Birthday Highlight:

Paul Westerberg, best-known as the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of The Replacements, is 60 today. The Replacements were formed here in Minneapolis in 1979, and are considered pioneers of alternative rock. The band officially broke up in 1991 and now Westerberg primarily focuses on his solo work.

Today In:

1963 - The Kinks made their live debut when they played at the Lotus House Restaurant, London.

1966 - The Monkees started a 7-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles charts with the Neil Diamond song "I'm A Believer".

1970 - Paul McCartney filed a suit against the rest of The Beatles to dissolve their partnership.

1984 - Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen crashed his Corvette Stingray, on the A57 outside Sheffield, England. Allen lost his left arm in the accident.

1985 - Ricky Nelson was killed along with six others when his charted light aircraft crashed in Texas.

1991 - Ted Nugent donated 200 pounds of venison to a Salvation Army soup kitchen in Detroit with the message "I kill it, you grill it".

1996 - Paul McCartney became a Sir after he was listed in the Queen's New Year's Honours List.

2000 - Janet Jackson's estranged husband filed a lawsuit against the singer claiming that Jackson, who had sold more than 40 million records, promised to share equally any assets acquired after their relationship began in 1987.

2003 - Kevin MacMichael, guitarist with Cutting Crew, died of lung cancer aged 51.

2015 - Natalie Cole died aged 65 due to congestive heart failure. The daughter of Nat 'King' Cole, she had the 1989 UK No.2 single 'Miss You Like Crazy', and the hits 'This Will Be', 'Inseparable', and 'Our Love'. In the 1990s, she re-recorded standards by her father, resulting in her biggest success, Unforgettable... with Love, which sold over seven million copies and also won numerous Grammy Awards.

Birthdays:

Andy Summers, guitarist for The Police, is 77.

John Denver was born today in 1943.

Tom Hamilton, Aerosmith bassist, is 68.

Joey McIntyre of New Kids On The Block is 47.

PSY is 42.

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