History Highlight:

Today in 2009, Lucinda Williams got married to her Minneapolis-based sweetheart. After completing her set at a concert in Minneapolis, Williams married her manager, Tom Overby, on First Avenue’s Mainroom stage.  After exchanging vows, they did an encore, starting with "Happy" by The Rolling Stones. “We just figured we wanted to invite everybody we knew, and we didn't want to have a limited guest list,” Williams later told NPR. “So we played and then during the encore, we had a little ceremony onstage.” Williams maintains close ties to Minneapolis - just this summer, she held an intimate five-day residency at Dakota Jazz Club.  

Also, Today In: 

1960 - On his 21st birthday, Frankie Avalon was given $600,000 that he earned from such hits as his 1959 No. 1 single, "Venus." Payment was deferred due to Avalon's age. 

1967 - The Beach Boys release Smiley Smile. 

1968 - Working at Abbey Road studios on new songs for their forthcoming album, The Beatles recorded 20 takes of "Birthday." Roadie Mal Evans added handclaps, and Yoko Ono and Pattie Harrison contributed backing vocals on the track. 

1970 -  guitarist, singer and songwriter Jimi Hendrix died in London of an accidental barbiturate overdose. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, the Seattle-born Hendrix is widely regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music, and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes Hendrix as "arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music." Hendrix's music has received a number of posthumous awards, including a Hall of Fame Grammy award in 2000 for his original composition, "Purple Haze," and in 2001 for his recording of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower." Hendrix's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was honored with a Grammy in 2009. 

1971 - Pink Floyd became the first rock band to perform at the Classical Music Festival in Montreux, Switzerland. They played their "Atom Heart Mother Suite". 

1976 - One-hit wonders Wild Cherry started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Play That Funky Music." 

1978 - WKRP in Cincinnati, a TV series about a radio station that switches format from easy listening to rock, makes its debut on CBS. It lasts four seasons, enjoying support from real radio professionals who recognize the quirky characters (incompetent general manager Arthur Carlson, disheveled morning jock Johnny Fever) in their co-workers. 

1981 - Genesis release their "abstract" album, Abacab, in the UK. 

1983 - Kiss appeared without their makeup for the first time. It happened during an interview on MTV in which the band members were promoting the release of their newest album, Lick It Up. 

1992 - Earl Van Dyke, keyboardist for Funk Brothers, Motown's in-house band, dies of prostate cancer at age 62. 

1993 - Garth Brooks went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with In Pieces. The album spent 25 weeks on the chart and sold more than six million copies. 

1994 - The United States Postal Service issues the Billie Holiday stamp to honor the singer. 

2000 - Papa Roach release their breakthrough single, "Last Resort." The track goes on to top the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. 

2001 - Tori Amos releases Strange Little Girls, a concept album where she sings from the perspective of the female characters in songs written by males, including Eminem's "'97 Bonnie And Clyde," Neil Young's "Heart Of Gold," The Beatles' "Happiness Is A Warm Gun," and The Stranglers' "Strange Little Girl." 

2002 - Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson perform at the Adopt-A-Minefield Benefit Gala in Los Angeles. They do separate sets but share the stage for "God Only Knows," a song McCartney once called "the greatest song ever written." 

2006 - Willie Nelson and four members of his band were charged with drug possession after police in Lafayette, La., found marijuana and magic mushrooms on Nelson's tour bus. 

2008 The Village People get a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame at 6529 Hollywood Blvd. 

2009 - Leonard Cohen collapsed on stage during a concert in Valencia in Spain and was taken to hospital. He was later discharged after doctors told him he had food poisoning. 

2014 - Taylor Swift was at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Shake It Off", Swift's second No. 1 single in the U.S. and the 22nd song to debut at No. 1 in the chart's history. 

2019 - A Chinese study called for a publicity program that could enhance public awareness of the negative impact of listening to fast music when driving. The study claimed that drivers should keep music below 120 beats per minute saying that a track like ’American Idiot’ by Green Day - at 189 beats per minute - was a dangerous song to listen to when driving and Stairway To Heaven by Led Zeppelin was a safe song at 63 beats per minute. 

Birthdays 

Singer Frankie Avalon is 83. 

Dee Dee Ramone, was born today in 1951. 

Joanne Catherall, vocalist with The Human League, is 61. 

Keith Morris of Black Flag and Circle Jerk is 68. 

Kerry Livgren is 74.

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