History Highlight:

Today in 1970, Aerosmith performed their first-ever gig when they played at Nipmuc Regional High School in Mendon, Massachusetts. They went on to become the best-selling American hard rock band of all time, selling over 150 million albums worldwide. They also hold the record for the most gold and multi-platinum albums by an American group.

Today In:

1961 - Jimmy Dean started a five-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Big Bad John."

1965 - The Rolling Stones started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Get Off Of My Cloud," their second top single in America.

1967 - During a three-hour session Bob Dylan recorded "All Along The Watchtower" and "John Wesley Harding" at Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville.

1968 - The Monkees movie 'Head' was released. The studio that commissioned the film expected something light and funny, but got a trippy commentary on the manipulation of The Monkees, complete with a scene where the group jumps to their death off a bridge. The film bombed when it is released, but later became a cult classic.

1972 - During a U.K. tour, Billy Murcia of The New York Dolls died after choking on his coffee following a drug overdose.

1973 - Gram Parsons' manager, Phil Kaufman, was fined $300 for stealing Parsons' body from the Los Angeles International Airport, contrary to Parsons' family's wishes to deliver the body to Louisiana for a funeral. Parsons' remains were eventually buried in Garden of Memories Cemetery near New Orleans.

1975 - The Sex Pistols made their live debut at St Martin's School Of Art in central London, supporting a band called Bazooka Joe, which included Stuart Goddard (the future Adam Ant). The Pistols' performance lasted 10 minutes.

1976 - The Steve Miller Band went to No.1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Rock'n Me," the group's second No. 1 hit.

1976 - Blue Oyster Cult landed their biggest hit as "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" peaked at No. 12 in the U.S. The song is about reuniting with loved ones in the afterlife.

1982 - The Soft Cell hit, "Tainted Love," logged a record 43 weeks on Britain's Top 100.

1982 - The Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes song "Up Where We Belong," from the film An Officer And A Gentleman, went No. 1 in America.

1990 - Madonna releases "Justify My Love," which stirred controversy when MTV banned the video. The drama piqued interest in the song, which became her ninth No. 1 hit in the U.S.

1993 - Pearl Jam went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Vs, selling 950,378 copies in one week.

2001 - Less than a year after the breakup of the Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Corgan re-emerged with a new band called Zwan. The new Chicago combo featured former Pumpkins' drummer Jimmy Chamberlin.

2005 - The Four Seasons musical Jersey Boys opened on Broadway to rave reviews.

2008 - Thanks to internet voting, Rick Astley won Best Act Ever at the MTV Europe Music Awards. "We've been well and truly Rickrolled," the show's producer says.

2014 - Taylor Swift's album 1989 debuted at No. 1 on America's Billboard albums chart, selling 1.287 million copies in its first week.

2014 - Rick Rosas died at age 65. He was one of the most sought after studio session musicians in Los Angeles. Throughout his career, he played with Neil Young, Joe Walsh, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ron Wood and many others.

2018 - English cellist Hugh McDowell died of cancer at age 65. McDowell performed with the first live line-up of ELO in 1972 while only 19 years old. He also worked with Roy Wood in Wizzard.

Birthday:

George Young of The Easybeats was born today in 1946.

Glenn Frey of The Eagles was born today in 1948.

Guy Clark was born today in 1941.

Paul Gilbert of Mr. Big is 53.

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