History Highlight:

Today in 2009, Dawes released their debut studio album, North Hills. The album was recorded in the Laurel Canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles, and upon its release, was hailed as the next generation of the Laurel Canyon sound — first established by such artists as Joni Mitchell, the Byrds, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Carole King and Neil Young, among others — given its vocal harmonies, blend of acoustic and electric instruments, and poetic songwriting. The album’s name comes from Dawes’ band members’ own neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley, 20 minutes from Laurel Canyon. All the songs on the album were written by Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith, whose voice has been compared to Jackson Browne. The breakout track on North Hills is “When My Time Comes,” which entered The Current’s Chart Show Hall of Fame in July 2010.

Also, Today In: 

1962 - Ringo Starr made his debut with The Beatles at the Horticultural Society Dance in Birkenhead, England, having had a two-hour rehearsal in preparation. This was the first appearance of The Beatles as the world would come to know them: John, Paul, George and Ringo. The four would play in Minnesota only one time — on Aug. 21, 1965. 

1969 - Mick Jagger was accidentally shot in the hand during filming of Ned Kelly in Australia. The film was dogged by problems: Jagger's girlfriend of the time, Marianne Faithfull, had gone to Australia to play the lead female role (Ned's sister, Maggie), but the Jagger-Faithfull relationship was breaking up, and she took an overdose of sleeping tablets soon after arrival in Sydney resulting in being hospitalized in a coma, and pulling out of the film. 

1973 - Diana Ross scored her second U.S. No. 1 single with "Touch Me In The Morning." The song marked a turning point in her career, coming immediately after her Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in her acting debut, Lady Sings the Blues. 

1975 - Hall & Oates released their fourth studio album, Daryl Hall & John Oates. It features “Sara Smile.”

1977 - The Police made their live debut as a three-piece band when they played at Rebecca's in Birmingham, England. The Police became globally popular in the late 1970s and are generally regarded as one of the first New Wave groups to achieve mainstream success, playing a style of rock that was influenced by punk, reggae and jazz. 

1979 - Chic went to No.1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Good Times,” the group's second U.S. No. 1, a No. 5 hit in the U.K. The song is ranked No. 229 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and has become one of the most sampled tunes in music history, most notably in hip-hop music. 

1986 - Bon Jovi released their third studio album, Slippery When Wet, which peaked at No. 1 on the U.S. charts, going on to sell more than 28 million copies worldwide. The album features the hit singles, "You Give Love A Bad Name" and "Livin' On A Prayer." 

1987 - Debbie Gibson released her debut album, Out of the Blue. It features “Only in My Dreams” and the title track.

1991 - Visual artist Rick Griffin died after being forced off the road by a van he was attempting to pass on his Harley Heritage Softail motorbike. One of his best-known album covers was for the Grateful Dead's Aoxomoa LP, and the legendary "Flying Eyeball" poster he designed for a series of concerts in San Francisco featuring the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Albert King and John Mayall. 

1992 - Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love became parents, giving birth to a daughter, Frances Bean Cobain. 

1992 - Luna released their debut album, Lunapark.

1998 - Death Cab for Cutie released their debut studio album, Something About Airplanes. It features “Bend to Squares.”

1998 - Kid Rock released his fourth studio album, Devil Without a Cause. It features “Cowboy” and “Bawitdaba.”

1998 - Korn released their third studio album, Follow the Leader. It features “Freak on a Leash.”

2005 - Kanye West called for an end to homophobia in the hip-hop community during an MTV interview, saying, "Hip hop was always about speaking your mind and about breaking down barriers, but everyone in hip hop discriminates against gay people. Not just hip hop, but America just discriminates, I wanna just, to come on TV and just tell my rappers, just tell my friends, 'Yo, stop it'." 

2008 - David Byrne and Brian Eno released their second collaborative album, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. It features the title track and “Strange Overtones.”

2008 - Stereolab released their ninth studio album, Chemical Chords. It features “Three Women.”

2008 - Soul singer Pervis Jackson died of cancer. Was a member of The Spinners (Also known as The Motown Spinners and The Detroit Spinners). 

2010 - French beauty brand Etat Libre D'Orange announced that it had teamed up with The Sex Pistols to bottle the scent of the punk era by launching the band's first fragrance. Company executives said, "To wear this scent, you must resist tradition, fight conformity, and disregard aromatic conventions." 

2012 - Parquet Courts released their second studio album, Light Up Gold.

2012 - Singer/songwriter Scott McKenzie died aged 73. He was best known for his 1967 hit "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)". He also joined a new version of The Mamas and the Papas and co-wrote "Kokomo", a No. 1 single for The Beach Boys. 

2017 - Grizzly Bear released their fifth studio album, Painted Ruins. It features “Mourning Sound.”

2020 - Jack Sherman died age 64 of a heart attack at his home in Savannah, Georgia. He is best known as the second guitarist to have joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers, in between Hillel Slovak's departure and return. He played on their debut album, and co-wrote much of their second album, Freaky Styley. 

Birthdays: 

Cisco Houston — a folk singer who regularly recorded and toured with Woody Guthrie — was born today in 1918.

Sonny Til, lead singer of the Orioles, was born today in 1928.

Soul and R&B singer Maxine Brown is 86.

Johnny Preston (“Running Bear”) was born today in 1939.

Carl Wayne, lead singer of the Move, was born today in 1943.

Sarah Dash, member of Labelle and sidewoman for the Rolling Stones, was born today in 1945.

Nigel Griggs, bassist for Split Enz, is 76.

Dennis Elliott, drummer for Foreigner, is 75.

Patrick Swayze was born today in 1952.

Marvin Isley of the Isley Brothers was born today in 1952. He passed away in 2010.

Jon Schwartz, drummer for “Weird Al” Yankovic, is 69.

Former Men at Work lead guitarist Ron Strykert is 68.  

Stuart Matthewman – English songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who appeared on all of Sade’s albums and tours – is 65. 

Dan Peters of Mudhoney is 58. 

Erik “Everlast” Schrody of House of Pain is 56.

Masta Killa of Wu-Tang Clan is 56.

Richard D. James of Aphex Twin is 54.

Andy Samberg of the Lonely Island is 47. 

Mika, singer of "Grace Kelly," is 42.

G-Dragon is 37.

Frances Bean Cobain is 33.

Claire Cottrill — known professionally as lo-fi bedroom pop singer-songwriter, Clairo — is 27. At age 13 she began posting music online, but it was the viral success of the music video for her lo-fi single "Pretty Girl" in 2017 that landed her a record deal with Fader label. Clairo released her debut EP Diary 001 in 2018, her debut studio album Immunity in 2019, and her sophomore album Sling in 2021. While both of her albums were released to critical acclaim, her sophomore album which was co-produced with Jack Antonoff, has seen commercial success, debuting in the top 20 of the U.S. Billboard 200. 

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