On this Day: June 18

Musical Milestones

1966 – The Rolling Stones enter their second and final week atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “Paint It Black.”

1967 – A prelude to the “Summer of Love” — the Monterey International Pop Festival — concludes with performances by Jimi Hendrix, The Association, The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane and Lou Rawls.

1977 – “Dreams” becomes Fleetwood Mac’s first and only No. 1 single. The song, written by Stevie Nicks and featuring her lead vocals, goes on to sell more than a million copies. The track is from the band’s Grammy-winning “Rumours” album.

1983 – “Flashdance (What a Feeling),” Irene Cara’s Oscar-winning theme from the movie “Flashdance,” is in the midst of a six-week ride on top of the singles chart.

1994 – All-4-One is in the midst of an 11-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Swear.”

2010 – John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics to The Beatles’ song “A Day In The Life” sells for $1.2 million at an auction at Sotheby’s in New York. The double-sided sheet of paper with notes written in felt marker and blue ink also contained some corrections and other notes penned in red ink.

History Highlights

1812 – U.S. President James Madison signs a declaration of war against Great Britain that Congress authorized, setting the War of 1812 into motion. It is sometimes referred to as the “second war of independence.”

1923 – The first Checker cab is produced at the Checker Cab Manufacturing Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

1961 – “Gunsmoke” airs for the last time on CBS Radio.

1983 – Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space as she sets out on a six-day mission aboard the space shuttle Challenger. During her NASA career, Ride flew on two shuttle missions and later became a champion for science education and a role model for generations. 

1984 – Members of a white nationalist group called The Order shoot and kill controversial radio talk show host Alan Berg in the driveway of his Denver home.

Celebrity Birthdays

1942 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Sir Paul McCartney, former member of The Beatles

1942 – Pulitzer Prize-winning “Chicago Sun-Times” film critic Roger Ebert (d. 2013)

1952 – Actress Carol Kane (“Hester Street,” “Taxi,” “The Princess Bride”)

1952 – Model and actress Isabella Rossellini (“Blue Velvet,” “Cousins,” “Wild at Heart,” “Death Becomes Her,” “Fearless,” “Immortal Beloved,” “Crime of the Century”)

1976 – Country Music Association (CMA) Award-winning vocalist and NBC’s “The Voice” coach Blake Shelton

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Rumours

Fleetwood Mac

Flashdance (Original Soundtrack From The Motion Picture)

Irene Cara, Donna Summer, Michael Sembello and other artists

The Fun of It

Amelia Earhart

Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space

Lynn Sherr

Life Itself: A Memoir

Roger Ebert

Cousins

Starring Ted Danson and Isabella Rossellini, and directed by Joel Schumacher

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On this Day: May 28

Musical Milestones

1966 – Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Percy Sledge begins two weeks with the most popular single on U.S. radio: “When a Man Loves a Woman.”

1966 – Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass reach No.1 on the Billboard album chart with “What Now My Love,” setting a new record with four albums in the Top 10. The other three are “South of the Border,” “Going Places” and “Whipped Cream and Other Delights.”

1976 – The Allman Brothers Band, considered one of the principal architects of Southern rock, breaks up.

1977 – Stevie Wonder is in the midst of a three-week domination of the pop chart with “Sir Duke.”

1983 – Irene Cara commandeers the Billboard Hot 100 with “Flashdance…What a Feeling,” from the “Flashdance” movie soundtrack. The single remains at No. 1 for six weeks.

1983 – More than 750,000 fans attend the four-day US Festival ’83’ which opens in California, featuring The Clash, U2, David Bowie, The Pretenders, Van Halen, Stray Cats, Men At Work, Judas Priest, Stevie Nicks and Ozzy Osbourne.

1994 – “I Swear,” by All-4-One,” is the No. 1 single.

2005 – Gwen Stefani begins her fourth and final week as a chart-topping artist with “Hollaback Girl.”

History Highlights

1892 – The Sierra Club is founded by naturalist John Muir. The organization promotes environmental conservation through public policy and has helped with the development of national parks across the United States.

1957 – National League owners vote unanimously to allow the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers to move to San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively.

1961 – Several internationally read newspapers publish British lawyer Peter Benenson’s article “The Forgotten Prisoners”, launching the Appeal for Amnesty campaign which calls for the release of all those imprisoned around the world for peacefully expressing their beliefs.

1987 – In a daring attempt to ease Cold War tensions, 19-year-old West German pilot Mathias Rust evades Soviet air defenses and lands a private plane in Moscow’s Red Square. He serves 18 months in a Soviet prison for his stunt.

1998 – Phil Hartman, best known for his comedic work on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” (“SNL”) and “NewsRadio” and FOX’s “The Simpsons,” is shot to death in his sleep by his wife, Brynn, in a murder-suicide. The comedian-actor was just 49. 

2014 – Author and poet Maya Angelou, who published more than 30 books, including 1969’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” — a best-selling memoir about the racism and abuse she experienced growing up — dies at the age of 86.

Celebrity Birthdays

1892 – Football, baseball and Olympics star Jim Thorpe (d. 1953)

1908 – James Bond author Ian Fleming (d. 1964)

1944 – Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who serves as attorney for U.S. President Donald Trump

1944 – Grammy-winning R&B vocalist Gladys Knight, who, along with The Pips, had many Top 40 hits, including “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “Midnight Train to Georgia” and “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”

1945 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter John Fogerty, former lead singer of Creedence Clearwater Revival (“Susie Q,” “Proud Mary,” “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” “Centerfield,” “The Old Man Down the Road”)

1968 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Kylie Minogue (“Can’t Get You Out of My Head,” “Slow,” “2 Hearts”)

1977 – Conservative TV personality Elisabeth Hasselbeck, formerly a co-host of TV’s “The View”

1983 – YouTube star and prank video artist Roman Atwood

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The Best of Percy Sledge

Percy Sledge

A Decade of Hits, 1969-1979

The Allman Brothers Band

Cold War

Produced by Jeremy Isaacs

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou

Casino Royale

Ian Fleming

Platinum & Gold Collection

Gladys Knight & The Pips

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