History Highlight:

Today in 1961, singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge was born, making her 65. Etheridge grew up in Kansas and went on to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a music career. In 1988, Etheridge quickly earned recognition with her self-titled debut album; its single, “Bring Me Some Water,” earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female. Etheridge went on to win Grammy Awards in 1993 and 1995 in that category for “It Ain’t Heavy” and “Come to My Window,” respectively. In 2007, Etheridge won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for “I Need to Wake Up,” which Etheridge wrote for the documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. To date, Etheridge has released 17 studio albums, the latest being Rise, which dropped on March 27 of this year; in June, Etheridge will begin an extensive tour in support of the album, including a stop in Waite Park, Minnesota, on July 5, and in Chisholm, Minnesota, on July 6. In addition to her work as a musician, Etheridge is an activist for LGBTQ+ rights, the environment, and healthcare issues including substance use disorders and cancer. In 2020, she established The Etheridge Foundation to support research into and treatment of opioid use disorder.

Also, Today In:

1961 - Ricky Nelson started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Travellin' Man," a song that Sam Cooke turned down.

1962 - Ray Charles won a Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording for "Hit The Road Jack."

1965 - The Beach Boys started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Help Me Rhonda," the group's second U.S. No. 1.

1971 - The Rolling Stones accomplished the rare feat of having both the No. 1 album, Sticky Fingers, and No.1 single, "Brown Sugar," simultaneously in the U.S.

1976 - Diana Ross started a two-week run on the top of the singles chart with "Love Hangover," her fourth U.S. No. 1.

1977 - Elvis walked off stage in the middle of a show in Baltimore. It was the first time in his 23-year career that he had done so except when legitimately ill. The end was near.

1981 - UB40 released their second studio album, Present Arms. It features the singles "One in Ten" and "Don't Let It Pass You By."

1981 - Echo & the Bunnymen released their second studio album, Heaven Up Here. It features the singles "A Promise" and "Over the Wall."

1984 - Tina Turner released Private Dancer, her big comeback album. Her fifth solo studio album was a major breakthrough that established her as a star under her own name after divorcing Ike Turner. It includes the hit title track, which was written by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, and “What’s Love Got to Do with It.” It wouldn’t be a Tina Turner album without her taking well-known songs and adding her own spin. Here, she takes on Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together,” Ann Peebles’ “I Can’t Stand the Rain,” David Bowie’s “1984,” and the Beatles’ “Help!” Private Dancer is her best-selling album in North America, and it won four Grammy Awards.

1987 - LL Cool J released his second studio album, Bigger and Deffer. It features the singles "I'm Bad," "I Need Love," and "Go Cut Creator Go."

1990 - The Breeders released their debut studio album, Pod.

1995 - Teenage Fanclub released their fifth studio album, Grand Prix. It features “Sparky’s Dream.”

1997 - Singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley disappeared during a spontaneous evening swim in the Mississippi River outside Memphis. His body was found on June 4, 1997, after being spotted by a passenger on a tourist riverboat. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by playing cover songs at venues in Manhattan's East Village, gradually focusing more on his own material. Eventually Buckley signed with Columbia Records, recruited a band, and recorded what would be his only studio album, Grace, in 1994. Buckley's chart success came posthumously, particularly his cover — often considered the definitive version — of Leonard Cohen's song "Hallelujah," which reached No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs in March 2008.

2000 - Grandaddy released their second studio album, The Sophtware Slump. It features “The Crystal Lake.”

2000 - Bright Eyes released their third studio album, Fevers and Mirrors.

2001 - Air released their third studio album, 10 000 Hz Legend. It features the singles "Radio #1," "How Does It Make You Feel?," and "Don't Be Light."

2005 - Jazz singer-songwriter Oscar Brown Jr., writer of the popular song "Afro Blue," died at the age of 78.

2012 - Aaron Freeman told Rolling Stone magazine that he was retiring Gene Ween, the stage name under which he had performed with Ween for nearly two decades.

2012 - Regina Spektor released her sixth studio album, What We Saw from the Cheap Seats. It features the singles "All the Rowboats," "Don't Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas)," and "How."\

2012 - Japandroids released their second studio album, Celebration Rock. It features the singles "The House That Heaven Built" and "Continuous Thunder."

2013 - Marvin Junior (lead baritone of The Dells) died from complications of kidney failure at age 77.

2015 - Florence + the Machine released their third studio album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. It features "What Kind of Man," "Ship to Wreck," "Queen of Peace," "Delilah" and “St. Jude.” The album was shortlisted for the 2015 Mercury Prize, and it also received five nominations at the 2016 Grammy Awards, including Best Pop Vocal Album. Three tracks from the album — "St. Jude," "What Kind of Man" and "Ship to Wreck" — landed in The Current's Top 89 of 2015, as voted by listeners.

2015 - Jamie xx released his debut album, In Colour. It features “Loud Places,” “Gosh,” and “I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times).”

2019 - Tony Glover, the influential blues harmonica player who was a longtime peer of Bob Dylan and helped teach Mick Jagger how to play, died of natural causes at age 79. He also worked as a writer and critic, contributing to magazines Crawdaddy and Creem, while also writing extensively for Rolling Stone between 1968 and 1973.

2020 - Lady Gaga released the album Chromatica.

2021 - B.J. Thomas, who had a hit with “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head,” died at the age of 78.

2022 - Rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins died at the age of 87.

Birthdays:

Bob Hope was born today in 1903.

Sylvia “Mother of Hip Hop” Robinson — half of Mickey & Sylvia and producer of “Rapper’s Delight” and “The Message” — was born today in 1935.

Irmin Schmidt, founding keyboardist of Can, is 89.

Gary Brooker, founder and lead singer of Procol Harum, was born today in 1945.

Danny Elfman, of Oingo Boingo and many movie scores, is 73.

Francis Rossi of Status Quo is 73.

Toto bassist Mike Porcaro was born today in 1955.

La Toya Jackson is 70.

Simple Minds drummer Mel Gaynor is 67.

The Fall bassist Steve Hanley is 67.

Melissa Etheridge is 65.

Noel Gallagher is 59.

Melanie Brown (Mel B / Scary Spice) of The Spice Girls is 52.

Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist of the Hives is 48.

Riley Keough — actress who played Marie Curie in The Runaways biopic and daughter of Lisa Marie Presley — is 37.

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