History Highlight:

Happy birthday to Smokey Robinson who turns 84 today. Born William Robinson Jr. in 1940 in Detroit, Robinson was the founder and front person of the Motown vocal group, the Miracles, who had a No. 1 hit in 1970 with "The Tears of a Clown." Robinson became the Vice President of Motown Records in 1972, but returned to performing in the late '70s and went on to chart the hits, "Cruisin'" (1979), "Being with You" (1981) and "Just to See Her" (1987). Robinson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1993. He was presented with the National Medal of Arts in 2002, and the Miracles were honored as a group with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2009.

Also, Today In:

1958 - Carl Perkins, whose rockabilly classic "Blue Suede Shoes" had been one of the biggest hits of 1957, followed the example of Elvis and Johnny Cash and split from Sun Records to sign with a major label. Perkins went with Columbia and released "Pink Pedal Pushers" two weeks later.

1964 - A British company shipped a half-ton of Beatle wigs to the United States. An American reporter later asked John Lennon, "How do you feel about teenagers imitating you with Beatle wigs?" John replied, "They're not imitating us, because we don't wear Beatle wigs."

1972 - Harry Nilsson started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with his version of the Badfinger song "Without You."

1977 - Stevie Wonder won the Grammy for Album Of The Year for Songs In The Key Of Life. His eighteenth album, Songs In The Key Of Life is an ambitious double LP with a four-song bonus EP. With songs like "Isn't She Lovely", "Joy Inside My Tears" and "Village Ghetto Land", it is one of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed albums of Wonder's career.

1977 - Manfred Mann's Earth Band scored a No. 1 single in the U.S. with their cover of the Bruce Springsteen song, "Blinded By The Light." The track was the first single from Bruce Springsteen's 1973 debut album Greetings from Asbury Park N.J. Manfred Mann's version features several changed lyrics; most notably, Springsteen's "cut loose like a deuce" is replaced by "revved up like a deuce."

1982 - Ozzy Osbourne was arrested in San Antonio, Texas, for urinating on the Alamo.

1991 - R.E.M. released the single, “Losing My Religion,” as a lead track for their album, Out of Time. “Losing My Religion” went on to become R.E.M.'s highest-charting hit in the United States, peaking at No. 4 in the Billboard Hot 100, and at the 1992 Grammy Awards, it won awards for Best Short Form Music Video and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. In 2017, "Losing My Religion" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

1998 - The Stray Cats reunited for a single performance at L.A.'s House Of Blues to benefit the Carl Perkins Foundation.

2004 - Johnny Cash's family blocked an attempt by advertisers to use his hit song "Ring of Fire" to promote a hemorrhoid medication. Cash's daughter Rosanne said the family "would never allow the song to be demeaned like that."

2014 - David Bowie was named best British male at the Brit Awards in London. Arctic Monkeys won both best group and best album for the third time - the first act to achieve that milestone. Ellie Goulding won best British female, while pop act One Direction were honoured for their global success for the second year running.

2020 - American rapper, singer, and songwriter Pop Smoke died in Hollywood Hills, California. His debut studio album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, was posthumously released in July 2020 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, with all 19 tracks from the album charting on the Billboard Hot 100.

Birthdays:

Bobby Rogers, one of Smokey Robinson's fellow Miracles, was born today in 1940.

Lou Christie (“Lightnin’ Strikes”) is 81.

Paul Dean, Loverboy guitarist, is 78.

Tony Iommi, guitarist for Black Sabbath, is 76.

Francis Buchholz, former bassist for Scorpions, is 70.

Michael Gira, singer for Swans, is 70.

Falco ('Rock Me Amadeus') was born on this day in 1957.

Dave Wakeling of The English Beat (aka The Beat) is 68.

Steve Nieve of Elvis Costello and the Attractions is 66.

Henry Samuel — better known as Seal — is 61.

Jon Fishman, drummer for Phish, is 59.

Kate Radley of Spiritualized is 57.

Prince Markie D, rapper with the Fat Boys, was born on this day in 1968.

Immortal Technique is 46.

Beth Ditto of Gossip is 43.

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