History Highlight:

Today in 1980 and in 1982, Australian rock band INXS released albums. In 1980, INXS released their self-titled debut album. Initially released only in Australia and New Zealand, the album includes the single, “Just Keep Walking,” which was the first Australian Top 40 hit for INXS. With a second album, Underneath the Colours, intervening in 1981, it was on this day in 1982 that INXS dropped their third studio album, Shabooh Shoobah. Unlike its two predecessors, Shabooh Shoobah was the first INXS album to be distributed worldwide, and it peaked at No. 46 in the U.S. album chart, where it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Shabooh Shoobah features the singles "The One Thing," "Don't Change," "To Look at You," and "Black and White."

Also, Today In: 

1962 - Don Everly collapsed during rehearsals on stage at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London on the eve of a 22-date Everly Brothers U.K. tour. He was flown back to the U.S. for treatment and the tour continued with Phil Everly performing solo. 

1973 - The Rolling Stones started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Goats Head Soup, the group's fourth U.S. No. 1. 

1974 - Renowned television host Ed Sullivan dies of esophageal cancer in New York City, at age 73. One of the biggest events in music history unfolded on his program, The Ed Sullivan Show, when a new group from Liverpool called The Beatles made their live U.S. debut. 

1978 - Queen released their "Fat Bottomed Girls"/"Bicycle Race" single, featuring a cover photo that combines imagery from both songs. 

1979 - Michael Jackson went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough," his second solo chart-topper. The song is the first single from Jackson's fifth studio album, Off the Wall, and was the first solo recording over which Jackson had creative control. It remained at No. 1 for six weeks on Billboard's Soul chart and won Jackson his first solo Grammy and American Music Award. 

1980 - INXS released their debut studio album, INXS. It features the single "Just Keep Walking."

1981 - Olivia Newton-John released her eleventh studio album, Physical. It features the singles "Physical," "Make a Move on Me," and "Landslide."

1982 - INXS released their third studio album, Shabooh Shoobah. It features the singles "The One Thing," "Don't Change," "To Look at You," and "Black and White."

1983 - Whodini released their self-titled debut studio album, Whodini. It features the singles "Magic's Wand" and "The Haunted House of Rock."

1983 - Cyndi Lauper, formerly a member of the group Blue Angel, issues her first solo album, She's So Unusual. Six singles were released from the album, with "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" becoming a worldwide hit and her first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. "Time After Time" became her first number-one hit on the chart and experienced similar success worldwide. Lauper found success with the next two singles as well, with both "She Bop" and "All Through the Night" peaking in the top five. This makes Lauper the first female singer to have four top-five singles on the Hot 100 from one album. Lauper earned several awards and accolades for the album, including two Grammy Awards at the 27th Grammy Awards, one of which was for Best New Artist. She's So Unusual peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 chart and stayed in the chart's top forty for 65 weeks. It has sold over 6 million copies in the United States and 16 million copies worldwide. This makes it Lauper's best-selling album to date and one of the best-selling albums of the 1980s.

1984 - Stevie Wonder started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "I Just Called To Say I Love You," it was his seventh U.S. No. 1. 

1986 - Berlin released their fourth studio album, Count Three & Pray. It features the singles "Take My Breath Away," "Like Flames," and "You Don't Know."

1986 - Joni Mitchell's Ladies Of The Canyon is certified Platinum by the RIAA. 

1990 - George Michael went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Praying For Time," his sixth U.S. solo No. 1. 

1992 - Prince (with the New Power Generation) released his fourteenth studio album, Love Symbol. It features the singles "Sexy MF," "My Name Is Prince," "7," "Damn U," and "The Morning Papers."

1992 - 4 Non Blondes released their debut studio album, Bigger, Better, Faster, More!. It features the singles "Dear Mr. President," "What's Up?," "Spaceman," and "Superfly."

1992 - Mudhoney released their third studio album, Piece of Cake. It features the singles "Suck You Dry" and "Blinding Sun."

1998 - Golden Smog released their second studio album, Weird Tales. It features the singles "Until You Came Along," "Please Tell My Brother," and "Looking Forward to Seeing You."

1998 - The Frasier Fair, a male version of the Lilith Fair, begins in San Diego. The tour is organized by Rugburns member Steve Poltz, and features John Doe and Pete Droge. The festival is named after the character Frasier Crane from the shows Cheers and Frasier. The character spent a lot of time on the shows involved with a serious woman named Lilith. 

2000 - Eddie Vedder, Ani DiFranco, Ben Harper, and Patti Smith all take part in a Madison Square Garden rally for U.S. presidential candidate Ralph Nader. George Bush eventually wins the election, with Nader taking key votes from his Democratic challenger Al Gore. 

2002 - The band Muse took legal action against Céline Dion after she announced her forthcoming Las Vegas show would be called "Muse." Singer Matt Bellamy from the band said, "We don't want anyone to think we're Céline Dion's backing band." 

2004 - The Internal Revenue Service charged 63-year-old Ronald Isley, lead singer of the Isley Brothers, with tax evasion for failing to report income from royalties and performances by the band between 1997 and 2002. Isley was later found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison. 

2008 - Ringo Starr announced that he no longer has time to respond to fan mail or to sign autographs. In a video message on his website, Starr asked fans not to send him any mail at all. "No more fan mail and no objects to be signed. Nothing," he said. "Peace and love." Two days later, following a backlash from fans, Starr explained that his announcement was "in direct response to an inordinate amount of items which have recently appeared for sale on eBay." Starr was also concerned that all the correspondence amounted to "a waste of paper, and we all should be mindful of our carbon footprint." 

2008 - Five months after marrying Jay-Z, Beyoncé released the "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)." It goes to No. 1 in America for four weeks and win the Grammy for Song of the Year. 

2009 - The Flaming Lips released their twelfth studio album, Embryonic. It features the singles "Silver Trembling Hands," "Watching the Planets," and "See the Leaves."

2016 - Bob Dylan was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature, becoming the first songwriter to win the prestigious award. The 75-year-old rock legend received the prize "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition". Dylan did not attend the ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden to collect his award. However, he did give a Nobel Lecture, a requirement in order to receive the award, on June 4, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. 

2017 - Beck released his thirteenth studio album, Colors. It features the singles "Dreams," "Wow," "Dear Life," "Up All Night," and "Colors."

2017 - St. Vincent released her fifth studio album, Masseduction. It features the singles "New York," "Los Ageless," "Pills," and "Masseduction."

2017 - Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile released their collaborative studio album, Lotta Sea Lice. It features the singles "Over Everything," "Continental Breakfast," "Let It Go," and "Blue Cheese."

2017 - Dolly Parton donated $1 million to the Vanderbilt University Children's Hospital in Nashville, which helped her niece battle leukemia. 

Birthdays: 

Jazz pianist Art Tatum was born today in 1909.

Jazz bassist Ray Brown was born today in 1926.

Multiple Grammy Award-winning vocalist Anita Kerr was born today in 1927. She passed away in October of 2022.  

Etterlene DeBarge — gospel singer and mother of R&B/soul group DeBarge — was born today in 1935. She died on Feb. 16, 2024.

Singer Shirley Caesar, known as the “First Lady of Gospel Music,” is 87.

English rock and blues singer Chris Farlowe, who enjoyed a big hit in 1966 with his cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Out of Time,” is 85.

Jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders was born today in 1940.

Neil Aspinall, head of the Beatles’ Apple Corps., was born today in 1941.

Robert Lamm of the band Chicago is 81.

Country singer Lacy J. Dalton is 79. 

Sammy Hagar is 78.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was born today in 1948.

Simon Nicol of Fairport Convention is 75. 

Marie Osmond is 66.

Joey Belladonna, lead singer for Anthrax, is 65.

Justin Peroff, drummer for Broken Social Scene, is 48. 

Ashanti is 45. 

Jimin from BTS is 30.

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