History Highlight:

Today in 1990, the Pump Up the Volume (Music From the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) album was released. The film, directed by Allan Moyle, stars Christian Slater as a high school student who runs a pirate radio station where he speaks his mind and fascinates his fellow teens. The soundtrack album includes songs from Concrete Blonde, Pixies, Soundgarden, Sonic Youth, Bad Brains, and Cowboy Junkies, among others.

Also, Today In: 

1962 - Unhappy with drummer Pete Best's role in The Beatles, the band's manager Brian Epstein and the other three members decided to let him go. Best played his last gig the following night at The Cavern, Liverpool. 

1965 - Sonny & Cher started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "I Got You Babe." 

1967 - All U.K. offshore pirate radio stations were closed down when the marine broadcasting act came into force. A fictionalized account of these offshore stations is told in the 2009 film Pirate Radio (called The Boat that Rocked in the U.K.), featuring an ensemble cast that included Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, Kenneth Branagh, Chris O'Dowd, January Jones, Jack Davenport, Gemma Arterton and others. 

1971 - Diana Ross gives birth to a daughter, Rhonda, whose father is Motown head Berry Gordy. She is raised by Diana and her husband, Robert Ellis Silberstein, and is 12 when she learns the true identity of her father. 

1971 - On August 14, 1971, The Who released their fifth studio album, Who’s Next.  The LP included such hits as “Behind Blue Eyes,” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” In addition to appearing on countless “Best Of” lists over the decades, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007. 

1975 - The Rocky Horror Picture Show received its U.K. debut release at the Rialto Theatre in London. The United States premiere followed on September 26 at the UA Westwood in Los Angeles.

1976 - Funded by a £400 ($620) loan, "So It Goes" by Nick Lowe became the first record released on Stiff Records.

1983 - Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone fractures his skull in a fight with Seth Macklin of the band Sub Zero Construction. The fight started when Ramone spotted Macklin with his girlfriend Roxy Whitney (she thinks they have an open relationship). Ramone is rushed to the hospital and undergoes brain surgery; Macklin is arrested and charged with assault. 

1984 - The Fixx released their third studio album, Phantoms. It features “Are We Ourselves?” and “Sunshine in the Shade.”

1985 - Michael Jackson won a bid over Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney to secure the ATV Music Publishing catalogue. At a cost of $47.5 million, Jackson gained the rights to more than 250 songs written by Lennon and McCartney. 

1987 - The Fat Boys released their fourth studio album, Crushin’. It features “Wipe Out.”

1990 - Mother Love Bone released their only full-length album, Apple. It features “Stardog Champion.”

1994 - Bob Dylan, who refused an invitation to the original 1969 festival, performs on the last day of Woodstock '94, singing "It Ain't Me Babe," "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," "Masters Of War," "Just Like A Woman," and "Highway 61 Revisited" on the main North Stage. Over on the South Stage, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong wallops fistfuls of mud at fans and incites an all-out mudfight. Bassist Mike Dirnt gets his front teeth knocked out by a security guard in the chaos. 

1994 - Clifton Clowers, the real-life Tennessee mountain man who was the subject of Claude King's 1964 country smash "Wolverton Mountain," dies at the ripe old age of 101, still on the mountain 

1995 - Foo Fighters made their network television debut on The Late Show with David Letterman when they performed their single "This Is A Call." The band was formed in 1994 in Seattle by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project after Nirvana disbanded following the death of Kurt Cobain. Four of the band's nine albums have won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album. 

2001 - Alison Krauss & Union Station released their fifth studio album, New Favorite. It features “The Lucky One.”

2001 - Maxwell released his third studio album, Now. It features “This Woman’s Work,” a cover of the Kate Bush classic.

2001 - Michelle Branch released her second studio album, The Spirit Room. It features “Everywhere.”

2001 - A pizza-stained piece of paper signed by three of the four Beatles sold for $48,000 to an anonymous collector at an auction in Melbourne. John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison all signed the paper during their 1964 tour of Australia. Drummer Ringo Starr had laryngitis and was not on the tour. 

2006 - Peter Bjorn and John released their third studio album, Writer’s Block, in the U.K. (The U.S. release followed on Feb. 6, 2007.) It features “Young Folks.”

2009 - The xx released their debut studio album, xx. It features “Basic Space,” “Islands,” and “VCR.”

2015 - Grace Potter released her second solo studio album, Midnight.

2015 - Melanie Martinez released her debut studio album, Cry Baby. It features “Sippy Cup.”

2016 - Keyboard and synthesizer player James Woolley died at the age of 49. Woolley was known for playing with Nine Inch Nails as well as Rob Halford's one-time band 2wo, which also included John 5 of Marilyn Manson. 

2017 - Pantone announced a new color: a purple hue in honor of Prince named after his famous symbol (Love Symbol #2). 

2019 - Matt Healy of The 1975, ventures into the crowd and kisses a male fan on the lips during a concert in Dubai, where homosexuality is illegal. "We're all human, right?," he says upon returning to the stage. 

2020 - English hard rock and heavy metal bass player Pete Way died age 69 following life-threatening injuries he had sustained in an accident two months earlier. He was bassist for UFO and was also a founding member of Waysted and Fastway and notably played with Michael Schenker Group and Ozzy Osbourne. 

Other Birthdays: 

Buddy Greco (“The Lady Is a Tramp”) was born today in 1926.

Dash Crofts of Seals and Crofts is 87. 

David Crosby was born today in 1941. He passed away in 2023. 

Connie Smith is 84.

Keyboardist Ben Sidran of Steve Miller Band is 82.

Actor, comedian, and musician Steve Martin is 80. 

Sly and the Family Stone bassist Larry Graham is 79. 

Slim Dunlap was born in Plainview, Minnesota, in 1951. Called the “replacement Replacement” after joining the Replacements in the place of Bob Stinson, Dunlap helped create the band's critically acclaimed albums like Pleased to Meet Me and Don't Tell a Soul, before continuing on to pursue a successful solo career. In 2012, Dunlap suffered a stroke that severely impacted his ability to perform and to communicate. Over the years, his loved ones organized benefit albums and even an estate sale to support him. Dunlap died on Dec. 18, 2024.

Bruce Thomas, bassist for Elvis Costello and the Attractions, is 76. 

Sarah Brightman is 65.

Keith Howland of Chicago is 61. 

Kevin Cadogan of Third Eye Blind is 55. 

Ana Matronic of Scissor Sisters is 50. 

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