History Highlight:

Today in 2020, Fiona Apple released her fifth album, Fetch The Bolt Cutters, her first since 2012. The title is a reference to a line Gillian Anderson says in the TV series The Fall and is a metaphor for setting yourself free. The album was acclaimed by critics and fans alikem and at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, Fetch the Bolt Cutters won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, while the album single, "Shameika," won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance.

Also, Today In:

1970 - Paul McCartney released his debut solo album, McCartney (the black cover with the cherries). The "self-interview" included with the advance-press copies of the album essentially confirmed that The Beatles had indeed broken up. McCartney did very well on the charts (debuting at No. 2), but was not well received by critics — nor by any of the other Beatles, who harshly criticized the album's quality.

1971 - All four Beatles had solo singles on the U.K. charts: Paul McCartney with "Another Day," John Lennon, "Power To The People," George Harrison, "My Sweet Lord," and Ringo Starr, "It Don't Come Easy."

1973 - Pink Floyd were awarded a Gold album for Dark Side of The Moon, one of the most innovative and memorable albums in the history of rock. The disc would stay on the charts for more than 10 years, the longest-charting rock album of all time.

1974 - Vinnie Taylor (lead guitarist for Sha Na Na) died of an accidental heroin overdose at age 24.

1978 - Willie Nelson released his twenty-second studio album, Stardust. It features the singles "Georgia on My Mind" and "Blue Skies."

1980 - Bob Marley & The Wailers performed at and were official guests of state at Zimbabwe's Independence festival. Marley described the occasion as the "greatest honor of my life."

1981 - The Cure released their third studio album, Faith. It features the singles "Primary" and "Charlotte Sometimes."

1982 - Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force released "Planet Rock," the first hip-hop hit with electronic elements and a rhythm powered by a Roland TR-808 drum machine. It's just the third rap song to reach the Hot 100, following "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang and "The Breaks" by Kurtis Blow.

1983 - Joe Strummer of The Clash ran the London Marathon, finishing with a time of 4 hours 13 minutes. He claimed that his training included 10 pints of beer the night before.

1989 - Pixies released their second studio album, Doolittle. The album is often regarded as the band's strongest and greatest work and has continued to sell consistently well in the years since its release, being certified Gold in 1995 and Platinum in 2018 by the Recording Industry Association of America. Doolittle has been cited as inspirational by many alternative artists, while numerous music publications have ranked it as one of the most influential albums ever. 

1998 - Linda McCartney died after a long battle against cancer. She married Paul McCartney in 1969 after meeting him while she was working as a photographer. As well as being a member of Wings, Linda became an animal-rights campaigner and launched her own brand of vegetarian food.

2003 - Blues musician Earl King, composer of the standards "I Hear You Knocking" and "One Night," died at age 69 of diabetes-related complications.

2006 - A big-budget Coke commercial with a song by Jack White called "Love Is The Truth" hit YouTube, then quickly went away.

2006 - The Zutons released their second studio album, Tired of Hanging Around. It features the singles "Why Won’t You Give Me Your Love?" and "Valerie."

2007 - Nine Inch Nails released their fifth studio album, Year Zero. It features the singles "Survivalism" and "Capital G."

2007 - Noisettes released their debut studio album, What’s the Time Mr Wolf?. It features the single “Don’t Give Up.”

2007 - Patti Smith released her tenth studio album, Twelve. It features the singles "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Gimme Shelter," and "Are You Experienced."

2008 - With Spirit, Leona Lewis became the first British woman to go straight to the top of the Billboard 200 album chart with a debut album.

2009 - Morrissey walked off stage during his set at the Coachella festival in California after declaring he could "smell burning flesh". A strict vegetarian, Morrissey was reacting to the smoke coming from nearby barbecues.

2009 - Depeche Mode released their 12th album, Sounds of the Universe. It features “Wrong” and “Peace.”

2012 - Neon Trees released their second studio album, Picture Show. It features the singles "Everybody Talks," "Lessons in Love (All Day, All Night)," and "Moving in the Dark."

2015 - Alabama Shakes released their second studio album, Sound & Color. It features “Don’t Wanna Fight,” “Gimme All Your Love,” “Future People,” and the title track.

2016 - Singer Joss Stone postponed shows in the Caribbean to be with her sick dog, which she said was "the closest thing I have to a child". She said her pet had made it through the night but she had to "go back and make sure she was OK."

Birthdays:

Don Kirshner — “the man with the golden ear,” manager of the Monkees, Kansas, the Archies — was born today in 1934.

Billy Fury (“Wondrous Place,” “Halfway to Paradise”) was born today in 1940.

Jan Hammer (“Miami Vice Theme”) is 77.

Michael Sembello (“Maniac” from Flashdance) is 71.

Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks was born today in 1955.

Afrika Bambaataa is 68.

Nick Hornby, writer of High Fidelity, is 68.

Maynard James Keenan of Tool is 61.

Singer/songwriter Liz Phair is 58.

Redman is 55.

Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice) is 51.

Genesis Owusu is 27.

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