History Spotlight:

Brian Joseph Burton (better-known by his stage name Danger Mouse) was born today in 1977, making him 42 today. In 2004, he released The Grey Album, which combined vocal performances from Jay-Z's The Black Album with instrumentals from The Beatles' The Beatles (the White Album). He is one half of Gnarls Barkley with CeeLo Green, and he formed Broken Bells with The Shins' James Mercer. He is a super producer who has produced, written for, or worked on albums for Gorillaz, Beck, The Black Keys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Norah Jones, Electric Guest, Portugal. The Man and Adele. He has been nominated for 19 Grammy Awards and has won six.

Also, Today In:

1963 - With the U.S. charts full of "hot rod" songs, Capitol Records sent disc jockeys a list of car terms and phrases to help promote the Beach Boys' latest release, "Little Deuce Coupe."

1965 - The Beatles second feature film Help! had its U.K. premiere in London.

1966 - Bob Dylan was riding his Triumph 55 motorcycle to a garage near his home in Woodstock, N.Y., for repairs when the rear wheel locked. Dylan lost control and was thrown over the handlebars, suffering a broken neck vertebra. His recuperation led to a nine-month period of reclusive inactivity.

1966 - At a club in Manchester, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker made their live debut as Cream.

1967 - The Doors started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with an edited version of "Light My Fire." Eventually, many radio stations would start playing the full six-minute, 50-second album cut, which features a longer instrumental break.

1968 - Gram Parsons left The Byrds on the eve of a tour of South Africa, refusing to play to segregated audiences.

1972 - Gilbert O'Sullivan started a five-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Alone Again (Naturally)."

1974 - Mamas And The Papas singer Cass Elliot died in her sleep from a heart attack after playing a sold-out show in London. Fun fact: After leaving high school, Elliot toured in "The Music Man" but lost the part of Miss Marmelstein in "I Can Get It for You Wholesale" to Barbra Streisand in 1962.

1978 - The film soundtrack to Grease, featuring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart.

1987 - Michigan governor James Blanchard declared this day "Four Tops Day" in honor of the Motown legends.

1990 - Elton John checked into a Chicago clinic to cure bulimia and an addiction problem, taking more than a year off from touring and recording.

2007 - Heart problems forced Kiss singer and guitarist Paul Stanley to abandon a show in California. Paramedics stopped and restarted his heart to give it a regular rhythm after it spontaneously jumped to 190 plus beats per minute.

2011 - Gene McDaniels, who scored the 1961 U.S. No. 3 hit "A Hundred Pounds Of Clay" died at the age of 76 after a short illness. Gene also wrote Roberta Flack's 1974 Grammy-winning No. 1 hit "Feel Like Makin' Love".

Birthdays:

REO Speedwagon keyboardist Neal Doughty is 73.

Patti Scialfa of the E Street Band is 66.

Geddy Lee, vocalist, bassist and co-founding member of Rush, is 66.

John Sykes of Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake is 60.

Simon Jones of The Verve is 47.

Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men 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.