History Highlight:

Irma Thomas was born on this day in 1941, which makes her 81 today. Known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans", Thomas was a contemporary of Aretha Franklin and Etta James, but never experienced their level of commercial success. However in 2007, she won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album for After the Rain, her first Grammy in a career spanning over 50 years. She has released 21 albums and 36 singles in her lifetime, and she is still an active performer, appearing annually at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

Also, Today In:

1959 - Ray Charles recorded "What'd I Say," in New York City. It became Charles' biggest hit to date, reaching No. 1 on the R&B and No. 6 on the pop charts.

1966 - Beach Boy Brian Wilson recorded the future classic song "Good Vibrations," which went on to become the band's third U.S. No. 1 hit.

1968 - Syd Barrett, one of the founding members of Pink Floyd, left the band and checked into a psychiatric hospital before going into complete seclusion for the rest of his life. He was replaced by guitarist David Gilmour.

1972 - Neil Young was awarded a Gold record for Harvest, the only No. 1 album of his long and storied career. The album featured the top single "Heart Of Gold."

1990 - Freddie Mercury made his final public appearance on stage when he joined the rest of Queen to collect the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, held at the Dominion Theatre, London, England.

1995 - Guitarist Bob Stinson, a founding member of the Replacements, passed away on this date in 1995. Stinson was born in Waconia, Minn., in 1959, and grew up in Minneapolis. With his brother Tommy on bass and Chris Mars on drums, Stinson formed a group called Dogbreath in 1978, which changed its name to the Replacements shortly after Paul Westerberg joined the band. With the Replacements, Bob Stinson made six recordings, including the albums Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash (1981), Hootenanny (1983), Let It Be (1984) — named one of the best 100 records of all time by Rolling Stone — and Tim (1985). Describing Stinson's guitar playing, former Replacements manager Peter Jesperson told writer Jim Walsh, "What he played just came from somewhere else. It was instinctual, more than most people that I've ever experienced."

1998 - At an auction in London, Oasis' Noel Gallagher's Epiphone Supernova guitar raised $7,820 in aid of the BBC's corporate charity Children In Need.

2012 - The memorial for Whitney Houston occured at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. Among those who performed at the funeral were Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys and R. Kelly. Kevin Costner read a moving and personal Eulogy.

2013 - Otis Damon Harris, who was a member of The Temptations, died at the age of 62 after a 14-year battle with prostate cancer. Harris was a member of The Temptations from 1971 to 1975, joining shortly after the departure of Eddie Kendricks.

2015 - American singer Willie C. Jackson from 50's doo-wop group The Spaniels died at age 79. Their 1954 hit 'Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite' was featured in such films as Three Men and a Baby and American Graffiti. The Spaniels became one of the first groups to sign with Vee-Jay Records, one of the first African American-owned record companies.

2021 - Rapper, songwriter and producer Prince Markie Dee died at age 52. He was a member of the Fat Boys, a pioneering rap group that gained fame during the 1980s.

Birthdays:

Skip Battin, of The Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, was born today in 1934.

Yoko Ono is 89.

Bobby Hart (who had the 1968 U.S. No. 8 single with Tommy Boyce, 'I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite', also wrote 'Last Train To Clarksville', 'I'm Not Your Stepping Stone' and 'Scooby Doo Where Are You') is 83.

Dennis Deyoung of Styx is 75.

Keith Knudsen of The Doobie Brothers was born on this day in 1948.

Juice Newton is 70.

Robbie Bachman from Bachman Turner Overdrive is 69.

John Travolta is 68.

Brian James of The Damned is 67.

Dr. Dre is 57.

Highlights for Today in Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Song Facts and Wikipedia.