History Highlight:

Wouter de Backer — better known by his English first name Walter and best known by his artistic name Gotye — was born on this day in 1980, making him 45. Gotye was born in Belgium, and at age two, he immigrated with his family to Australia. Inspired by artists including Depeche Mode, Gotye got interested in music as a youngster, and he went on to form bands when he was in high school and in college. He released two albums before his 2011 release, Making Mirrors, which includes the hit song, “Somebody That I Used to Know.” a song that became an international hit, topping the charts in 31 countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States (in fact, Gotye became the first Belgian-born artist to reach No. 1 in the U.S. since The Singing Nun did so in 1963 with the song, “Dominique”). In 2013, Gotye won three statuettes at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards: Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Somebody That I Used to Know,” and Best Alternative Music Album for Making Mirrors.

Also, Today In:

1963 - "Little" Stevie Wonder taped his sophomore album, The Twelve Year Old Genius, live at a Detroit theatre. It would become Motown's first No. 1 album and it yielded Wonder's first smash hit, "Fingertips, Pt. 2."

1966 - Dusty Springfield's "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" debuted on the singles chart, where it would become her biggest hit ever, reaching No. 4.

1969 - John Lennon's and Yoko Ono's infamous 10-day "bed-in" for peace began at a Montreal hotel.

1971 - Marvin Gaye's album What's Going On was released by the Motown Records subsidiary label Tamla. It was Gaye's first album to credit him as a producer and to credit Motown's in-house studio band (the session musicians known as the Funk Brothers) and it is regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time. In fact, last year, it was officially ranked No. 1 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

1971 - Ram, Paul McCartney's second solo album, was released. Unlike McCartney's first solo effort, it was not a one-man band affair. Contributing musicians included guitarists David Spinozza and Hugh McCracken.

1976 - David Bowie released the compilation album Changesonebowie. It features singles from his earlier career, including "Space Oddity," "Changes," "Fame," and "Golden Years."

1977 - Stevie Wonder started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with his tribute to Duke Ellington, "Sir Duke", his sixth U.S. No. 1.

1977 - Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album took over the No. 1 spot in the U.S. from the Eagles' Hotel California.

1979 - Elton John launched a series of concerts in the Soviet Union. The shows were videotaped for a cable TV special called To Russia With Elton.

1980 - Joe Strummer of The Clash was arrested in Hamburg, Germany, after a concert during which a melee broke out between the band and the audience. Strummer reportedly struck one fan over the head with his guitar; he was released after an alcohol test proved negative.

1983 - David Bowie's "Modern Love" shot to No. 1 in the singles charts, thanks in part to Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitar playing and his Let's Dance" album hit No. 1 on the U.S. chart.

1983 - "Little Red Corvette" went to No. 6 in the U.S., giving Prince his first Top 10 hit on the Hot 100. The video was one of the first by a black artist to go into hot rotation on MTV.

1992 - MTV aired the first episode of The Real World, which got huge ratings and began a shift in programming away from music videos. It also encouraged other networks to try this "Reality TV" thing.

1992 - Bette Midler was Johnny Carson's last guest on The Tonight Show (his final show, the following night, has no guests). She serenaded him with "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)."

1996 - Soundgarden released their fifth studio album, Down on the Upside. It features the singles "Pretty Noose," "Burden in My Hand," and "Blow Up the Outside World."

1996 - The Wallflowers released their second studio album, Bringing Down the Horse. It features the singles "One Headlight," "6th Avenue Heartache," "The Difference," and "Three Marlenas."

1996 - Ani DiFranco released her seventh studio album, Dilate. It features the singles "Untouchable Face" and "Joyful Girl."

1997 - Radiohead released their third studio album, OK Computer. It features “Paranoid Android,” “Karma Police,” “Lucky,” “No Surprises,” and “Let Down.”

2002 - The Decemberists released their debut studio album, Castaways and Cutouts. It features the singles "July, July!" and "Odalisque."

2002 - Ugly Casanova (led by Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse) released their debut studio album, Sharpen Your Teeth. It features the singles "Diggin’ Holes" and "Things I Don’t Remember."

2002 - Box Car Racer released their self-titled debut studio album, Box Car Racer. It features the singles "I Feel So" and "There Is."

2006 - Gotye released his second studio album, Like Drawing Blood. It features the singles "Hearts a Mess," "Learnalilgivinanlovin," and "Thanks for Your Time."

2010 - Tame Impala released their debut album, Innerspeaker. It features "Solitude Is Bliss," "Lucidity," "Expectation," and “Why Don’t You Make Up Your Mind?”

2010 - Stone Temple Pilots released their sixth studio album, a self-titled affair. It’s the final release with the full original lineup.

2010 - U2's lead singer Bono had emergency spinal surgery after suffering an injury while preparing for tour dates.

2011 - Adele went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Rolling In The Deep," taken from her second studio album, 21. The video to the song was nominated for seven MTV Video Music Awards nominations; "Rolling in the Deep" was also the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 Number One Single of 2011. And on Feb. 12, 2012, "Rolling in the Deep" received three Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video.

2013 - New Politics released their second studio album, A Bad Girl in Harlem. It features the singles "Harlem," "Tonight You're Perfect," and "Berlin."

2015 - American bass guitarist Louis Johnson died at age 60. He was a member of Brothers Johnson, and played on the Michael Jackson albums Off the Wall, Thriller and Dangerous, and hit songs "Billie Jean" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".

2016 - Nick Menza, a former drummer in heavy metal band Megadeth, died after suffering a heart attack on stage while performing with his band OHM in Los Angeles.

2018 - The Hootie & the Blowfish album Cracked Rear View was certified for selling 21 million copies in America, overtaking Guns N' Roses' Appetite For Destruction as the top-selling debut album of all-time in that country.

2021 - Olivia Rodrigo released her debut studio album, Sour. It features the singles "Drivers License," "Deja Vu," "Good 4 U," "Traitor," and "Brutal."

2021 - Mdou Moctar released his sixth studio album, Afrique Victime. It features the singles "Tala Tannam," "Afrique Victime," and "Chismiten."

2021 - Lord Huron released their fourth studio album, Long Lost. It features the singles "Mine Forever," "Not Dead Yet," "I Lied," and "Love Me Like You Used To."

2021 - Allison Russell released her debut solo album, Outside Child. It features the singles "Nightflyer," "Persephone," and "The Runner."

Birthdays:

Jazz pianist Thomas Wright “Fats” Waller was born 120 years ago today in 1904. Waller grew up in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, and eventually studied composition at Julliard School. His innovative playing set the stage for modern jazz piano, and he wrote hundreds of songs, including “Aint’ Misbehavin’” and “Honeysuckle Rose.” Both of those songs were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. At the age of 39, Waller contracted pneumonia and died in Kansas City, Missouri, on Dec. 15, 1943.

Blues singer Lee “Shot” Williams was born today in 1938.

Early Beatles collaborator Tony Sheridan was born today in 1940.

Ronald Isley of the Isley Brothers is 84.

Vincent Crane of the Crazy World of Arthur Brown was born today in 1943.

John Dalton of the Kinks is 82.

Hilton Valentine, guitarist for the Animals, was born today in 1943.

Marcie Blane (“Bobby’s Girl”) is 81.

Bill Champlin, of Sons of Champlin and Chicago, is 78.

Leo Sayer is 77.

Mr. T is 73.

Marc Ribot is 71.

Stan Lynch, drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, is 70.

Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine is 62.

The Notorious B.I.G. (aka Biggie Smalls / Christopher G. Wallace) was born today in 1972.

Havoc of Mobb Deep is 51.

Deron Miller of CKY is 49.

Max B is 47.

Gotye is 45.

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