History Highlight:

Today in 1980, The Clash released their fourth studio album, Sandinista!, in the U.K. The triple album contains 36 tracks. It crosses various genres including funk, reggae, jazz, gospel, rockabilly, folk, dub, rhythm and blues, calypso, disco, and rap. For the first time, the band's traditional songwriting credits of Strummer and Jones were replaced by a generic credit to the Clash. The band agreed to a decrease in album royalties in order to release the 3-LP at a low price. Sandinista! is the lowest-charting album for the Clash in their native United Kingdom, but the album was influential in the wider punk-rock movement by virtue of its experimental sound.

Today In:

1964 - The Phil Spector-produced "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," by The Righteous Brothers (Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield) was released.

1969 - John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band released the live album Live Peace in Toronto 1969 which was recorded at the Toronto Rock 'n Roll Revival concert on September 13.

1970 - Neil Young peaked at number thirty-three on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", Young's first top-40 single in the U.S. The English band Saint Etienne released a cover of the song 20 years later to much acclaim.

1970 - The Doors played what would be their last-ever live show with Jim Morrison when they appeared at the Warehouse in New Orleans.

1974 - After being in the group for five-and-a-half years, Mick Taylor announced his departure from The Rolling Stones.

1976 - At a show in Lakeland, Florida, Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley was nearly electrocuted when he grabbed a metal railing on the poorly wired set, completing a circuit that sent a current through his body. The incident inspired Frehley to write the song, “Shock Me,” which appears on Kiss’ 1977 album, Love Gun.

1976 - The Rolling Stones began work on what would become their Black & Blue album. It marked the departure of guitarist Mick Taylor (see 1974 entry, above), who'd replaced the late Brian Jones five years previously. Several excellent guitarists auditioned and actually wound up being heard on the album, including Harvey Mandel, Wayne Perkins and Ronnie Wood; Ronnie would eventually get the gig on a permanent basis.

1976 - Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band released "Night Moves," which went on to become Seger's first top-10 hit, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart.

1977 - ABBA released their fifth studio album, ABBA: The Album. It features the singles "The Name of the Game," "Take a Chance on Me," "Eagle," "Thank You for the Music," and "Move On." It was released in Scandinavia through Polar Music, but due to massive pre-orders, U.K. pressing plants were not able to manufacture sufficient copies before Christmas 1977, and as a result, the album was not released in the U.K. until January 1978.

1980 - Devo's "Whip It" became a Gold record. The song was Devo's first major hit and rose to popularity with the help of its video, which at the time was in heavy rotation on MTV.

1985 - Ian Stewart, longtime road manager and touring keyboardist for The Rolling Stones, died of a heart attack in the waiting room of a U.K. clinic. He was 47 years old.

1998 - Luciano Pavarotti became the first classical musician to perform on Saturday Night Live when he sang “Adeste Fideles” with Vanessa Williams.

2001 - Nirvana bandmates Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic filed a countersuit against Courtney Love involving future releases of Nirvana material. The suit was in response to a lawsuit Love filed earlier in the year claiming all rights pertaining to Nirvana would revert to her. Love's suit claimed that Nirvana was a one-man-band and that Novoselic and Grohl were little more than sidemen.

2003 - Mick Jagger was knighted by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace. Jagger brought his 92-year-old father, Joe, to attend the ceremony.

2007 - Ike Turner died of a cocaine overdose in San Marcos, California, at age 76. He was also struggling with emphysema and cardiovascular disease.

2008 - The town where Mick Jagger and Keith Richards grew up announced it was to name streets in a new development after Rolling Stones’ hits. The 13 streets in Dartford, Kent, were given names such as Angie Mews, Babylon Close, Sympathy Street, Little Red Walk, Satisfaction Street, Ruby Tuesday Drive and Stones Avenue.

2012 - The Rolling Stones, The Who, Michael Stipe, Chris Martin, Bruce Springsteen, Roger Waters and Paul McCartney (who was joined onstage by Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic) played a benefit concert at Madison Square Garden in New York, raising more than $30 million for those affected by Hurricane Sandy.

2014 - Nicki Minaj released her third studio album, The Pinkprint. It features “Anaconda.”

2015 - Prince released his 39th studio album, Hit n Run Phase Two. It features "Rock and Roll Love Affair,” “Screwdriver,” and “Baltimore.” It was the last album released within his lifetime.

2017 - The Smithereens frontman Pat DiNizio died at the age of 62 in Summit, New Jersey.

Birthdays:

Frank Sinatra was born today in 1915.

Bob Dorough — composer and performer for Schoolhouse Rock! — was born today in 1923.

Connie Francis — the first woman to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” and who has sold a reported 100 million records worldwide — was born Concetta Franconero today in 1937. She died July 16, 2025.

Dionne Warwick is 85. Raised in East Orange, N.J., Warwick began singing at church during her childhood, and eventually she would further her education at the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford in Connecticut. While still a student, Warwick’s studio work as a backing vocalist for the Drifters got the attention of songwriter and musician Burt Bacharach, who signed Warwick to his label in 1962. By November of that year, on the strength of her first single, Warwick was invited to tour in France, receiving much acclaim. In 1964, Warwick released the song, “Walk On By,” which became an international hit. To date, Warwick has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and she is second only to Aretha Franklin as most-charted woman artist. Among her many accolades, Dionne Warwick can count six Grammy Awards and five NAACP Image Awards. In October 2024, Warwick was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Dickey Betts, guitarist for The Allman Brothers Band, was born today in 1943. He died on April 18, 2024.

Smooth jazz legend Grover Washington, Jr. was born today in 1943.

Tony Williams, drummer for Miles Davis, was born today in 1945.

Bruce Kulick, guitarist for Kiss, is 72.

Sheila E. is 68.

Russell Batiste Jr., drummer for the Meters, was born today in 1965.

Samia is 29.

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