The unveiling marked the 17th anniversary of Cobain's death, which occurred on April 5, 1994.

2012 - Jim Marshall, inventor of the Marshall amplifier, died in London at age 88.

Birthdays:

Agnetha Faltskog from ABBA is 69.

Everett Morton, drummer for the British 80s ska band The Beat, is 68.

Jacob Slichter, drummer for Semisonic, is 58.

Christopher 'Kid' Reid (Kid N Play) is 55.

Mike McCready, lead guitarist for Pearl Jam, is 53.

Paula Cole is 51.

Pharrell Williams is 46.

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