History highlight:

Today in 1968, Lætitia Sadier was born, making her 57. Born and raised near Paris, Sadier is best known as a co-founding member of the experimental indie-pop band Stereolab. The band’s sound is characterized by a use of electronic keyboards and German-inspired rhythms, along with guitars, drums, and vocals sung in English and French. Since their founding in 1990, Stereolab released 13 studio albums, the most recent being 2010’s Not Music, which followed the band’s 2009 hiatus announcement. In 2019, however, Stereolab reunited, and they are now gearing up to release a new album, Instant Holograms on Metal Film, on May 23, 2025.

Also, today in:

1965 - Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, while staying in a hotel in Clearwater, Fla., worked out the opening guitar riff of what would become the song "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," following Richards’s purchase of a Gibson fuzz box earlier that day. The song is considered one of the all-time greatest rock songs ever recorded. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine placed "Satisfaction" in the second spot on “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”

1971 - Ike and Tina Turner received their only gold record for their version of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song, "Proud Mary." In the immortal words of Tina Turner, "We never do anything nice and easy; we always do everything … rough."

1972 - Elton John released "Rocket Man." The song’s official title is "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time)," and it first appeared on Elton's 1972 album Honky Chateau and became a hit single, rising to No. 2 in the U.K. Singles Chart and No. 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Rolling Stone lists the song at No. 245 of its “500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” and The Current listeners voted the song No. 668 on their list of 893 Essential Songs.

1973 - Paul Simon kicked off what would be his first tour without Art Garfunkel.

1977 - Drawing some 76,229 to the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., Led Zeppelin broke their own record for the largest gathering to attend a concert by a single act.

1981 - X released their second studio album, Wild Gift. It features the singles "White Girl" and "Adult Books."

1994 - Pearl Jam filed charges against Ticketmaster in a federal court, claiming monopolistic practices on the part of the ticketing agency. The band didn't want to charge more than $18.50 for tickets at the time, with service fees of no more than $1.80. Ticketmaster balked, saying that they needed at least $2 in fees to cover costs. Pearl Jam skipped their tour that summer as the case continued, and they tried to play venues that didn't use Ticketmaster to sell their tickets. The band ended up losing in court, and eventually had to book their next tour with Ticketmaster.

1996 - The Cure released their tenth studio album, Wild Mood Swings. It features the singles "The 13th," "Mint Car," "Strange Attraction," and "Gone!"

1996 - Ash released their debut studio album, 1977. It features the singles "Kung Fu," "Girl from Mars," "Angel Interceptor," "Goldfinger," and "Oh Yeah."

1996 - Butthole Surfers released their seventh studio album, Electriclarryland. It features the singles "Pepper," "Electriclarryland," and "Ulcer Breakout."

1996 - Everything but the Girl released their ninth studio album, Walking Wounded. It features the singles "Walking Wounded," "Wrong," "Single," and "Before Today."

1997 - Hanson released their debut studio album, Middle of Nowhere. It features the singles "MMMBop," "Where's the Love," "I Will Come to You," and "Weird."

1997 - Meredith Brooks released her second studio album, Blurring the Edges. It features “Bitch.”

1997 - The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held in Cleveland at the site of the hall itself for the first time. Previous ceremonies had only been held in New York City. Among the 1997 inductees were the Bee Gees, the Jackson 5, Joni Mitchell, the Young Rascals, Parliament, and Crosby, Stills and Nash.

2000 - Local boy John Mellencamp was given an honorary doctorate of music by Indiana University. Mellencamp also served as commencement speaker for the class of 2000, removing his academic gown as he approached the lectern in the 80-degree heat.

2003 - Following the Chicks member Natalie Maines' comments opposing President George W. Bush and the Iraq war, a Colorado radio station suspended two of its disc jockeys for playing music by the Chicks.

2003 - The New Pornographers released their second studio album, Electric Version. It features the singles "The Laws Have Changed" and "All for Swinging You Around."

2003 - Fall Out Boy released their debut studio album, Take This to Your Grave. It features the singles "Dead on Arrival," "Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy," and "Saturday."

2003 - Jack Johnson released his second studio album, On and On. It features the singles "The Horizon Has Been Defeated" and "Times Like These."

2003 - Gossip released their second studio album, Movement. It features the singles "Swing Low" and "Jason's Basement."

2005 - Starbucks banned the sale of Bruce Springsteen's latest album, Devils and Dust, over concerns about its adult content. The retailer said it would promote other albums instead.

2013 - Lauryn Hill was sentenced in New Jersey to three months in jail for tax evasion.

2014 - Atmosphere released their seventh studio album, Southsiders.

2015 - British-Jamaican singer and songwriter Errol Brown, best-known as the frontman of the soul and funk band Hot Chocolate, died of liver cancer at his home in the Bahamas.

2016 - James Blake released his third studio album, The Colour in Anything. It features the singles "Timeless," "Radio Silence," and "I Need a Forest Fire."

2016 - Anohni released her debut studio album, Hopelessness. It features the singles "4 Degrees," "Drone Bomb Me," and "Crisis."

2020 - Brian Howe died of cardiac arrest at age 66. He is best-known for replacing Paul Rodgers as the lead vocalist of Bad Company. Howe's career was jump-started in 1983, when Ted Nugent recruited him to handle lead vocals for his Penetrator album and front its subsequent world tour.

Birthdays:

Songwriter Kal Mann (“Teddy Bear” and “Let’s Twist Again”) was born today in 1917.

Bob Seger is 80.

Americana singer-songwriter Jimmie Dale Gilmore is 80.

Davey Johnstone of the Elton John band is 74.

John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants is 65.

Mark Bryan of Hootie & the Blowfish is 58.

Lætitia Sadier of Stereolab and Monade is 57.

Foo Fighters’ lead guitarist Chris Shiflett is 54.

Hip hop recording artist Meek Mill is 38.

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