History Highlight:

Today in 1999, Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991, was honored on a new set of millennium stamps issued by the Royal Mail. Fun fact: according to Smithsonian magazine, Mercury had a stamp collection of his own as a child between the ages of 9 and 12, he put together a substantial collection that included stamps from different British colonies. Though he died at age 45, he was known for his powerful vocal range and live performances and as the composer of many of Queen's biggest hits such as "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Killer Queen," "Somebody to Love," "Don't Stop Me Now," "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," and "We Are the Champions."

Also, Today In:

1968 - Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull were arrested on charges of marijuana possession, the same day the Rolling Stones release "Jumpin' Jack Flash".

1969 - The Who peaked at number nineteen on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with "Pinball Wizard", their fourth top forty single in the U.S.

1970 - Fleetwood Mac performed their last concert with Peter Green as their guitarist in Bath, U.K. at the Bath Festival.

1974 - All-time genius of jazz composing, arranging, piano, and band-leading (he led a star-studded orchestra continuously for almost 50 years), Duke Ellington died in New York City at the age of 75.

1978 - Van Halen's self-titled debut album was certified Gold by the RIAA. It later went on to sell ten million copies in the U.S.

1980 - Patrons looking to buy tickets to Genesis' benefit show at the Roxy in Los Angeles were surprised to see the band members selling the tickets themselves.

1991 - Founder member of The Byrds, Gene Clark, died of a heart attack aged 49.

1999 - "What's Really Happening," a song David Bowie had composed in collaboration with Alex Grant, the winner out of 80,000 contenders in a lyric/songwriting contest, was broadcast over the Internet. The cybercast of this recording session utilized a 360 degree full-view camera for the first time.

2005 - Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne put the Beverly Hills house that was featured on the hit reality television show The Osbournes up for sale. Pop superstar Christina Aguilera eventually purchased the house.

2017 - Sonny West, one of the original members of Elvis Presley's Memphis Mafia, died of lung cancer at the age of 79.

Birthdays:

Bob Dylan is 78.

Albert Bouchard, drummer for Blue Oyster Cult, is 72.

Rosanne Cash is 64.

Rich Robinson, guitarist for The Black Crowes, is 50.

Heavy D was born today in 1967.

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