History Highlight:

Today in 1988, Sierra Ferrell was born, making her 38. Born in Charleston, West Virginia, Ferrell grew up listening to her mother’s favorite music, which included 10,000 Maniacs and Tracy Chapman. Ferrell learned clarinet and sang in her school choir, and she later learned to play guitar. In her late teens and early 20s, Ferrell traveled the United States and busked in various cities across the nation, and her interest in folk music grew. Returning to her hometown, Ferrell adopted a healthier lifestyle and got very serious about music, self-releasing the albums Pretty Magic Spell in 2018 and Washington by the Sea in 2019. In 2021, Ferrell released Long Time Coming on Rounder Records, earning positive reviews in Paste and from Pitchfork. Ferrell's 2024 album, Trail of Flowers, also on Rounder, proved a major breakthrough. Trail of Flowers features the tracks “American Dreaming,” “Fox Hunt,” “Lighthouse” and “Dollar Bill Bar,” and it won Album of the Year at the 2024 Americana Honors & Awards, where Ferrell was also honored with Artist of the Year. Then in February 2025 at the 67th Grammy Awards, Trail of Flowers and its songs earned Ferrell a total of four awards: Best Americana Album; Best Americana Performance and Best American Roots Song for “American Dreaming”; and Best American Roots Performance for “Lighthouse.” On Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, Ferrell headlines The Current's Music On-A-Stick at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand.

Also, Today In:

1963 - The Beach Boys released "Surfer Girl," the first song Brian Wilson ever wrote and the first one he produced. It was released as a single and it then appeared on the 1963 album of the same name. The B-side of the single was "Little Deuce Coupe."

1968 - The Doors started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Hello I Love You," the group's second U.S. No. 1.

1969 - Creedence Clearwater Revival released their third studio album, Green River. Their second of three albums released that year, Green River featured such hits as the title track and “Bad Moon Rising.”

1971 - Paul McCartney announced the formation of his new group, Wings, with his wife Linda and former Moody Blues guitarist and singer Denny Laine.

1973 - Stevie Wonder released his 16th studio album, Innervisions. Wonder played nearly all instruments on six of the album's nine tracks. The album includes the singles "Higher Ground", "Living for the City", "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" and "He's Misstra Know-It-All". Three days after the album's release, Wonder was in a terrible car accident and lay in a coma for four days before his friend and tour director Ira Tucker was able to get a response from him: "I got right down in his ear and sang 'Higher Ground'. His hand was resting on my arm and after a while his fingers started going in time with the song. I said yeah, yeah!! This dude is going to make it!"

1974 - Bad Company went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with their self-titled debut album.

1979 - Talking Heads released their Brian Eno-produced third studio album, Fear of Music. It features “Heaven,” "Life During Wartime," "I Zimbra," and "Cities."

1985 - "Drive" by the Cars was re-released following its dramatic use on TV during the Live Aid concert. All the royalties from the record went to the Band Aid trust.

1985 - Tears For Fears started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Shout," the duo's second U.S. No. 1.

1987 - Def Leppard released their fourth studio album, Hysteria, which became their best-selling album to date, selling more than 20 million copies worldwide. The title of the album was thought up by drummer Rick Allen, relating to his experiences during the time of his car accident and the worldwide media coverage that followed. It features “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Animal,” “Rocket,” and “Love Bites.”

1992 - Uncle Tupelo released their third studio album, March 16-20, 1992. It features “Moonshiner” and “Black Eye.”

1992 - INXS released their eighth studio album, Welcome to Wherever You Are. It features “Not Enough Time” and “Beautiful Girl.”

1993 - The Juliana Hatfield Three released their debut studio album, Become What You Are. It features “My Sister” and “Spin the Bottle.”

1993 - Sheryl Crow released her debut studio album, Tuesday Night Music Club. It features “All I Wanna Do,” “Strong Enough,” and “Leaving Las Vegas.”

1996 - Los Del Rio started a 14-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Macarena." The song, which has sold 11 million copies worldwide, was ranked the No. 1 Greatest One-Hit Wonder of all Time by VH1 in 2002.

1999 - Guided by Voices released their 11th studio album, Do the Collapse. It features “Teenage FBI.”

1999 - Country legend Patsy Cline was awarded a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2002 - After an absence of 37 years, Bob Dylan returned to the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island, where he performed a two-hour show of 19 songs, all while wearing a false beard and a wig. Songs played included "Subterranean Homesick Blues," "Desolation Row," "Positively 4th Street," "The Wicked Messenger," "Like A Rolling Stone" and "Mr. Tambourine Man."

2010 - Arcade Fire released their third studio album, The Suburbs. It features the title track and “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains).”

2010 - Madonna launched her "Material Girl" line of clothing, shoes, jewelry and handbags at Macy's.

2014 - Rosetta Hightower (lead singer of The Orlons) died at age 70.

2006 - Arthur Lee, singer and guitarist of the influential 1960s band Love, died in Memphis at the age of 61 following a battle with acute myeloid leukemia.

2007 - Queen guitarist Brian May handed in his astronomy PhD thesis at Imperial College, London — 36 years after abandoning it to join the band. May graduated on May 14, 2008, making him Dr. Brian May. He remains active in astronomy as a Visiting Researcher at Imperial College and through his involvement with the Imperial Astrophysics Group.

2012 - Stevie Wonder representatives confirmed that the singer had filed for divorce, ending his 10-year marriage to Kai Millard Morris.

2015 - Gwen Stefani filed for divorce from Gavin Rossdale, her husband since 2002. She soon started dating Blake Shelton, her co-star on the TV competition The Voice.

2018 - Mac Miller released his fifth studio album, Swimming.

2018 - Travis Scott released his third studio album, Astroworld.

2019 - Henri Belolo, who co-founded The Village People and co-wrote many of their hits, died at 82.

2023 - The Minnesota Department of Transportation installed purple signs designating a seven-mile stretch of Highway 5 the Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway. The section of road runs by Prince’s longtime Paisley Park home and studio in the Minneapolis suburb of Chanhassen. Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill in on May 9, 2023, establishing the memorial highway in Prince’s honor.

Birthdays:

Singer-songwriter and academic Connie Converse was born today in 1924. She has been missing since Aug. 10, 1974. Her work had not been widely known during her active years, but after Converse’s music was featured on the WYNC radio show Spinning on Air, it gained in popularity. A compilation of Converse’s recordings, titled How Sad, How Lovely, was released in 2009.

Tony Bennett was born today in 1926.

Beverly Lee, of The Shirelles, is 85.

John York of The Byrds is 80.

B.B. Dickerson, bassist for War, was born today in 1949.

Johnny Graham, multi-instrumentalist of Earth, Wind & Fire, is 75.

Ian Bairnson — guitarist for Pilot, The Alan Parsons Project and Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights” — was born today in 1953.

Martin Atkins — drummer for Public Image Ltd, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Pigface, and Killing Joke — is 67.

Lee Rocker of Stray Cats is 65.

Pop-rock singer Tasmin Archer, well-known for her 1992 hit, “Sleeping Satellite,” is 63.

James Hetfield of Metallica is 63.

Ed Roland, frontman of Collective Soul, is 63.

Graham “Gizz” Butt of the Prodigy is 60.

Dean Sams, keyboardist for Lonestar, is 60.

Skin, lead singer of Skunk Anansie, is 59.

Stephen Carpenter, of Deftones, is 56.

Gina G (“Ooh Aah… Just a Little Bit”) is 56.

DJ Spinderella of Salt-N-Pepa is 55.

Sierra Ferrell is 38. See highlight, above.

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