History Highlight:

On this day in 1979, The Boomtown Rats released their third studio album, The Fine Art of Surfacing. The album’s lead single, “I Don’t Like Mondays,” was written by frontman Bob Geldolf (whose birthday is today, coincidentally) during a U.S. tour when a school shooting happened in San Diego; the perpetrator claimed she committed the act because she didn’t like Mondays, a reaction that shocked and startled Geldof. The song went on to be No. 1 in the U.K., Ireland, Australia and South Africa, and it reached No. 4 in Canada. It did crack the Hot 100 in the United States, peaking at No. 73. The Fine Art of Surfacing proved the Boomtown Rats’ biggest commercial success, reaching Nos. 6 and 7 in the Canadian and British album charts, respectively. Beyond "I Don't Like Mondays," the album includes the singles "Diamond Smiles" and "Someone's Looking at You," and a song that seems to prefigure today’s social-media landscape, “Having My Picture Taken.”

Also, Today In:

1959 - Bobby Darin's swinging version of "Mack the Knife," a song from the musical The Threepenny Opera, hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 and stayed there for nine weeks.

1962 - Parlophone released the first Beatles single, "Love Me Do," in the U.K. Radio Luxembourg put it on the air, marking the first time a Beatles single is played on the radio.

1965 - Johnny Cash was arrested crossing the Mexican border into El Paso, Texas, after customs officials found hundreds of pills in his guitar case. He received a suspended jail sentence and a $1,000 fine.

1959 - Nina Simone's debut single, "I Loves You Porgy," peaked at No. 18 on the Hot 100, the highest she ever placed on the chart.

1970 - Led Zeppelin released Led Zeppelin III.

1973 - Elton John released his seventh studio album, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. It became John’s best-selling studio album and features some of his best-loved songs, including “Candle in the Wind,” “Bennie and the Jets,” and the title track. Ranked as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine, the record was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003.

1974 - Olivia Newton-John started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "I Honestly Love You," her first of five U.S. chart toppers.

1974 - The Beach Boys went to No.1 on the U.S. album chart with Endless Summer, the group's second U.S. No. 1 album.

1978 - Dolly Parton appeared on the cover of Playboy magazine, making her the first country artist to do so. An interview with Parton appeared in the issue.

1979 - The Police released their second studio album, Reggatta de Blanc. It features the singles "Message in a Bottle," "Walking on the Moon," "Bring On the Night," and "The Bed's Too Big Without You."

1979 - The Human League released their debut studio album, Reproduction. It features the single "Empire State Human."

1979 - Joe Jackson released his second studio album, I'm the Man. It features the singles "I'm the Man," "It's Different for Girls," and "Kinda Kute."

1979 - ABBA visited the White House during their first and only tour in United States. They met President Carter's daughter Amy, who was a big fan.

1980 - The Bee Gees sued their former manager Robert Stigwood for $136 million (about $553 million in 2026 dollars), claiming unpaid royalties and fraud. The group alleged that the contracts they signed with Stigwood in 1968 were predatory and unfair, and that they were too young to understand what they were signing. The suit was eventually settled out of court.

1980 - Killing Joke released their self-titled debut studio album, Killing Joke. It features the singles "Wardance," "Requiem," and "Change."

1987 - Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr began rehearsals with The Pretenders in preparation for the Pretenders supporting U2 on their North American tour.

1987 - Belinda Carlisle released her second solo studio album, Heaven on Earth. It features the singles "Heaven Is a Place on Earth," "I Get Weak," "Circle in the Sand," "I Feel Free," "World Without You," and "Love Never Dies."

1987 - Sinéad O'Connor released her debut studio album, The Lion and the Cobra. It features the singles "Troy," "Mandinka," and "I Want Your (Hands on Me)."

1991 - Guns N' Roses started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Use Your Illusion II.

1991 - Ray Charles was honored on the TV special Ray Charles: 50 Years Of Music, which aired on Fox TV. Highlights of the show include Charles performing "Living For The City" with Stevie Wonder and "Busted" with Willie Nelson.

1992 - Singer Eddie Kendricks of The Temptations died from lung cancer in Birmingham, Alabama, at age 52. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded The Temptations and was one of the Motown group's lead singers from 1960 until 1971. His was the lead voice on the Temptations' hits, "The Way You Do The Things You Do," "Get Ready" and "Just My Imagination." As a solo artist, Kendricks recorded several hits of his own during the 1970s, including the U.S. No. 1 single "Keep On Truckin."

1992 - Stereo MCs released their third studio album, Connected. It features the singles "Connected," "Step It Up," "Ground Level," and "Creation."

1993 - Mazzy Star released their second studio album, So Tonight That I Might See. It features the singles "Fade Into You" and "Five String Serenade."

1993 - Uncle Tupelo released their fourth and final studio album, Anodyne. It features the singles "The Long Cut," "Chickamauga," and "New Madrid."

1993 - Yo La Tengo released their sixth studio album, Painful. It features the singles "Big Day Coming" and "From a Motel 6."

1993 - The Afghan Whigs released their fourth studio album, Gentlemen. It features the singles "Gentlemen," "Debonair," and "What Jail Is Like."

1999 - After breaking up in 1983, Roger Daltrey announced that The Who were re-forming and that their first performance would be in Las Vegas on Oct. 29 of that year.

1999 - The Corrs performed live on MTV's Unplugged at Ardmore Studios in Wicklow, Ireland.

1999 - Paul McCartney released Run Devil Run in the U.S.

2000 - CSI: Crime Scene Investigation debuted on CBS with "Who Are You?" by The Who as the theme song. Three more series in the franchise appeared, all with theme songs by The Who: CSI: Miami ("Won't Get Fooled Again"), CSI: NY ("Baba O'Riley") and CSI: Cyber ("I Can See For Miles").

2000 - Beatles fans around the world rushed out to buy copies of the Fab Four's autobiography. Stores in Japan and Britain opened at midnight to satisfy demand for the book, the first written by the band members. Publishers said the 350,000-word volume had already attracted more than 1.5 million pre-orders worldwide.

2000 - Gilmore Girls debuted on The WB with an updated version of Carole King's "Where You Lead" as its theme song. Reflecting the show's mother-daughter theme, King recorded the song with her own daughter, musician Louise Goffin.

2003 - Beyoncé started a nine-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Baby Boy.”

2003 - Outkast were at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Speakerboxxx / The Love Below.

2004 - R.E.M. released their 13th studio album, Around the Sun. It features the singles "Leaving New York," "Aftermath," "Electron Blue," and "Wanderlust"

2004 - Cake released their fifth studio album, Pressure Chief. It features the singles "No Phone" and "Carbon Monoxide"

2004 - Tom Waits released Real Gone, his 15th studio album. Featuring several political songs, including an "elliptical" protest against the Vietnam War titled "Day After Tomorrow," it was voted best album of 2004 by Harp magazine.

2004 - De La Soul released their seventh studio album, The Grind Date. It features the singles "Shoomp/Much More," "Shopping Bags (She Got From You)," and "Rock Co.Kane Flow."

2006 - Jeffrey Borer, owner of the company that sold Michael Jackson his private Gulfstream jet, was sentenced to six months in prison for ordering employee Arvel Jett Reeves to install two video cameras in it in order to catch Jackson saying something for which he could be blackmailed.

2011 - Björk released her seventh studio album, Biophilia. It features the singles "Crystalline," "Cosmogony," "Virus," and "Moon."

2011 - David Cassidy filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Sony, claiming he had not been paid royalties for sales of Partridge Family merchandise which bear his image, including lunchboxes, magazines and board games. Cassidy told CNN, "It's just a matter of being fair and doing the right thing. Just be fair, be real, be genuine, don't be greedy."

2011 - The Martin Scorsese documentary, George Harrison: Living in the Material World, premiered on HBO. Ringo Starr says in the film: "He had the bag of love-beads personality and the bag of anger."

2011 - Steve Jobs, Apple founder and music industry visionary, died at age 56 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

2012 - Tame Impala released their second studio album, Lonerism. It features the singles "Elephant," "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards," and "Mind Mischief."

2012 - Adele posted her new theme to Skyfall, the 23rd film in the James Bond series. The theme song, written by Adele and her songwriting partner Paul Epworth, features a 77-piece backing orchestra. With sales of 7.2 million copies worldwide, "Skyfall" is one of the best-selling digital singles of all time. "Skyfall" received various accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Original Song, Brit Award for British Single, Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song, Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media, thus making it the first Bond theme to win all the aforementioned awards.

2014 - Leonard Delaney, drummer for The Tornadoes, died at the age of 71 after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's disease.

2018 - Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper released the soundtrack to the film A Star Is Born. It features the singles "Shallow," "Always Remember Us This Way," and "I'll Never Love Again."

Birthdays:

Rockabilly star Billy Lee Riley, known for his 1957 recording of “Red Hot,” was born today in 1933.

Carlo Mastrangelo of New York doo-wop group the Belmonts was born today in 1937.

Country singer Johnny Duncan, known for such hits as "Thinkin' of a Rendezvous," "It Couldn't Have Been Any Better," and "She Can Put Her Shoes Under my Bed [Anytime]," was born today in 1938.

Richard Street of the Temptations was born today in 1942.

Steve Miller is 83.

Brian Connolly, lead singer with Sweet, was born today in 1945.

Brian Johnson of AC/DC is 79.

Russell Mael, lead vocalist of Sparks, is 78.

Fast Eddie Clarke, guitarist with Motörhead, was born today in 1950. He passed away in 2018.

Bob Geldof is 75. See highlight, above.

Musician Harold Faltermeyer, who composed “Axel F” from Beverly Hills Cop as well as the scores for films including Top Gun, Fletch and The Running Man, is 74.

Lee Thompson, saxophonist for Madness, is 69.

Heather Headley is 52.

Colin Meloy, frontman for the Decemberists, is 52.

James Valentine of Maroon 5 is 48.

Paul Thomas of Good Charlotte is 46.

Brooke Valentine is 41.

Dillon Francis is 39.

Highlights for Today in Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Song Facts, uDiscover Music, Discogs, U.S. Inflation Calculator, and Wikipedia.