History Highlight:

Today in 1987, Public Enemy released their debut studio album, Yo! Bum Rush the Show. Recorded in a studio on Long Island, New York, the album features rapping by Chuck D and Flavor Flav, bolstered by drum beats by Hank Shocklee and DJ work by Terminator X (aka Norman Rogers). Although firmly grounded in hip-hop, what set apart Public Enemy’s music at the time was its stern, topical messages addressing sociopolitical issues and inequalities, and calling out the halls of power. As Jon Pareles wrote in The New York Times, “Where the Beastie Boys dispense bratty adolescent fantasies and Run-D.M.C. generally sticks to self-praise … Public Enemy's best moments promise something far more dangerous and subversive: realism.” Yo! Bum Rush the Show features the singles "Public Enemy No. 1" and "You're Gonna Get Yours."

Also, Today In:

1942 - "Chattanooga Choo Choo" by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra became the first recording to be awarded a Gold Record. It was actually just a master copy of the disc sprayed with gold lacquer by RCA as a publicity stunt. The actual award recognized today as a Gold Record would not be initiated for another 16 years when the Recording Industry Association of America borrowed the idea and trademarked the Gold Record. The first Gold single was awarded to Perry Como in 1958 for "Catch A Falling Star," and the first Gold album was given to Gordon McRae for the soundtrack to Oklahoma.

1958 - Frank Sinatra started a five-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Come Fly With Me.

1962 - Henry Mancini went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with the soundtrack to Breakfast At Tiffany's, its most recognizable song being "Moon River."

1971 - Carole King released her second studio album, Tapestry. It is one of the best-selling albums of all time, with over 25 million copies sold worldwide. The lead singles from the album, "It's Too Late" and "I Feel the Earth Move," spent five weeks at No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Easy Listening charts, and in 2003, Tapestry was ranked No. 36 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. King wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album, several of which had already been hits for other artists, such as Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and The Shirelles' "Will You Love Me Tomorrow." James Taylor, who encouraged King to sing her own songs and who also played on Tapestry, would later have a No. 1 hit with "You've Got a Friend." In 2000, King re-recorded a revised version of the track “Where You Lead” alongside her daughter, Louise Goffin; that recording became the theme to the long-running TV series, Gilmore Girls.

1973 - Elton John had his first U.K. No. 1 album when Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player started a six-week run at the top of the charts.

1976 - Diana Ross released her seventh studio album, Diana Ross. It features the singles "Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)," "I Thought It Took a Little Time (But Today I Fell in Love)," "Love Hangover," and "One Love in My Lifetime."

1977 - The Clash began recording sessions in London for their first album, The Clash. The band were part of the original wave of British punk, and they incorporated elements of reggae, dub, funk, and rockabilly into their sound. After forming in 1976, The Clash were quickly picked up by CBS Records after just 30 shows. Their debut album was a commercial and critical success and opened the door for wider acceptance of the punk music scene.

1978 - Van Halen released their self-titled debut album. The lead single is a cover of the Kinks classic, "You Really Got Me."

1979 - Rod Stewart started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy," his third U.S. No. 1.

1984 - Frankie Goes To Hollywood were at No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart for the third week with "Relax." Eurythmics had the U.K. No. 1 album with Touch.

1990 - Paula Abdul started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Opposites Attract." The rap portion at the beginning and in the lead break of the song was voiced by MC Skat Kat — or, as he's known at The Current, Production Manager Derrick Stevens.

1993 - Superchunk released their third studio album, On the Mouth. It features the singles "Precision Auto," "Mower," and "The Question Is How Fast."

1997 - Blur's eponymous fifth album was released. Although the band were huge in Europe, American success proved elusive. Blur’s single, "Song 2," became the band's biggest U.S. hit, topping out at No. 55 on the Hot 100.

1998 - Neutral Milk Hotel released their second and final studio album, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. It features the single "Holland, 1945." Frontman Jeff Mangum wrote all the songs for the album while living in a house at 156 North Grady Street in Athens, Georgia.

2003 - Massive Attack released their fourth studio album, 100th Window. It features the singles "Special Cases" and "Butterfly Caught."

2004 - Rapper Kanye West released his debut studio album, The College Dropout. It features “Jesus Walks.”

2004 - Norah Jones released her second studio album, Feels Like Home. It features “Sunrise” and “What Am I to You?”

2005 - Who singer Roger Daltrey was awarded the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by The Queen at Buckingham Palace for services to the music industry.

2008 - Amy Winehouse won five prizes at the Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year (both for her single "Rehab"), and Best New Artist. She was not in attendance that night, but she did perform via satellite from London. In her acceptance speech for Record of the Year, Winehouse thanked her record label, her parents and "my Blake, my Blake incarcerated," referring to her husband. Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning in 2011 at age 27. Back to Black posthumously became, for a time, the U.K.'s best-selling album of the 21st century.

2009 - Dan Auerbach released his debut solo album, Keep It Hid. It features “I Want Some More.”

2009 - The Lonely Island released their debut studio album, Incredibad. Among the tracks on the album are “I’m on a Boat” (featuring T-Pain) and “Lazy Sunday” (featuring Chris Parnell), both of which aired as digital shorts on Saturday Night Live.

2011 - The video for Rebecca Black's song "Friday" was uploaded to YouTube, where it became a viral smash.

2017 - Rag'n'Bone Man released his debut studio album, Human. It features the singles "Healed," "Human," "Skin," "As You Are," and "Grace."

2017 - Rosalía released her debut studio album, Los Ángeles. It features the singles "Catalina" and "De Plata."

Birthdays:

Actor, singer and pianist Jimmy Durante was born today in 1893. Durante, who died in 1980, enjoyed posthumous chart success when his interpretations of the songs “As Time Goes By” and “Make Someone Happy” appeared on the soundtrack album to the 1993 film Sleepless in Seattle, which went to No. 1 in the Billboard 200 in August of that year.

Drummer Chick Webb was born today in 1905.

Larry Adler, harmonica player, was born today in 1914.

Jerry Goldsmith, creator of the scores of "Star Trek", "Planet of the Apes", "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." and "Dr. Kildare", among others, was born today in 1929.

Don Wilson, guitarist with The Ventures, was born on this day in 1933.

Roberta Flack was born today in 1937. From an early age, Flack pursued her interest in piano by taking lessons and by being an accompanist at church. At age 15, she received a full music scholarship to Howard University (one of the youngest students to matriculate) and received her degree in piano and voice at age 19. Flack worked as a music teacher for a few years when she was discovered singing at a nightclub and was promptly signed to Atlantic Records. Flack released a string of hits, and to this day, she is the only solo artist to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year for two consecutive years: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face in 1973 and Killing Me Softly with His Song in 1974. In 2018, Flack retired from live performance, and in 2020, she was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In November 2022, Flack announced she is battling ALS. Nevertheless, in January 2023, Flack published an autobiographical children's book, co-authored with Tonya Bolden, called The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music. Flack died on Feb. 24, 2025.

Kenny Rankin — guitarist on Bob Dylan’s Bringing It All Back Home who had a hit with “Peaceful” — was born today in 1940.

Chris Ethridge, member of the International Submarine Band and The Flying Burrito Brothers, was born on this day in 1947.

Nigel Olsson, drummer for Elton John, is 77.

Cliff Burton, bass player with Metallica, was born today in 1962.

Don Omar is 48.

Vic Fuentes of Pierce The Veil is 43.

Highlights for Today in Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Song Facts, Roberta Flack’s official website, Discogs, The New York Times, Music History Calendar, and Wikipedia.