History Highlight:

Today in 1950, singer and actor David Johansen was born in Staten Island, N.Y. Johansen was perhaps best known as the frontman and lead singer of the rock band New York Dolls — a band who were foundational to the growth of the punk-rock scene in both New York and London, influencing such bands as Television, Talking Heads, and the Clash. One of the New York Dolls’ best-known songs is “Personality Crisis,” which was co-written by Johansen and Dolls’ guitarist Johnny Thunders. After New York Dolls, Johansen went on to perform as lounge singer alter-ego Buster Poindexter, scoring a hit in the late 1980s with the dance-club track, “Hot Hot Hot.” Johansen was also recognized for his acting work, most notably as the Ghost of Christmas Past in the 1988 film, Scrooged, starring Bill Murray. Johansen died on Feb. 28, 2025.

Also, Today In:

1955 - Rosemary Clooney was at No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart with "Mambo Italiano", the singer's second No. 1. The song was banned by all ABC-owned stations in the U.S. because it "did not reach standards of good taste".

1963 - Charlie Watts left the group Blues Incorporated to join an up-and-coming band called The Rolling Stones.

1965 - The Beatles started a nine-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Beatles 65, the group's fourth No. 1. Beatles '65 includes eight of the fourteen songs from Beatles for Sale and also includes "I'll Be Back" from A Hard Day's Night and the single "I Feel Fine'/'She's a Woman".

1970 - During a U.K. tour, Led Zeppelin appeared at The Royal Albert Hall in London on the night of Jimmy Page's 26th birthday. John Lennon, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck were all in the audience. The two and a quarter hour set was recorded and filmed but shelved for several decades, eventually seeing a release in 2003 on an official DVD.

1973 - Lou Reed married a cocktail waitress named Betty in New York City. Also, Mick Jagger was refused a Japanese visa on an account of a 1969 drug conviction, causing The Rolling Stones to cancel a forthcoming tour.

1976 - Queen were at No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart with "Bohemian Rhapsody." The single had a nine-week run on the chart, selling more than a million copies by the end of the month. In the United States, the song originally peaked at No. 9 in 1976, but returned to the chart in 1992 after being used in the film Wayne's World and reached a new peak of No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song ended up being the name of a 2018 biographical drama film about Freddie Mercury starring Rami Malek as Mercury. The number of downloads of the song and original video has exceeded 1.6 billion downloads across global on-demand streaming services and often appears towards the top of "greatest rock song" lists.

1978 - Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson released the duet studio album Waylon & Willie. It features the singles "The Wurlitzer Prize (I Don't Want to Get Over You)" and "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys."

1979 - The Music for UNICEF concert took place in New York City featuring Rod Stewart, The Bee Gees, Earth Wind and Fire, ABBA and Donna Summer.

1984 - Van Halen released 1984.

1988 - Whitney Houston scored her sixth consecutive No. 1 in the U.S. with "So Emotional." The song became her sixth consecutive No. 1 in the U.S.

1997 - David Bowie performed his 50th Birthday Bash concert (the day after his birthday) at Madison Square Garden with guests Frank Black, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith of The Cure, The Foo Fighters, Lou Reed, Billy Corgan and Placebo. Proceeds from the concert went to the Save The Children fund.

2003 - A grand piano once owned by Elvis Presley was sold for $685,000.

2005 - The Scissor Sisters went to No. 1 on the U.K. album chart with their self-titled album. They went on to win Best International Album as well as Best International Group and International Breakthrough Act at the 2005 Brit awards.

2015 - Meghan Trainor released her major-label debut, Title. It features “All About That Bass.”

2015 - Panda Bear released his fifth studio album, Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper. It features "Mr Noah" and "Boys Latin."

2016 - Stars paid tribute to Motorhead frontman Lemmy at his funeral at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery. Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee, Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl, Slash from Guns N' Roses, Robert Trujillo and Lars Ulrich from Metallica, Judas Priest singer Rob Halford and Anthrax frontman Scott Ian all spoke at the service. Lemmy's bass guitar was plugged in to a stack of amplifiers and the volume turned up, with the congregation applauding as feedback from the speakers filled the chapel.

Birthdays:

Joan Baez is 85.

Scott Walker, of the Walker Brothers, was born today in 1943.

James Patrick “Jimmy” Page was born on this date in 1944, making him 82. Page is consistently rated as one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll guitarists. After session work in London and a couple years with the Yardbirds in the mid-1960s, Page founded Led Zeppelin with singer Robert Plant, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. Heavily inspired by Black blues musicians, the band developed a huge hard-rock sound that brought them to stadiums — with Page’s riffing and soloing often taking center stage. Led Zeppelin IV, featuring “Black Dog” and “Stairway to Heaven,” is one of the best-selling albums of all time. The band broke up in 1980 following Bonham’s death, but Page and Plant have reunited for an Unplugged performance in 1994, and released the album Walking into Clarksdale in 1998. Page was featured in the 2008 documentary It Might Get Loud with the Edge and Jack White. Gibson has released signature Les Pauls guitars and Fender has released signature Telecaster models to Page’s specifications. He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, both for his work in the Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin.

Bill Cowsill, lead singer of the Cowsills, was born today in 1948.

David Johansen / Buster Poindexter of the New York Dolls was born today in 1950. He died on Feb. 28, 2025.

Crystal Gayle is 75.

Bobby Z. of Prince and the Revolution is 70.

Haddaway is 61.

Dave Matthews is 59.

Steve Harwell of Smash Mouth was born today in 1967.

Angie Martinez is 55.

Sean Paul is 53.

A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys is 48.

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