History Highlight:

Icelandic singer, songwriter and actress Bjork is 58 today. She has had an impressive career over four decades and is known for her eclectic and eccentric music styles. She came onto the scene as lead singer of The Sugarcubes (with the 1987 single "Birthday") and then embarked on a solo career in 1993. Bjork has had 31 singles reach the top 40 on pop charts around the world, with 22 top 40 hits in the U.K., including the top 10 hits "It's Oh So Quiet", "Army of Me", and "Hyperballad". She’s had 15 Grammy nominations, the most recent being for the album Fossora for the 2023 Grammys.

Today In:

1960 - Ray Charles had an incredible four hits in the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously with "Georgia On My Mind" at No. 5, "Ruby" at No. 61, "Hard Hearted Hannah" at No. 66 and "Come Rain Or Shine" at No. 95.

1964 - Marvin Gaye made the singles chart for the fourth time in 1964 with "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)," a song successfully revived by James Taylor 11 years later.

1970 - The Partridge Family started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "I Think I Love You". The song was featured in the first episode of the Partridge Family TV series, made by the same company that made The Monkees.

1974 - After swearing up and down that he would never again perform with Grace Slick and Jefferson Starship, Paul Kantner relented and got onstage with the band at Winterland arena in San Francisco.

1981 - Olivia Newton John started a ten-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Physical", the singer's fourth U.S. No. 1. The song went on to sell over 2 million copies, a became a No.7 hit in the U.K.

1982 - Joni Mitchell marries her bass player, Larry Klein, at manager Elliot Roberts' home in Malibu, California.

1983 - Michael Jackson's 14-minute video for "Thriller" premiered in Los Angeles.

1987 - Billy Idol knocked Tiffany from the No. 1 single position on the U.S. singles chart with his version of Tommy James "Mony Mony". Ironically, Tiffany had been at No. 1 with another Tommy James song, "I Think We're Alone Now."

1991 - Aerosmith made a guest appearance on The Simpsons. Other acts that have appeared on the show include: Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth, U2, The Moody Blues, The B-52s, The Who, R.E.M., Phish, Blink-182, Metallica, and The White Stripes.

1994 - After a five-year wait, The Stone Roses released the single "Love Spreads". In true Roses fashion, the group turn down an appearance on BBC 1's TV show Top Of The Pops to promote the single.

1995 - Billie Joe Armstrong, vocalist for Green Day, was busted for dropping his trousers at a Milwaukee concert. The fine was $141.

1995 - The Beatles release Anthology I (including the previously unreleased track "Free As A Bird," and sell 450,000 copies the first day).

2017 - Actor, singer, songwriter, and guitarist David Cassidy died of liver failure aged 67. He was known for his role as Keith Partridge, the son of Shirley Partridge (played by his stepmother Shirley Jones), in the 70s musical-sitcom The Partridge Family, which led to him becoming one of popular culture's teen idols. The Partridge Family had the 1970 US No.1 single 'I Think I Love You', and the 1972 UK No.3 single 'Breaking Up Is Hard To Do'. As a solo artist he scored the 1972 UK No.1 single 'How Can I Be Sure'.

Birthdays:

Dr. John (born Malcolm John Rebennack) was born today in 1941. He passed away in 2019.

Alex James, bass player for Blur (and professional cheese maker), is 55.

Lissie is 41.

Carly Rae Jepsen is 38.

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