History Highlight:

Today in 1985, Janelle Monáe was born, making her 40 today. She is an American singer, rapper and actress. Monáe publicly debuted in 2007 with a conceptual EP titled Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase). In 2011, she was featured as a guest vocalist on fun.'s single "We Are Young," which achieved major commercial success, topping the charts of more than ten countries. In 2016, she made her theatrical film debut in Hidden Figures as NASA mathematician and aerospace engineer Mary Jackson. Monáe's third studio album, Dirty Computer, also described as a concept album, was released in 2018 to widespread critical acclaim; it was chosen as the best album of the year by several publications, and it earned her two nominations at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. On a local note, when Janelle Monáe was growing up, she lived for a time in Minneapolis and attended Hale Elementary School.

Also, in:

1957 - Buddy Holly and the Crickets appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing “That'll Be The Day” and “Peggy Sue.” Sam Cooke was also a guest on the same show performing “You Send Me.”

1958 - The Teddy Bears were at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "To Know Him is to Love Him." The title of the Phil Spector song came from words on his father's tombstone.

1958 - Life magazine became the first major publication to print the phrase "teen idol" when the publication used it to describe its cover subject, Ricky Nelson.

1973 - The Carpenters went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Top Of The World," their second U.S. No. 1.

1971 - John Lennon released "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" in the U.S.

1976 - The Sex Pistols appeared on the Today program on London regional TV as a last-minute substitute for Queen. After being goaded by host Bill Grundy, they swear repeatedly, including the dreaded "F" word, shocking sensitive viewers.

1978 - The Doobie Brothers released their eighth studio album, Minute by Minute. It features the singles "What a Fool Believes," "Minute by Minute," and "Dependin' on You."

1978 - Suzi Quatro released her fifth studio album, If You Knew Suzi.... It features the singles "If You Can't Give Me Love," "Stumblin' In," "The Race Is On," and "Don't Change My Luck."

1983 - Neil Young was sued by Geffen Records because his new music for the label was "not commercial in nature and musically uncharacteristic of his previous albums."

1986 - Salt-N-Pepa released their debut studio album, Hot, Cool, & Vicious. It features “Push It.”

1987 - A Kentucky teacher lost her appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court over getting fired for showing Pink Floyd's film, The Wall, to her class.

1989 - Christmas Vacation, starring Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo, hit theaters in the U.S., with a theme song written by the powerhouse songwriting duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and sung by Mavis Staples. In a 2020 interview about the role, Beverly D’Angelo told Jill Riley, “That role was in honor of my own mother. I was a wild person … It was so far from the way that I lived my life.“

1990 - Whitney Houston went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "I'm Your Baby Tonight", her 8th U.S. No. 1 and the first for writers and producers Reid and Babyface.

1990 - "Ice Ice Baby" became the No. 1 single on the U.K. Singles Chart. "Ice Ice Baby" was initially released as the B-side to the rapper's cover of "Play That Funky Music", and became the A-side after U.S. DJs started playing it.

1992 - Duran Duran released the single "Ordinary World" earlier than planned after radio airplay created a huge demand. The song reached No. 3 in the U.S., their biggest hit in the country since "Notorious" in 1986.

1993 - Ray Gillen died at age 34. He was best-known for his work with Badlands, in addition to his stint with Black Sabbath in the mid-1980s and recording most of the vocals on Phenomena's Dream Runner album.

1997 - Kenny G set a new world record when he held a note on his saxophone for 45 minutes and 47 seconds. (The record has since been broken by Geovanny Escalante, who held a note for 1 hour, 30 minutes and 45 seconds, using a technique that allows him to blow and breathe at the same time).

2006 - Gwen Stefani released her second solo studio album, The Sweet Escape. It features the singles "Wind It Up," "The Sweet Escape," "4 in the Morning," "Now That You Got It," and "Early Winter."

2011 - Hanson announced they would be selling “Mmmhops” beer".

2013 - Australian artist, cartoonist, songwriter and film-maker Martin Sharp died from emphysema at age 71. Sharp was called Australia's foremost pop artist. His psychedelic posters of Bob Dylan, Donovan and others, rank as classics of the genre. Martin co-wrote one of Cream's best known songs, “Tales of Brave Ulysses”, created the cover art for Cream's Disraeli Gears and Wheels of Fire albums, and in the 1970s became a champion of singer Tiny Tim.

2016 - Drake was named Spotify's most-streamed artist of 2016, with his single 'One Dance' the site's biggest song of the year.

2017 - U2 released their fourteenth studio album, Songs of Experience. It features the singles "You're the Best Thing About Me," "Get Out of Your Own Way," "Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way," "Summer of Love," and "Landlady."

2017 - Miguel released his fourth studio album, War & Leisure. It features the singles “Pineapple Skies,” "Sky Walker," "Told You So," and "Come Through and Chill."

2017 - Chris Stapleton released his third studio album, From A Room: Volume 2. It features the singles "Millionaire," "Scarecrow in the Garden," and "Tryin' to Untangle My Mind."

2020 - South Korea, which required men to enlist in the military by the time they turn 28, passed a law to defer service for K-pop stars who have "elevated the country's cultural influence around the world" until age 30. This kept BTS intact, as one of the performers turned 28 three days later.

Birthdays:

Avant-garde jazz saxophonist Jimmy Lyons was born today in 1931.

Country singer Jim Nesbitt, whose hits included the political song “Lookin’ for More in ‘64” and lighter fare like the fast-car song “Tiger in my Tank,” was born today in 1931.

R&B singer Lou Rawls, known for his his rich baritone voice on such hits as “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine,” was born today in 1933.

Soul singer Billy Paul, who enjoyed a No. 1 hit in 1972 with “Me and Mrs. Jones,” was born today in 1934.

Sandy Nelson — drummer on “Tean Beat,” “Let There Be Drums” — was born today in 1938.

Eric Bloom of Blue Öyster Cult is 81.

John Densmore, drummer from The Doors, is 81.

Singer/actress Bette Midler is 80.

Gilbert O’Sullivan — who had hits including “Along Again (Naturally)” and “Get Down” — is 79.

Bassist Jaco Pastorius of Weather Report and many other projects was born today in 1951.

Julee Cruise — whose music was prominently featured in Twin Peaks — was born today in 1956.

Chris Poland of Megadeth and OHM is 68.

Vesta Williams (“Congratulations”) was born today in 1957.

Billy Childish is 66.

Jonathan Coulton is 55.

Brad Delson, guitar player from Linkin Park is 48.

Mat Kearney is 47.

Yolandi Visser of Die Antwoord is 41.

Vance Joy is 38.

Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots is 37.

Zoë Kravitz is 37.

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