History Highlight:

On this day in 2020, Fontaines D.C. released A Hero’s Death. The second full-length album for the Dublin band, it followed their debut, Dogrel, by less than 18 months. Expected to land at No. 1 in the U.K. album charts, it debuted at No. 2, just behind Taylor Swift’s Folklore, released just a week earlier. A Hero’s Death allowed Fontaines D.C. to expand beyond the post-punk sound that characterized their debut, stretching themselves to include influences by such bands as the Beach Boys, Beach House, and Broadcast. The album includes the title track as well as singles “I Don’t Belong” and “Televised Mind.” Because the album was released in the thick of the pandemic, Fontaines D.C. did not tour in support of A Hero’s Death until March 2022 — just one month before they released their third album, Skinty Fia.

Also, Today In: 
 
1846 - France's army gives legitimacy to Belgian Adolphe Sax's latest invention, the saxophone, by including it in their marching band. 

1955 - Elvis Presley performed at Fort Homer Hesterly Armory in Tampa, Fla., after which a full-scale riot broke out when Elvis announced to the 14,000 strong crowd, "Girls, I'll see you backstage." Fans chased Elvis into the dressing room, tearing off his clothes and shoes. 

1964 - Country singer Jim Reeves was killed in a plane crash when the single engine aircraft flying from Arkansas to Nashville crashed in thick fog. 40-year-old Reeves was one of the first country singers to cross-over into the pop market. with his 1960 U.S. No. 2 single 'He'll Have To Go', and 1966 U.K. No. 1 single 'Distant Drums'. 

1964 - The original "Dancing In The Street," by Martha & The Vandellas, was released. It was later covered by Van Halen (and don't forget Mick Jagger and David Bowie). 

1968 - Tommy James and The Shondells were at No. 1 with "Mony Mony", which was also a hit for Billy Idol in 1987.

1968 - Working at Trident studios in London, The Beatles recorded four takes of a new Paul McCartney song, "Hey Jude."  

1969 - Making his first live concert appearance since March 25, 1961, Elvis played the International Hotel in Las Vegas, the first of 57 shows that would help revive his career and earn him $1.5 million. 

1971 - James Taylor went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with the Carole King song "You've Got A Friend," (included on her album Tapestry and on Taylor's album Mud Slide Slim). The song would go on to win the 1971 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Male Performance and Song Of The Year. 

1976 - Blue Oyster Cult released "(Don't Fear) The Reaper." 

1980 - During an Eagles concert in Long Beach, tempers boiled over between Glen Frey and Don Felder, who spent the entire show describing to each other the beating each planned to administer backstage. "Only three more songs until I kick your a**, pal," Frey told Felder. The group's next album was mixed by Frey and Felder on opposite coasts after the two decided they couldn't bear to be in the same state, let alone the same studio. 

1982 - Survivor's “Eye Of The Tiger “was at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart. The song, which was commissioned by actor Sylvester Stallone as the theme for the movie Rocky III, received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song and went on to sell more than five million copies. 

1985 - John Mellencamp released his eighth studio album, Scarecrow. It features the singles "Lonely Ol’ Night," "Small Town," "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.," and "Rain on the Scarecrow."

1985 - The Eurythmics had the No. 1 position on the U.K. singles chart with 'There Must Be An Angel, (Playing With My Heart). The song which was the Eurythmics' first (and to date only) No. 1 single features a harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder. 

1995 - Merril Bainbridge released her debut album, The Garden. It features “Mouth.”

1999 - Christina Aguilera scored her first U.S. No. 1 single with "Genie In A Bottle." The song spent five weeks at No. 1 on the U.S. chart and won Aguilera the Best New Artist Grammy for the year. 

2001 - Rilo Kiley released their debut studio album, Take Offs and Landings.

2001 - Gillian Welch released her third studio album, Time (The Revelator).

2004 - Simon and Garfunkel closed out the European leg of their second reunion tour by performing a free concert at Rome's Colosseum in front of 600,000 fans. 

2007 - Common released his seventh studio album, Finding Forever. It features “The People.”

2012 - Appearing at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in Finland's capital city, Bruce Springsteen played his longest concert ever, clocking in at four hours, six minutes. 

2015 - Lianne La Havas released her second studio album, Blood. It features “Unstoppable” and “What You Don’t Do.”

2020 - Fointaines D.C. released their second studio album, A Hero’s Death. It features “I Don’t Belong” and the title track.

2020 - The Psychedelic Furs released Made Of Rain, their first album since 1991, the year they disbanded. The group re-formed in 2000 but didn't get around to releasing new music until 20 years later. 

2020 - Dominic Fike released his debut studio album, What Could Possibly Go Wrong.

2020 - Alanis Morissette released her ninth studio album, Such Pretty Forks in the Road.

2021 - American guitarist and singer-songwriter Paul Cotton died at the age of 78. He was a member of the band Poco and the writer of their international hit song ‘Heart of the Night’. Cotton left Poco in early 2010 and went on to release several solo albums. 
 
Birthdays: 
 
Ahmet Ertegun, the pioneering Atlantic Records exec who championed artists like the Drifters and Ray Charles, was born today in 1923. 

Jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell, who frequently collaborated with Jimmy Smith, is 94.

Lobo (“Me and You and a Dog Named Boo”) is 82.

Gary Lewis of Gary Lewis and the Playboys is 79.

Karl Green of Herman’s Hermits is 78. 

Daniel Ash — of Bauhaus, Tones on Tail, and Love and Rockets — is 68. 

William “Bill” Thomas Berry was born on July 31, 1958, in Duluth, Minnesota. He is 67. Berry was drummer for the Georgia-based rock group R.E.M. between 1980-1997, and was a key component of their rise from a college radio sensation to one of the most-successful bands in history. In addition to being the band’s drummer in a live setting, Berry is a credited songwriter on songs including “Everybody Hurts,” “Man on the Moon,” “Driver 8,” and “Can’t Get There from Here.” On March 1, 1995, Berry collapsed on stage during a performance in Switzerland due to a ruptured brain aneurysm. He recovered and stayed with the band until October 1997. He has reunited with R.E.M. several times over the years, including in 2007 for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and on June 13, 2024, to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Stanley Jordan is 66.

Malcolm Ross of Aztec Camera is 65. 

Norman Quentin Cook, aka Fatboy Slim is 62. He was born July 31, 1963. The English musician began his career as the bassist for the popular indie band, The Housemartins, in the 1980s. After the band disbanded, Cook reinvented himself as a DJ and producer, adopting the alias Fatboy Slim. Throughout the decades, he has gained international fame and acclaim for his music, blending elements of big beat, funk, and dance. 

Jim Corr of the Corrs is 61.

Leona Naess is 51. 

Joshua Cain, guitarist for Motion City Soundtrack, is 49.

Coldplay drummer Will Champion is 47.

Zac Brown of Zac Brown Band is 47. 

M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold is 44. 

Yola is 43.

Lil Uzi Vert is 30.

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