History Highlight:

Andrew John Hozier-Byrne was born on this day in 1990, making him 30 today. He is an Irish musician, singer, and songwriter whose breakthrough single "Take Me to Church" was certified multi-platinum in several countries, including the U.S., the U.K., and Canada. In September 2018, he released EP Nina Cried Power whose lead single features Mavis Staples and mentions Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, and Staples herself.

Also, Today In:

1957 - Elvis Presley bought the Graceland mansion from Ruth Brown-Moore for $102,500. The house is named after the builder's daughter, Grace Toof.

1962 - Ray Charles launched his own record label, Tangerine Records.

1967 - Working at Abbey Road studios in London, The Beatles finished the recording of "She's Leaving Home" after adding backing vocals to the track. Harpist Sheila Bromberg, who was part of the string section heard on the track, became the first woman to play on a Beatles recording.

1968 - The Bee Gees made their U.S. television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. They performed two of their pre-disco ballads, "To Love Somebody" and "Words."

1978 - U2 won £500 ($850) and a chance to audition for CBS Ireland in a talent contest held in Dublin, The Limerick Civic Week Pop '78 Competition. Just two years later, U2 were signed to Island Records and released their debut album, Boy. U2 have released 12 studio albums and are among the all time best-selling artists, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide. They have won 22 Grammy Awards and, in 2005, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.

1984 - Van Halen's "Jump" peaked at No. 1 in the U.S.

1998 - Van Halen released their eleventh studio album, Van Halen III, which would be their only album with former Extreme singer Gary Cherone singing for them. It went on to become their first album not to go Platinum and they didn't release another studio album until 2012's A Different Kind of Truth.

2006 - The Smiths turned down a $5 million offer to reform for a set at the Coachella music festival.

2010 - At a hospital in New Orleans, Alex Chilton died due to heart problems at age 59.

2019 - R&B musician Andre Williams died in Chicago, Illinois, at the age of 82. He started his career in the 1950s; his most famous songs include the hits 'Jail Bait,' 'Greasy Chicken,' 'Bacon Fat' and 'Cadillac Jack' (1966). He was also the co-author of the R&B hit 'Shake a Tail Feather'.

Birthdays:

Paul Kantner (founding member of Jefferson Airplane) was born on this day in 1941.

Nat "King" Cole was born today in 1919. He died of lung cancer in 1965.

Scott Gorham, guitarist for Thin Lizzy, is 69.

Flaming Lips' bassist Michael Ivins is 57.

Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins is 53.

Bassist Mellisa Auf der Maur (Hole, Smashing Pumpkins) is 48.

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