History highlight:

Today in 1968, Marvin Gaye scored his first U.S. No. 1 single when "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" started a five-week run at the top. The song has a long history - written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for Motown Records in 1966, first meant for Gladys Knight & the Pips, then recorded by The Miracles, then recorded by Marvin Gaye and placed on his 1968 album In the Groove. The Gaye recording has since become an acclaimed soul classic.

Also, in:

1963 - The Beatles played a show for their Southern Area Fan Club at Wimbledon Palais, London. To prevent damage to the stage from fans, the management of the Palais constructed a platform for The Beatles to perform on, surrounded by a steel cage.

1963 - American blues and jazz singer Dinah Washington died at age 39. Known as the "Queen of the Blues", she scored the 1959 Grammy Award-winning single "What A Diff'rence A Day Makes" and the 1961 hit "September In The Rain". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a wide variety of styles including blues, R&B, and traditional pop music, and has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the '50s".

1969 - The Jackson Five made their first network television appearance in the U.S. when they appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show".

1970 - John Lennon's "Instant Karma!" is certified Gold.

1972 - Seals and Crofts' "Summer Breeze" is certified Gold.

1977 - At the peak of the disco era, the film Saturday Night Fever opened in theaters. The soundtrack contained two previous No. 1 hits and four new ones.

1979 - London Calling by The Clash is released in the U.K. It followed in the U.S. on Jan. 10, 1980. It features the title track, “Clampdown,” and “Train in Vain.”

1980 - Yoko Ono called on fans to observe ten minutes of silence in memory of John Lennon. 30,000 gathered outside St. George's Hall in Liverpool, while nearly 100,000 attend a memorial in New York's Central Park; this becomes a tradition on each anniversary of Lennon's death.

1984 - Foreigner released their fifth studio album, Agent Provocateur. It features "I Want to Know What Love Is" and “That Was Yesterday.”

1985 - Whitney Houston scored her first U.K. No. 1 single with "Saving All My Love For You".

1987 - Dinosaur, Jr. release You're Living All Over Me. Overall sales are modest, but the album is an influential landmark in the alternative and indie music genres.

1991 - Michael Jackson started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with his eighth studio album Dangerous. The album has sold over 32 million copies worldwide making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. Nine singles were released from the album spanning two years (1991-1993).

1997 - Garth Brooks was at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with his seventh studio album Sevens.

1997 - Kurt Winter (guitarist for The Guess Who) dies of kidney failure at age 51.

2003 - Ozzy and Kelly Osbourne went to No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart with "Changes" a remake of a track first sung by Ozzy on the Black Sabbath album Volume IV in 1972. It was the first father and daughter chart topper since Frank and Nancy Sinatra in 1967.

2015 - Adele was at No. 1 on both the U.K. and U.S. chart with her third album 25. The album was a massive commercial success, debuting at No. 1 in more than 25 markets and broke first-week sales records in many countries, including the U.K. and U.S. 25 eventually became the world's best-selling album of 2015 with 17.4 million copies sold within the year, and has sold 20 million copies as of June 2016, making it one of the best selling albums worldwide.

2018 - Bass guitar player Joe Osborn died at age 81. He was known for his work as a session musician in Los Angeles and Nashville during the 1960s through the 1980s. As a member of The Wrecking Crew his playing can be heard on records by The Mamas & the Papas, The Carpenters, The Association and The 5th Dimension. Osborn can be heard on Simon & Garfunkel's 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' and the 5th Dimension's version of 'Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In'.

Birthdays:

Spike Jones — leader of Spike Jones and His City Slickers (“All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth”) — was born today in 1911.

Singer Charlie Rich ("The Most Beautiful Girl") was born today in 1932.

Charlie Hodge — singer and musician who was close friends with Elvis Presley — was born today in 1934.

Dick Wagner — guitarist for Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, and Kiss — was born today in 1942.

Frank Allen of The Searchers is 82.

Singer Joyce Vincent Wilson ("'Knock Three Times") is 79.

Rock critic Lester Bangs, portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman in Almost Famous, was born today in 1948.

AC/DC bass player Cliff Williams is 76.

Minneapolis-born John Lurie — cofounder of the Lounge Lizards jazz ensemble; composer of the Late Night With Conan O’Brien theme and scores for Get Shorty, Stranger Than Paradise, Down by Law, and more; as well as an actor in more than 20 films — is 73.

Peter "Spider" Stacy, singer and tin whistler for The Pogues, is 67.

Mike Scott, frontman for the Waterboys, is 67.

Beth Orton is 55.

Justin Furstenfeld of Blue October is 50.

Vanessa Hudgens is 37.

Offset is 34.

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