Birthday Highlight:

Today in 1980, Seth Avett was born, making him 45. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and raised in nearby Concord, Avett got involved in music as a teen. In the year 2000, Seth and his brother Scott, along with a friend, released an acoustic EP called The Avett Brothers. From those beginnings launched the band of that same name; today’s lineup not only includes brothers Seth and Scott, it also includes their sister Bonnie Avett-Rini, along with bassist Bob Crawford, cellist Joe Kwon, violinist Tania Elizabeth and drummer Mike Marsh. To date, the Avett Brothers have released 11 full-length studio albums, the most recent being 2024’s self-titled album, which includes the songs “Love of a Girl,” “Country Kid” and “Orion’s Belt.” Beyond the Avett Brothers, Seth Avett has released four solo albums under the moniker Darling; he also released an album of Elliott Smith covers in collaboration with Jessica Lea Mayfield in 2015; and in 2022, Avett released the covers compilation, Seth Avett Sings Greg Brown.

Also, Today In:

1966 - The Troggs started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with 'Wild Thing." Because of a distribution dispute, The Troggs' single was available on two competing labels: Atco and Fontana. Because both pressings were taken from an identical master recording, Billboard combined the sales for both releases, making it the only single to simultaneously reach No. 1 for two companies.

1968 - The Beatles closed their Apple Boutique in London after seven months of business, giving away all their stock to passing strangers and to Apple staff.

1974 - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played The Troubadour in Los Angeles on a double bill with Roger McGuinn from The Byrds.

1977 - The Bee Gees' younger brother Andy Gibb started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "I Just Wanna Be Your Everything," his first of three U.S. No. 1's.

1980 - Zapp released their self-titled debut album. It features “More Bounce to the Ounce.”

1982 - The soundtrack album Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Music from the Motion Picture was released. It features Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby."

1986 - Variety magazine reported that RCA had dropped John Denver from its roster after the release of his single, "What Are We Making Weapons For." Variety said the song upset the record company's new owner, General Electric, one of the largest defense contractors in the U.S.

1986 - Boy George was fined £250 (about $350) by a London court for possession of heroin.

1988 - Steve Winwood started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Roll With It."

1993 - Shaggy released his debut album, Pure Pleasure. It features “Oh Carolina.”

1996 - A Tribe Called Quest released their fourth studio album, Beats, Rhymes and Life. It features “1nce Again” and “Stressed Out.”

1996 - Only a couple months after frontman Bradley Nowell died of a heroin overdose, Sublime released their self-titled third studio album. It features “What I Got,” “Santeria,” “Wrong Way,” and “Doin’ Time.”

1996 - Republica released their self-titled debut studio album. It features "Ready to Go" and "Drop Dead Gorgeous."

1996 - Alice in Chains released the live album, Unplugged.

2001 - The Strokes released their debut studio album, Is This It. It was released in the U.K. and Australia initially, and the American release followed on Oct. 9.

2002 - Bruce Springsteen released his 12th studio album, The Rising. It features the title track, “Lonesome Day,” and “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day.”

2002 - Dave Pirner released his first solo album, Faces & Names.

2003 - Sun Records founder Sam Phillips died of respiratory failure in Memphis, Tenn., at age 80. Phillips discovered Elvis Presley and had worked with Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Ike Turner, B.B. King and Jerry Lee Lewis.

2003 - The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Rush, The Guess Who, Justin Timberlake, The Flaming Lips, Sass Jordan and The Isley Brothers played a benefit concert in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to prove that the city is safe from SARS. With 450,000 spectators, it was the largest concert in Canadian history.

2012 - Blur released the box set Blur 21.

2014 - A ban on steel-string guitars in prison cells in England and Wales was reversed after a campaign led by Billy Bragg, David Gilmour, Elbow's Guy Garvey and Johnny Marr. Billy Bragg founded Jail Guitar Doors, a charity that has sent more than 350 guitars to prisons since 2007; the program is designed to help prisoners rehabilitate and pursue a creative outlet. Each donated guitar is inscribed with a variation on Woody Guthrie's guitar inscription: "This machine kills time."

2016 - Jack White's mission to play the first record in space was accomplished. A Glorious Dawn by composer John Boswell, mixed with audio of American scientist Carl Sagan describing the universe, was played 28,000 meters above Earth on a "space-proof" turntable. The record played for about 80 minutes until the high-altitude balloon carrying it burst and propelled the turntable back towards Marsing, Idaho.

2021 - Billie Eilish released her second studio album, Happier Than Ever. It features "My Future," "Therefore I Am," "Your Power," "Lost Cause," "NDA," the title track, and "Male Fantasy."

2021 - Bleachers released their third studio album, Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night. It features “Chinatown,” “45,” and “Stop Making This Hurt.”

2021 - Durand Jones & the Indications released their third studio album, Private Space.

2021 - The posthumous Prince album, Welcome 2 America, arrived.

2021 - Yola released her second studio album, Stand for Myself.

More Birthdays:

George “Buddy” Guy, born on July 30, 1936, in Lettsworth, Louisiana, is 89. While he was growing up in the South, Guy began his development as a blues musician. When he moved to Chicago as a 21-year-old, he soon signed to Chess Records, and began session work with Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Koko Taylor, and many others. With label boss Leonard Chess saying Guy’s playing was “just making noise,” he had to wait to be taken seriously as a solo artist. As artists like Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, and Keith Richards became aware of Guy’s gifts as a guitarist and vocalist, his legend grew. Clapton later inducted Guy into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, saying “He stood out in the mix, simply by virtue of the originality and vitality of his playing." Guy has released dozens of studio and live albums, and has won eight Grammy Awards. His signature Fender Stratocaster guitar features a polka-dot finish, a tribute to his mother. He opened the blues club Buddy Guy’s Legends in 1989, and plays a residency every January.

Paul Anka is 84.

Saxophonist David Sanborn was born today in 1945. He died in 2024.

Jeffrey Hammond of Jethro Tull is 79.

Blues musician Otis Taylor is 77.

Rat Scabies of The Damned is 70.

Kate Bush was born today in 1958, making her 67 today. At just age 19, Bush topped the U.K. Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female artist to achieve a U.K. No. 1 with a self-written song. Since then, she has released 25 U.K. Top 40 singles and 10 studio albums.

Ron Block, of Alison Krauss & Union Station, is 61.

Craig Gannon, guitarist for the Smiths and Morrissey, is 59.

Louise Wener, singer for Sleeper, is 59.

Sean Moore, drummer for Manic Street Preachers, is 57.

Elvis Crespo is 54.

Brad Hargreaves, drummer for Third Eye Blind, is 54.

Seth Avett of the Avett Brothers is 45.

Finneas O'Connell — singer, songwriter, producer and brother to Billie Eilish — is 28.

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