Billy Preston – Time Rewind

On This Day October 19

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On This Day October 11

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Celebrity Birthdays

1884 – First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (d. 1962)

1925 – Crime novelist Elmore Leonard (“Get Shorty,” “Freaky Deaky,” “Glitz”) (d. 2013)

1946 – Singer-songwriter and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Daryl Hall of the duo Hall & Oates

1962 – Actress Joan Cusack (“Broadcast News,” “Working Girl,” “Say Anything…,” “In & Out,” “Runaway Bride,” “Toy Story 2,” “Toy Story 3,” “School of Rock”)

1966 – Actor Luke Perry, best known for the 1990s TV series “Beverly Hills, 90210” (d. 2019)

1968 – Stage, film and TV actress Jane Krakowski (“Ally McBeal,” “30 Rock,” “‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” “Guys and Dolls,” “She Loves Me”)

1969 – Actor Stephen Moyer, best known for playing vampire Bill Compton in the HBO series “True Blood”

1985 – Actress Michelle Trachtenberg (“Harriet the Spy,” “Weeds,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”)

History Highlights

1793 – The death toll from a yellow fever outbreak in what was then the U.S. capital, Philadelphia, reaches 100. Two weeks later, a cold front wipes out the city’s mosquito population, reducing the number of casualties to 20 per day. But by that November, more than 5,000 people had died.

1950 – CBS becomes the first television network to secure a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license to broadcast in color.

1968 – The first manned Apollo mission, Apollo 7, blasts off and transmits the first live TV signals from orbit. The crew orbits Earth 163 times during 10 days and 20 hours in space.

1975 – Late-night television turns edgy with the first broadcast of NBC’s “Saturday Night,” later renamed “Saturday Night Live” and known today as “SNL.” Original cast members include Laraine Newman, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris and Chevy Chase. Comedian George Carlin hosts Episode 1, with musical perfomances by Billy Preston and Janis Ian.

1986 – Following up on their successful November 1985 summit in Geneva, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Reykjavik, Iceland, to continue disarmament talks. While negotiations break down, they pave the way for the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between the Superpowers.

2002 – Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter wins the Nobel Peace Prize “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.”

Musical Milestones

1962 – The Beatles make their first appearance on the U.K. singles chart with “Love Me Do,” which eventually peaks at No. 17. It performs better across the pond on the Billboard singles chart, where it reaches No. 1 on May 30, 1964.

1969 – The Archies wrap up four weeks as chart-toppers with “Sugar Sugar.”

1971 – John Lennon releases “Imagine,” which becomes an international anthem for peace and love and the most successful single of the former Beatle’s solo career. It peaks at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Shortly before his death in 1980, Lennon admitted that much of the song’s content came from his wife, Yoko Ono, and in 2017 she receives a co-writing credit.

1975 – “Bad Blood” by Neil Sedaka, with backup vocals provided by Elton John, begins a three-week run as the No. 1 single.

1975 – “Born to Run” becomes Bruce Springsteen’s first Top 40 hit. The single only climbs as high as No. 23, but propels The Boss’s musical career into the stratosphere.

1986 – Janet Jackson scores her first No. 1 single with “When I Think of You,” off her “Control” album. The track holds the top spot for two weeks.

1997 – Elton John begins 14 weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with his musical tribute to the late Princess Diana, “Candle in the Wind.” The track is an updated version of John’s 1973 recording from the “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” album, which was a homage to screen siren Marilyn Monroe.

2003 – “Baby Boy,” by Beyoncé featuring Sean Paul, is in the second of nine weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

2008 – T.I. (a.k.a. Tip) is No. 1 on the pop chart with “Whatever You Like.”

On This Day September 2

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Celebrity Birthdays

1946 – Grammy-winning singer-keyboardist Billy Preston, who collaborated with the Beatles and Rolling Stones and had big hits of his own, including “Outa-Space,” “Nothing From Nothing,” “Will It Go Round in Circles” (d. 2006)

1948 – Legendary NFL quarterback and sportscaster Terry Bradshaw

1948 – Schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion (d. 1986)

1951 – Actor Mark Harmon (“St. Elsewhere,” “The Presidio,” “Wyatt Earp,” “Chicago Hope,” “The West Wing,” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” “Freaky Friday,” “Weather Girl,” “NCIS”)

1952 – Tennis great Jimmy Connors

1964 – Actor-director and bass player Keanu Reeves (“Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” “Speed,” “The Matrix” trilogy, “A Walk in the Clouds,” “Devil’s Advocate,” “John Wick”)

1966 – Emmy-winning actress Salma Hayek (“Desperado,” “The Faculty,” “Wild Wild West,” “Fools Rush In,” “Frida,” the “Grown Ups” movies, “Puss in Boots,” “Tale of Tales”)

History Highlights

1789 – Congress establishes the U.S. Treasury Department to maintain the day-to-day activities of the federal government.

1945 – Japan officially surrenders to the Allies aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, marking the end of World War II (V-J Day).

1959 – Ford introduces the 90-horsepower, 30 mile-per-gallon Falcon during the first nationwide closed-circuit TV news conference. Marketed as “the small car with the big car feel,” the Falcon becomes an overnight success.

1969 – Personal banking is revolutionized as America’s first automatic teller machine (ATM) goes into service, dispensing cash to customers at Chemical Bank in Rockville Centre (Long Island), New York.

2013 – Endurance swimmer Diana Nyad becomes the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the use of a protective shark cage. The 64-year-old Nyad completes the 110-mile swim from Havana to Key West, through the jellyfish-and shark-infested waters of the Straits of Florida, in approximately 53 hours.

Musical Milestones

1957 – Elvis Presley’s first soundtrack album, “Loving You,” tops the Billboard 200 and spawns the chart-topping hit, “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear.”

1967 – Bobbie Gentry is mid-way through a four-week ride on top of the Billboard singles chart with “Ode to Billie Joe.” Gentry was among the first female country music artists to write and produce her own material.

1972 – Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again (Naturally)” returns to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 after spending four weeks there in July and August.

1986 – Sixteen-year-old Debbie Gibson signs with Atlantic Records, launching a string of 11 chart singles.

1989 – Paula Abdul has the No. 1 single with “Cold Hearted.”

1995 – The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame opens in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Most of the celebration actually takes place at nearby Cleveland Municipal Stadium with a marathon concert featuring a slew of legendary musicians and vocalists.

1995 – Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone,” off his “HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I” album, becomes the first single in Billboard history to debut at No. 1. It is also Jackson’s 13th and final chart-topper.

2000 – Janet Jackson rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “Doesn’t Really Matter.”

2006 – Fergie begins her third and final week at No. 1 on the pop chart with “London Bridge.”

On this Day July 14

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Celebrity Birthdays

1904 – Nobel Prize-winning novelist and short story writer Isaac Bashevis Singer (“The Family Moskat,” “Gimpel, The Fool”) (d. 1991)

1912 – American folk music icon Woody Guthrie (d. 1967)

1913 – Gerald Ford, 38th U.S. president (d. 2006)

1918 – Legendary film director Ingmar Bergman (d. 2007)

1926 – Actor Harry Dean Stanton (“Cool Hand Luke,” “Paris, Texas,” “Repo Man,” “Wild at Heart,” “The Green Mile,” “Big Love”) (d. 2017)

1930 – Emmy-winning actress-singer Polly Bergen (“The Helen Morgan Story,” “Cape Fear,” “The Caretakers”) (d. 2014)

1932 – Former New York Giants defensive lineman-turned-actor-turned-Christian minister Roosevelt “Rosey” Grier

1960 – Golden Globe and Emmy-winning actress Jane Lynch (“Best In Show,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Glee”)

1966 – Actor Matthew Fox (“Lost,” “We Are Marshall,” “Vantage Point,” “Speed Racer”)

1988 – Irish mixed martial arts fighter and professional boxer Conor McGregor

History Highlights

1789 – French revolutionaries and mutinous troops storm and dismantle the Bastille, a royal fortress and prison that had come to symbolize the tyranny of the Bourbon monarchs. This dramatic action signals the beginning of the French Revolution. Today, it is observed as France’s national holiday of Bastille Day.

1881 – William H. Bonney, better known as the outlaw Billy the Kid, is shot and killed at the age of 21 by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. The gunfighter, also known as Henry McCarty, had led authorities on a three-month manhunt after escaping from prison where he was awaiting execution on murder charges.

1955 – Already well-established for its Beetle, Volkswagen introduces the iconic, rear-engine Karmann-Ghia coupe in Europe. One year later, VW brings the vehicle to the U.S. auto market, and in 1958, rolls out a convertible model. The Karmann-Ghia remains in production through 1974.

1965 – Mariner 4 takes the first close-up photos of Mars. Its blurry views of craters and bare ground lead some scientists to believe that Mars has an environment that is similar to the moon.

1966 – One of the nation’s most notorious killers, Richard Speck, brutally murders eight student nurses at the home they share on Chicago’s South Side. Authorities conduct a manhunt and capture Speck two days later. He spends the rest of his life in prison until his death from a heart attack in 1991 at age 49.

1968 – Atlanta Braves slugger Henry “Hank” Aaron becomes the seventh major league player to achieve 500 career home runs when he knocks the ball out of the park during a 4-2 win over the San Francisco Giants.

1969 – The U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve officially remove the $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 bills from circulation.

2016 – A terrorist drives a truck at high speed down a crowded sidewalk in Nice, France during Bastille Day celebrations, killing 86 people, including 10 children. More than 300 other people are injured.

Musical Milestones

1962 – “Roses Are Red (My Love),” by Bobby Vinton, is the No. 1 single.

1973 – Phil Everly smashes his guitar during a concert in California, storms off the stage and announces the breakup of The Everly Brothers. The duo will go nearly 10 years before performing together again.

1973 – Billy Preston enjoys his second and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Will It Go Round in Circles.” The track is the first of two No. 1 hits for the man who once performed with The Beatles.

1979 – Donna Summer scores her third No. 1 single with “Bad Girls” while the album of the same name begins a five-week run at No. 1.

1984 – “When Doves Cry,” by Prince, is in the midst of five weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The track is from his “Purple Rain” album.

1990 – New Kids On The Block begin their third and final week on top of the singles chart with “Step By Step.”

2001 – Usher enters his second week on top of the singles chart with “U Remind Me.” The track holds the top spot for four weeks.

2012 – “Call Me Maybe,” by Carly Rae Jepsen, is midway through a nine-week ride atop the Billboard Hot 100.

On this Day June 21

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Celebrity Birthdays

1905 – Nobel prize-winning philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre (s. 1980)

1921 – Actress Jane Russell, considered a Hollywood sex symbol during the 1940s and 50s (“The Outlaw,” “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” “Son of Paleface”) (d. 2011)

1925 – Oscar and Tony-winning actress Maureen Stapleton (“Reds,” “Cocoon”) (d. 2006)

1932 – Grammy-winning film composer and arranger Lalo Schifrin (“Mission: Impossible,” Dirty Harry“ films, “ “Bullitt”)

1940 – Emmy-winning actress Mariette Hartley (“Peyton Place,” “The Incredible Hulk”)

1944 – Singer-songwriter Ray Davies, who founded the band The Kinks

1947 – Actress Meredith Baxter (“Bridget Loves Bernie,” “Family Ties”)

1973 – Actress-singer Juliette Lewis (“Cape Fear,” “Natural Born Killers,” “Old School,” “Whip It”)

1979 – Actor Chris Pratt (“Everwood,” “The O.C.,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Jurassic World,” “Fallen Kingdom,” “Jurassic World Dominion”)

1982 – Prince William, Duke of Cambridge

1985 – Singer-songwriter and model Lana Del Rey, born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (“Video Games,” “Summertime Sadness”)

History Highlights

1956 – Playwright Arthur Miller defies the House Committee on Un-American Activities and refuses to name suspected communists. The move garners him a contempt of court conviction which is later reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

1964 – Three civil rights workers—James E. Chaney and Andrew Goodman, both 21, and Michael Schwerner, 24—disappear in Mississippi. It’s later determined that they were killed by a group of Ku Klux Klansmen. In 2005, exactly 41 years later, Edgar Killen is convicted of manslaughter in trio’s deaths. The case was dramatized in the 1988 movie “Mississippi Burning.”

1982 – A jury finds John Hinckley, Jr. not guilty of attempted murder by reason of insanity in connection with the shooting of President Ronald Reagan outside a Washington, D.C. hotel.

1989 – The U.S. Supreme Court decides in the case of Texas v. Johnson that burning the American flag is protected under the First Amendment.

Musical Milestones

1964 – Twenty-year-old Peter Roberts of Liverpool, England climbs a drainpipe to the eighth floor of the Sydney, Australia hotel where The Beatles are staying to meet the band. John Lennon is so impressed, he invites him in to their room for a drink.

1969 – “Get Back,” by The Beatles with Billy Preston, begins its fifth and final week as a Billboard No. 1.

1975 – The Captain & Tennille are chart-toppers with “Love Will Keep Us Together,” the duo’s first big hit which holds at No. 1 for four weeks.

1980 – “Funkytown,” by Lipps Inc., kicks off its fourth and final week as a Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper. The track, off the band’s “Mouth to Mouth” album, is considered the swan song for the disco era.

1981 – Donald Fagan and Walter Becker announce the break-up of Steely Dan. However, in 1993, the group resumes playing concerts and in the early 2000s releases two albums of new material, the first of which earns a Grammy for Album of the Year.

1997 – “I’ll Be Missing You,” by Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112, tops the Billboard Hot 100. It remains at No. 1 for 11 weeks and goes on to win a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.

2008 – Lil Wayne featuring Static claims the top spot on the singles chart with “Lollipop.”

On this Day June 14

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Celebrity Birthdays

1811 – American abolitionist and author Harriet Beecher Stowe, who rose to fame in with the 1851 publication of her best-selling book, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” (d. 1896)

1909 – Actor and folk singer Burl Ives (d. 1995)

1931 – Actress Marla Gibbs, best known for her role as the sarcastic maid in the TV sitcom “The Jeffersons”

1931 – Acclaimed Motown saxophonist and vocalist Junior Walker, born Autry DeWalt II, who led the 60s R&B band Jr. Walker & the All Stars (d. 1995)

1946 – U.S. President Donald Trump

1961 – Singer-songwriter Boy George, born George Alan O’Dowd, best known as lead singer of the 80s pop band Culture Club

1969 – Retired German tennis great Steffi Graf, who won 22 grand slam singles titles as well as Olympic gold

History Highlights

1777 – The Continental Congress passes the Flag Act, a resolution stating that “the flag of the United States be 13 alternate stripes red and white” and that “the Union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.” The national flag becomes known as the “Stars and Stripes.”

1885 – America’s first Flag Day is celebrated when Wisconsin schoolteacher Bernard J. (B.J.) Cigrand arranges for his students to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as “Flag Birthday.” For years, Cigrand — known today as the “Father of Flag Day” — lobbied to have June 14 designated for a national celebration of the American flag. In 1948, 17 years after Cigrand’s death, President Harry S. Truman signed a Congressional Act into law, establishing a voluntary observance, but not an official national holiday.

1922 – President Warren G. Harding dedicates a memorial site in Baltimore for “Star Spangled Banner” composer Francis Scott Key, and in addressing the crowd, becomes the first U.S. president to have his voice transmitted by radio. Harding was the first president to own a radio and to have one installed in the White House.

1951 – Engineers take the wraps off the first commercial computer, the UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer).

1954 – On Flag Day, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill into law adding the words “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance. Exactly two years later, he signs another measure into law officially declaring “In God We Trust” to be the nation’s official motto.

1968 – Acclaimed pediatrician and author, Dr. Benjamin Spock, an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War, is convicted of aiding draft resistors. His two-year prison term is reversed on appeal in 1969, but for the rest of his life, Spock continues to engage in political protests and peace activism.

1976 – “The Gong Show,” a prime-time amateur talent contest, premieres on NBC with host Chuck Barris.

1982 – Argentina surrenders to Great Britain, ending the Falkland Islands War.

1985 – Shiite Hezbollah gunmen hijack TWA Flight 847 from Athens, Greece to Rome, forcing the plane to land in Beirut, Lebanon, where they execute a U.S. Navy diver on board.

Musical Milestones

1969 – “Get Back,” by The Beatles with Billy Preston, is in the midst of a five-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1975 – “Sister Golden Hair,” by the band America, begins one week on top of the Billboard singles chart.

1975 – Janis Ian releases “At Seventeen,” which peaks at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and goes on to win a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, beating out Linda Ronstadt, Olivia Newton-John and Helen Reddy.

1980 – Billy Joel starts a six-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart with “Glass Houses.” It becomes Joel’s second chart-topping album and contains his first No. 1 single, “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me.” It is nominated for an Album of the Year Grammy, but Joel wins a Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.

1986 – Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald begin three weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with their duet “On My Own.” LaBelle and McDonald really were on their own, recording their vocal parts separately. It was only after the song reached No. 1 that they met.

1994 – Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe-winning composer-conductor-arranger Henry Mancini (“Moon River,” “Love Theme from Romeo And Juliet,” “The Pink Panther” and “Peter Gunn” themes) dies at the age of 70.

1995 – Some 60 million viewers tune in for Diane Sawyer’s interview with Michael Jackson and his bride, Lisa Marie Presley, on ABC’s PrimeTime Live. The widely advertised “no holds barred” interview was the first Jackson had given since being accused of child molestation by a 13-year-old boy in 1993.

1997 – “I’ll Be Missing You,” by Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112, kicks off 11 weeks as a No. 1 single.

2003 – “21 Questions,” by 50 Cent featuring Nate Dogg, is in the middle of four weeks on top of the pop chart.

On this Day June 7

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Celebrity Birthdays

1905 – Former U.S. boxing heavyweight champion James Braddock (d. 1974)

1909 – Oscar-winning actress Jessica Tandy (“Firefox,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Batteries Not Included”) (d. 1994)

1917 – Legendary entertainer and “Rat Pack” member Dean Martin (“Memories Are Made of This,” “That’s Amore,” “Everybody Loves Somebody,” “Volare,” “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head?” (d. 1995)

1940 – Grammy-winning pop, blues and soul-singing superstar and “The Voice UK” coach Tom Jones (“What’s New Pussycat,” “It’s Not Unusual,” “She’s a Lady”)

1952 – Actor Liam Neeson (“The Mission,” “Schindler’s List,” “Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace,” the “Taken” film series, “Michael Collins,” “Love Actually,” “Cold Pursuit”)

1958 – Grammy-winning pop sensation Prince, born Prince Rogers Nelson (d. 2016)

1981 – Retired tennis star-turned reality TV personality Anna Kournikova

1988 – Actor Michael Cera (“Arrested Development,” “Superbad,” “Juno,” “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” “Twin Peaks”)

History Highlights

1913 – A team of four Alaskans stages the first successful ascent of Denali (formerly known as Mount McKinley), the highest point on the American continent at 20,310 feet.

1937 – Known as the “Blonde Bombshell” and the “Platinum Blonde,” and considered one of the most gifted and blatantly sensual Hollywood stars of the 1930s, actress Jean Harlow dies of uremic poisoning (acute kidney failure) at the age of 26.

1942 – Six months after Japan’s devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Midway ends with a U.S. victory over Japan in one of the most decisive naval showdowns of World War II. In the four-day sea and air battle, the outnumbered U.S. Pacific Fleet destroys four Japanese aircraft carriers and loses only one of its own — the USS Yorktown — turning the tide against the previously invincible Japanese navy.

1955 – The TV game show “The $64,000 Question” premieres on CBS, hosted by Hal March.

1965 – In Griswold v. Connecticut, the U.S. Supreme Court guarantees the right to privacy, including the freedom from government intrusion into matters of birth control.

1975 – Sony revolutionizes home entertainment when it introduces consumers to the Betamax videocassette recorder.

Musical Milestones

1963 – Four weeks after recording it, The Rolling Stones release their debut single, “Come On.” It’s the cover of a 1961 Chuck Berry song. The track climbs as high as No. 20 on the U.K. singles chart.

1969 – “The Johnny Cash Show” debuts on ABC. It features musical guests like Louis Armstrong, Arlo Guthrie, Glen Campbell and Linda Ronstadt before going off the air in 1971.

1969 – “Get Back,” by The Beatles with Billy Preston, is in the middle of a five-week run atop the Billboard Hot 100.

1975 – Elton John’s “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, becoming the first album ever to do so. It spawns the hit single, “Someone Saved My Life Tonight.”

1975 – “Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” by John Denver, is the No. 1 single.

1977 – Led Zeppelin play the first of six sold out nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden during their 11th and final North American tour. The most expensive ticket costs $10.50.

1986 – Madonna’s “Live to Tell,” off her “True Blue” album, becomes the pop superstar’s third No. 1 single.

2003 – “21 Questions,” by 50 Cent featuring Nate Dogg, tops the Billboard Hot 100.

2012 – Bob Welch, an early member of Fleetwood Mac and who enjoyed a successful solo career with hits like “Sentimental Lady” and “Ebony Eyes,” dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 66.

On this Day June 6

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Celebrity Birthdays

1939 – Singer-songwriter Gary U.S. Bonds, born Gary Anderson (“New Orleans,” “Quarter to Three”)

1947 – Actor Robert Englund, best known for playing serial killer Freddy Krueger in the “A Nightmare on Elm Street” movies

1954 – Tony-winning actor-playwright Harvey Fierstein (“Torch Song Trilogy,” “Independence Day,” “Mrs. Doubtfire”)

1955 – Stand-up comedian, actress and singer Sandra Bernhard

1959 – Stand-up comedian and “Saturday Night Live” (“SNL”) alumnus Colin Quinn

1967 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Paul Giamatti (“Private Parts,” “American Splendor,” “Sideways,” “Cinderella Man,” “John Adams,” “Love & Mercy,” “Billions”)

History Highlights

1933 – The first drive-in movie theater opens in Camden, New Jersey. Admission is 25 cents per car.

1934 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a law establishing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

1944 – Allied forces cross the English Channel and land on the beaches of Normandy, France, beginning the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control during World War II. D-Day becomes the largest naval, air and land operation in history. More than 150,000 troops, representing the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, come ashore in five designated landing zones.

1971 – The curtain comes down on a Sunday night institution, as “The Ed Sullivan Show” ends a 23-year run on CBS. The last pop act to appear on the program was Gladys Knight & the Pips.

1971 – The Soviets achieve another first in space with the launch of Soyuz-11. The vessel is the first ship to dock with an orbiting space station.

Musical Milestones

1962 – The Beatles, with Pete Best on drums, gather at EMI Studios in London for an audition that doubles as their first recording session. They record “Besame Mucho,” “Love Me Do,” “PS I Love You” and “Ask Me Why.”

1964 – The Dixie Cups give The Beatles’ “Love Me Do” the boot and begin three weeks on top of the Billboard singles chart with “Chapel of Love.”

1965 – The Rolling Stones release “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” in the U.S. (the track is released in the U.K. that August), and within four weeks, it becomes a No. 1 hit.

1972 – David Bowie releases what many still consider the definitive rock ‘n’ roll concept album: “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.”

1982 – The “Peace Sunday, We Have A Dream” antinuclear concert draws 85,000 people to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California for a musical lineup featuring Tom Petty, Crosby Stills & Nash, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Stevie Nicks, Jackson Browne and more. Dylan and Joan Baez perform duets of “Blowin’ In The Wind” and “With God On Our Side.”

1987 – Kim Wilde’s cover of The Supremes’ 1966 hit, “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” is the most popular single.

1992 – Hip hop duo Kris Kross maintain a hold on the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Jump.”

2006 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and keyboard player Billy Preston dies of kidney failure at age 59. Over the years, Preston collaborated with some of the greatest names in the music industry, including The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

On this Day May 31

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Celebrity Birthdays

1819 – Poet Walt Whitman (d. 1892)

1908 – Actor Don Ameche ( “Trading Places,” “Cocoon”) (d. 1993)

1930 – Oscar-winning actor-director Clint Eastwood (“A Fistful of Dollars,” “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” and the “Dirty Harry” movies, “Unforgiven,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “Mystic River,” “Gran Torino,” “American Sniper,” “Sully”)

1938 – Singer-songwriter Peter Yarrow of the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary

1943 – Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Namath, who was a star quarterback for the New York Jets

1949 – Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Tom Berenger (“Platoon,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “Rough Riders,” “Training Day,” “Inception,” “Hatfields & McCoys”)

1960 – Emmy-winning actor-comedian-writer Chris Elliott (“The David Letterman Show,” “Get a Life,” “Groundhog Day,” “There’s Something About Mary,” “How I Met Your Mother”)

1961 – Actress Lea Thompson (“Back to the Future” trilogy, “Some Kind of Wonderful,” “Caroline in the City”)

1965 – Actress-model Brooke Shields (“Pretty Baby,” “The Blue Lagoon,” “Endless Love,” “Suddenly Susan”)

1976 – Golden Globe-winning actor Colin Farrell (“Tigerland,” “American Outlaws,” “Phone Booth,” “Minority Report,” “In Bruges,” “Horrible Bosses,” “Crazy Heart,” “Miami Vice,” “True Detective”)

History Highlights

1790 – The first U.S. copyright law is enacted to protect books, maps and other original materials.

1889 – Heavy rains cause the South Fork Dam to collapse, sending 20 million tons of water into Johnstown, Pennsylvania and claiming the lives of more than 2,200 people.

1911 – An estimated 100,000 people gather in Belfast, Ireland for the launch of the RMS Titanic into the River Lagan. The ill-fated passenger liner, still missing its distinctive smokestacks, is towed to a berth where its engines, stacks and superstructure are installed and the interior is fitted out. Less than a year later, in one of the world’s greatest disasters, the ship sinks on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic. More than 1,500 passengers are crew are killed.

1921 – In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a White mob begins a horrific two-day attack on Black residents of the city’s thriving Greenwood district, burning homes and businesses to the ground and killing at least 300 Black Americans. Long misrepresented as a race riot rather than mass murder, the Tulsa Race Massacre becomes one of the bloodiest incidents of racial violence in American history.

1962 – The architect of the Holocaust is executed in Israel. Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi SS officer who organized Adolf Hitler’s “final solution of the Jewish question,” hangs for his crimes against humanity.

1977 – The Trans-Alaska Pipeline is completed. Built after the 1973 oil crisis caused a sharp rise in oil prices in the United States, it is one of the largest pipeline systems in the world.

1996 – Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres is narrowly defeated in national elections by Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

Musical Milestones

1966 – British vocalist Lulu and actor Sidney Poitier begin shooting scenes for the movie “To Sir, With Love” at England’s Pinewood Studios. Poitier plays a teacher in London’s tough East End and Lulu is one of his students.

1969 – “Get Back,” by The Beatles with Billy Preston, is in the midst of a five-week ride on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1975 – Freddy Fender claims the No. 1 slot on the singles chart with “Before the Next Teardrop Falls.”

1980 – “Funkytown,” by Lipps Inc., is the No.1 single and holds the top spot for four weeks. The track, off the band’s “Mouth to Mouth” album, is considered the swan song for the disco era.

1997 – The sibling trio, Hanson, rules the pop chart with “MMMBop.”

2000 – Soul singer Johnnie Taylor dies of a heart attack shortly after his 62nd birthday. Taylor had been a member of The Highway QCs and The Five Echoes, and in 1957, replaced Sam Cooke in The Soul Stirrers. He is best known for his 1976 chart-topper, “Disco Lady.”

2008 – “Lollipop,” by Lil Wayne featuring Static Major, kicks off four weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

On this Day May 24

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Celebrity Birthdays

1941 – Grammy, Golden Globe and Oscar-winning singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, born Robert Zimmerman

1943 – Actor Gary Burghoff, most remembered for playing Radar O’Reilly in the movie and CBS sitcom “M*A*S*H”

1944 – Grammy Hall of Fame vocalist Patti LaBelle, most remembered for her 1974 smash, “Lady Marmalade”

1945 – Actress-business magnate Priscilla Presley, who performed in the “Naked Gun” movie series and the prime-time TV series “Dallas”

1955 – Grammy winning singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash (“Seven Year Ache,” “I Don’t Know Why You Don’t Want Me”)

1960 – Actress Kristin Scott Thomas (“Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “The English Patient,” “The Horse Whisperer,” “Gosford Park,” “Nowhere Boy”)

1965 – Actor John C. Reilly (“Boogie Nights,” “Chicago,” “Talladega Nights,” “Step Brothers,” “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “The Sisters Brothers,” Stan & Ollie”)

History Highlights

1775 – Meeting in Philadelphia, the Second Continental Congress unanimously elects John Hancock of Massachusetts as president. That is why Hancock has the honor of being the first to sign the Declaration of Independence.

1883 – New York’s iconic Brooklyn Bridge opens, concluding a 14-year, $18 million construction project that cost more than two dozen workers their lives. The span links the boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan across the East River.

1899 – The first public parking garage in the U.S. opens in Boston as part of the Back Bay Cycle & Motor Company. It is advertised as a “stable for renting, sale, storage and repair of motor vehicles.”

1935 – Major League Baseball’s first night game is played at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the Reds beating the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1.

1976 – Service aboard the Concorde supersonic (SST) airliner begins between London and Washington, D.C.

1991 – “Thelma & Louise,” starring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis and directed by Ridley Scott, opens in U.S. movie theaters. The film earns six Academy Award nominations, including Best Director for Scott and Best Actress for both Sarandon and Davis, but wins for Best Original Screenplay. It introduces a young, unknown Brad Pitt and becomes a fixture of American pop culture with the two main characters representing strong women overcoming obstacles in a male-dominated world.

1991 – The firefighting drama “Backdraft,” starring Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Robert De Niro, Scott Glenn and Donald Sutherland, and directed by Ron Howard, opens in U.S. theaters. The film goes on to receive three Academy Award nominations.

Musical Milestones

1952 – “Blue Tango,” an instrumental composed and conducted by Leroy Anderson, tops the Billboard pop chart.

1969 – “Get Back,” by The Beatles with Billy Preston, begins five weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. A different mix of the song is later produced as the final track of the “Let It Be” album, the band’s last album, released just after breaking up.

1974 – Legendary jazz composer, pianist and bandleader Duke Ellington dies of lung cancer and pneumonia at the age of 75. “The Duke’s” career spanned more than half a century, during which he composed thousands of songs for the stage, screen and contemporary songbook.

1975 – Earth Wind & Fire climb to the top of the singles chart with “Shining Star,” the group’s first and only No. 1 in the U.S. The track goes on to capture a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

1986 – Whitney Houston reigns over the Billboard Hot 100 with “Greatest Love of All.”

1997 – “MMMBop,” by Hanson, kicks off three weeks on top of the pop chart. The band consists of three brothers from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

1997 – The Spice Girls land reach No. 1 on the Billboard album chart with their debut production, “Spice.” They become the third all-female band to ever top the album chart, after The Supremes and The Go-Go’s.

2003 – Sean Paul wraps up three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart with “Get Busy.”