History Spotlight:

Born on April 10, 1959, in Massapequa, New York, Brian Setzer is 66. Setzer is best known as the frontman for the rockabilly group Stray Cats and the swing revival group the Brian Setzer Orchestra. He has released dozens of albums with these two acts, as well as several rockabilly solo records. These days, he calls suburban Minneapolis his home. In February 2025, Setzer shared on Instagram that he was suffering from an autoimmune disease that resulted in hand cramps — a condition that not only prevented him from playing guitar, but also from tying his shoes or holding a pen. Fortunately, on March 19, Setzer shared an update that he is receiving treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and that “The progress I’m making is excellent! My dream is to visit Japan, the States, and Europe with Stray Cats, and of course, one of my biggest thrills would be bringing back the BSO [Brian Setzer Orchestra] Christmas show tradition.”

Also, Today In:

1956 - Nat King Cole was attacked on stage by a group of five racial segregationists during a show at the Municipal Hall in Birmingham, Alabama.

1962 - Stu Sutcliffe, original bass guitarist for The Beatles, dies at age 21 of a brain aneurysm.

1967 - Marvin Gaye recorded his version of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine." The song was first recorded by The Miracles and had also been a million-seller in 1967 for Gladys Knight and the Pips.

1970 - Elton John released his self-titled second studio album, which included his breakthrough single "Your Song."

1970 - At a concert in Boston, Jim Morrison paused to ask the audience, "Does anyone want to see my genitals?" Apparently, he had some takers. Theater management quickly switched off the power, and Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek dragged Morrison off stage.

1970 - In a press release announcing his imminent debut solo album, Paul McCartney quit The Beatles. McCartney was released 10 days later.

1976 - Peter Frampton went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Frampton Comes Alive. It was the best-selling album of 1976, selling more than 6 million copies in the U.S., and was voted Album of the Year in a 1976 Rolling Stone readers' poll. It stayed on the chart for 97 weeks.

1981 - Public Image Ltd released their third studio album, The Flowers of Romance. It features the singles "Flowers of Romance" and "Under the House."

1985 - Madonna began her first tour, the Virgin Tour, in Seattle.

1988 - Erasure released their third studio album, The Innocents. It features the singles "Ship of Fools," "Chains of Love," and "A Little Respect."

1990 - A Tribe Called Quest released their debut studio album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. It features "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo," "Bonita Applebum," and "Can I Kick It?"

1990 - Public Enemy released their third studio album, Fear of a Black Planet. It features "Fight the Power," "Welcome to the Terrordome," and “911 Is a Joke.”

1990 - A jury awarded Tom Waits $2.5 million in punitive damages following his suit against Doritos chips for unauthorized usage of a Waits sound-alike singer in a commercial.

1993 - Depeche Mode entered the U.S. album chart at No. 1 with Songs Of Faith And Devotion.

1998 - Three days after being arrested in a Los Angeles park for lewd conduct, George Michael comes out as gay in an interview with CNN. "I have no problem with people knowing that I'm in a relationship with a man right now," he says.

2000 - The Hives released their second studio album, Veni Vidi Vicious. It features “Hate to Say I Told You So” and “Main Offender.”

2001 - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds released their eleventh studio album, No More Shall We Part. It features the singles "Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow" and "Love Letter."

2001 - Guided by Voices released their twelfth studio album, Isolation Drills. It features the singles "Chasing Heather Crazy" and "Glad Girls."

2001 - Bruce Springsteen won a court battle to keep the rights to his early songs.

2001 - Ani DiFranco released her double studio album, Revelling/Reckoning. It features the singles "Subdivision" and "Your Next Bold Move."

2003 - Eva Narcissus Boyd, better-known as the pop singer Little Eva, died at age 59, 18 months after being diagnosed with cervical cancer. Most famously known for the hit "The Loco-motion", Boyd's other single recordings were "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby", "Let's Turkey Trot" and a remake of the Bing Crosby standard "Swinging on a Star," recorded with Big Dee Irwin. As a teenager, she worked as a maid and earned extra money as a babysitter for songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin, who wrote "The Loco-Motion" for her and had her record it as a demo. The song reached No. 1 in the United States in 1962, and it sold over one million copies.

2005 - The final episode of The Osbournes was aired on MTV in the U.K. The show reached a peak audience of eight million at its height during its three-year run. Ozzy Osbourne was at a loss to explain its popularity, saying, "I suppose Americans get a kick out of watching a crazy Brit family like us make complete fools of ourselves every week."

2006 - Rihanna released her second studio album, A Girl Like Me. It features the singles "SOS," "Unfaithful," "We Ride," and "Break It Off."

2007 - Brother Ali released his third studio album, The Undisputed Truth. It features the singles "Truth Is" and "Uncle Sam Goddamn."

2007 - Cloud Cult released their sixth studio album, The Meaning of 8. It features the singles "Chemicals Collide" and "Take Your Medicine."

2007 - Blonde Redhead released their seventh studio album, 23. It features the singles "23" and "Silently."

2007 - The Hendersonville, Tennessee, house once owned by Johnny Cash burned to the ground. It had been purchased after Cash's death by Barry Gibb of The Bee Gees, who planned to renovate it.

2013 - Kate Bush received her CBE — Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, an order of chivalry — for her services to music, presented by Queen Elizabeth II at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle. The singer-songwriter, who was catapulted to fame in 1978 when Wuthering Heights topped the charts, said she was "incredibly thrilled", and she dedicated the award to her family and joked that it would have pride of place at the top of her Christmas tree.

2020 - The Strokes released their sixth studio album, The New Abnormal. It features “Bad Decisions” and “The Adults Are Talking.”

2020 - Laura Marling released her seventh studio album, Song for Our Daughter. It features “Held Down” and “For You.”

Birthdays:

Martin Denny — a musician credited with popularizing the genre of lounge music, which combines Latin rhythms with Hawaiian music textures — was born on this day in 1911.

Sheb Wooley (“The Purple People Eater”) was born today in 1921.

Bobby Smith, lead singer for the Spinners, was born today in 1936.

Bunny Wailer was born today in 1947.

Eddie Hazel, guitarist for Parliament-Funkadelic, was born today in 1950.

Steve Gustafson, bassist for 10,000 Maniacs, is 68.

Babyface is 66.

Katrina Leskanich, lead singer of Katrina and the Waves, is 65.

Mark Oliver Everett, better known as E., the creative force behind the band Eels, celebrates his 62nd birthday today. Born in Virginia in 1963, Everett moved to Los Angeles in the late 1980s to begin his music career. In 1992, he made his major-label debut with the album A Man Called E, released on Polydor Records. In 1995, Everett formed the band Eels. That band’s debut album, Beautiful Freak, came out in 1996 and included the hit single “Novocaine for the Soul,” which hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart. Eels have released a total of 14 studio albums to date, their most recent being 2022’s Extreme Witchcraft.  

Warren DeMartini, lead guitarist for Ratt, is 62.

Alan 'Reni' Wren, drummer for The Stone Roses, is 61.

Tim Alexander, drummer for Primus, is 60.

Kenny Lattimore is 55.

Mike Mushok of Staind is 55.

Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest is 55.

Aidan Moffat of Arab Strap is 52.

Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional is 50.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor is 46.

Bryce Soderberg of Lifehouse is 45.

Liz McClarnon of Atomic Kitten is 44.

Andrew Dost of Fun. is 42.

Mandy Moore is 41.

Maren Morris is 35.

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