Today in Music: a look back at pop music

(Sept. 20)

Today's birthdays include jazz legend Jelly Roll Morton in 1885; Mick Rogers of Manfred Mann's Earthband, who was born in 1946 (age 56); Chuck and John Panozzo of Styx in 1949 (age 53); Alannah Currie of the Thompson Twins in 1959 (age 43); and Gunnar and Matthew Nelson, who performed under the name Nelson, in 1967 (age 35).

Today's musical milestones:

In 1958, Tommy Steele became the first rock 'n' roll star to be immortalized in wax at London's Madame Tussaud's Waxworks.

In 1966, George Harrison made his first trip to India to visit guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

In 1970, a judge in Miami found Jim Morrison guilty of indecent exposure for an onstage incident at a Miami concert a year-and-a-half earlier.

In 1972, Paul McCartney was arrested for possession of marijuana at his farm in Scotland. It was the first of several pot busts.

In 1973, Jim Croce was killed in a plane crash in Natchitoches, La. He was 30.

In 1975, David Bowie had his first No. 1 hit, "Fame," from the album "Young Americans."

Also in 1975, the Bay City Rollers made the band's U.S. TV debut on ABC's "Saturday Night Live With Howard Cossell," performing -- appropriately enough -- "Saturday Night," the group's first and only No. 1 U.S. single.

And more in 1975, Bruce Springsteen's hit single "Born to Run" was released.

In 1984, Marvin Gaye Sr. pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter charges in the shooting death of his son, soul singer Marvin Gaye Jr., six months earlier.

Also in 1984, Steve Goodman died following a bone marrow transplant. He was 36 and had been suffering from leukemia.

In 1985, Motley Crue's Vince Neil was sentenced to 30 days in jail and ordered to pay $2.7 million in restitution to those injured in his drunken driving car accident the previous December. The crash killed Neil's passenger, Hanoi Rocks drummer Nicholas Dingley, a.k.a. Razzle.

In 1993, California police detectives flew to Manila to question a Philippine couple -- former employees of Michael Jackson -- who claimed they saw the pop star fondle young boys.

Also in 1993, the Moody Blues donated to the Los Angeles Hard Rock Cafe a cassette of the band's 1967 album "Days Of Future Passed" that'd been taken into orbit four times by shuttle astronaut and Moody Blues fan Robert "Hoot" Gibson.

And in 1993, Billy Idol reunited with members of his former band Generation X for a one-time-only concert in London.

And in 1993, Revlon announced a deal with Dolly Parton to develop her own line of beauty products.

In 1994, rapper Tupac Shakur pleaded innocent to charges of carrying a concealed gun in his car.

In 1995, Van Halen performed an outdoor concert in Denver despite a snowstorm that dumped 11 inches of snow on the city. During the show, the band got into a snowball fight with the audience.

Also in 1995, Eddie Money's wife, Laurie, gave birth to the couple's fifth child -- a boy -- in Los Angeles.

In 1996, Bonnie Raitt, bluesman Buddy Guy and surf musician Dick Dale of Dick Dale and the Del-Tones were enshrined on the Hollywood RockWalk. A commemorative plaque and a bronze bust of the late guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan were also unveiled.

Also in 1996, an estimated 100,000 fans attended Michael Jackson's concert in Warsaw, Poland.

Today's musical quiz:

What was Steve Goodman's song "The Lincoln Park Pirates" about? Answer: A Chicago towing company that trolled the north side neighborhood of Lincoln Park, towing vehicles illegally parked in its clients' parking lots and -- reputedly -- towing anything