History Highlight:

Today in 1960, drummer Matt Sorum was born, making him 64 today. Sorum grew up in California and began drumming after seeing Ringo Starr perform on television. As soon as he was able, Sorum moved to Hollywood and quickly became part of the music scene there, known for his hard-working approach to rehearsals, live shows and session work. One of Sorum’s early bands was Y Kant Tori Read, which was fronted by Tori Amos. In 1988, Sorum became the touring drummer for the band The Cult, and after that, he joined Guns ‘N Roses, work brought Sorum a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. Sorum returned to The Cult and then was a co-founder of the Grammy-winning supergroup Velvet Revolver, which included GNR bandmates Slash and Duff McKagan, Dave Kushner from Wasted Youth, and Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots. Other people Sorum has played with include Alice Cooper, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Billy F Gibbons of ZZ Top, Joe Elliott of Def Leppard, Robin Zander of Cheap Trick and Brian May of Queen.

Also, Today In:

1955 - Carl Perkins recorded "Blue Suede Shoes" at Sun Studio in Memphis. Perkins' original version of the song was on the Cashbox Best Selling Singles list for 16 weeks and spent two weeks in the number two position. The rock 'n' roll classic would go on to be covered by many other artists, most notably Elvis Presley.

1966 - The Supremes had their seventh No. 1 single, "You Keep Me Hangin' On." Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland-Dozier-Holland, the single is a return to rhythm and blues as compared to the Supremes' previous single, "You Can't Hurry Love." The song's signature guitar part originated from a Morse code-like radio signal heard by Lamont Dozier, who collaborated with Brian and Eddie Holland to integrate the idea into the recording.

1971 - To mark his 25th anniversary in show business, blues great B.B. King kicked off a European tour in London.

1979 - After serving a four-month term for income-tax evasion, Chuck Berry was released from prison.

1983 - Tina Turner made the charts for the first time in a decade with her rendition of "Let's Stay Together."

1984 - Don Henley released his second solo album, Building the Perfect Beast. It features “The Boys of Summer,” “All She Wants to Do Is Dance,” “Not Enough Love in the World,” and “Sunset Grill.”

1984 - The Kinks released their 21st studio album, Word of Mouth. It features “Good Day,” “Do It Again,” “Living on a Thin Line,” and “Summer’s Gone.”

1984 - Nik Kershaw released his second studio album, The Riddle. It features the title track, “Wide Boy,” and “Don Quixote.”

1988 - Bon Jovi started a two week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with the lead single from the band's album New Jersey, "Bad Medicine," the group's third U.S. No. 1 to that date.

1990 - The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences stripped the 1989 Best New Artist Grammy from Milli Vanilli because Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan didn't actually sing on their debut album Girl You Know It's True. It was the first time a Grammy was ever been revoked.

1994 - Crosby Stills & Nash member David Crosby had a successful liver transplant operation in Los Angeles.

2002 - Eminem went No. 1 on the Hot 100 for the first time when "Lose Yourself" from his movie 8 Mile topped the chart.

2007 - Quiet Riot singer Kevin DuBrow died of an accidental cocaine overdose at his home in Las Vegas. He was 52 years old.

2007 - Queen guitarist Brian May was named Chancellor of Liverpool's John Moores University.

2017 - Warren “Pete” Moore died at the age of 79 on his birthday in Las Vegas.

2017 - Country star Mel Tillis died of respiratory failure at 85.

Birthdays:

Trombonist Tommy Dorsey was born today in 1905.

Joe Hunter was born on this day in 1927. He was a veteran session musician as one of the Funk Brothers who helped craft the distinctive Motown sound.

Talk show host Dick Cavett is 88.

Warren “Pete” Moore of the Miracles was born today in 1938.

Matt Sorum, drummer for The Cult, Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver, is 64.

Jason Pierce of Spiritualized is 59.

Justin Chancellor, bassist for Tool, is 53.

Folk singer Alice Peacock — who grew up in White Bear Lake, Minnesota — is 55.

Grammy Award-winning R&B singer Tony Rich is 53.

Billy Currington is 51.

Tyga is 35.

Highlights for Today in Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Song Facts, Matt Sorum’s website, and Wikipedia.