History Highlight:

Today in 2010, Vampire Weekend released their second studio album, Contra, in the United States, one day after its U.K. release. The album received critical praise and debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200. It was recognized as one of The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far by Pitchfork in August 2014. Contra covers a far greater range of musical influences than Vampire Weekend’s debut album, drawing inspiration from genres such as ska, synth-pop, speed rap, and rave music. The cover of the album features a candid Polaroid of a girl from 1983. The photo was found by band member Rostam Batmanglij while searching "New York City 1983" on Flickr. After the initial success of the album, the model in the picture sued the band for $2 million for using the photo without her permission; in 2011, the model settled with record label XL Recordings and Vampire Weekend for an undisclosed amount. Contra features the songs “Horchata,” “Holiday” and “Cousins.”

Also, in:

1968 - The Supremes appeared in an episode of the popular NBC show Tarzan, playing a group of nuns.

1969 - Led Zeppelin released their self-titled debut album.

1971 - Alice Cooper released his third album, Love It to Death, which went on to become the Alice Cooper Band’s breakthrough album, reaching No. 35 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart and selling one million copies in the U.S.

1974 - Jim Croce started a five-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with You Don't Mess Around With Jim.

1974 - The Steve Miller Band reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart for the first time with "The Joker."

1976 - Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser released the compilation album Wanted! The Outlaws. It features the singles "Suspicious Minds" and "Good Hearted Woman."

1977 - The Police had their first rehearsal, held at drummer's Stewart Copeland's London apartment, with Henri Padovani on guitar. Padovani left the Police in August 1977 after guitarist Andy Summers joined the lineup.

1977 - EMI Records issued a statement saying it felt unable to promote The Sex Pistols’ records in view of the negative publicity generated over the preceding two months.

1981 - It was reported that the White House had expanded its record library by including albums by Bob Dylan and Kiss.

1995 - The Allman Brothers Band, Al Green, the late Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, Neil Young, The Orioles and the late Frank Zappa were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1995 - Al Green was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Al might be best known for his signature song, "Let's Stay Together," but he had many other hits, including "Take Me To The River," "Tired of Being Alone," "I'm Still In Love With You" and "Love and Happiness." With 29 albums and many awards and accolades under his belt, some have referred to Al Green as "The Last of the Great Soul Singers."

1999 - Britney Spears releases her first album, ...Baby One More Time. By the time the album is released, the title track has been out for more than two months and was at #4 in the US. The album easily debuts at #1 just as the song also goes to the top. Another key album release on this date is Sugar Ray’s 14:59.

2003 - Maurice Gibb of The Bee Gees died at a Miami hospital. He was 53. He had suffered a heart attack three days prior to undergoing emergency abdominal surgery.

2009 - Fever Ray released their debut album, Fever Ray. It features "If I Had a Heart," "When I Grow Up," "Triangle Walks," and "Seven."

2010 - OK Go released their third studio album, Of the Blue Colour of the Sky. It features “WTF?,” “This Too Shall Pass,” “End Love,” “White Knuckles,” and “All Is Not Lost.”

2012 - Waxahatchee released her debut studio album, American Weekend. It features the singles "Be Good," "Catfish," and "Grass Stain."

2014 - Beautiful: The Carole King Musical opened on Broadway. It won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Musical.

2017 - The Teskey Brothers released their debut studio album, Half Mile Harvest. It features the singles "Pain and Misery," "Louisa," and "I Get Up."

2017 - Richard Carpenter said he was owed at least $2 million in royalties for the hits he recorded with The Carpenters. He claimed Universal Music had only paid the band a "minuscule fraction" of the money they were owed from downloads on sites like iTunes and Amazon.

2022 - Ronnie Spector died at the age of 78 at her home in Danbury, Connecticut.

2023 - Lisa Marie Presley died at the age of 54.

Birthdays:

Country singer Tex Ritter was born today in 1905. In addition to his recording and touring career, he was also a radio performer and a screen actor with more than 70 film credits. Ritter is the father of the late actor John Ritter, and is grandfather to actors Jason Ritter and Tyler Ritter.

Singer John (aka “Long John”) Baldry was born today in 1941. He was among the first British singers to sing in a blues style, and he shared stages with artists including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Elton John. Later in his life, Baldry resettled in Vancouver, B.C., where he became a Canadian citizen. He also took up voiceover work, most notably providing the voice for the villainous Doctor Ivo Robotnik in the animated TV series Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Cynthia Robinson of Sly and The Family Stone was born today in 1944.

Jazz keyboardist, singer, composer and producer George Duke was born today in 1946.

Chris Bell of Big Star was born today in 1951.

Country singer Ricky Van Shelton is 74.

Felipe Rose of The Village People is 72.

Blixa Bargeld of Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds is 67.

Per Gessle of Roxette is 67.

Rob Zombie is 61.

Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan is 56.

Zacharias Manuel “Zack” de la Rocha, lead singer of Rage Against the Machine, is 56. He was born in Long Beach, Calif., to Mexican-American parents with artistic and revolutionary backgrounds. In 1991, he formed Rage Against the Machine with guitarist Tom Morello, drummer Brad Wilk, and bassist Tim Commerford, and they released their self-titled debut the next year. Led by de la Rocha’s powerful lyricism, delivered with a mix of hardcore punk and hip-hop vocal stylings, the band became one of the most aggressive and politically charged acts of a generation. In addition to his work with Rage, de la Rocha formed One Day as a Lion with Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore in 2008, and has collaborated with Run the Jewels, DJ Shadow, the Roots, and more. Rage Against the Machine, currently disbanded for the third time as of early 2024, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023 — though de la Rocha did not attend the ceremony.

Melanie Chisholm, a.k.a. Mel C, a.k.a. Sporty Spice of The Spice Girls is 52.

Jason Freese, sax/keyboard player on albums by Green Day, Weezer, Spoon, and many more, is 51. His brother is drummer Josh Freese.

R&B singer Amerie (“1 Thing”) is 46.

Zayn Malik of One Direction is 33.

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