History Highlight:

Today in 1967 Pink Floyd released their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, on which most songs were penned by Syd Barrett, though two tracks on the album are credited to the band collectively and one track was written by Waters. The studio album borrows its name from the title of chapter seven of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows, which refers to the nature god Pan, who plays his pan pipes at dawn. In 1973, the album was packaged with the band's second album A Saucerful of Secrets (1968) and released as A Nice Pair, to introduce the band's early work to new fans gained with the success of The Dark Side of the Moon (1973). In subsequent years, the record has been recognized as one of the seminal psychedelic rock albums of the 1960s. In 2012, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn was placed at number 347 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and number 253 in the 2020 edition. 

Also, Today In: 

1958 - Billboard introduced The Hot 100 Singles Chart, on which Ricky Nelson was at No. 1 with "Poor Little Fool." 

1958 - Bobby Darin had his first hit as "Splish Splash" reached No. 3 in America. The song was later used on Sesame Street as a way to encourage kids to get in the tub. 

1963 - The Beatles cracked the U.S. charts for the first time with "From Me To You," which bubbled under at No. 116 on the Hot 100. It's not until five months later that "I Want To Hold Your Hand" became their breakout hit in America. 

1966 - The Temptations release "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep." 

1966 - The Rolling Stones recorded their longest title yet: "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?". The artwork for the single's U.S. distribution, released on Sept. 23, 1966, generated some controversy: It featured the lads in drag, posing for a photo outside 124 East 24th Street in New York, between Park Avenue and Lexington Avenue. 

1967 - A Monkees fan stowed away on the band's plane between shows in Minneapolis and St Louis. The girl's father threatened to bring charges for transporting a minor across state lines. 

1971 - Ringo Starr picked up a Gold record for "It Don't Come Easy," an unlikely but catchy hit which he wrote and George Harrison produced. The song was Starr's first single release since the breakup of the Beatles, and was a commercial success, peaking at No. 1 in Canada and No. 4 in both the U.S. and U.K. singles charts. It has remained one of his most popular hits as a solo artist, and Starr and Harrison performed it together in August 1971 at Harrison's "Concert for Bangladesh" shows in New York. 

1972 - The movie Super Fly is released, along with a soundtrack by Curtis Mayfield that becomes a soul music landmark, taking on the drug culture portrayed in the film with vivid commentary. 

1974 - Paul Simon released "Love Me Like A Rock." 

1975 - Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant and his wife were both badly injured when the rental car he was driving spun off the road and crashed on the Greek island of Rhodes. Plant smashed both his ankle and his elbow, and it took nearly two years for Plant to fully recover from his injuries. 

1984 - Prince started a 24-week run at the top of the U.S. album charts with Purple Rain. The album, which features hits "When Doves Cry," "Let's Go Crazy" and the title track, has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide, making it the seventh best-selling soundtrack album of all time. 

1990 - Mariah Carey started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Vision Of Love," her debut release. 

2000 - Coyote Ugly, about an aspiring singer-songwriter (Piper Perabo) who takes a job at a bawdy bar, opens in theaters. LeAnn Rimes, who appears in the film, anchors the soundtrack with four new songs, including the theme, "Can't Fight The Moonlight." It's one of the best-selling soundtracks of the '00s. 

2002 - Bruce Springsteen went No. 1 in the U.S. with his album The Rising. 

2005 - Blues singer and guitarist Little Milton died. He signed to Sun records in 1953 and had the 1965 U.S. No. 25 single "We're Gonna Make It". 

2007 - Singer/songwriter Lee Hazlewood died of cancer at age 78. Hazlewood wrote and produced many of Nancy Sinatra's most famous hits, including "These Boots Were Made For Walkin'", "Jackson" and "Did You Ever". 

2012 - Electric blues guitarist Johnnie Bassett dies of cancer at age 76. 

2015 - Influential country producer Billy Sherrill, who worked with artists like George Jones, Charlie Rich, and Tammy Wynette and was known for pioneering the "countrypolitan" sound, died after a short illness at the age of 78. Sherrill also co-wrote many hit songs, including "Stand by Your Man" (written with Tammy Wynette). 

Birthdays: 

Louis Armstrong was born today in 1901. He passed away in 1971. 

Wrecking Crew keyboard player and bassist Larry Knechtel was born today in 1940. He passed away in 2009. 

David Carr of The Fortunes was born today in 1979. He passed away in 1943. 

Paul Reynolds of A Flock of Seagulls is 61. 

Elsbeary Hobbs of The Drifters was born in 1936. He passed away in 1996.  

Moya Brennan of Clannad - and sister of Enya - is 71. 

Klause Schulze of Tangerine Dream was born in 1947. He passed away in 2022. 

Tom Parker of The Wanted was born in 1988. He passed away in 2022.  

John O'Callaghan, front guy of The Maine, is 35. 

John Paul White, best known as one-half of The Civil Wars, is 51. 

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