History Highlight:

On this day in 1978, Patti Smith Group released the album, Easter. It was Smith’s third studio release, and the second album to be attributed to her band, Patti Smith Group. Produced by Jimmy Iovine, the album features the singles "Privilege (Set Me Free)" and "Because the Night." On the strength of the latter, which was co-written by Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen and peaked at No. 13 and No. 5 on the U.S. and U.K. singles charts, respectively, Easter is considered Patti Smith’s commercial breakthrough.

Check out The Siren, a stream dedicated to amplifying women’s voices in music, online and in The Current’s App.

Also, Today In:

1966 - The Rolling Stones went into RCA's Hollywood Studios in Los Angeles to begin work on the album Aftermath.

1966 - Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay formed Buffalo Springfield in Los Angeles.

1967 - In Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, The Animals refused to play a scheduled concert unless they were paid up front. Consequently, more than 3,000 fans in the audience broke into a riot, causing about $5,000 in damages.

1972 - Harry Nilsson earned a Gold record for Nilsson Schmilsson, the best-selling album of his career; it featured "Without You," "Jump Into The Fire" and "Coconut." The album performed well at the 1973 Grammy Awards, earning a nomination for Album of the Year, while "Without You," a Badfinger cover, won a Nilsson a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

1973 - The Grammy Awards were held at the Tennessee Theatre in Nashville. The Album Of The Year award went to George Harrison's The Concert For Bangladesh, and the band America were named Best New Artist.

1975 - Earth, Wind & Fire released their sixth studio album, That’s the Way of the World. It features “Shining Star” and the title track.

1982 - The reformed Mamas & Papas, with original members John Phillips and Denny Doherty — joined by Phillips' daughter MacKenzie (also known for her work on TV's One Day at a Time) and Elaine “Spanky” McFarlane of Spanky & Our Gang — played the first show of their brief reunion tour.

1986 - Metallica released their third album, Master Of Puppets, featuring an anthemic title track that becomes their most-played live song.

1987 - The Replacements released their fifth studio album, Pleased to Meet Me. It features the singles "The Ledge," "Alex Chilton" and "Can't Hardly Wait."

1987 - Boogie Down Productions released their debut studio album, Criminal Minded. It features the singles "South Bronx," "The Bridge Is Over," and "Super-Hoe."

1992 - The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy released their debut studio album, Hypocrisy Is the Greatest Luxury. It features the single "Television, the Drug of the Nation."

1995 - R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry underwent surgery to halt bleeding caused by a brain aneurysm. The operation was a success, but in October 1997, Berry felt it was best that he retire from the band.

1995 - Foo Fighters made their live debut during a benefit show at The Satyricon in Portland, Oregon.

1997 - U2 released their ninth studio album, Pop. It features the singles "Discothèque," "Staring at the Sun," "Last Night on Earth," "Please," "If God Will Send His Angels," and "Mofo."

1997 - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds released their 10th studio album, The Boatman's Call. It features the singles "Into My Arms" and "(Are You) The One That I've Been Waiting For?"

2005 - 50 Cent released his second studio album, The Massacre. It features “Candy Shop,” “Disco Inferno,” and “Just a Lil Bit.”

2008 - Duffy released her debut album Rockferry featuring the hit "Mercy." It sold about 9 million copies worldwide and was the best-selling album of 2008 in the U.K. In 2009, Duffy received the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album for Rockferry, one of three nominations, and won three out of four BRIT Awards nominations.

2008 - Chumbawamba broke the record for longest album title with their 160-word release The Boy Bands Have Won... The record of longest album title was established in 1999 with Fiona Apple's 90-word title for her second album, When The Pawn... The Belgian group Soulwax broke it with a 103-word title for a compilation album in 2007 before Chumbawamba claimed it.

2009 - Neko Case released her fifth studio album, Middle Cyclone. It features "People Got A Lotta Nerve."

2009 - To celebrate the release of U2's 12th studio album and their appearance every night for a week on The Late Show with David Letterman, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg temporarily renamed part of 53rd Street in Midtown Manhattan "U2 Way."

2010 - Gorillaz released their third studio album, Plastic Beach. It features “Stylo,” “Superfast Jellyfish,” and “On Melancholy Hill.”

2013 - American musician and tenor singer Bobby Rogers died aged 73. He was a member of The Miracles who, with Smokey Robinson, had the 1970 U.K. and U.S. No.1 single, “Tears of a Clown.” Rogers was a part-time Motown songwriter; his most notable composition with bandmate Smokey Robinson was The Temptations' first hit single, “The Way You Do the Things You Do.” Rogers also co-wrote The Temptations' 1965 hit, “My Baby.”

2014 - American Authors released their debut studio album, Oh, What a Life. It features “Best Day of My Life.”

2014 - Baltimore band Future Islands made their network television debut, performing “Seasons (Waiting On You),” the lead single to their forthcoming album, Singles, on The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS. The performance — in particular, the passionate singing and dancing of frontman Samuel T. Herring — became a sensation, and video of the performance drew millions of views on YouTube.

2015 - Brandi Carlile released her fifth studio album, The Firewatcher’s Daughter. It features “Wherever Is Your Heart,” “The Eye” and “The Things I Regret.”

2017 - Guitarist Jim Fuller from The Surfaris died at age 69. The Surfaris had the 1963 U.S. No. 2 and U.K. No. 3 single “Wipe Out,” and Fuller was known as the "Godfather of surf music,” a California-originated genre of instrumental rock music. With his Fender guitar, Fuller contributed to the popularity of Fender instruments.

2017 - Session musician Lyle Ritz, known for his skills at ukulele and bass, died at the age of 87. As a session musician on the bass guitar, he joined the Wrecking Crew, the fabled group of studio musicians in Los Angeles, where Ritz compiled over 5,000 recording credits, including for such notable tracks as Herb Alpert's “A Taste of Honey,” The Righteous Brothers' “You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'', and The Beach Boys “Good Vibrations.”

Birthdays:

Doc Watson was born today in 1923.

Jimmy Garrison, bassist for John Coltrane, was born today in 1934.

Mike Pender of The Searchers is 85.

Singer Jennifer Warnes, whose hits include “I Know a Heartache When I See One”; her duet with Joe Cocker, “Up Where We Belong”; and her duet with Bill Medley, “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” is 79.

Snowy White — guitarist who collaborated with Pink Floyd and Rogers Waters — is 78.

English singer-songwriter and guitarist Robyn Hitchcock is 73. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the influential Underwater Moonlight, Hitchcock launched a prolific solo career. His musical and lyrical styles have been influenced by Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Syd Barrett, Captain Beefheart, Martin Carthy, Lou Reed, Roger McGuinn and Bryan Ferry.

Ira Glass, host of NPR's This American Life, is 67.

Tone-Loc is 60.

Lil’ Flip is 45.

Jess Wolfe of Lucius is 41. Wolfe grew up in the Los Angeles area and then attended college at the Berklee College of Music in Boston where she met Holly Laessig. The two became fast friends, and after college, they relocated to Brooklyn, N.Y., where they formed the band Lucius in 2007. Lucius released their breakthrough album, Wildewoman, in 2013. Since then, Lucius relocated to Los Angeles and have released two additional full-length albums, the most recent being 2022’s Second Nature. Beyond Lucius, Wolfe and Laessig have performed with other artists, including on tour with Roger Waters in 2017, on Brandi Carlile’s In These Silent Days album in 2021, and alongside Joni Mitchell at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival. Jess Wolfe also provided the voice of country singer Millie Kirkham in the final episode of the Showtime Original series George & Tammy.

Camila Cabello is 29.

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