Ben E. King – Time Rewind

On This Day April 30

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On This Day October 27

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Celebrity Birthdays

1858 – Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States (d. 1919)

1914 – Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, whose works include the poems “Do not go gentle into that good night,” “And death shall have no dominion”, the “Play for Voices” and “Under Milk Wood” (d. 1953)

1922 – Emmy and Grammy-winning actress and playwright Ruby Dee (“A Raisin in the Sun,” “Do The Right Thing,” “The Stand,” “American Gangster”)(d. 2014)

1939 – Actor-comedian, author and Monty Python founder John Cleese (“Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” “Fawlty Towers,” “A Fish Called Wanda,” “Harry Potter,” “Shrek”)

1942 – Country singer Lee Greenwood, best known for his song “God Bless the USA,” which gained popularity following the September 11, 2001 attacks

1952 – Actor-director Roberto Benigni, best known for his Oscar-winning 1997 film “Life Is Beautiful”

1958 – Musician Simon Le Bon, lead singer of the Grammy-winning band Duran Duran (“Girls on Film,” “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Save a Prayer,” “Rio,” “The Reflex,” “A View to a Kill,” “Ordinary World”)

1984 – Actress, singer and fashion designer Kelly Osbourne, who rose to fame on the reality show about her family, “The Osbournes”

History Highlights

1904 – America’s first rapid transit system begins operating when the New York City subway opens to the public. More than 100,000 people pay a nickel to take their first ride aboard the Interborough Rapid Transit (I.R.T.) under Manhattan.

1954 – “Disneyland,” Walt Disney’s first TV series, premieres on ABC. It airs for 34 seasons, in later years under different names, including “Walt Disney Presents” and “The Wonderful World of Disney.”

1962 – Thirteen days after an American U-2 spy plane first captures photos of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba aimed at the U.S., a Soviet missile destroys the U.S. Air Force jet during another Cuba flyover. The pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr., becomes the first casualty of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Anderson’s death is believed to have saved millions of American lives in a potential nuclear attack.

1978 – The Nobel Peace Prize is jointly awarded to Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat in honor of the Camp David Agreement which brought about a negotiated peace between Egypt and Israel.

1986 – The New York Mets become world champions of baseball, as they beat the Boston Red Sox in Game Seven of the World Series, 8-5.

Musical Milestones

1960 – Soul and R&B sensation Ben E. King records “Spanish Harlem” and “Stand by Me,” launching his successful solo career after leaving The Drifters.

1973 – Gladys Knight & the Pips have their first No. 1 single with “Midnight Train To Georgia,” which stays on top of the pop chart for two weeks and goes on to capture a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group or Chorus.

1975 – Bruce Springsteen’s early career gets a shot in the arm as he lands on the covers of two national news magazines on the same day — Newsweek and Time.

1982 – Prince releases his breakthrough double-album “1999,” which contains the hits “1999” and “Little Red Corvette.” The album peaks at No. 9 a few months later, but climbs to No. 7 on the Billboard album chart following Prince’s death in 2016.

1984 – “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” by Stevie Wonder, marks its third and final week as a No. 1 single.

1990 – Janet Jackson rules the Billboard Hot 100 for a week with “Black Cat,” off her “Rhythm Nation 1814” album.

2001 – “I’m Real (Murder Remix),” by Jennifer Lopez featuring Ja Rule, is in its second and final week as a No. 1 single.

2006 – Amy Winehouse releases her second and final studio album, “Back to Black,” which spawns five singles, including “Rehab” and “You Know I’m No Good.” It goes on to capture Album of the Year honors at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.

On This Day September 28

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Celebrity Birthdays

1934 – Actress-model-animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot

1938 – Legendary soul singer Ben E. King (“Stand by Me,” “This Magic Moment,” “Spanish Harlem”) (d. 2015)

1950 – Screenwriter-director John Sayles (“Return of the Secaucus 7,” “Passion Fish.” “Lone Star,” “Men With Guns”)

1964 – Actress-comedian and political activist Janeane Garofalo (“The Ben Stiller Show,” “Reality Bites,” “The Independent,” “Bad Parents”)

1967 – Oscar-winning actress-producer Mira Sorvino (“Mighty Aphrodite,” “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion,” “Mimic,” “The Replacement Killers,” “Summer of Sam,” “Human Trafficking”)

1968 – Actress Naomi Watts (“Mulholland Drive,” “The Ring,” “I Heart Huckabees,” “King Kong,” “J. Edgar,” “The Impossible,” “Birdman”)

1987 – Actress-singer Hilary Duff (“Lizzie McGuire,” “Cheaper By The Dozen,” “A Cinderella Story,” “Metamorphosis,” “War, Inc.”)

History Highlights

1928 – A landmark event in modern medicine takes place as young Scottish bacteriologist Sir Alexander Fleming accidentally discovers penicillin — one of the world’s first antibiotics. It means that doctors finally have a tool that could completely cure their patients of deadly infectious diseases.

1941 – Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox plays a double-header against the Philadelphia Athletics on the last day of the regular season and gets six hits in eight trips to the plate, to boost his batting average to .406 and become the first player since Bill Terry in 1930 to hit .400.

1960 – Boston Red Sox star Ted Williams thrills fans at Fenway Park when he hits a dramatic home run in the last at-bat of his 21-year career. He becomes the last player to hit .400 in a season. In 1966, Williams is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

1965 – Six years after leading the Cuban Revolution and four years after the failed U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs Invasion, Fidel Castro announces that any Cuban wishing to leave the island was free to do so.

1980 – Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” premieres on PBS, becoming the most-viewed television series to date.

1982 – The first of seven deaths from cyanide-laced Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules is reported near Chicago. The case terrifies Americans and changes the way we buy and consume over-the-counter medications.

1989 – Former Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos, whose corrupt regime spanned 20 years, dies in exile in Hawaii.

Musical Milestones

1963 – Bobby Vinton is in the middle of a three-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Blue Velvet.”

1968 – The Beatles begin nine weeks on top of the singles chart with “Hey Jude.” With a running time of just over seven minutes, the track remains the lengthiest No. 1 single ever and is beloved by radio DJs around the world as the ultimate bathroom break song.

1974 – “Rock Me Gently,” by Andy Kim, is the hottest song on the radio.

1985 – “Money for Nothing,” by Dire Straits, is in the midst of a three-week run as a Billboard chart-topper. Sting lends his talents to the track as a background vocalist. The song captures a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 28th Annual Grammy Awards in 1986.

1991 – Jazz great Miles Davis dies at the age of 65.

1991 – Color Me Badd is in its second and final week on top of the singles chart with “I Adore Mi Amor.”

1996 – Los Del Rio dominate Top 40 radio as their smash, “Macarena,” continues its 14-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100.

2002 – “Dilemma,” by Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland, kicks off its seventh week as a No. 1 single.

2013 – Miley Cyrus kicks off two weeks on top of the pop chart with “Wrecking Ball.”

On this Day May 14

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Celebrity Birthdays

1936 – Singer Bobby Darin (“Splish Splash,” “Mack the Knife,” “If I Were a Carpenter”) (d. 1973)

1944 – Filmmaker George Lucas, the creative mastermind behind the “Star Wars” franchise as well as “American Graffiti” and other movies

1952 – Singer-songwriter and Talking Heads founder David Byrne

1952 – Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis (“Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” the “Back to the Future” movie series, “Forrest Gump,” “Contact,” “Cast Away,” “The Polar Express”)

1961 – Actor Tim Roth (“Reservoir Dogs,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Rob Roy,” “Everyone Says I Love You”)

1969 – Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett (“Elizabeth,” “Lord of the Rings,” “Notes On A Scandal,” “The Aviator,” “Blue Jasmine”)

1984 – Philanthropist and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg

1993 – Actress Miranda Cosgrove (“School of Rock,” “Drake & Josh,” “iCarly,” “Despicable Me”)

History Highlights

1804 – The Lewis & Clark expedition leaves St. Louis, Missouri, on a mission to explore the Northwest from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. President Thomas Jefferson commissioned his private secretary Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, an army captain, to make the journey.

1904 – The Third Olympiad of the modern era, and the first Olympic Games to be held in the United States, opens in St. Louis, Missouri. However, it is far from the international affair of more recent deacdes. Only 12 countries attend, with Americans accounting for 523 of the 630 participating athletes.

1948 – British rule in Palestine comes to an end as the Jewish National Council proclaims the establishment of the State of Israel. Within hours, Arab forces attack the fledgling nation.

1955 – The Soviet Union and seven Eastern European countries sign a treaty establishing the Warsaw Pact, a mutual defense organization that puts the Soviets in command of the armed forces of its partners. The move is aimed at counterbalancing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Pact officially disbands in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union.

1969 – After nine years of production, the last Chevy Corvair rolls off the assembly line. That’s the rear-engine compact car that consumer advocate Ralph Nader took to task citing safety concerns.

1973 – Skylab, America’s first space station, is successfully launched on a mission to observe and photograph the sun as well as to study the biological effects of life in space.

Musical Milestones

1968 – John Lennon and Paul McCartney are guests on NBC’s “Tonight Show” with Joe Garagiola guest-hosting for Johnny Carson. The conversation includes some light-hearted banter about meditation, the forming of Apple Corps. and songwriting.

1977 – Leo Sayer has the No. 1 hit for a week with “When I Need You.”

1988 – Led Zeppelin band members reunite for the Atlantic Records 40th anniversary party at Madison Square Garden in New York, appearing with Jason Bonham, son of John Bonham, on drums. Other performing acts include Foreigner, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Genesis, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Wilson Pickett and Ben E. King.

1988 – “Anything for You” by Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine begins a two-week run on top of the singles chart.

1998 – Known as “Ol’ Blue Eyes” and “The Chairman of the Board,” legendary crooner Frank Sinatra dies at the age of 82. His entertainment career spanned half a century and left such an impression in American culture that “Rolling Stone” magazine labeled him “indisputably the 20th century’s greatest singer of popular song.”

2005 – Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” is in the midst of a four-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.