Birthday Highlight:

Today in 1972, Teren Delvon Jones — better known as Del the Funky Homosapien — was born, making him 53. Jones was born in Oakland, California, and his cousin is none other than Ice Cube; by virtue of that, his first foray into music was writing lyrics for Ice Cube’s group Da Lench Mob. In 1991, Del the Funky Homosapien released his debut album, I Wish My Brother George Was Here, which includes the massive hit single, “Mistadobalina.” After releasing two more albums, Del launched his own hip-hop label, Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings, in his hometown of Oakland. In 2000, Del collaborated with Dan the Automator and DJ Kid Koala on the hip-hop supergroup self-titled album Deltron 3030. It was through collaborations on that album that led Del the Funky Homosapien to be featured on Gorillaz’s 2001 self-titled album, appearing as a guest vocalist on the tracks "Clint Eastwood" and "Rock the House.” In 2023, Del was featured on the deluxe edition of Gorillaz’s album Cracker Island, appearing on the track, “Captain Chicken.”

Also, Today In:

1964 - The Beatles' first film, A Hard Day's Night, opened in 500 American theaters. Shot in cinema vérité style, the film portrays several days in the lives of the group. Following its U.K. and U.S. releases, A Hard Day's Night proved a financial and critical success. Time magazine rated it as one of the all-time great 100 films. British critic Leslie Halliwell described it as a "comic fantasia with music; an enormous commercial success with the director trying every cinematic gag in the book" and awarded it a full four stars; Roger Ebert described the film as "one of the great life-affirming landmarks of the movies", and added it to his list of The Great Movies. A Hard Day's Night includes 12 Beatles songs in its soundtrack and is credited as being one of the most influential musical films of all time, inspiring numerous spy films, The Monkees' television show and music videos.

1966 - The Beatles kicked off their last U.S. tour at the Chicago International Amphitheatre (a venue that was demolished in 1999).

1967 - Fleetwood Mac made their stage debut at the London National Jazz & Blues Festival.

1968 - Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham practiced for the first time together beneath a record store at 22 Gerrard Street in London's West End.

1970 - At Harvard University, Janis Joplin performed what would be her final concert. Her final performance was with the Full Tilt Boogie Band. The Harvard Crimson gave the performance a positive, front-page review, despite the fact that the band used makeshift amplifiers after their regular sound equipment was stolen in Boston. Joplin will go down in history as one of the biggest female rock stars of all time, not just because of her uninhibited musical talent but also because of her wild and turbulent lifestyle. She died of an overdose on Oct. 4 of that year at the young age of 27, after releasing three albums (a fourth which was released posthumously).

1970 - A Woody Guthrie memorial concert was held at the Hollywood Bowl. It featured performances by his son, Arlo, along with Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.

1977 - Motörhead released their self-titled debut studio album. It features the self-titled single.

1977 - Guitarist Henri Padovani quit the band the Police after nine months, leaving them a trio.

1978 - The Commodores started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Three Times A Lady." Lionel Richie wrote the song about his love for his wife, mother and grandmother, hence "Once, twice, three times a lady …"

1980 - Paul Simon released his fifth solo studio album, One Trick Pony. It features “Late In the Evening.”

1981 - Bob Dylan released his 21st studio album, Shot of Love. It features “Every Grain of Sand.”

1981 - Luther Vandross released his debut studio album, Never Too Much. It features the title track and “A House Is Not a Home.”

1984 - As The Olympic Games came to a close, Lionel Richie performed "All Night Long" live from Los Angeles to an estimated television audience of 2.6 billion people around the world.

1988 - New Kids on the Block released their second studio album, Hangin’ Tough. It features "Please Don't Go Girl," "You Got It (The Right Stuff)," "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)," "Hangin' Tough," and "Cover Girl."

1989 - The two-day Moscow Music Peace Festival was held at The Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Russia. Western acts that appeared included Mötley Crüe, Ozzy Osbourne, Bon Jovi, Skid Row and The Scorpions. This was the first time that an audience had been allowed to stand up and dance at a stadium rock concert in the Soviet Union.

1991 - Metallica released their fifth studio album, a self-titled collection often called “The Black Album.” It features "Enter Sandman," "The Unforgiven," "Nothing Else Matters," "Wherever I May Roam," and "Sad but True."

1994 - Woodstock 2 — officially "Woodstock '94" — began in Saugerties, New York, with Sheryl Crow, Todd Rundgren and Violent Femmes performing. The festival was a success, drawing a crowd of about 350,000.

1997 - Calexico released their debut studio album, Spoke.

1997 - Jen Trynin released her second album, Gun Shy, Trigger Happy.

1997 - Backstreet Boys released their self-titled album in the U.S. It features "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" and "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)."

1997- American Blues guitarist Luther Allison died of cancer age 57 in Madison, Wisconsin. He played with Howlin' Wolf's band and backed James Cotton.

1999 - The movie Detroit Rock City, which tells the story of Kiss fans on their way to a Kiss concert, opened nationwide.

2003 - Dashboard Confessional released their third studio album, A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar.

2009 - Pioneering guitarist and songwriter Les Paul passed away in White Plains, N.Y., due to complications from pneumonia.

2012 - The London 2012 Olympics ended with a spectacular musical closing ceremony. The three-hour show featured some of the biggest names of British music from decades past, including the Spice Girls, George Michael, The Who, Muse, Madness, The Pet Shop Boys, Ray Davies, Liam Gallagher, and Brian May and Roger Taylor from Queen.

2015 - A second postage stamp was issued in the U.S. bearing the image of Elvis Presley (the first was introduced in 1993). This one featured a black and white photograph by William Speer of Elvis in 1955 and was part of the Music Icon series that began in 2013.

Birthdays:

Sid Bernstein — concert promoter who brought the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Herman’s Hermits, the Kinks, and the Moody Blues to the United States — was born today in 1918.

Percy Mayfield ("Please Send Me Someone to Love," “Hit the Road Jack”) was born today in 1920.

Country singer Porter Wagoner was born today in 1927. He passed away in 2007.

Country singer Buck Owens was born today in 1929. He passed away in 2006.

Ron Mael of Sparks is 80.

Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits is 76.

Kid Creole is 75.

Jerry Speiser of Men at Work is 72.

Pat Metheny is 71.

Jurgen Dehmel of Nena is 67.

Roy Hay of Culture Club is 64.

Sir Mix-A-Lot is 62.

Del the Funky Homosapien is 53.

Matt Thiessen frontman of the band Relient K is 45.

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