History Highlight:

Mavis Staples is 80 today. She first started singing with her family as a part of the Staple Singers in 1950 at church and occasionally on the radio. The group scored their first hit in 1956 with "Uncloudy Day". Eventually the family would not just blow up the gospel scene, but also transitioned their focus to covering songs with a message as a part of the civil rights movement - songs such as Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" and Stephen Stills' "For What It's Worth" as long as their own songs with a message. She released her first solo album in 1969 - and has been recording and performing since. In February of 2016 her album Livin' on a High Note was released. Produced by M. Ward, the album features songs written specifically for Staples by Nick Cave, Justin Vernon, tUnE-yArds, Neko Case, and others.

Also, Today In:

1950 - The music show Your Hit Parade premiered on NBC TV. The program, which featured vocalists covering the top hits of the week, had been on radio since 1935. It moved to CBS television in 1958 but was canceled the following year, unable to cope with the rising popularity of rock 'n' roll.

1961 - Bobby Lewis started a seven-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with 'Tossin' and Turnin'," the longest-running No. 1 single of 1961, spending seven weeks at the top of the chart.

1964 - A crowd of nearly 200,000 fans took to the streets of Liverpool to celebrate The Beatles' return for the premiere of the film A Hard Day's Night. The group was honored in a public ceremony in front of Liverpool Town Hall, and as The Beatles stood on a balcony looking over the crowd below, John Lennon gave a few Nazi salutes — and not everyone appreciated his sense of humor.

1965 - The Rolling Stones started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," the group's first chart-topper in America.

1969 - The funeral of Rolling Stone Brian Jones took place in his hometown of Cheltenham, England, at Hatherley Road Parish Church. Canon Hugh Evan Hopkins read Jones's own epitaph, "Please don't judge me too harshly." Bill Wyman, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts from The Stones attended the funeral.

1972 - Harry Nilsson's eighth album, Son of Schmilsson, was released. Nilsson was being pressured to produce a follow-up album similar to his 1971 breakthrough, Nilsson Schmilsson, but instead, he created a more eccentric work. Among the album's tracks are "You're Breakin' My Heart" and the U.S. hit "Spaceman." Session musicians on the album included Peter Frampton, Ringo Starr (credited as Richie Snare) and George Harrison (credited as George Harrysong). The album cover for Son of Schmilsson features a photo of Nilsson taken at Harrison's home in England.

1976 - One-hit wonders Starland Vocal Band started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Afternoon Delight." The song enjoyed a prominent appearance in the 2004 film, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.

1978 - Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman was knocked unconscious after falling from the stage during a Stones concert at the St. Paul Civic Center (now the site of the Xcel Energy Center).

1979 - Chuck Berry was sentenced to five months in jail after being found guilty of tax evasion.

1985 - Playboy published nude photos of Madonna that were taken before she was famous.

1989 - The Monkees got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At the ceremony, all four Monkees reunited for the first time - Mike Nesmith was a holdout on their reunion tour.

2009 - Robert Plant was officially named a Commander of the British Empire after being bestowed with the title by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.

2011 - A pub in Dundee, Scotland, called Lennon's Bar was forced to change the name of the venue and remove all Beatles memorabilia after Yoko Ono threatened legal action for copyright infringement.

2012 - Slash, of Guns N' Roses, got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Charlie Sheen was the master of ceremonies at the event, and commented, "It seems quite fitting that Slash is getting a star on the very street Axl Rose will one day be sleeping on."

2015 - The documentary Amy was released. The film, directed by Asif Kapadia, chronicles the short life of British singer Amy Winehouse who won five Grammy awards for her 2006 album Back To Black. She died at the age of 27 from alcohol poisoning in 2011.

2016 - Aerosmith lead guitarist Joe Perry suffered a cardiac arrest while performing with Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp, fellow members of the supergroup The Hollywood Vampires, in Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. The 65-year-old was rushed to Coney Island hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.

Birthdays:

Ronnie James Dio was born today in 1942.

Sandy West of the Runaways was born today in 1959.

Arlo Guthrie is 72.

Greg Kihn ("Our love's in jeopardy / Baby / Ooooh, oooh, oooh, ooh") is 70.

Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys is 65.

Jason Orange of Take That is 49.

Jessica Simpson is 39.

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