Alfred Matthew Yankovic, better known as "Weird Al" was born today in 1959, making him 60 years old. Yankovic is known for his parody-style music which lampoons pop culture and contemporary artists. HIs favorite instrument is the accordion and he has a predilection for polka. Yankovic is one of a very few artists to land a Top 40 hit on the Hot 100 each decade since the '80s, with comedic jabs at Michael Jackson (1984: "Eat It," #12), Nirvana (1992: "Smells Like Nirvana," #35), Chamillionaire (2006: "White And Nerdy," #9), and Robin Thicke (2014: "Word Crimes," #39). In addition to recording his albums - of which he's made 14 - Yankovic wrote and starred in the film "UHF" (1989) and the television series "The Weird Al Show" (1997).
Today In:
1961 - Dion started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Runaround Sue."
1962 - A 12-year-old named Little Stevie Wonder recorded his first single for Motown Records. It was called "Thank You For Loving Me All The Way."
1963 - Bob Dylan began recording "The Times They Are A-Changin" in a two-day session at Columbia Recording Studios in New York City. It is one of Dylan's signature tunes - considered one of the greatest protest songs in history and a classic of 20th century popular music. The song was ranked No. 59 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
1976 - The band Chicago started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "If You Leave Me Now."
1978 - "Mother" Maybelle Carter, one of the founding members of the pioneering country-folk group The Carter Family (including June, who later wed Johnny Cash), died at the age of 69.
1982 - The Damned released their album titled Strawberries, packaged with a Strawberry-smelling lyric sheet.
1989 - Nirvana played their first-ever European show when the appeared at Newcastle's Riverside Club in the northeast of England.
1995 - Def Leppard gave themselves a place in the Guinness book Of World Records, by playing three gigs in three continents in 24 hours. The shows were in London, England; Vancouver, Canada; and Tangier, Morocco.
2002 - Kanye West was involved in a car crash after he fell asleep at the wheel while driving home from a recording studio in West Hollywood. No other cars were involved in the incident, which left West with his jaw fractured in three places.
2016 - Dead Or Alive lead singer Pete Burns died of a heart attack at age 57. Known for the 1985 hit "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)," Burns estimated that he had 300 plastic surgeries in his lifetime.
Birthday:
Freddie Marsden of Gerry And The Pacemakers was born today in 1940.
Greg Ridley of Spooky Tooth and a founder member of Humble Pie was born today in 1947.
Country singer Dwight Yoakam is 63.
Roberto Trujillo of Suicidal Tendencies is 55.