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Born on this day: April 22, 1922 - Jazz music icon Charles Mingus (born Charles Mingus, Jr. in Nogales, AZ). Happy Birthday to this visionary genius on what would have been his 91st Birthday.
 

Born on this day: April 22, 1936 - Singer/songwriter/guitarist Glen Campbell (born Glen Travis Campbell in Delight, AR). Happy 77th Birthday, Glen!!
 

On this day in music history: April 22, 1968 - The Birds, The Bees, & The Monkees, the fifth album by The Monkees is released. Produced by The Monkees and Chip Douglas, it is recorded at RCA Studios, Gold Star Studios and United/Western Studios in Hollywood, CA from Late 1967 - Early 1968. The bands' fifth release will see them beginning to go their separate ways with each producing their own tracks with studio musicians, rather than working as a unit as on the previous two albums. The album will also be the last from The Monkees to be issued with separate mono and stereo mixes, with the former containing unique mixes and being pressed in such small quantities that they will become collector's items. It will spin off two singles including "Daydream Believer" (#1 Pop) and "Valleri" (#3 Pop). The Birds, The Bees, & The Monkees will peak at #3 on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified Platinum in the US by the RIAA.
 

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Remembering Pop and R&B vocal icon Whitney Houston (born Whitney Elizabeth Houston in Newark, NJ) - August 9, 1963 - February 11, 2012.

Born on this day: February 11, 1941 - Brazilian jazz pianist and bandleader Sergio Mendes (born Sergio Santos Mendes in Niteroi, Brazil). Happy 72nd Birthday, Sergio!!
 

On this day in music history: February 11, 1963 - The Beatles record their debut album Please Please Me in Studio Two at Abbey Road in London. Following the huge success of their second single "Please Please Me," the band are given the green light to record a complete album. Acting quickly, producer George Martin will have them perform material that is a part of their current stage act. Working with engineer Norman Smith behind the board, it will be recorded for a cost of only £400 ($630.24 US) live to two-track tape with very few overdubs done after the fact. They will record eleven songs in the nine hours and forty-five minutes (between 10 am and 10:45 pm with a lunch break and two tea breaks in between) it takes to complete the album. The album's iconic cover photo (taken by photographer Angus McBean) is shot in the stairwell of EMI Records Manchester Square offices in London. This location is decided upon after the initial idea of photographing the band in front of the insect house at the London Zoo is vetoed by the owners of the zoo. Released on March 22nd, the album is an instant smash, holding down the top spot on the UK album chart for 30 weeks, until it is replaced by their second album "With The Beatles" in November of 1963. Please Please Me will go on to become one of the best selling albums in history.
 

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Born on this day, December 31, 1948 - Singer/songwriter Donna Summer (born LaDonna Adrian Gaines in Boston, MA). Happy Birthday to this Disco and R&B legend on what would have been her 64th Birthday. We love and miss you, Donna!!

On this day in music history: December 31, 1966 - "I'm A Believer" by The Monkees hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks. Written by Neil Diamond, it is the second chart topping single for "The Pre-Fab Four." Producer Jeff Barry will find the song while also working with Diamond. The track is recorded in New York City on October 15, 1966. The Monkees will record their vocals at RCA Victor, Studio B in Hollywood on October 23rd. Issued as the follow up to the group's first hit, "Last Train To Clarksville," it is an immediate smash. "I'm A Believer" will have an advanced order of 1,051,280 copies, the highest amount for any RCA recording artist since Elvis Presley. Entering the Hot 100 at #44 on December 10th, it will leap frog to the top just three weeks later, with the single going gold only two days after its release and becoming the biggest selling single of 1967. The B-side "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" written and produced by Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart will also chart, peaking at #20 on the Hot 100 on January 14, 1967.
 

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Born on this day: November 5, 1941 - Singer, songwriter, and actor Art Garfunkel (born Arthur Ira Garfunkel in Forest Hills, NY). Happy 71st Birthday Art!!
 

Born on this day: November 5, 1947 - Peter Noone (born Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone in Davyhulme, Greater Manchester, UK), lead vocalist of Herman's Hermits. Happy 65th Birthday, Peter!!
 

Born on this day: November 5, 1957 - Mike Score (born Michael Score in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, UK), lead vocalist and keyboardist of A Flock of Seagulls. Happy 55th Birthday, Mike!!

On this day in music history: November 5, 1956 - The Nat King Cole Show makes its debut on the NBC television network. It will make history as the first nationally aired program to be hosted by an African American performer. The show will begin initially as a 15 minute program, which is then expanded to a half hour in July 1957. The show will feature many high profile guests (and personal friends of Cole's) including Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Harry Belafonte, Mel Tormé, and Eartha Kitt. These performers appeared on the show working for either industry scale or for no pay at all. During its run, the program will lack major product sponsorship with many potential sponsors fearing they will offend certain viewers not wanting to see black performers on television. In spite of generating constantly high ratings, the show will be canceled after only 13 months due to high operating costs.