Today In Music: A look back at pop music

(Nov. 20)

Today's birthdays include Dick Smothers of the Smothers Brothers, who was born in 1939 (age 62); the Lettermen's Tony Butalo in 1940 (age 61); Norman Greenbaum in 1942 (age 59); Danny McBride of Sha Na Na in 1945 (age 56); the late Duane Allman was born in 1946; Poco drummer George Grantham and Joe Walsh, both in 1947 (age 54); UB40's James Brown in 1957 (age 44); and Mike D, whose last name is Diamond, of the Beastie Boys in 1965 (age 36).

Today's musical milestones:

In 1954, the bartenders' union in Hammond, Ind., asked a local radio station (WJOB-AM) to stop playing the song "The Drunken Driver" by Ferlin Husky -- about a drunken driver who kills two children -- because it was hurting business.

In 1961, Bob Dylan began recording his self-titled debut album.

In 1965, Simon and Garfunkel's "Sound of Silence" was released.

In 1970, "Lola" became the Kinks' first U.S. top-10 single in five years.

In 1971, "Theme from Shaft" by Isaac Hayes became his only U.S. chart-topping single.

In 1973, Scott Halpin, 19, of Muscatine, Iowa, sat in for Keith Moon at a Who concert in San Francisco after Moon took ill and Roger Daltrey asked the audience, "Is there a drummer in the house?"

Also in 1973, comedian Allan Sherman, who had a hit in 1963 with the novelty tune "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah!", died from respiratory failure at age 48.

In 1976, Manfred Mann's Earth Band's "Blinded By The Light" was released.

In 1990, a judge in St. Charles, Mo., dropped child abuse charges against Chuck Berry, but put the singer on two years' probation for a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana.

In 1991, 30,000 copies of Michael Jackson's "Dangerous" album were stolen at gunpoint in California.

In 1991, Virgin Music announced it had signed the Rolling Stones to a long-term recording contract.

In 1994, David Crosby underwent a liver transplant at the UCLA Medical Center.

Also in 1994, Cab Calloway died of pneumonia five months after suffering a stroke. He was 86.

In 1996, The Artist (Formerly Known As Prince) gave an unannounced concert at a Chicago album release party for his triple-CD "Emancipation."

In 1997, the National Transportation Safety Board denied reports by a San Francisco TV station that John Denver's plane crashed into Monterey Bay the previous month because it had run out of gas. The NTSB said fuel loss was only one possibility under investigation.

In 2000, the Dixie Chicks' first prime-time concert special aired on NBC. "Dixie Chicks: On The Fly" was shot in Washington, D.C., during the group's "Fly Tour."

Today's musical quiz:

Before Joe Walsh joined the Eagles, he was with what group? Answer: The James Gang.