History Highlight:

Today in 2000, The O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, produced by T-Bone Burnett, was released. Providing the music for the Minnesota-born Coen Brothers’ 2000 film of the same name, the album brings together traditional recordings with new ones by Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, and Gillian Welch. Alongside tracks including "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow,” “Big Rock Candy Mountain” and “I’ll Fly Away,” the album is largely credited with reigniting interest in American folk music at the beginning of the new millennium. The O Brother, Where Art Thou? album ended up winning Album of the Year at the 2002 Grammy Awards, with additional Grammys going to Dan Tyminski with Harley Allen and Pat Enright for “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” (Best Country Collaboration with Vocals) and to Ralph Stanley for “O Death” (Best Male Country Vocal Performance).

Also, Today In:

1960 - Elvis Presley started a 10-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with G.I. Blues. His fifth U.S. No.1 album. Music on this album comprised songs that had appeared in the film of the same name.

1960 - Paul McCartney and Pete Best were arrested for pinning a condom to a brick wall and then igniting it. The two were told to leave Germany and The Beatles returned home, discouraged.

1965 - The Beatles played their last ever show in their hometown of Liverpool when they appeared at The Liverpool Empire during the group's final U.K. tour. Only 5,100 tickets were available, but there were 40,000 applications for tickets.

1973 - Paul McCartney released Band On The Run. This release was his fifth album since his departure from The Beatles and two hit singles from the album - 'Jet' and 'Band on the Run' – boosted its commercial performance making it the top-selling studio album of 1974 in the United Kingdom and Australia- establishing it as McCartney's most successful album to date and the most celebrated of this post-Beatles discography.

1975 - Fleetwood Mac received their first Gold record for their second self-titled album, which was their first album with Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.

1976 - Music weekly NME reviewed the Sex Pistols’ debut single, “Anarchy In The U.K.” saying, "Johnny Rotten sings flat, the song is laughably naive, and the overall feeling is of a third-rate Who imitation."

1987 - The Jesus And Mary Chain were banned from appearing on a U.S. music TV show after complaints of blasphemy when the group's name was flashed across the screen.

1987 - Belinda Carlisle went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Heaven Is a Place on Earth," the ex Go-Go's member’s first solo No. 1, also a No. 1 hit in the U.K. Fun fact: The promotional video was directed by Diane Keaton and features an appearance by Carlisle's husband, Morgan Mason.

1992 - Whitney Houston started a ten-week run at No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart with "I Will Always Love You."

1994 - The Stone Roses released their second and final album, Second Coming, in the U.K. The album features a more blues-rock sound than the Stone Roses’ debut album, and it includes the tracks “Love Spreads,” “Ten Storey Love Song,” and “Begging You,” all of which were released as singles in Britain. The album faced a hard road as it landed at a time when Britpop was really taking off; despite this, Second Coming still sold more than one million copies worldwide and was certified platinum in the U.K. Nevertheless, the Stone Roses would begin to fracture in March 1995, and by 1996 were completely disbanded. They reunited for a number of years in the 2010s before again calling it quits in 2019.

1995 - Pearl Jam released the Merkin Ball EP, featuring Neil Young. It features “I Got Id” and “Long Road.”

2000 - Rage Against the Machine released their fourth studio album, Renegades. It features covers of songs by Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Afrika Bambaataa, Minor Threat, Eric B. & Rakim, the Stooges, MC5, the Rolling Stones, Cypress Hill, Devo, and others.

2003 - Kelis released her third studio album, Tasty. It features “Milkshake.”

2003 - David Bowie announced that he had to postpone the first five concerts of his first North American tour in eight years due to the flu.

2004 - U2 went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart giving them their sixth U.S. No. 1 album, with How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.

2006 - Beatles lyrics handwritten by Sir Paul McCartney to an early version of Maxwell's Silver Hammer sold for $192,000 at an auction in New York. A guitar owned by Jimi Hendrix fetched $168,000, a notebook containing lyrics written by Bob Marley, sold for $72,000 and a poem penned by Doors frontman Jim Morrison made $49,000 at the Christie's sale.

2011 - After spending 45 weeks at the top end of the U.K. charts, singer Adele's second album 21 become the biggest selling LP in Britain this century, surpassing the late Amy Winehouse's 2006 LP Back to Black.

2017 - French music star Johnny Hallyday dies of lung cancer at 74.

Birthdays:

Walt Disney was born today in 1901.

Harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson II was born today in 1912.

Country and pop singer-songwriter Don Robertson, who enjoyed a U.S. and U.K. top-10 hit in 1956 with “The Happy Whistler,” was born today in 1922.

Little Richard was born today in 1932. He passed away in 2020.

Influential songwriter and guitarist J.J. Cale — largely credited with advancing the Tulsa sound, that is, a blend of blues, rockabilly, country and jazz — was born today in 1938.

Frank Wilson — Motown songwriter and performer who wrote songs for Stevie Wonder, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, the Isley Brothers, the Supremes, and more — was born today in 1940.

Andy Kim — who co-wrote “Sugar, Sugar” and sang as part of the Archies — is 79.

Jim Messina — of Buffalo Springfield, Poco, and Loggins and Messina — is 78.

Kim Simmonds, founder of Savoy Brown, was born today in 1947.

Jack Russell, frontman of Great White, was born today in 1960. He died on Aug. 7, 2024.

Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy is 63.

Doctor Dré — not the record producer, but the host of Yo! MTV Raps with Ed Lover and DJ for the Beastie Boys — is 62.

Johnny Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls is 60.

Country artist Gary Allan is 58.

Glen Graham of Blind Melon is 56.

Michel’le (“No More Lies”) is 55.

Keri Hilson is 43.

Conan Gray is 27.

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