History highlight:

Today in 1981, Jamaican singer-songwriter Bob Marley died at Miami's Cedars of Lebanon Hospital (now University of Miami Hospital) due to malignant melanoma. He was only 36. Regarded as a hero and near-deity in his native Jamaica and abroad, Marley was given a state funeral and buried near his birthplace in St. Ann's Parish, Jamaica. The 1984 Bob Marley compilation album, Legend, is the best-selling reggae album ever with sales of more than 20 million copies, and Time magazine chose Bob Marley & The Wailers' Exodus as the greatest album of the 20th century. In 1990, Marley's birthday, February 6, was proclaimed a national holiday in Jamaica.

Also, today in:

1957 - The Everly Brothers made their stage debut in Nashville at the Grand Ole Opry.

1965 - Roger Miller was at No. 1 on the U.S. Country charts with "King Of The Road."

1970 - A triple album of concert highlights from the Woodstock festival was released on Cotillion Records. The record went gold within a couple of weeks.

1972 - David Cassidy, at the peak of his career, appeared in a controversial near-naked pose on the cover of Rolling Stone.

1972 - John Lennon appeared on TV's Dick Cavett Show, claiming he was under surveillance by the FBI.

1974 - Led Zeppelin attended an Elvis Presley show in Los Angeles. All four members of the band met with Elvis after the show, where Elvis asked for each of the band members' autographs for his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley.

1991 - Swedish pop duo Roxette scored their fourth U.S. No. 1 single with "Joyride."

2003 - Noel Redding, bassist for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, died at the age of 57. He was the first person to join The Experience and the first to leave. With the band, he helped create the three landmark albums Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love, and Electric Ladyland, and he performed in some of Hendrix's most celebrated concerts.

2011 - One of the rarest rock T-shirts in the world — a 1979 Led Zeppelin tour shirt — sold for $10,000 on eBay. It was the largest sum ever paid for a vintage tee.

2014 - Bass guitarist Ed Gagliardi, best-known as the original bass player with Foreigner, died at age 62 after an 8-year battle with cancer. In 1981, Gagliardi formed the band Spys with former Foreigner keyboardist Al Greenwood.

2020 - Moon Martin died at age 74. Originally a rockabilly artist, he wrote the songs “Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor),” made famous by English singer Robert Palmer, and “Cadillac Walk,” a hit for Willy DeVille.

Birthdays:

Irving Berlin was born today in 1888. He was the composer of “White Christmas,” “There's No Business Like Show Business” and “Let's Face The Music and Dance,” and he died in 1989 at the age of 101.

Eric Burdon, lead singer of the Animals, is 81.

Butch Trucks, drummer for The Allman Brothers Band, was born today in 1947.

Highlights for Today in Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Paul Shaffer's Day in Rock, Song Facts and Wikipedia.