History Highlight:

Today in 1994, Nirvana's MTV Unplugged in New York album, taken from a performance a year earlier, was finally released. In a break with MTV Unplugged tradition, Nirvana played mainly lesser-known material and covers of songs by the Vaselines, David Bowie, Lead Belly and Meat Puppets. Unlike prior MTV Unplugged performances, which were entirely acoustic, Nirvana used electric amplification and guitar effects during the set. They were joined by rhythm guitarist Pat Smear and cellist Lori Goldston, alongside Meat Puppets members Cris and Curt Kirkwood for some songs. The album topped the charts in many countries, including the U.S., U.K. and Australia.

Today In:

1955 - R&B group The Famous Flames, led by singer James Brown, cut their first demo of "Please, Please, Please" at a radio station in Macon, Georgia. It would lead to their signing with King Records.

1956 - Elvis Presley bought a new Harley Davidson and spent the day riding around Memphis on his new motorcycle with actress Natalie Wood.

1960 - The Everly Brothers recorded "Temptation."

1964 - The Dave Clark Five made their U.S. TV debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, earning praise from the host, who declared them, "nice, neat boys." They were the second British Invasion group, after The Beatles, to play on the show. The Dave Clark Five would go on to make 18 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, more than any other British Invasion group.

1968 - George Harrison released his first solo album, Wonderwall Music, on the Apple label. The songs, which were mostly Harrison instrumentals, featured Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr and an unaccredited banjo contribution by Peter Tork of The Monkees.

1969 - Elvis Presley had his first No. 1 in seven years with "Suspicious Minds." The song was widely regarded as the single that returned Presley's career success, following his 1968 comeback special that ran on NBC. It was his 17th and last No. 1 single in the United States. Rolling Stone later ranked it No. 91 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

1969 - The Beatles scored their 13th U.S. No. 1 album with Abbey Road. The final studio recordings from the group featured two George Harrison songs: "Something" and "Here Comes The Sun," plus "Come Together" and the two multi-part closing medleys on side two, culminating with "The End." Conspiracy theories about the album cover supposedly containing clues adding to the “Paul Is Dead” phenomenon included: The car number plate “LMW 281F” supposedly referred to the fact that McCartney would be 28 if he was still alive. “LMW” was said to stand for “Linda McCartney Weeps.” And the four Beatles were said to represent the priest (John, dressed in white), the Undertaker (Ringo, black suit), the Corpse (Paul, barefoot), and the Gravedigger (George, in jeans and a denim shirt).

1970 - The Festfolk Quartet, who later became ABBA, played their first-ever concert at a restaurant in Gothenburg, Sweden.

1971 - Olivia Newton-John released her first solo album, If Not For You. The album consists of Newton-John’s covers of songs by artists including Kris Kristofferson, Tom Rush, Gordon Lightfoot, and of course, Bob Dylan, who wrote the title track.

1975 - Elton John started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Island Girl," his fifth U.S. No. 1, a No. 14 hit in the U.K.

1975 - At the Labor Temple in Minneapolis, The Faces played their last concert. Lead singer Rod Stewart was already well into his solo career, and guitarist Ron Wood had been playing with The Rolling Stones for months.

1976 - Talking Heads signed with Sire Records. They were offered a deal a year earlier after making a splash on the CBGB scene, but wanted to wait until they were studio-ready.

1977 - Wire released their debut studio album, Pink Flag. It features the songs "Reuters," "Three Girl Rhumba," "Ex Lion Tamer," "Pink Flag," "Mr. Suit," "Strange," "Mannequin," and "12XU."

1980 - Bruce Springsteen scored his first No. 1 U.S. album with The River, featuring the U.S. No. 5 and U.K. No. 44 single, "Hungry Heart."

1982 - Orange Juice released their second studio album, Rip It Up. It features the singles "I Can't Help Myself," "A Million Pleading Faces," "Rip It Up," and "Flesh of My Flesh."

1983 - The Pointer Sisters released their 10th studio album, Break Out. It features the singles "I Need You," "Automatic," "Jump (For My Love)," "Neutron Dance," "Baby Come and Get It," and a remixed version of "I'm So Excited."

1984 - Cocteau Twins released their third studio album, Treasure. It features “Lorelei.”

1985 - The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) agreed to some demands made by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). As a result, any album deemed to contain offensive lyrics needed to bear a warning label, or the lyrics had to be printed on the sleeve.

1988 - Slick Rick released his debut album, The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick, featuring the influential rap hit, "Children's Story."

1992 - Pearl Jam played Neil Young's Bridge School benefit concert for the first time. The event took place at the Shoreline Amphitheater outside of San Francisco.

1993 - British singer-songwriter Kate Bush released her seventh studio album, The Red Shoes. It features the singles "Rubberband Girl," "Eat the Music," "Moments of Pleasure," "The Red Shoes," and "And So Is Love." Inspired by the 1948 ballet film of the same name, the album features a number of famous guests, including Eric Clapton, Gary Brooker of Procol Harum, Prince, and comedian Lenny Henry. It was also Bush's last release before a 12-year hiatus.

1994 - Mariah Carey's album Merry Christmas was released. By the end of the year, it sold over 3 million copies in the U.S., becoming one of the most popular Christmas albums of all time.

1994 - Tom Petty released his second solo studio album, Wildflowers. It features the title track along with “You Don’t Know How It Feels,” “You Wreck Me,” and “It’s Good to Be King.”

1996 - U2 set up a video link to an internet site from their recording studio in Dublin so fans could watch them record their new album.

1997 - Fiona Apple appeared on the cover of Spin magazine under the headline, "She's Been a Bad, Bad Girl." Apple was peeved at the portrayal and wrote a 90-word poem in response, which became the title of her next album, When The Pawn...

1997 - The Spice Girls released their second studio album, Spiceworld.

1999 - The Faint released their second studio album, Blank-Wave Arcade.

2000 - Ben Folds Five disbanded, but reunited in 2011 and released their fourth album The Sound of the Life of the Mind in 2012.

2004 - Kings of Leon released their second studio album, Aha Shake Heartbreak. (This was the European release. It came out in the U.S. on Feb. 22, 2005.) It features “The Bucket,” “Four Kicks,” “Taper Jean Girl,” and “King of the Rodeo.”

2005 - Skitch Henderson, original bandleader for The Tonight Show (hosted by Steve Allen) and founder of The New York Pops orchestra, died at age 87.

2005 - Black Sabbath were inducted into the U.K. Music Hall of Fame by Brian May of Queen. The band played "Paranoid" at the ceremony, and Ozzy Osbourne mooned the crowd, having felt that they weren’t rocking hard enough.

2006 - Apple Computer launched a new mini-store within the U.S. version of the iTunes Music Store dedicated to Latin music and entertainment. iTunes Latino features top Latin music, music videos, television shows, audiobooks and podcasts.

2008 - Yma Sumac, a Peruvian soprano who first rose to fame in the 1950s and enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in 1998 when her song "Ataypura" was featured in the 1998 comedy The Big Lebowski, died of colon cancer at age 86.

2012 - Metal Hammer magazine published a list of the "Top ten rock and heavy metal moustaches…Ever." The list, which included mustaches worn by the likes of Frank Zappa, all the members of Black Sabbath, (except Ozzy Osbourne), James Hetfield, and Lemmy, placed Freddie Mercury at the top of the list.

2013 - M.I.A. released her fourth studio album, Matangi. It features the singles "Bad Girls," "Bring the Noize," "Come Walk with Me," "Y.A.L.A.," "Double Bubble Trouble," and "Sexodus."

2015 - Taylor Swift was being sued for $42 million for allegedly stealing the lyrics to her hit 2014 song "Shake It Off," which topped music charts around the world. R&B singer Jesse Braham claimed in legal papers Swift stole the words from a song he wrote in 2013 called "Haters Gone Hate."

2019 - Michael Kiwanuka released his third studio album, Kiwanuka. It features “You Ain’t the Problem,” “Hero,” "Piano Joint (This Kind of Love)," "Light," and “Rolling.”

2022 - Migos rapper Takeoff, 28, was shot and killed outside a bowling alley in Houston, Texas.

Birthdays:

Singer/songwriter/producer Andre Williams, AKA the “Godfather of Rap,” was born today in 1936. His most famous songs include the hits "Jail Bait," "Greasy Chicken," "Bacon Fat," and "Cadillac Jack." He co-wrote Stevie Wonder's first song, “Thank You for Loving Me” and was also the co-author of the R&B hit “Shake a Tail Feather” by The Five Du-Tones and James & Bobby Purify.

Country music singer and songwriter Bill Anderson, known as “Whispering Bill,” was born today in 1937. A couple of Anderson’s biggest hits include 1963’s “Still” and 1970’s “Love is a Sometimes Thing.”

Country singer (and onetime Texas gubernatorial candidate) Kinky Friedman was born today in 1944.

Ric Grech — bassist for Blind Faith and Traffic, was born today in 1946.

Writer/producer Jim Steinman was born on this day in 1947. His work included Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell and Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell, and he produced albums for Bonnie Tyler. His most successful chart singles include Tyler's “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and Air Supply's “Making Love Out of Nothing at All.”

Songwriter David Foster — co-writer on Chicago’s “You’re the Inspiration,” Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing” — is 77.

Ronald Bell of Kool & The Gang was born on this day in 1951.

Country singer Lyle Lovett is 69.

Robert Hart of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band is 68.

Calvin Johnson — of Beat Happening and the Halo Benders, founder of K Records — is 64.

Mags Furuholmen, keyboardist and songwriter for A-ha, is 64.

Anthony Kiedis, lead singer of Red Hot Chili Peppers, is 64. Fun fact: Kiedis first met bandmate Flea in a driver's ed class where they became best friends while sitting next to each other. In a biography about the band written by Jeff Apter, Kiedis said, "We were both social outcasts. We found each other, and it turned out to be the longest-lasting friendship of my life."

Rick Allen, Def Leppard drummer, is 63.

Big Kenny of Big & Rich is 63.

Sophie B. Hawkins (singer of "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" and “As I Lay Me”) is 62.

Willie D of the Geto Boys is 60.

Mary Hansen of Stereolab was born today in 1966.

Tina Arena is 59.

LaTavia Roberson of Destiny's Child is 45.

Lil Peep was born on this day in 1996.

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