History Highlight:

Robert Plant is 73 today. Plant's career spans more than 40 years, including his time with Led Zeppelin and his work as a solo artist. Possessing a powerful and wide vocal range (including his trademark screams), Plant is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of popular music, and he has influenced singers such as Freddie Mercury and Axl Rose. In 2011, Rolling Stone readers voted him into the top position in the magazine's list of the best lead singers of all time. Plant's most recent album is 2017's Carry Fire, however, he did release a compilation album last year.

Also, Today In:

1966 - The Beatles, touring America for the last time, were forced to cancel and reschedule their performance in Cincinnati's open-air stadium, Crosley Field. Heavy rain (and no cover provided) made electrocution a virtual certainty if The Beatles had attempted to perform.


1977 - The Voyager 2 space probe is launched, carrying with it a "Golden Record" of sounds and images representing Earth.

1979 - Bob Dylan released Slow Train Coming, an album of religious songs, including the Grammy Award-winning single, "Gotta Serve Somebody." The album alienated many of his longtime fans.

1980 - John Lennon began recording his final album, Double Fantasy. It would be released on Nov. 17, 1980, by the newly formed Geffen Records and would win the 1982 Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

1986 - Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen made his first live appearance with the band after losing an arm in a car accident, playing at the Monsters Of Rock Festival, in Castle Donington, England.

1988 - Steve Winwood went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with his fifth solo album Roll With It. The title cut also topped the U.S. singles charts.

1990 - Prince releases his album Graffiti Bridge, which contains the tracks "Thieves In The Temple" and "New Power Generation."

2000 - Janet Jackson went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Doesn't Really Matter."

2008 - The daughter of late country star Johnny Cash called the use of her father's name to endorse a U.S. presidential candidate "appalling." According to media reports, country star John Rich, appearing at a rally in Florida, implied that Cash would have backed Republican hopeful John McCain. Writing on her website, Roseanne Cash called the remarks "presumptuous," adding, "Even I would not presume to say publicly what I 'know' he thought or felt."

2009 - American keyboard player and bassist Larry Knechtel died at the age of 69 of an apparent heart attack. He is best known as a member of the Wrecking Crew who worked with such artists as Simon And Garfunkel, Duane Eddy, The Beach Boys, (The Doors, Jerry Garcia, Elvis Presley, and as a member of the 1970s band Bread.

2013 - Lady Gaga asked her fans to stop sending online threats to her critics. The singer said she would not condone "hateful or abusive language" directed towards others, adding "this is not a healthy way to handle your emotions." Some of her fans had tweeted death threats to dance producer Deadmau5, who criticized Gaga's video collaboration with artist Marina Abramovic.

2016 - Former 3 Doors Down guitarist Matt Roberts died at the age of 38 from a prescription drug overdose.

2018 - Soul musician Eddie Willis died from complications of polio at the age of 82. Willis played electric guitar and occasional electric sitar for Motown's in-house studio band, The Funk Brothers, during the 1960s and early 1970s. He performed many hits including 'Please Mr. Postman' by The Marvelettes, 'The Way You Do the Things You Do' by The Temptations, 'You Keep Me Hanging On' by The Supremes, and 'I Was Made to Love Her' by Stevie Wonder.

2020 - American rock drummer Frankie Banali died from pancreatic cancer age 68. He is most widely known for his work with multi-platinum heavy metal band Quiet Riot.

Birthdays:

Country singer Jim Reeves was born today in 1923. He passed away in 1964.

'Sneaky' Pete Kleinow of the Flying Burrito Brothers was born today in 1934. He passed away in 2007.

Ralf Hutter of Kraftwerk is 75.

James Pankow of Chicago is 74.

Doug Fieger of The Knack was born today in 1952. He passed away in 2010.

Isaac Hayes was born today in 1942. He passed away in 2008.

Phil Lynott, lead singer of Thin Lizzy, was born today in 1949. He passed away in 1986.

Dimebag Darrell of Pantera was born today in 1966. He passed away in 2004.

John Hiatt is 68. His songs have been covered by a variety of artists including Bob Dylan, The Searchers, Ry Cooder, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Three Dog Night, Joan Baez, and Iggy Pop.

Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit is 51.

Queens of the Stone Age bassist Michael Schuman is 36.

Demi Lovato is 29.

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