History Highlight:

Today in 1971, Ringo Starr picked up a Gold record for "It Don't Come Easy," an unlikely but catchy hit which he wrote and George Harrison produced. The song was Starr's first single release since the breakup of the Beatles, and was a commercial success, peaking at No. 1 in Canada and No. 4 in both the U.S. and U.K. singles charts. It has remained one of his most popular hits as a solo artist, and Starr and Harrison performed it together in August 1971 at Harrison's "Concert for Bangladesh" shows in New York.

Also, Today In:

1958 - Billboard introduced The Hot 100 Singles Chart, on which Ricky Nelson was at No. 1 with "Poor Little Fool."

1958 - Bobby Darin had his first hit as "Splish Splash" reached No. 3 in America. The song was later used on Sesame Street as a way to encourage kids to get in the tub.

1963 - The Beatles cracked the U.S. charts for the first time with "From Me To You," which bubbled under at No. 116 on the Hot 100. It's not until five months later that "I Want To Hold Your Hand" became their breakout hit in America.

1966 - The Rolling Stones recorded their longest title yet - and one of the longest song titles ever: "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?". The artwork for the single's U.S. distribution, released on Sept. 23, 1966, generated some controversy: It featured the lads in drag, posing for a photo outside 124 East 24th Street in New York, between Park Avenue and Lexington Avenue.

1967 - A female Monkees fan stowed away on the band's plane between shows in Minneapolis and St Louis. The girl's father threatened to bring charges for transporting a minor across state lines.

1967 - Pink Floyd released their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, on which most songs were penned by Syd Barrett. In subsequent years, the record has been recognized as one of the seminal psychedelic rock albums of the 1960s.

1974 - Paul Simon released "Love Me Like A Rock."

1975 - Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant and his wife were both badly injured when the rental car he was driving spun off the road and crashed on the Greek island of Rhodes. Plant smashed both his ankle and his elbow, and it took nearly two years for Plant to fully recover from his injuries.

1984 - Prince started a 24-week run at the top of the U.S. album charts with Purple Rain. The album, which features hits "When Doves Cry," "Let's Go Crazy" and the title track, has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide, making it the seventh best-selling soundtrack album of all time.

1990 - Mariah Carey started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Vision Of Love," her debut release.

2002 - Bruce Springsteen went No. 1 in the U.S. with his album The Rising.

2005 - Blues singer and guitarist Little Milton died. He signed to Sun records in 1953 and had the 1965 U.S. No. 25 single "We're Gonna Make It".

2007 - Singer/songwriter Lee Hazlewood died of cancer at age 78. Hazlewood wrote and produced many of Nancy Sinatra's most famous hits, including "These Boots Were Made For Walkin'", "Jackson" and "Did You Ever".

2015 - Influential country producer Billy Sherrill, who worked with artists like George Jones, Charlie Rich, and Tammy Wynette and was known for pioneering the "countrypolitan" sound, died after a short illness at the age of 78. Sherrill also co-wrote many hit songs, including "Stand by Your Man" (written with Tammy Wynette).

Birthdays:

Louis Armstrong was born today in 1901.

Wrecking Crew keyboard player and bassist Larry Knechtel was born today in 1940.

David Carr of The Fortunes was born today in 1979.

Paul Reynolds of A Flock of Seagulls is 58.

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