History Highlight:

Samuel Earvin Beam, who performs as Iron & Wine, was born on July 26, 1974, in Chapin, South Carolina. He is 51. Over the past two decades, Beam has released seven solo studio albums — as well as several collaborative albums with Calexico, Band of Horses’ Ben Bridwell, and Jesca Hoop — that explore different sides of folk, rock, and Americana. His first album, The Creek Drank the Cradle, arrived in 2002. A cover of the Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights” later landed on the Garden State soundtrack, and a whole lot of ears perked up from that point on. Iron & Wine put out Light Verse earlier this year, and just visited The Current to promote the album.

Also, Today In: 

1960 - Sam Cooke releases "Chain Gang." 

1968 - The Jackson 5 join Motown Records, signing a one-year contract. They move from their home in Gary, Indiana, to Los Angeles, where they became huge stars, hitting #1 in the US with their first four singles. 

1968 - The Rolling Stones album Beggar's Banquet is scheduled for release, but withdrawn by their label, Decca, over concerns with the album cover, which shows a toilet covered in graffiti. The album is later released with a picture of an invitation on the cover. 

1970 - Jimi Hendrix played in his hometown of Seattle for the last time when he appeared at Sicks Stadium. 

1974 - Graffiti artists were hired to spray paint sites in London to promote the U.K. release of The Rolling Stones' new single "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll". 

1975 - Van McCoy and the Soul City went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "The Hustle", his only US chart hit. 

1975 - The Eagles land their first #1 album when One Of These Nights hits #1 in the US. Their fourth album, it stays on top for five weeks. 

1977 - Elvis Costello was arrested as he performed outside a CBS Records sales conference at The London Hilton Hotel. 

1977 - Led Zeppelin cut short their 11th North American tour after Robert Plant's five-year-old-son Karac died unexpectedly of a virus at their home in England. 

1986 - Peter Gabriel hits #1 in the US with "Sledgehammer," bumping his old band, Genesis (with "Invisible Touch") out of the top spot. 

1988 - Eric B. & Rakim released their second studio album, Follow the Leader. It features the title track and “Microphone Fiend.”

1990 - Brent Mydland from The Grateful Dead was found dead on the floor of his home aged 38 from a drug overdose. 

1991 - Mudhoney released their second studio album, Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge. It features “Let It Slide.”

1992 - Mary Wells died at 49 years old of laryngeal cancer. Wells helped define the sound of Motown in the early 1960s along with the Supremes, the Miracles, the Temptations, and the Four Tops. She was known for her singles, "The One Who Really Loves You", "Two Lovers", the Grammy-nominated "You Beat Me to the Punch" and her signature hit, "My Guy". 

1994 - Motown Records releases the Boyz II Men song "I'll Make Love To You" against the group's wishes - they think it sounds too much like their earlier hit "End of the Road." In this case, the record company gets it right: the song becomes the biggest hit of 1994 in America. 

1997 - Puff Daddy and Faith Evans went back to No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart for another three weeks with 'I'll Be Missing You'. 

2000 - The file-sharing service Napster was ordered by a U.S. federal judge to cease trading copyrighted music files within the next 48 hours. 

2000 - Oasis were booed off the stage during a show at the Paleo Festival in Switzerland after Liam Gallagher had insulted the 35,000-strong audience. 

2002 - Beyoncé makes her film debut, playing Mike Myers' love interest, Foxxy Cleopatra, in Austin Powers in Goldmember. Her catch phrase: "I'm a whole lotta woman." Britney Spears also shows up in the film as a fem-bot who gets blown up by Myers. 

2005 - Paramore released their debut studio album, All We Know Is Falling.

2005 - Bob Mould released his sixth studio album, Body of Song.

2006 - The final edition of Top of the Pops was recorded at BBC Television Centre in London. 

2006 - Paul McCartney's first guitar was sold at an Abbey Road Studios auction for 330,000 pounds, or about half-a-million U.S. dollars. 

2012 - "Searching For Sugar Man", an Academy Award-winning documentary about Detroit Rocker Sixto "Sugar Man" Rodriguez, was released in the U.K. 

2013 - Oklahoma guitarist J.J. Cale, who wrote the songs "Crazy Mama', "Call Me The Breeze" and "After Midnight," died at age 74. 

2015 - Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, died at age 22. The cause of death was eventually revealed as "immersion associated with drug intoxication." 

2015 - The first Black Lives Matter conference at Cleveland State University turns into a protest with activists chanting the chorus of Kendrick Lamar's "Alright" in defiance of police harassment. 

2019 - Angie McMahon released her debut studio album, Salt.

2019 - Chance the Rapper released his debut studio album (following several mixtapes), The Big Day.

2019 - Of Monsters and Men released their third studio album, Fever Dream. It features “Alligator.”

2021 - Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison dies at 46.

2023 - Sinéad O'Connor died at the age of 56 in London, England.

Birthdays 

Trumpet player Erskine Hawkins (“Tuxedo Junction”) was born today in 1914.

Joe Jackson, father and manager of the Jacksons, was born today in 1928.

Bobby Hebb (“Sunny”) was born today in 1938.

Singer Dobie Gray was born today in 1940. 

Darlene Love is 84. 

Brenton Wood (“The Oogum Boogum Song”) was born today in 1941. He died on Jan. 3, 2025.

Mick Jagger was born July 26, 1943, in Dartford, Kent, England. He is 82. Best-known as lead singer and one of the founding members of the Rolling Stones, Jagger's career has spanned over five decades, and he has been described as one of the most popular and influential frontmen in the history of rock & roll. 

Betty Davis an American funk and soul singer was born on this day in 1944. She passed away in 2022. 

Roger Taylor, drummer from Queen, is 76. 

Singer/keyboardist Duncan Mackay — who has played with 10cc, Kate Bush, the Alan Parsons Project, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, and more — is 75. 

Gary Cherone of Extreme and Van Halen is 64. 

Andy Connell of Swing Out Sister is 64.

Jim Lindberg of Pennywise is 60.

Dave Baksh of Sum 41 is 45.

Taylor Momsen of the Pretty Reckless is 32.

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