History Highlight:

Today in 1979, singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Natasha Khan, better known as Bat for Lashes, was born in London, making her 46 today. After earning a degree from the University of Brighton, Khan worked as a nursery-school teacher while creating her music at night. In 2006, Bat for Lashes released her debut album, Fur and Gold, which includes the singles “The Wizard", "Trophy", "Prescilla", and "What's a Girl to Do?" The album received a five-star review in The Guardian and was nominated for a 2007 Mercury Prize. Bat For Lashes’ next two albums, Two Suns and The Haunted Man, released in 2009 and 2012, respectively, and also met with critical and commercial success. About the stage name Bat for Lashes, Khan told The New York Times in 2009, “It doesn't really mean anything … It conjured up Halloween-y images, and it sounded metal and feminine.”

Today In:

1964 - The Rolling Stones made their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. So many people complained (they hadn't washed their hair! Mick Jagger wore a sweatshirt!) that Sullivan said he'd never invite them back, but they made another appearance in 1965.

1968 - The original release of the Jimi Hendrix Experience double album Electric Ladyland caused a bit of a stir. The cover featured Jimi surrounded by naked women. It is now a collectors item.

1969 - “Sugar Sugar” by The Archies was at No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart. It stayed at the top for eight weeks, and was also No. 1 in the U.S., selling over six million copies worldwide.

1970 - Speaking at a U.S. radio conference, President Richard Nixon asked programmers to ban all songs containing drug references.

1970- Led Zeppelin's LP Led Zeppelin III hits No. 1. 

1975 - Art Garfunkel was at No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart with his version of “I Only Have Eyes For You.”

1980 - Barbra Streisand scored her fourth U.S. No. 1 album with Guilty.

1986 - For the first time in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, the top three spots were held by female solo acts. Cyndi Lauper's “True Colors” held down the No. 1 position, followed by Tina Turner's “Typical Male” at No. 2 and Janet Jackson's “When I Think Of You” at No. 3.

1983 - John Cougar Mellencamp released his seventh studio album, Uh-huh. It features the singles "Crumblin' Down," "Pink Houses," "Authority Song," "Play Guitar," and "Serious Business."

1986 - Bon Jovi went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Slippery When Wet.

1986 - Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits broke his collarbone after crashing in a celebrity car race before the Australian Grand Prix.

1992- Roger Miller died of died of lung and throat cancer in hospital in Los Angeles. Scored the 1965 U.K. No. 1 and U.S. No. 4 single “King Of The Road.” Miller won 11 Grammy Awards as a songwriter and seven Tony Awards for writing the music and lyrics for the Broadway musical Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

1993 - Tears For Fears played the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas. Radiohead opened.

1993 - Time magazine put Eddie Vedder on the cover with the headline "All The Rage." Both Vedder and Kurt Cobain refused to speak with the magazine for the story, but they ran it anyway in an attempt to explain why young people are listening to such angry music. The same story also quotes Kat Bjelland of Babes in Toyland: “Even the theatrical group Kiss — whose members wore demonic makeup onstage — is cited as an influence by today's alternative rockers. ‘I had the worst crush on the God of Thunder, (Kiss bassist) Gene Simmons,’ says Kat Bjelland, lead singer for the punkette group Babes in Toyland. "They appealed to me because they're really basic. Plus they're so evil!"

1994 - Madonna released her sixth studio album, Bedtime Stories. It features “Take a Bow,” “Secret,” “Bedtime Story,” and “Human Nature.”

1994 - Lisa Germano released her third album, Geek the Girl.

1994 - Joni Mitchell released her 15th album, Turbulent Indigo. It features “How Do You Stop.”

1997 - After falling over on stage when reaching for a guitar pick, Johnny Cash announced during a gig in Michigan that he was suffering from Parkinson's disease.

1999 - As bluegrass music starts to take off in America, Dolly Parton released The Grass Is Blue. The album gives her career a boost and wins the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album.

2003 - Johnny Cash's step-daughter, Rosey Nix Adams, and her fiddle player Jimmy Campbell were found dead on their tour bus in Clarksville, Tennessee, from Carbon monoxide poisoning. Heaters that had been left on were blamed for the accident.

2004 - Legendary BBC Music DJ John Peel died in Cuzco, Peru, of a heart attack, aged 65.

2007 - Britney Spears released her fifth studio album, Blackout. It features the singles "Gimme More," "Piece of Me," and "Break the Ice"

2008 - Britney Spears returns to the top of the Hot 100 with “Womanizer,” her first No. 1 on that chart since her debut single, “...Baby One More Time,” in 1999.

2010 - Taylor Swift released her third album, Speak Now. One of the more confessional songs is "Mean," where she takes aim at her critics, including industry insider Bob Lefsetz, who wrote that Swift was "too young and dumb to understand the mistake she made" in performing with Stevie Nicks at the Grammy Awards. 

2011 - Coldplay released their fifth studio album, Mylo Xyloto, which charted at No. 1 in 34 countries. In the U.S., Mylo Xyloto became Coldplay's third album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and the album tracks "Paradise" and "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall" received a total of three Grammy Award nominations in 2012. Produced by Brian Eno, Markus Dravs, Daniel Green and Rik Simpson, Mylo Xyloto earned critical praise for its electronic sound and uplifting tone. Coldplay drummer Will Champion described the album a a story of two characters "falling in love and trying to escape together," with a general theme of "love conquering all." 

2014 - Jack Bruce of Cream died of liver disease at age 71.

2019 - Cigarettes After Sex released their second studio album, Cry.

2019 - Grace Potter released her third solo album, Daylight.

2019 - King Princess released her debut album, Cheap Queen. It features the title track, “Prophet,” “Ain’t Together,” and “Hit the Back.”

Birthdays:

Earl Palmer — drummer on numerous Beach Boys, Sam Cooke, Bobby Darin, B.B. King, Little Richard, Fats Domino, and many, many others’ records, and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — was born today in 1924.

Sara Dylan — former wife of Bob Dylan and mother of Jakob Dylan, and reported inspiration for "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands," “Sara,” and Blood on the Tracks — is 86.

Helen Reddy (“I Am Woman,” “Delta Dawn”) was born today in 1941.

Roy Lynes of Status Quo is 82.

Jon Anderson of Yes is 81.

Phil Volk of Paul Revere & the Raiders is 80.

Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest is 78.

Today in 1951, Richard Lloyd was born, making him 74 today. He is best known as a founding member of the band Television. In his early teens, he studied drums with William Kessler, who was the ghostwriter for Cozy Cole, one of the famous big-band drummers. A few years later he turned to the guitar. An early fixture of CBGB and the 1970s New York rock scene, Television is considered influential in the development of punk and alternative music.

Matthias Jabs, guitarist for Scorpions, is 70.

Robbie McIntosh, guitarist for the Pretenders, is 68.

Drummer Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers (and doppelganger of Will Ferrell) is 64.

John Levén, bassist for Europe, is 62.

Speech of Arrested Development is 57.

Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies is 55.

Chely Wright (“Single White Female”) is 55.

Neil Fallon of Clutch is 54. 

Eirik Glambek Bøe of Kings of Convenience is 50.

The Alchemist is 48.

Natasha Khan of Bat for Lashes is 46.

Katy Perry is 41.

Ciara is 40.

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