History Highlight:

On this day in 1996, DJ Shadow released his debut studio album, Endtroducing...... The album was recorded at the Glue Factory in San Francisco, and DJ Shadow created all the tracks on the album using samples from vinyl records spanning a range of genres, including jazz, funk and psychedelia, as well as audio from films and television. Many of the records DJ Shadow sampled on the album were purchased at Rare Records in Sacramento, California, and the cover photo on the album was taken inside Rare Records. Upon release, Endtroducing proved hugely impactful, not only on DJ Shadow’s career, but it is also credited with advancing the entire genre of trip-hop, which combines hip-hop with electronica and psychedelic music. Guinness World Records cited Endtroducing as the first album to be composed entirely of samples. Numerous publications — including The Guardian, NME, Q, Rolling Stone and Pitchfork — named Endtroducing among the best albums of 1996, and 10 years after its release, TIME magazine placed Endtroducing in its list of the All-Time 100 Albums. Endtroducing features the singles "Midnight in a Perfect World," "Stem," "What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 1)," and "The Number Song."

Also, Today In:

1968 - Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell released their self-titled duo album, which produced a major hit with their cover of “Let It Be Me.” The album itself topped several charts and was certified gold by the RIAA.

1970 - Led Zeppelin displaced The Beatles in a poll about the U.K.'s most popular band. The Fab Four had been tops since 1963. The poll was conducted by Melody Maker magazine.

1972 - Featuring the soon-to-be No. 1 single "Papa Was A Rolling Stone," All Directions by The Temptations entered the album charts.

1977 - Pioneer Britpop legend Marc Bolan of T. Rex died in an automobile crash in England. Bolan was one of the first pioneers of the glam rock movement of the 1970s.

1977 - Talking Heads released their debut studio album, Talking Heads: 77, featuring their first chart hit, "Psycho Killer," a song written four years earlier at the Rhode Island School of Design.

1979 - The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" was released. Although it was not the first single to feature rapping, it is generally considered to be the song that first popularized hip-hop in the United States and around the world. The song's opening lyric, "I said a hip, hop, the hippie, the hippie to the hip-hip-hop and you don't stop," is world-renowned. The song is ranked No. 251 in Rolling Stone’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and No. 2 on both About.com's and VH1's 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs.

1981 - Devo released their fourth studio album, New Traditionalists. It features the singles "Love Without Anger," "Through Being Cool," and "Beautiful World.”

1985 - Kate Bush released her fifth studio album, Hounds of Love. The follow-up to Bush’s previous album, The Dreaming, which did not perform well commercially, Hounds of Love represented Kate Bush’s return to form and to commercial success. Not only do many music critics and fans consider it Bush’s best album, it is frequently listed among the best albums of all time. Hounds of Love includes the tracks "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)," the title track, “Cloudbusting,” and “The Big Sky.” In May 2022, after the song “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” featured in an episode of the Netflix series Stranger Things, the song and the album experienced a resurgence in popularity — including among Gen Z viewers who were not even born when the album originally released. “Running Up That Hill” became June 2022’s most-streamed song on Spotify in both the U.S. and the U.K., and the song reached No. 3 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, far outstripping its peak at No. 30 back in 1985.

1985 - The Waterboys released their third studio album, This Is the Sea. It features “The Whole of the Moon” and “Don’t Bang the Drum.”

1988 - Former Clash drummer Topper Headon was released from jail after serving 10 months of a 15-month sentence on a narcotics charge.

1991 - Saint Etienne released their debut studio album, Foxbase Alpha. It features the singles "Only Love Can Break Your Heart," "Kiss and Make Up," and "Nothing Can Stop Us."

1996 - Kula Shaker released their debut studio album, K. It features the singles "Tattva," "Grateful When You're Dead / Jerry Was There," "Hey Dude," and "Govinda."

1997 - Busta Rhymes released his second studio album, When Disaster Strikes.... It features the singles "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See," "Dangerous," "Turn It Up (Remix) / Fire It Up," and "One."

1997 - Usher released his second studio album, My Way. It features the singles "You Make Me Wanna...," "Nice & Slow," and "My Way."

1997 - Mariah Carey released her sixth studio album, Butterfly. It features the singles "Honey," "Butterfly," "Breakdown," "The Roof (Back in Time)," and "My All."

2003 - Erykah Badu released her third studio album, Worldwide Underground. It features the singles "Danger," "Back in the Day (Puff)," and "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)."

2003 - Joss Stone released her debut studio album, The Soul Sessions. It features the singles "Fell in Love with a Boy" and "Super Duper Love."

2003 - The Darkness released their debut studio album, Permission to Land, in the U.S. It features the singles "Get Your Hands off My Woman," "Growing on Me," "I Believe in a Thing Called Love," "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)," and "Love Is Only a Feeling."

2004 - Weather Girls singer Izora Armstead died at age 62 of heart failure at a hospital in East San Francisco.

2006 - Bob Dylan was at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Modern Times. The LP entered the U.S. charts at No. 1, making it Dylan's first album to reach that position since 1976's Desire, 30 years earlier.

2008 - TV on the Radio released their third studio album, Dear Science. It features the singles "Golden Age" and "Dancing Choose."

2008 - Motown songwriter and producer Norman Whitfield died in Los Angeles from complications of diabetes and other illnesses. Whitfield collaborated with Barrett Strong on such hits as "I Heard It through the Grapevine," "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "(I Know) I'm Losing You," "Cloud Nine," "War," "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" and "Car Wash."

2011 - Blues singer and drummer, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, died following a stroke at age 75.

2013 - Jackie Lomax died at his home in England at age 69. He first gained notice as the vocalist and bass player with The Undertakers and was later one of the first artists to sign with The Beatles’ label, Apple, with George Harrison penning his single "Sour Milk Sea".

2014 - At a pop-up shop in New York City that re-created the Central Perk coffee shop from the TV show Friends, Danny Wilde and Phil Solem of The Rembrandts reunited to perform the show's theme song. The event marked the 20th anniversary of the show's first episode.

2016 - Mac Miller released his fourth studio album, The Divine Feminine. It features the singles "Dang!," "We," and "My Favorite Part."

2018 - English musician and record producer Maartin Allcock died at age 61. He was a member of British folk rock band Fairport Convention and Jethro Tull and also played keyboards for The Mission.

Birthdays:

B.B. King was born today in 1925.

Ronnie Drew of the Dubliners was born today in 1934.

Joe Butler of the Lovin Spoonful is 85.

Bernie Calvert of the Hollies is 84.

Betty Kelly of Martha and the Vandellas is 82.

Ron Blair, bassist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, is 78.

Kenney Jones — drummer for Small Faces, Faces, and the Who — is 78.

David Bellamy of the Bellamy Brothers is 76.

Alt-country singer-songwriter Vince Bell is 75.

Alan Barton of Black Lace (best known for their 1984 novelty song, “Agadoo”) was born today in 1953.

Earl Klugh — Grammy-winning jazz guitarist who has collaborated with Bob James, George Benson, and more — is 73.

Colin Newman, frontman for Wire, is 72.

Frank Reed of the Chi-Lites is 72.

Vicki Blue, former bassist in the Runaways, is 67.

Dave Blood of the Dead Milkmen was born today in 1956.

Bilinda Butcher, vocalist and guitarist for My Bloody Valentine, is 65.

Singer-songwriter Richard Marx is 63.

Dave Sabo (aka "The Snake") of Skid Row is 62.

Salsa pop star Marc Anthony is 58.

Justine Frischmann, frontwoman of Elastica, is 57. Born in London, Frischmann began studying music at age 11, and while earning a degree in architecture at University College London, Frischmann co-founded the band Suede, but left the lineup in 1991. In 1992, together with former Suede bandmate — drummer Justin Welch — Frischmann co-founded the band Elastica. In March 1995, Elastica released their self-titled debut album, and it soared to No. 1 in the U.K. album charts and also sold very well in the United States. By year’s end, Billboard reported Elastica had sold more than one million copies worldwide, anchored by such tracks as “Connection,” “Line Up” and “Car Song.” After Elastica’s amicable breakup in 2001, Frischmann discovered and helped develop the artist M.I.A. In 2005, following the release of M.I.A.’s debut album, Frischmann moved to Boulder, Colorado, to study art. She is now a visual artist living in the Bay Area of California.

Musiq Soulchild is 49.

Flo Rida is 47.

Katie Melua is 42.

Teddy Geiger is 38.

Nick Jonas is 34.

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