Today's birthdays:
Brad Whitford, 72.
Bradley Ernest Whitford is an American musician who is best known for serving as guitarist for the hard rock band Aerosmith for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. He has also worked as a songwriter for the group, co-composing well-received tracks such as 1976's "Last Child".
On this day today:
1948 - Sweet bass player Steve Priest is born in Middlesex, England.
1955 - Howard Jones is born in Southampton, England.
1962 - Queensrÿche guitarist Michael Wilton is born San Francisco.
1974 - Aretha Franklin becomes the first artist to have songs peak at each of the first 10 spots on the Hot 100 when "Until You Come Back To Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" fills in the gap at #3.
1978 - The Police sign with A&M Records.
1979 - Dire Straits begin their first North American tour with a show at the Paradise Theater in Boston.
1983 - After 18 nominations, Lionel Richie finally wins a Grammy when his solo debut single "Truly" takes the award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male.
1992 - Anthrax appear on Married With Children in the episode "My Dinner with Anthrax." After eating the mystery food in the Bundy's fridge, they rock out on "In My World."
1993 - Ska music gains a foothold in America as The New Ritz in Manhattan sells out for the Skalapalooza concert, with performances by The Toasters, Bad Manners, and The Skatalites. It leads to the first ska festival in America later that year: Skavoovee.
1993 - Little Richard receives a Lifetime Achievement Grammy award.
1997 - After declaring a truce in an effort to end violence between East Coast and West Coast rappers, Puff Daddy and Snoop Doggy Dogg appear on The Steve Harvey Show in the episode "I Do, I Don't."
1999 - Eminem drops his first major-label album, The Slim Shady LP. He quickly becomes the most controversial rapper in the game.
1999 - TLC's third album, FanMail, is released. It's a huge seller thanks to the tracks "No Scrubs" and "Unpretty," but causes friction among the trio, as Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes feels she's being cast aside.
1999 - The Roots release their critical and commercial breakthrough album, Things Fall Apart. Featuring "You Got Me," it loses the Best Rap Album Grammy to Eminem's The Slim Shady LP.
2000 - Santana win eight Grammy Awards for their star-studded, chart-topping album Supernatural, tying Michael Jackson's record for the most awards won in a single night.
2000 - Tom Waits's heavily roots-influenced Mule Variations wins a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.
2003 - Norah Jones wins all five Grammy Awards she is nominated for, including Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year for "Don't Know Why." Also at the ceremony, Simon & Garfunkel get a Lifetime Achievement Award and sing together for the first time in 10 years.
2013 - At the 33rd Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony, Rihanna is named Worst Supporting Actress for her role as weapons specialist Cora Raikes in the sci-fi action flick Battleship. Fellow nominees include Razzie vet Jennifer Lopez (What to Expect When You're Expecting), who won her first award back in 2003 as Worst Actress for Gigli.
2019 - Ariana Grande becomes the first solo artist to hold the top three spots on the Hot 100 in the same week, a feat previously accomplished only by The Beatles. The songs: #1: "7 Rings" #2: "Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" #3: "Thank U, Next"
