History Highlight:

Today in 1973, Marvin Gaye started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Let's Get It On," his second U.S. No. 1. The title track of Gaye's 1973 album Let's Get It On, it was written by Marvin Gaye and producer Ed Townsend and it was Gaye's most successful single for Motown and one of his most well-known songs. In an article for Rolling Stone magazine, music critic Jon Landau wrote of the song: "'Let's Get It On' is a classic Motown single, endlessly repeatable and always enjoyable. It begins with three great wah-wah notes that herald the arrival of a vintage Fifties melody. But while the song centers around classically simple chord changes, the arrangement centers around a slightly eccentric rhythm pattern that deepens the song's power while covering it with a contemporary veneer. Above all, it has Marvin Gaye's best singing at its center, fine background voices on the side, and a long, moody fade-out that challenges you not to play the cut again."

Also, Today In:

1956 - Eddie Cochran signed a contract with Liberty Records. Cochran, who was born in Albert Lea, Minn., went on to give Liberty three top-40 hits over the next four years of his short life, including "Summertime Blues," "Twenty Flight Rock" and "C'mon Everybody."

1962 - "Monster Mash," by Bobby "Boris" Pickett (providing all the voices and creating the spooky sound effects), entered the singles chart. It went on to reach No. 1 shortly before Halloween that year, and it became a perennial seasonal favorite thereafter.

1968 - Led Zeppelin appeared at Raventlow Parken in Denmark, supported by The Beatnicks and The Ladybirds. This was the group's third-ever live gig.

1971 - The prestigious National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences' Bing Crosby Award was presented to Elvis Presley for his "creative contributions and outstanding artistic significance to the field of phonograph records." The only other artists to receive the award prior to Elvis were Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Irving Berlin.

1982 - Peter Gabriel released his fourth studio album, titled Security in the U.S. and Canada.

1988 - Elton John auctioned off a number of his costumes and memorabilia for a tidy $6.2 million.

1990 - Jon Bon Jovi went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Blaze Of Glory." The track appeared in the motion picture Young Guns II, for which it was originally recorded.

1999 - As part of a promotion for Apple/EMI's re-release of The Beatles' Yellow Submarine album, a cross-channel train custom-designed with artwork from the animated film left Waterloo Station in London for Paris.

Birthdays:

Patsy Cline was born today in 1932.

Benjamin Orr, bassist for The Cars, was born today in 1947.

Aimee Mann is 60.

Pink is 41.

Wiz Khalifa is 33.

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