History Highlight:

On this day in 1984, pop and funk group The Time released their third studio album, Ice Cream Castle. It features “The Bird” and “Jungle Love,” which were both included in the film Purple Rain. The album was produced and arranged by Prince, credited as "The Starr ★ Company." Prince also received songwriting, or co-writing credit with Morris Day, on all six of the album’s tracks. Morris Day and The Time performed at Taste of Minnesota in downtown Minneapolis in 2024.

Also, Today In:

1956 - Elvis Presley recorded "Hound Dog" at RCA Studios in New York. Take 31 being the version they released. This was the first time backup singers The Jordanaires worked with Presley.

1962 - Jimi Hendrix was honorably discharged from the 101st Airborne Paratroopers after breaking his ankle during his 26th and final parachute jump.

1966 - Frank Sinatra went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Strangers In The Night."

1971 - Queen appeared at the University of Surrey in England. This was the group's first gig with the lineup of Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), John Deacon (bass guitar) and Roger Taylor (drums, vocals).

1975 - David Bowie received his fourth Gold record for Young Americans, which contained two of his biggest hits, the No. 1 "Fame" and the title song.

1979 - Sony introduced the Walkman, the first portable audio cassette player. Over the next 30 years, Sony sold more than 385 million Walkmans in cassette, CD, mini-disc and digital-file versions. Sony led the market until the arrival of Apple's iPod and other new digital devices.

1982 - Fleetwood Mac released their 13th studio album, Mirage. It features “Hold Me” and “Gypsy.”

1982 - Elvis Costello released his seventh studio album, Imperial Bedroom. It features “Man Out of Time,” “Beyond Belief,” and “You Little Fool.”

1982 - Harmonica player DeFord Bailey died at age 82. A cast member at the Grand Ole Opry throughout the 1930s, he was the first African American inducted into the institution. In 2005, he entered the Country Music Hall of Fame.

1985 - Prince’s album Around the World in a Day, released just a little more than two months earlier (on April 22), earned double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), signifying more than two million units sold.

1986 - The second Prince movie "Under the Cherry Moon" hit theaters. Unlike the first, "Purple Rain", Prince directed it himself.

1988 - Michael Jackson became the first artist to have five No. 1 singles from one album when "Dirty Diana" went to the top of the U.S. charts. The other four chart-toppers from the LP Bad were the title track, plus "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Man in the Mirror."

1990 - Poison released their third studio album, Flesh & Blood. It features "Unskinny Bop" and "Something to Believe In."

1991 - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released their eighth studio album, Into the Great Wide Open. It features “Learning to Fly” and “Into the Great Wide Open.”

1991 - Heavy D & the Boyz released their third album, Peaceful Journey. It features “Now That We Found Love.”

1991 - Slick Rick released his second studio album, The Ruler’s Back. It features “I Shouldn’t Have Done It.”

1991 - Leaders of the New School released their debut studio album, A Future Without a Past.... It features the singles "Case of the P.T.A.," "Sobb Story," and "Teachers, Don’t Teach Me Nonsense."

1991 - Axl Rose caused a riot to break out during a Guns N' Roses gig after leaping into the crowd to remove a camera from a fan at the Riverport Amphitheatre (now the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre) in Maryland Heights, Mo. More than 50 people were injured and 15 fans were arrested.

1996 - Nas released his second studio album, It Was Written. It features “Street Dreams” and “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That).”

1996 - De La Soul released their fourth studio album, Stakes Is High.

1996 - Sponge released their second studio album, Wax Ecstatic. It features "Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina)" and "Have You Seen Mary."

2001 - Liverpool renamed its airport the "Liverpool John Lennon Airport."

2007 - The Chemical Brothers released their sixth studio album, We Are the Night. It features “Do It Again” and “The Salmon Dance.”

2008 - The gravestone of former Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis was stolen. The missing memorial stone was later replaced by a new stone with the same inscription — "Ian Curtis 18 - 5 - 80 / Love Will Tear Us Apart" — but in a different typeface.

2011 - Kendrick Lamar released his debut studio album, Section.80.

2015 - Buddy Holly's widow, Maria Elena Holly, announced that she had entrusted the publishing rights to her late husband's influential catalog to the artist's performance rights group, BMG. The company was now authorized to administer royalties worldwide of nearly all of Buddy Holly's recordings.

2018 - Alan Longmuir from Scottish pop band Bay City Rollers died at age 70 after contracting an illness while on holiday in Mexico.

Birthdays:

Marvin Rainwater (“Gonna Find Me a Bluebird,” “Whole Lotta Woman”) was born today in 1925.

Lee Allen, saxophone player for the Blasters, was born today in 1927.

Jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal was born today in 1930.

Tom Springfield, who performed with sister Dusty in the Springfields, was born today in 1934.

Dee Palmer, keyboard player for Jethro Tull, is 88.

Paul Williams of The Temptations was born today in 1939. He passed away in 1973.

William Guest, member of Gladys Knight & the Pips, was born today in 1941.

Greg Brown is 76.

Keyboardist Roy Bittan of the E Street Band is 76.

Johnny Colla, sax player from Huey Lewis and the News, is 73.

Michelle Branch is 42.

Ashley Tisdale is 40.

Lindsay Lohan is 39.

Burna Boy is 34.

Vince Staples is 32.

Saweetie is 32.

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