Birthday Highlight:

On this day in 1963, Emily Saliers of Indigo Girls was born, making her 62. Although born in Connecticut, Saliers was raised in Decatur, Georgia. While attending Laurel Ridge Elementary School in Decatur, Saliers befriended Amy Ray. By high school, Saliers and Ray were performing music together. When they both transferred colleges to Emory University in Atlanta, they named their musical collaboration Indigo Girls. They released their debut album, Strange Fire, in 1987, and have released 15 albums since. Emily Saliers, just like her bandmate Amy Ray, has also released solo work. Saliers continues to live in her hometown of Decatur, Georgia, near Atlanta.

Also, Today In:

1965 - Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, and Bill Wyman from The Rolling Stones were each fined £5 at East Ham Magistrates Court, London, after being found guilty of "insulting behavior" at a Romford Road service station. Charges stemmed from an incident in which all three had urinated against a wall after the service station attendant had refused them the use of the facilities.

1969 - Aretha Franklin was arrested for causing a disturbance in a Detroit parking lot. After posting $50 bail, she ran down a road sign with her car while leaving the police station.

1977 - Leif Garrett released his self-titled debut album. It features covers of songs by the Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, and more.

1977 - Stiff Records released My Aim Is True, the debut album from Elvis Costello, in the U.K. It features “Less Than Zero,” “Alison” and “(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes.”

1982 - Dexys Midnight Runners released their second studio album, Too-Rye-Ay. It features “Come On Eileen.”

1989 - Former actress Martika started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Toy Soldiers."

1989 - Prince's soundtrack album to Batman started a six-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart. The album was No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart for six consecutive weeks and to date has sold over eleven million copies worldwide. In the album's liner notes, the lyrics of each song are associated with one of the characters in the film.

1996 - Donovan was forced to postpone a comeback tour of the U.S. because of a 30-year-old marijuana conviction in the U.K., for which American authorities delayed granting him a waiver to enter the country.

2003 - Yellowcard released their fourth studio album, Ocean Avenue. It features the title track, “Way Away,” and “Only One.”

2003 - Jane’s Addiction released their third studio album, Strays. It features “Just Because.”

2006 - Johnny Cash went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with American V: A Hundred Highways. Released posthumously on July 4, the vocal parts were recorded before Cash's death, but the instruments were not recorded until 2005.

2008 - Dr. Dog released their fifth studio album, Fate. It features “The Breeze.”

2014 - Canadian indie-pop group Alvvays released their self-titled debut studio album on Polyvinyl Records. It features the infectious single “Archie, Marry Me,” which was written about the pitfalls of rushing into marriage by singer/guitarist Molly Rankin and guitarist Alec O’Hanley. The album — loaded with catchy lo-fi songs about young adulthood — was later shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize and was named among the best albums of 2014 by Rolling Stone, NME, and Paste.

2019 - Singer, songwriter and keyboardist Art Neville died at age 81. Art shot to fame as part of the Neville Brothers when they started singing as children, but went their separate ways in the 1950s and 1960s. It was not until 1977 that the brothers finally got together again and in 1978 they recorded their first Neville Brothers album. Art was a founding member of The Meters, and he also played on recordings by many notable artists including Labelle (on "Lady Marmalade"), Paul McCartney, Lee Dorsey, Robert Palmer, Dr. John and Professor Longhair.

Birthdays:

Music and TV star Margaret Whiting (“A Tree in the Meadow”) was born today in 1924.

Saxophonist Junior Cook was born today in 1934.

R&B singer Chuck Jackson was born today in 1937.

Estelle Bennett of the Ronettes was born today in 1941.

George Edward Clinton was born on this day in 1941, making him 84 years old today. He is known as an American funk musician, singer, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer. His Parliament-Funkadelic collective developed an influential and eclectic form of funk music during the 1970s that drew on science fiction, outlandish fashion, psychedelia, and surreal humor. He launched his solo career with the 1982 album Computer Games and would go on to influence 1990s hip-hop and G-funk. Clinton is regarded, along with James Brown and Sly Stone, as one of the foremost innovators of funk music. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, alongside 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. In 2019, he and Parliament-Funkadelic were given Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Bobby Sherman (“Little Woman”) is 82.

Supertramp's Rick Davies is 81.

Don Henley is 78.

Alan Menken, songwriter for many hit Disney films, is 76.

Richard Bennett, guitarist for Neil Diamond and Mark Knopfler, is 74.

Brian Howe, frontman of Bad Company, was born on this day in 1953. He passed away in May 2020.

Jazz fusion guitarist Al Di Meola is 71.

Keith Sweat is 64.

Steve Albini was born on this day in 1962. He died on May 7, 2024.

Will Calhoun of Living Colour is 61.

Daniel Jones of Savage Garden is 52.

Rufus Wainwright is 52.

Selena Gomez is 33.

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