History Spotlight:

Today in 2016, Prince took five of the top 10 spots on the Billboard 200 albums chart with The Very Best of Prince at No. 1, Purple Rain at No. 2, The Hits / The B-Sides at No. 4, Ultimate at No. 6 and 1999 at No. 7. Further down the list, Prince took three more spots with Sign O’ The Times at No. 20, Hitnrun Phase One at No. 48 and Prince at No. 52. This chart feat came following Prince’s unexpected death on April 21, 2016.

Also, Today In:

1966 - The Mamas and the Papas started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Monday Monday." The band members reportedly said they all hated the song, except for its writer John Phillips. The Mamas and the Papas won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for this song.

1972 - Reginald Dwight legally changed his name to Elton John.

1977 - The Eagles went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Hotel California," the group's fourth U.S. No. 1.

1978 - The 90,000 tickets available for Bob Dylan's concerts at London's Wembley Empire Pool were all snatched up in less than eight hours.

1982 - The first Men at Work album, Business as Usual, already a No. 1 hit in their native Australia, is finally released in America. In November, it rises to the top in the U.S.

1983 - Paul Weller unveiled his new group The Style Council at an anti-nuclear benefit gig in London. The former singer and guitarist with The Jam chose a much more soul-oriented sound for his new project which ran for six years and produced five studio albums and one EP.

1984 - Legend, the compilation album rounding up Bob Marley and the Wailers’ greatest hits, was released. The album has sold a reported 25 million albums worldwide but received some criticism for omitting Marley’s more aggressive artistic side.

1988 - Terence Trent D'Arby went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Wishing Well."

1991 - EMF released their debut studio album, Schubert Dip. It features the single "Unbelievable."

1992 - John Frusciante quit the Red Hot Chili Peppers in the middle of their Japanese tour.

1996 - Imperial Teen released their debut studio album, Seasick. It features the singles "You’re One" and "Butch."

1996 - Imperial Drag released their self-titled debut album, Imperial Drag. It features the singles "Boy or a Girl" and "Spyder."

1996 - Donna Lewis released her debut studio album, Now in a Minute. It features the single “I Love You Always Forever."

1998 - Steve Perry officially left Journey, honoring an agreement made with Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain that they would reform the band without him if he was not able to tour. He was replaced with the similar-sounding Steve Augeri. Read his 2018 interview with Jill Riley here.

2002 - On this day, The Rolling Stones arrived in New York's Van Cortlandt Park via a blimp, announcing 32 North American dates as part of their 40th-anniversary world tour.

2002 - Lauryn Hill released her live album, MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. It features the singles "Just Like Water" and "Mystery of Iniquity."

2002 - Musiq Soulchild released his second studio album, Juslisen. It features the singles "Halfcrazy," "Dontchange," and "Nothing at All."

2007 - Travis released their fifth studio album, The Boy with No Name. It features the singles "Closer," "Selfish Jean," and "My Eyes."

2011 - John Walker (John Joseph Maus), best-known as the founder of The Walker Brothers, died of liver cancer at his Los Angeles home.

2013 - Fitz and The Tantrums released their second studio album, More Than Just a Dream. It features the singles "Out of My League," "The Walker," and "Fools Gold."

2013 - She & Him released their fourth studio album, Volume 3. It features the singles "Never Wanted Your Love" and "I Could’ve Been Your Girl."

2016 - After completing a tour with Guns N' Roses, Axl Rose took over as lead singer for AC/DC, filling in for Brian Johnson at a show in Lisbon after Johnson was told that continuing the tour could result in permanent hearing loss. Rose filled in on the remaining dates as a guest vocalist.

Birthdays:

Singer-songwriter Jim Lowe (“The Green Door,” 1956) was born today in 1923.

Versatile vocalist Teresa Brewer (“Music! Music! Music!” 1950) was born today in 1931.

R&B singer Jimmy Ruffin (“What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”) was born today in 1936.

Johnny Maestro — lead singer for the Crests, the Del-Satins, and the Brooklyn Bridge — was born today in 1939.

Country singer-songrwriter Terry Allen (“Amarillo Highway”) is 82.

Thelma Houston is 80. She had the 1977 US No. 1 single 'Don't Leave Me This Way' which won the Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

Bill Danoff of Starland Vocal Band ("Afternoon Delight") is 80.

Jerry Nolan, drummer for New York Dolls, was born today in 1946.

Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann is 80.

Mic Gillette of Tower of Power was born today in 1951.

Steve Diggle of Buzzcocks is 71. He is a guitarist and vocalist in the band, and it all began in June of 1976 when he attended a Sex Pistols gig at Manchester's Lesser Free Trade Hall and was there introduced to guitarist Pete Shelley and vocalist Howard Devoto, who were looking for a bassist for their band, Buzzcocks. John Maher joined as drummer, and six weeks later, Buzzcocks played their first show. After releasing three albums, the band broke up in 1981 following a dispute with their then-record label, but reunited in 1989, since releasing six more albums. Steve has now taken over lead singer duties in the band, and they are still touring and drawing in large crowds from around the world.

Motorhead guitarist Phil Campbell is 65.

Eagle-Eye Cherry is 58.

J Balvin is 41.

Matt Helders, drummer for Arctic Monkeys, is 40.

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