History Highlight:

Today in 1986, Jon Batiste was born, making him 39. Batiste grew up in the New Orleans area and is part of an extended family with a deep musical lineage, so music was a huge part of Jon Batiste’s life from the moment he was born. Today, Batiste is a renowned musician, songwriter, bandleader, composer and producer. His recorded music has earned 22 Grammy Award nominations; he’s won seven of those, including for Album for the Year for his 2021 release, We Are, and Best Music Film for his 2023 autobiographical release, American Symphony. Among Batiste’s many other awards is an Academy Award for his original score for the 2020 Disney/Pixar film Soul. A hard-working and prolific artist, Batiste released the album World Music Radio in 2023, followed by Beethoven Blues in November 2024, and most recently, Big Money, on August 22 of this year. In late September, Batiste visited The Current for an interview with Zach McCormick.

Also, Today In:

1954 - Bill Haley scored his first U.S. Top ten single with "Shake Rattle And Roll."

1968 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono released the album Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins. Because the album cover featured a nude photo of the duo, many record stores stocked it in a brown-paper wrapper.

1970 - Bob Dylan published his first novel, the long-awaited stream-of-consciousness Tarantula, which was poorly received.

1972 - The Allman Brothers Band bass player Berry Oakley was killed when his motorcycle hit a bus at the same intersection in Macon, Georgia, where former band member Duane Allman had died a year earlier. Oakley was 24 years old.

1973 - Thirty radio stations across the United States broadcast what was purported to be a Mott The Hoople live concert. In actuality, it consisted of studio tracks with pre-recorded applause dubbed in.

1975 - Earth, Wind & Fire released the double live album, Gratitude. It features “Sing a Song” and “Can’t Hide Love.”

1976 - Kiss released their fifth studio album, Rock and Roll Over. It features the singles "Hard Luck Woman" and "Calling Dr. Love."

1977 - The Sex Pistols’ released their album Never Mind the Bollocks in the United States. It came out in the U.K. on Oct. 28 of that year.

1978 - Donna Summer started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with her version of Jimmy Webb's "MacArthur Park," which was also a No. 2 hit for actor Richard Harris (aka the first Dumbledore in the Harry Potter film series) in 1968. Webb had originally written the song for the band The Association, who passed on recording it, noting its unusual lyrics.

1982 - Prince kicked off his 87-date "1999" North American tour at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga, Tenn. It was, up till then, his longest tour of the United States. In addition to Prince and his band, his latest all-girl group, Vanity 6, made their first live act tour along with the returning The Time. Tension between Prince and The Time escalated and eventually led to Prince dropping them from the tour.

1983 - Corey Hart released his debut studio album, First Offense. It features the singles "Sunglasses at Night," "It Ain't Enough," "She Got the Radio," and "Lamp at Midnite."

1995 - The Smashing Pumpkins double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness went to No. 1 on the U.S. chart. It was the band’s third studio album, and with its lead single, "Bullet with Butterfly Wings", it debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200. To date it remains the band's only album to top the Billboard 200, but it earned the band seven Grammy Award nominations in 1997, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year ("1979"), as well as nine MTV Music Video Awards nominations.

1997 - Lisa Loeb released her second studio album, Firecracker. It features the singles "I Do," "Let's Forget About It," and "Truthfully."

1997 - Timbaland & Magoo released their debut studio album, Welcome to Our World. It features the singles "Up Jumps da Boogie," "Luv 2 Luv U," and "Clock Strikes."

2003 - Pearl Jam released the compilation album Lost Dogs. It features the singles "Last Kiss" and "Down."

2003 - Pink released her third studio album, Try This. It features the singles "Trouble," "God Is a DJ," and "Last to Know."

2004 - Coldplay fan Sarah Sainsbury wrote to the band asking for their autographs so she could sell them to raise funds at her school charity. Coldplay sent her a triple-platinum disc worth more than $6,500.

2008 - Taylor Swift released her second studio album, Fearless. It features the singles "Love Story," "White Horse," "You Belong with Me," "Fifteen," and "Fearless."

2011 - The four original band members of Black Sabbath announced that they were reuniting and recording a new album that would be followed by a world tour in 2012.

2012 - Lana Del Rey released her third extended play, Paradise. It features the singles "Ride," "Blue Velvet," and "Burning Desire"

2015 - Phil Taylor, better known as "Philthy Animal" Taylor, died at age 61. He was the drummer in the Motörhead lineup of Lemmy, Taylor, and Fast Eddie Clarke who recorded 10 studio albums and the live album, No Sleep 'til Hammersmith.

2016 - A Tribe Called Quest released their sixth and final studio album, We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service. It features the singles "We the People...." and "Dis Generation."

Birthdays:

Influential blues artist Mose Allison was born today in 1927.

Jazz and blues singer Ernestine Anderson was born today in 1928.

R&B singer LaVern Baker, who enjoyed several pop hits in the 1950s and ‘60s with her songs “Tweedle Dee,” “Jim Dandy” and “I Cried a Tear,” was born today in 1929. Baker was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

Jack Keller — songwriter who wrote the Bewitched theme, “Just Between You and Me,” and songs for the Monkees — was born today in 1936.

R&B guitarist and session player Dennis Coffey is 85. As Dennis Coffey and the Detroit Guitar Band, Coffey released the instrumental single, “Scorpio,” which peaked at No. 6 in the Billboard Hot 100 on January 8, 1972. Since that time, “Scorpio” has been sampled by many hip-hop artists, including Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Queen Latifah, and Young MC.

Chris Dreja of the Yardbirds was born today in 1945. He died Sept. 25, 2025.

Vince Martell of Vanilla Fudge is 80.

Robert John “Mutt” Lange — collaborator with Shania Twain, AC/DC, Def Leppard, the Cars, Lady Gaga, and many more — is 77.

Jim Peterik, founder of Survivor, is 75.

Marshall Crenshaw (“Someday, Someway,” the Gin Blossoms’ “‘Til I Hear it From You”) is 72.

Andy Partridge, leader, primary vocalist and songwriter for XTC, is 72.

Dave Alvin of the Blasters is 70.

Ian Craig Marsh of the Human League is 69.

Mike Mesaros, bassist and singer with the Smithereens, is 68.

Peaches is 59.

Libertines and Dirty Pretty Things drummer Gary Powell is 56.

Jason White, touring guitarist for Green Day, is 52.

Jon B. is 51.

Static Major is 51.

Jesse F. Keeler of Death from Above and MSTRKRFT is 49.

Jon Batiste is 39.

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