History Highlight:

Thomas Edward Yorke, aka Thom Yorke, was born today in 1968, making him 52 today. The lead singer and principal songwriter in Radiohead, Yorke has been cited among the most influential figures in the music industry; in 2002, Q Magazine named Yorke the 6th most powerful figure in music, and Radiohead were ranked No. 73 in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" in 2005. Radiohead have sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, but Yorke also records and performs solo work and performs with Atoms for Peace. Along with the other members of Radiohead, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.

Also, Today In:

1967 - The Beatles politely declined an offer of $1 million from promoter Sid Bernstein to make a second appearance at New York's Shea Stadium. Bernstein had actually successfully contracted the Beatles to play at Shea Stadium in both 1965 and 1966.

1968 - Jose Feliciano performed a slow, bluesy version of "The Star Spangled Banner" before the fifth game of the World Series between the Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals. Although released as a single that peaked at No. 50, it wasn't well received in all circles; some radio stations refused to play his songs (at least until he released "Feliz Navidad," two years later). In an October 2006 NPR interview, Feliciano expressed pride at opening the door for later interpretations of the national anthem.

1976 - At a hearing in New York, John Lennon was awarded his so-called "green card" (it's not actually green), granting him permanent residency status in the United States. The ruling overturned previous efforts by the U.S. government to deport him.

1978 - Billboard magazine reported that Marvin Gaye had twice filed bankruptcy papers earlier in the year, with debts of $7 million.

1982 - Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page was given a 12-month conditional release following a cocaine possession conviction.

1989 - Paula Abdul finally reached No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Forever Your Girl. Abdul had spent 64 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 before hitting No. 1, making it the longest time for an album to reach the number-one spot. Forever Your Girl includes four number-one singles: the title track, plus "Straight Up," "Cold Hearted" and "Opposites Attract." The chart-topping remix of "Opposites Attract" features rapping segments in the intro and bridge — and the rapper, MC Skat Kat, is none other than The Current's Production Manager, Derrick Stevens.

1995 - Alanis Morissette went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Jagged Little Pill. The album went on to become the biggest-selling album to date by a woman artist, with sales totaling more than 30 million. It also gave the Maverick label, founded by Madonna, its first No. 1.

1999 - Garth Brooks released an album as "Chris Gaines," a character he created that was intended for a movie. The ruse turned off many fans, and the album was Brooks' first since 1995 that failed to debut at No. 1, charting behind Creed's Human Clay.

2002 - Mick Jagger donated £100,000 (about $156,000 at the time) to his old grammar school to help pay for a music director and to buy musical instruments. The resulting music center is named after Jagger.

2008 - Spotify launched. The most-streamed song for October was "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay; for all of 2008 it was "Human" by The Killers.

2009 - Monkees vocalist Davy Jones ruled out ever reuniting with his former bandmates after launching a scathing attack on them in The National Enquirer, saying, "It's not a case of dollars and cents. It's a case of satisfying yourself. I don't have anything to prove. The Monkees proved it for me."

2009 - Film and TV composer Vic Mizzy, who wrote the theme songs to Green Acres and The Addams Family, died in Bel Air at age 93.

2013 - Annie Lennox described the sexualised imagery of modern pop videos as "dark" and "pornographic". "I'm all for freedom of expression," she told BBC Radio 5 live, "but this is clearly one step beyond, and it's clearly into the realm of porn." The singer called for pop videos to be rated in the same way as films.

2014 - Weezer released their ninth studio album, Everything Will Be Alright in the End, the band's first album on Republic Records.

2014 - The TV series The Wonder Years, which went off the air in 1993, was finally released on DVD. What took so long? The distributor spent years clearing most of the 285 songs that were used on the show, including the theme which was Joe Cocker's version of "With A Little Help From My Friends."

2017 - Jason Aldean payed tribute to Tom Petty and the victims of the Las Vegas shooting a week earlier with a performance of "I Won't Back Down" on Saturday Night Live.

2017 - Cardi B hit No. 1 in the U.S. with "Bodak Yellow," becoming the first solo female rapper without a guest artist to reach the top since Lauryn Hill's "Doo Wop (That Thing)" 1998.

Birthdays:

Stevie Ray Vaughan was born today in 1954.

John Mellencamp is 69.

Bon Jovi drummer Tico Torres is 67.

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