History Highlight:

Today in 1980, San Francisco punk band Dead Kennedys released their debut album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. It features the songs “California Über Alles,” “Holiday in Cambodia” and “Kill the Poor.” All the songs were written by lead singer Jello Biafra, and the band’s sound was heavily influenced by the Sex Pistols.

Also, Today in:

1964 - The Rolling Stones recorded their version of the Willie Dixon song, "Little Red Rooster," at Regent Sound Studios in London. The Stones' rendition, which prominently features original member Brian Jones on the recording, became a No. 1 record in the U.K. and continues to be the only blues song to reach the top of the British chart. It became a fixture in the Stones' setlist; the band frequently performed it on television and in concert and released several live recordings of the song.

1965 - The Doors recorded their first demos in Los Angeles, cutting six songs.

1971 - The Grateful Dead's former manager was arrested after disappearing with more than $70,000 of the band's money.

1976 - Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five become the first rap act to play a theatre when they play at Audubon Ballroom in Harlem.

1989 - Ozzy Osbourne was charged with threatening to kill his wife, Sharon. Ozzy was released on the condition that he immediately went into detox; the case was later dropped when the couple decided to reconcile.

1993 - Stone Temple Pilots win Best New Artist at the MTV VMAs.

1993 - Pearl Jam's "Jeremy" video wins four awards, including Video of the Year, at the MTV Video Music Awards. Pearl Jam responds by not making any more videos until 1998.

1995 - Michael Jackson went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with a song written by R. Kelly, "You Are Not Alone." It holds a Guinness World Record as the first song in the 37-year history of the Billboard Hot 100 to debut at No.1.

2002 - Thieves broke into the London home of Icelandic singer Björk and stole valuable recording equipment. Björk was at home and asleep during the incident.

2005 - Kanye West criticized President George W. Bush's response to Hurricane Katrina during a televised benefit concert in New York. Appearing alongside comedian Mike Myers for a 90-second segment, West told the audience, "George Bush doesn't care about black people." The comment went out live on the East Coast, but was cut from a taped version seen on the West Coast.

2006 - Lead singer of the Isley Brothers, Ronald Isley, was sentenced to three years in prison for multiple counts of tax fraud. The 64-year-old was also ordered to pay more than $3.1 million in back taxes to the IRS for longtime evasion.

2012 - Mark Abrahamian, the lead guitarist with Starship died of a heart attack aged 46. He collapsed following a concert in Nebraska where Starship had opened for Survivor and Boston.

2013 - Sir Elton John won the first-ever Brits Icon award in a gala concert which marked his stage return after surgery for appendicitis. Elton was presented with the prize by his friend, singer Rod Stewart, who described him as "the second-best rock singer ever." The Icon prize had been created by the BPI, the music industry's trade body, which also runs the Brit Awards.

2016 - The Eagles Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 returned to the U.S. album chart thanks to a $.99 sale price in the Google Play store. The album, released in 1976, was already the largest selling compilation album in history with worldwide sales of over 42 million copies.

2018 - Conway Savage of Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds died at age 58.

Birthday:

Horace Silver was born today in 1928.

Richard "Rick" Lewis from The Silhouettes was born today in 1933. He passed in 2005.

Sam Gooden of The Impressions was born today in 1934. He passed in 2022.

Joe Simon (“The Chokin’ Kind”) was born today in 1936.

Jimmy Clanton (“Just a Dream”) is 86.

Rosalind Ashford of The Vandellas is 81.

Marty Grebb of The Buckinghams was born today in 1946. He passed in 2020.

Billy Preston was born today in 1946. He passed in 2006.

Michael Rother — of Kraftwerk and Neu! — is 74.

Mik Kaminski of ELO is 73.

John Zorn is 71.

Steve Porcaro of Toto is 67.

Fritz McIntyre of Simply Red was born on this day in 1958. He passed in 2021.

Jerry Augustyniak of 10,000 Maniacs is 66.

K-Ci from K-Ci and JoJo is 55.

MC Chris is 49.

Tony Thompson of Hi-Five was born today in 1975.

Syleena Johnson, who sings on Kanye West’s “All Falls Down,” is 48.

Sam Rivers of Limp Bizkit is 47.

Rich Boy is 41.

Jack Peñate is 40.

Spencer Smith co-founder of Panic! at the Disco is 37. He left the band in 2015.

Zedd best know as a DJ / Producer is 35.

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