History Highlight:
On this day in 1990, rock pioneer Little Richard received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Born Richard Penniman in Macon, Georgia, in 1932, Little Richard began his recording career in 1951 by taking up the gospel-inspired rhythms of jump blues players like Billy Wright. Little Richard went on to be one of rock ‘n’ roll’s crucial architects, with hits like “Tutti Frutti” that inspired Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and countless others.

Also, Today In:

1966 - After a North American tour, The Rolling Stones sued 14 hotels over a booking ban in New York, claiming that the ban violated civil rights laws.

1966 - Jimmy Page made his live debut with The Yardbirds at the Marquee Club, London. The group is notable for having started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page, all of whom were in the top five of Rolling Stone's 100 Top Guitarists list (Clapton at No. 2, Page at No. 3, and Beck at No. 5).

1966 - Working at Abbey Road studios in London, The Beatles recorded a new John Lennon song, "She Said She Said." The song was reportedly based on a bizarre conversation that Lennon had with actor Peter Fonda.

1967 - It was the Summer of Love: There was a free concert in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park celebrating the summer solstice. The Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and Quicksilver Messenger Service all performed.

1970 - Art Garfunkel made his acting debut in the movie Catch-22. Paul Simon was also slated for a role in the film, but was dropped, leading to a rift that broke up Simon & Garfunkel.

1972 - The first Stonehenge Free Festival was held at Stonehenge, England, culminating on the summer solstice. Staged between 1972 and 1984, acts who have appeared at Stonehenge include Hawkwind, Gong, Doctor and the Medics, Flux of Pink Indians, Buster Blood Vessel, Crass, Selector, Dexys Midnight Runners, Thompson Twins, The Raincoats, Amazulu, Wishbone Ash, Man, Benjamin Zephaniah, The Enid, Roy Harper, Jimmy Page, Ted Chippington, Zorch and Ozric Tentacles. A new film, Spinal Tap at Stonehenge: The Final Finale, depicting the band who most famously sang about the landmark, is expected later in 2026.

1975 - Captain and Tennille started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with the Neil Sedaka song "Love Will Keep Us Together."

1975 - Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple to form his own group Rainbow.

1979 - Angus MacLise (original drummer for The Velvet Underground) died of hypoglycemia and tuberculosis at age 41.

1982 - ABC released their debut album, The Lexicon of Love. It features "Tears Are Not Enough," "Poison Arrow," "The Look of Love," and "All of My Heart."

1982 - Crosby, Stills & Nash released their fourth studio album, Daylight Again. It features “Wasted on the Way” and “Southern Cross.”

1985 - Heart released their self-titled eighth studio album. It features “These Dreams” and “What About Love.”

1986 - Genesis scored their fourth U.K. No.1 album with their 13th studio album, Invisible Touch. It remained in the charts for 96 weeks, making it the most commercially successful album of their career, eventually selling over 15 million copies worldwide and producing five U.S. Top 5 singles, including the title track.

1988 - Information Society released their self-titled debut album. It features "What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy)."

1988 - Big Daddy Kane released his debut album, Long Live the Kane. It features "Ain't No Half-Steppin'."

1988 - The Rascals reunited onstage for the first time in 18 years.

1990 - Uncle Tupelo released their first studio album, No Depression. It features the title track, “Screen Door,” and “Whiskey Bottle.”

1994 - Guided by Voices released their seventh album, Bee Thousand. It features “I Am a Scientist.”

1994 - Bone Thugs-N-Harmony released the EP Creepin on ah Come Up, which eventually went platinum four times.

1994 - Helmet released their third studio album, Betty.

1994 - Rancid released their second studio album, Let’s Go. It features “Salvation.”

1994 - George Michael lost his lawsuit against Sony Records. Michael claimed that his 15-year contract with Sony was unfair because the company could refuse to release albums it thought wouldn't be commercially successful. Michael vowed he would never record for Sony again. He re-signed with the company in 2003.

1999 - Chemical Brothers released their third studio album, Surrender. It features “Hey Boy Hey Girl,” “Let Forever Be,” and “Out of Control.”

1999 - The Beta Band released their debut studio album, a self-titled release following their The Three E.P.’s compilation.

2000 - Thirty-nine-year-old Karen McNeil, who claimed she was the wife of Axl Rose and that she communicated with him telepathically, was jailed for one year for stalking the singer.

2001 - John Lee Hooker, American blues singer and guitarist, died in his sleep at age 83. Some of his best known songs include "Boogie Chillen'," "Crawling King Snake," "Dimples," "Boom Boom," and "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer," Despite being illiterate, Hooker was a prolific lyricist and often employed an improvisational style in his music. Hooker appeared as a Chicago busker and sang “Boom Boom” in the 1980 film, The Blues Brothers.

2004 - Swedish psych-rockers Dungen released their third album, Ta det lugnt.

2005 - Billy Corgan released his first solo album, TheFutureEmbrace.

2011 - People magazine reported that 75-year-old Glen Campbell had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

2011 - “Weird Al” Yankovic released his 13th studio album, Alpocalypse (read that carefully, dog lovers especially).

2015 - Apple Music reversed its payment policy, a day after Taylor Swift said she was refusing to allow the company to stream her latest album 1989. In an open letter to Apple, Swift said she was withholding the record as she was unhappy with the three-month free trial offered to subscribers, saying "We don't ask you for free iPhones. Please don't ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation."

2016 - Trumpeter Wayne Jackson, who formed the Memphis Horns duo with saxophonist Andrew Love, died of congestive heart failure at the age of 74. Jackson and Love played together on 52 No. 1 songs, supporting Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Otis Redding, Al Green, Aretha Franklin, Peter Gabriel and the Doobie Brothers.

2019 - Hot Chip released their seventh studio album, A Bath Full of Ecstasy.

2019 - American music manager and record executive Elliot Roberts died aged 76. He is best known for helping to start and develop the careers of singer-songwriters from the late 1960s and 1970s, including those of Neil Young — whom he managed for over 50 years — and Joni Mitchell.

2019 - Black Pumas released their self-titled debut album. The deluxe edition would go on to be nominated for Album of the Year at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020, while the album track "Colors" received two Grammy nominations: Record of the Year and Best American Roots Performance.

Birthdays:

Lalo Schifrin — Grammy-, Oscar-, and Emmy-winning composer of the theme from Mission: Impossible, as well as scores for Cool Hand Luke, Enter the Dragon, THX1138, and many more — was born today in 1932. He died on June 26, 2026.

Singer O.C. Smith, whose 1968 recording of “Little Green Apples” became a worldwide hit, was born today in 1932.

Ray Davies, of The Kinks, is 82.

Motown singer Brenda Holloway is 80.

Joey Molland, singer and guitarist for Badfinger, was born today in 1947. He died on March 1, 2025.

Joey Kramer, drummer for Aerosmith, is 76.

Guitarist Nils Lofgren (E Street Band, Crazy Horse) is 75.

Augustus Pablo — King Tubby collaborator and producer for Bob Marley, Lee Perry, the Heptones, and many more — was born today in 1953.

Kathy Mattea is 67.

Manu Chao is 65.

Sascha Konietzko, frontman for KMFDM, is 65.

Kip Winger is 65.

Pat Sansone, multi-instrumentalist for Wilco, is 57.

Juliette Lewis is 53.

Mike Einziger of Incubus is 50.

Brandon Flowers, frontman of The Killers, is 45.

Lana Del Rey was born today in 1985, making her 41 today. Del Rey's breakthrough came after the viral success of her single "Video Games" in 2011, and her major label debut Born to Die (2012) gave her her first top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Summertime Sadness". She has since released the albums Ultraviolence (2014), Honeymoon (2015), Lust for Life (2017), Norman F***ing Rockwell (2019), Chemtrails Over The Country Club (2021), and Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (2023). She has received nominations for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album for both Paradise and Lust for Life as well as Album of the Year nominations for Beauty Behind the Madness and Norman F***ing Rockwell.

Rebecca Black, of “Friday” fame, is 29.

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