History Highlight:

Today in 1980, Dolly Parton released her 23rd solo studio album, 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs. It features the singles "9 to 5," "But You Know I Love You," and a spoken-word rendition of "The House of the Rising Sun." Parton was already cast as an actor in the film 9 to 5 when she hatched the idea for a rhythm reminiscent of typewriters clacking in an office. Inspired by that rhythm, she wrote the lyrics to the song “9 to 5”; it became the theme song of the film of the same name and the lead track on 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs. The song “9 to 5” went on to be a crossover hit, reaching No. 1 in Billboard’s Country and Pop charts, making Parton the second woman artist — after Jeannine C. Riley with “Harper Valley P.T.A.” in 1968 — to achieve that feat (Taylor Swift and Beyoncé have also since done so). “9 to 5” received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song, and three Grammy nominations — ultimately winning Best Country Song and Best Country Performance, Female, at the 24th Grammy Awards in 1982. Another track from 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs, “But You Know I Love You” also became a No. 1 Country hit for Parton. The album itself topped Billboard’s Country Albums chart for 10 consecutive weeks.

Also, Today In:

1962 - The Four Seasons started a five-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Big Girls Don't Cry," the group's second No. 1 of the year.

1970 - Elton John played live in a recording studio, accompanied by just two musicians: Dee Murray on bass and Nigel Olsson on drums. Broadcast on WABC-FM (which would later become WPLJ), it was the first live FM broadcast from a music studio. The recording was later released as 17-11-70 (known as 11-17-70 in the United States), Elton's first live album.

1971 - The Faces release A Nod Is As Good As A Wink... To A Blind Horse.

1978 - The Police released their debut studio album, Outlandos d'Amour. The working title, "Police Brutality," is changed to make it sound more romantic. The title loosely translates as "Outlaws of Love" but the term "Outlandos" is actually a mix of the words for "Outlaws" and "Commandos." Elevated by the success of its lead single, "Roxanne", Outlandos d'Amour peaked at No. 6 on the U.K. Albums Chart and at No. 23 on the Billboard 200. The album spawned two additional hit singles: "Can't Stand Losing You" and "So Lonely."

1978 - Pere Ubu released their second studio album, Dub Housing. It features the singles "(Pa) Ubu Dance Party" and "Caligari's Mirror."

1980 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Double Fantasy album was released. Though initially poorly received, the album is notable for its association with Lennon's murder three weeks later, whereupon it became a worldwide commercial success and went on to win the 1981 Album of the Year at the 24th Annual Grammy Awards.

1985 - Wham! were at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go." George Michael's inspiration for the song was a scribbled note left by his Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley for Andrew's parents, originally intended to read "wake me up before you go" but with "up" accidentally written twice, so Ridgeley wrote "go" twice on purpose.

1988 - Guns N' Roses get the cover of Rolling Stone with the headline, "Hard-Rock Heroes." The magazine compiled the story that summer when the band was on tour as the opening act for Aerosmith. Aerosmith assumed they were getting the cover, but by the end of the tour, their opening act had become much more popular.

1990 - David Crosby from Crosby Stills Nash & Young was hospitalized after breaking a leg, shoulder and ankle after crashing his Harley Davidson motorcycle.

1992 - Whitney Houston released the soundtrack album The Bodyguard, featuring songs from the film of the same name. It features the singles "I Will Always Love You," "I'm Every Woman," "I Have Nothing," "Run to You," "Queen of the Night," and "Someday (I'm Coming Back)."

1992 - Ice Cube released his third studio album, The Predator. It features the singles "Wicked," "It Was a Good Day," and "Check Yo Self."

1998 - The Offspring released their fifth studio album, Americana. It features the singles "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)," "Why Don't You Get a Job?," "The Kids Aren't Alright," and "She's Got Issues."

1998 - Jewel released her second studio album, Spirit. It features the singles "Hands," "Down So Long," "Jupiter," "What's Simple Is True," and "Life Uncommon."

1998 - Whitney Houston released her fourth studio album, My Love Is Your Love. It features the singles "When You Believe," "Heartbreak Hotel," "It's Not Right but It's Okay," "My Love Is Your Love," and "I Learned from the Best."

2000 - Nickelodeon releases the film Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, an event significant in the music world because its soundtrack includes "Who Let The Dogs Out" by Baha Men. The song becomes a worldwide hit, charting in the Top 10 in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K. It even becomes the unofficial anthem for New Year's Eve parties going into 2001.

2000 - Cher makes her first appearance on the TV show Will and Grace, in the episode "Gypsies, Tramps and Weed."

2003 - Country music legend Don Gibson died of natural causes at the age of 75. His song "I Can't Stop Loving You" has been recorded by many artists, most notably by Ray Charles in 1962.

2003 - Let It Be... Naked, a stripped-down version of The Beatles' Let It Be album, is released. Phil Spector produced the original, and the new release removed his lavish strings and other accoutrements.

2003 - 21-year-old Britney Spears became the youngest singer to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The only other performer to get a Hollywood star at her age was Little House on the Prairie actress Melissa Gilbert.

2003 - Soul singer Arthur Conley, best known for the song “Sweet Soul Music,” dies of intestinal cancer in Ruurlo, Netherlands, at age 57.

2006 - R&B singer Ruth Brown dies after suffering a heart attack and stroke at age 78. Known for '50s hits like "So Long," "Teardrops From My Eyes," and "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean."

2006 - Icelandic rock act the Sugarcubes take the stage in Reykjavik for the first time in 14 years. The group, whose most famous alumna is Björk, reassembled to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut single, "Birthday."

2009 - Them Crooked Vultures — a supergroup comprising Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme, Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, and Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl — released their self-titled debut album in the U.S. The band released the album in Ireland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Australia on November 13, and in the U.K. on November 16. Ahead of that staggered rollout, the entire album was previewed on Them Crooked Vultures’ YouTube channel. The album includes the tracks “New Fang,” “Mind Eraser, No Chaser” and “Dead End Friends,” the last of which, along with “Scumbag Blues,” also featured in several video games.

2010 - Patti Smith won the National Book Award for her memoir, Just Kids. You can read Jade's review of this book and Smith's book M Train. Smith became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses. Called the "punk poet laureate", she fused rock and poetry in her work.

2014 - Soul singer Jimmy Ruffin died in Las Vegas, Nevada, at age 78. Ruffin, who was the older brother of David Ruffin of the Temptations, had hits that include "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" (1966) and "Hold On (To My Love)" (1980).

2017 - Mavis Staples released her thirteenth studio album, If All I Was Was Black. It features the singles "If All I Was Was Black," "Little Bit," "Build a Bridge," and "Ain't No Doubt About It."

2020 - Makers of the smartphone app Shazam announced the most-Shazamed songs in history (thus far). The Top 5 were: 1) "Dance Monkey" - Tones and I; 2) "Prayer In C" - Lilly Wood & The Prick; 3) "Let Her Go" - Passenger; 4) "Wake Me Up" - Avicii; 5) "Lean On" by Major Lazer.

2021 - Young Dolph died at the age of 36 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Birthdays:

Gordon Lightfoot was born today in 1938. The Canadian singer-songwriter passed away on May 1, 2023. Among his many memorable songs are “If You Could Read My Mind,” “Sundown,” “Carefree Highway” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”

Luke Kelly of Irish folk band the Dubliners was born today in 1940.

Bob Gaudio — keyboardist for the Four Seasons and co-writer of the band’s biggest hits — is 83.

Martin Scorsese — director of rock music documentaries including The Last Waltz (1978), No Direction Home (2005), Shine a Light (2008), and George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2011) — is 83.

Gene Clark of The Byrds was born today in 1944.

Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels is 81.

Martin Barre, lead guitarist for Jethro Tull, is 79.

East Bay Ray, guitarist for The Dead Kennedys, is 67.

Peter Cox of Go West is 70.

Guitarist Jim Babjak of the Smithereens is 68.

RuPaul is 65.

Amanda Brown of the Go-Betweens is 60.

Jeff Buckley was born on this day in 1966.

Richard Fortus of Guns N’ Roses and the Psychedelic Furs is 59.

Tab Benoit is 58.

Ronnie DeVoe of Bell Biv Devoe and New Edition is 58.

Kimya Dawson is 53. Dawson is one-half of the anti-folk duo the Moldy Peaches. Dawson's work with the Moldy Peaches earned them a cult following and critical acclaim, with their 2001 song "Anyone Else But You" landing a spot in multiple acclaimed indie-film soundtracks. The song as performed by Michael Cera and Elliot Page charted on the Billboard Hot 100 after its prominent inclusion in the 2007 film Juno, the soundtrack of which includes several songs by Dawson and her associated musical acts. In addition to their work with the Moldy Peaches, Dawson has released seven solo studio albums and collaborated with various other artists from a diverse range of genres, including Aesop Rock, They Might Be Giants, The Mountain Goats, and Third Eye Blind.

Isaac Hanson, of Hanson (remember the one with the braces?) is 45.

Sarah Harding of Girls Aloud is 44.

Highlights for Today in Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Song Facts, Dolly Parton’s website, Billboard, and Wikipedia.