History Highlight:

Today in 1981, the Go-Go's released their debut album, Beauty and the Beat. The album went on to peak at No. 1 on the U.S. charts, and remained there for six consecutive weeks. The album sold in excess of 3 million copies and reached triple platinum status, making it one of the most successful debut albums ever. The Go-Go's have sold more than 7 million albums. The band is about to begin their Farewell Tour, but sadly, they do not have any stops scheduled in Minnesota.

Also, Today In:

1954 - Dewey Phillips of Memphis' WHBQ radio played a new song, "That's Alright Mama", and its flip, "Blue Moon Of Kentucky", on his Red Hot & Blue R&B show. An instant hit, the song was immediately played 14 more times. Callers to the station insisted that the singer, a local boy named Elvis Presley, must be a black man. Elvis himself, who knew of the airplay in advance, hid out at a local movie, but response was so immediate and positive that Dewey tracked him down for a live radio interview later that evening.

1958 - The first Gold Record presented by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was awarded to the soundtrack of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma. The honor signified that the album had reached $1 million in sales.

1967 - The Monkees began a 29-date tour with The Jimi Hendrix Experience as their supporting act. Hendrix was dropped six shows later after being told his act was not suitable for their audience, which consisted mostly of teenage pop fans.

1968 - Pink Floyd kicked off their first 20-date North American tour at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago.

1969 - Singer/actress Marianne Faithfull, girlfriend of Mick Jagger, attempted suicide with barbiturates while on the set of the film "Ned Kelly" (also starring Mick). She was dropped from the cast of the movie, eventually recovered, and when awaking from her coma, told friends that "wild horses couldn't drag me away." The Rolling Stones song "Wild Horses" was built around that phrase.

1970 - The Everly Brothers Show started an eleven-week prime time slot on ABC television. It began as a summer replacement in 1970 for The Johnny Cash Show.

1972 - Bill Withers started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Lean On Me," his only No. 1 hit.

1978 - Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon of The Clash were arrested for being drunk and disorderly after a concert at the Apollo in Glasgow.

1978 - After a Disco-rific six months at No. 1, the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack was finally bumped off the top spot by Gerry Rafferty's City To City.

1995 - TLC started a seven-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Waterfalls," the group's second U.S. No. 1. The song was referenced in the 2010 Will Ferrell action comedy, The Other Guys.

2007 - Prince was forced off stage by Minneapolis Police halfway through his set at First Avenue. The club was only allowed to stay open until 3 a.m., and Prince went onstage at 2:45. Before his appearance at First Avenue, Prince had already played two shows in Minneapolis: the first was at the downtown location of Macy's department store, where Prince promoted his new fragrance with a nine-song, 45-minute set; the second was his concert at Target Center, just across the street from First Avenue.

2016 - Drake was at No. 1 on the U.S. chart with his fourth studio album Views. With Views, Drake also joined Adele, Michael Buble and Taylor Swift as the only artists in the 2010s to have an album remain at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for six consecutive weeks.

Birthdays:

Andy Fletcher, founding member for Depeche Mode is 58.

Toby Keith is 58.

Joan Osborne is 57.

Beck is 49.

Arctic Monkeys guitarist Jamie Cook is 34.

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