History Highlight:

Today in 1995, Foo Fighters released their self-titled debut album. The record was recorded in six days at a studio in Seattle, where former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, who had written all the songs, played drums, guitar, and bass, and sang on every track, assisted by producer Barrett Jones. The only other musician to play on the album was Greg Dulli of Afghan Whigs, who just happened to be in the studio at the time and lent a guest guitar part on one track. At the time of recording, Grohl had no aspirations to be the lead singer in a band. "I was insecure about my voice,” Grohl said. “You know how people double their vocals to make them stronger? That album the vocals are quadrupled. I didn't want to be a lead singer, I couldn't … sing." Of course, that changed over time. Notable tracks on Foo Fighters include “This Is a Call,” “Big Me,” “X-Static” (the song featuring Dulli), “Alone + Easy Target,” “I’ll Stick Around” and “For All the Cows.”

Also, Today In:

1981 - Mission of Burma released their debut EP, Signals, Calls, and Marches. It features "That's When I Reach for My Revolver,” "Fame and Fortune," and “This Is Not a Photograph.”

1988 - Kylie Minogue released her debut album, Kylie. It features “The Loco-Motion.”

2003 - Grammy-winning R&B star Barry White died at the age of 58 in Los Angeles after suffering cardiac arrest.

2005 - Sufjan Stevens released his fifth studio album, Illinois. It features "Go! Chicago! Go! Yeah!"

2005 - Missy Elliott released her sixth studio album, The Cookbook. It features “Lose Control.”

2006 - Johnny Cash released the posthumous album, American V: A Hundred Highways. It features “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” and “Help Me.”

2007 - Bill Pinkney, the last surviving original member of The Drifters, died at the age of 81 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

2013 - Jay-Z released his 12th studio album, Magna Carta Holy Grail.

2017 - John Blackwell Jr. — a drummer who played with Patti LaBelle, Prince, Justin Timberlake, and D’Angelo — died at the age of 43 in Land o’ Lakes, Florida.

Birthdays:

Fred Wesley, trombonist for Parliament-Funkadelic and James Brown, is 81.

Bill Withers was born today in 1938. He died at the age of 81 in 2020. Withers’ hits include "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me" (1972), "Lean on Me" (1972), "Lovely Day" (1977) and "Just the Two of Us" (1980). He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.

Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson, co-lead singer and co-founder of Canned Heat, was born today in 1943.

Jeremy Spencer, a member of Fleetwood Mac from 1967-1971, is 77.

Ralph Johnson, percussionist for Earth, Wind & Fire, is 74.

John Waite — singer for the Babys and Bad English as well as a solo artist (“Missing You”) — is 73.

Kirk Pengilly, saxophonist and guitarist for INXS, is 67.

Mark Slaughter, singer and founder of Slaughter, is 61.

Melanie Fiona is 42.

Post Malone is 30.

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