History Highlight:

Today in 1966, Pearl Jam rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard was born, making him 60. Gossard grew up in Seattle, and he formed his first band while still in high school. From there, Gossard’s life reads like a history of the Seattle music scene: At age 18, Gossard was a co-founding member of the band Green River, who stand among the foundational bands of what is now known as grunge. Gossard’s next project, Mother Love Bone, got started in 1988, and signed to Mercury Records, but that band ended following the death of frontman Matthew Wood. Gossard then shifted his attention to Temple of the Dog, a band established by Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell. But it was in 1990 that Gossard, together with Mother Love Bone guitarist Mike McCready and bassist Jeff Ament, founded the band Pearl Jam, rounded out by lead singer Eddie Vedder and drummer Dave Krusen. One of the most influential and essential bands of grunge, Pearl Jam released their debut album, Ten, in 1991. Since that time, they have released an additional 11 studio albums, the most recent being 2024’s Dark Matter. In 2017, Pearl Jam were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Beyond Pearl Jam and his other work in the Seattle scene, Stone Gossard has a side project called Painted Shield, together with Minnesota-based singer-songwriter Mason Jennings.

Also, Today In:

1940 - Billboard's first comprehensive record chart was published. The magazine had previously published best-seller lists submitted by individual record companies, but the new chart combined the top sellers from all major labels. Billboard's first No. 1 song was "I'll Never Smile Again" by Frank Sinatra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.

1963 - Jan and Dean started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Surf City," written by Beach Boy Brian Wilson, with the Beach Boys on backing vocals.

1963 - Lesley Gore released "Judy's Turn To Cry."

1965 - Bob Dylan released "Like a Rolling Stone" which would become his first major hit single, eventually peaking at No. 2 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart.

1965 - The Lovin' Spoonful released "Do You Believe In Magic?" Lead singer John Sebastian wrote it after seeing a beautiful girl dancing at one of their shows.

1968 - Cream started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Wheels Of Fire. The double album, which consisted of a studio and a live record, reached No. 3 in the United Kingdom.

1968 - Iron Butterfly's second album, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, entered the U.S. album chart for the first time. The album, which went on to sell more than four million copies in the U.S. alone, contained the 17-minute title track that filled the second side of the LP. The song would later inspire one of Bart Simpson's more creative pranks.

1970 - Sibling duo The Carpenters appeared on The Dating Game, where they performed “(They Long To Be) Close To You" and each selected from three suitors. Neither Karen nor Richard Carpenter ever actually went on their respective dates arranged by the show.

1974 - The Ramones decided that their new lead singer would be their then-drummer, Joey Ramone.

1975 - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played the opening night on their Born To Run Tour at The Palace Theatre in Providence, Rhode Island. The tour actually began more than a month before the album, Born to Run, was released; "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" made its first appearance, but the show was mostly dominated by older material. The show also saw the live debut of Steven Van Zandt, aka Little Steven, as a member of The E Street Band.

1976 - Buzzcocks made their live debut supporting The Sex Pistols and Slaughter & The Dogs at The Lesser Free Trade Hall, Manchester. In the audience were Morrissey, Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook (soon to form Joy Division), Mark E. Smith (The Fall) and Mick Hucknall.

1981 - Journey released their seventh studio album, Escape. It features four hit Billboard Hot 100 singles: "Don't Stop Believin'" (No. 9); "Who's Crying Now" (No. 4); "Still They Ride" (No. 19); and "Open Arms" (No. 2).

1981 - Ramones released their sixth studio album, Pleasant Dreams. It features "We Want the Airwaves" and "The KKK Took My Baby Away."

1982 - The Go-Go’s released their second studio album, Vacation. It features the hit title track.

1986 - Sid And Nancy, the film based on the life of Sex Pistol Sid Vicious, premiered in London.

1991 - EMF went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Unbelievable." The song spent 14 weeks on the chart before reaching the top. Fun fact: the song contains samples of U.S. comedian Andrew Dice Clay throughout the track, including the loud exclamation of "Oh!" at the start of each chorus along with the words "It's unbelievable" spoken during the bridge.

1993 - Cypress Hill released their second studio album, Black Sunday. It features “Insane in the Brain.”

1993 - Candlebox released their self-titled debut album. It features “Far Behind” and “You.”

1993 - Catherine Wheel released their second studio album, Chrome. It features “Crank,” “Show Me Mary,” and “The Nude.”

1996 - De La Soul's Stakes Is High debuts at No. 13 on the Billboard 200 chart, and No. 4 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

1998 - Sparklehorse released their second studio album, Good Morning Spider. It features “Sick of Goodbyes” and “Painbirds.”

2004 - The Hives released their third studio album, Tyrannosaurus Hives. It features “Walk Idiot Walk.”

2004 - Lloyd released his debut studio album, Southside.

2012 - Passion Pit released their second studio album, Gossamer. It features “Take a Walk,” “I’ll Be Alright,” “Constant Conversations,” and “Carried Away.”

2012 - Purity Ring released their debut studio album, Shrines. It features “Belispeak” and “Fineshrine.”

2015 - American country musician, songwriter and record producer Wayne Carson died at the age of 72 after suffering congestive heart failure. He co-wrote “Always on My Mind,” (a hit for Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson and others), “The Letter,” (recorded by The Box Tops, Joe Cocker and Leon Russell), and “Soul Deep.”

2016 - Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg began their “High Road" tour with a show in West Palm Beach, Florida. Said Khalifa, "It's a joint performance."

2017 - Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington died by suicide at age 41. The singer was said to be close to Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell, who took his own life in May of 2017. Formed in 1996, Linkin Park sold more than 70 million albums worldwide and won two Grammy Awards.

2018 - The Internet released their fourth studio album, Hive Mind. It features "Roll (Burbank Funk)", "Come Over" and "La Di Da."

2021 - American songwriter and vocalist Chuck E. Weiss died from cancer at age 76. Weiss was the subject of Rickie Lee Jones's hit song “Chuck E.'s In Love,” from her self-titled 1979 debut album. At the time, Jones was linked romantically to Tom Waits. All three lived in the Tropicana Hotel in Los Angeles.

2024 - Jerry Miller of Moby Grape died.

Birthdays:

Singer-songwriter Cindy Walker — wrote “You Don’t Know Me,” “Cherokee Maiden,” “Triflin’ Gal,” “The Gold Rush Is Over,” and many other country hits — was born today in 1917.

Electronic music pioneer Mort Garson was born today in 1924.

Singer-songwriter Buddy Knox, best known for his 1957 rock ’n’ roll hit “Party Doll,” was born today in 1933.

John Lodge of the Moody Blues was born today in 1943.

Country singer T.G. Sheppard is 82.

Kim Carnes is 81. Carnes is best-known for her 1981 worldwide hit, "Bette Davis Eyes".

Carlos Santana, better known as simply Santana, is 79.

Dave Evans, original lead singer of AC/DC, is 73.

Jay Jay French of Twisted Sister is 72.

Jem Finer, banjo, from Irish-British Celtic punk band The Pogues, is 71.

Paul Cook (drummer for The Sex Pistols) is 70.

Simple Minds keyboardist Mick MacNeil is 68.

Radney Foster is 67.

Chris Cornell was born today in 1964.

Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard is 60. See highlight, above.

Courtney Taylor-Taylor of the Dandy Warhols is 59.

Kool G Rap is 58.

Tobi Vail of Bikini Kill is 57.

Vitamin C is 57.

Minnesota local musician Mark Mallman is 53. Born July 20, 1973, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, the singer and pianist moved to Minneapolis in 1991 to study at Minneapolis College and Design. He quickly gained a reputation as a must-see live performer in the local music scene, and eventually a star on First Avenue’s wall. In 1999, Mallman performed a 26-hour long song titled “Marathon 1.” It was followed in later years by 2004’s two-day “Marathon Two” and 2010’s 72 hour “Marathon Three,” performance — where he played one song with 576 pages of lyrics. And he’s still playing today, with 11 solo albums under his belt, the most recent being 2025’s Magic Time.

Andrew Stockdale, Wolfmother lead singer, is 50.

Charlotte Hatherley of Ash is 47.

Julianne Hough is 38.

Pop Smoke was born today in 1999.

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