On This Day: March 17

On This Day March 17

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1919 – Jazz pianist-vocalist and first African American variety TV show host Nat King Cole, born Nathaniel Adams Coles (“The Christmas Song,” “Unforgettable,” “L-O-V-E”) (d. 1965)

1944 – Singer-songwriter John Sebastian of The Lovin’ Spoonful (“Do You Believe In Magic?,” “Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind?,” “Summer In The City,” “Welcome Back”)

1949 – Actor Patrick Duffy, best known for his portrayal of Bobby Ewing in the popular TV series “Dallas”

1951 – Actor Kurt Russell (“Escape From New York,” “The Thing,” “Silkwood,” “Backdraft,” “Stargate,” “Breakdown,” “Dark Blue,” the “Fast & Furious” movies, “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2” )

1955 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor and American military service members advocate Gary Sinise (“Forrest Gump,” “Apollo 13,” “Truman,” “Ransom,” “CSI: NY”)

1964 – Actor and “Brat Pack” member Rob Lowe (“St. Elmo’s Fire,” “About Last Night,” “Tommy Boy,” “Wayne’s World,” “The West Wing,” “Brothers & Sisters,” “Parks and Recreation,” “The Grinder”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

461 A.D. – Saint Patrick, Christian missionary, bishop and apostle of Ireland, dies at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland. For thousands of years, the Irish and others have observed his passing as a religious holiday.

1762 – The world’s first Saint Patrick’s Day parade on record takes place in New York City — 14 years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence — by Irish soldiers serving in the British army. As more Irish immigrants come to the U.S. in the mid-19th century following the potato famine, parade attendance swells and new parades sprout in other cities.

1949 – The first car to carry the Porsche name, the 356, is introduced at the Geneva Motor Show. A 356 Coupé and 356 Cabriolet grab attention in the main hall of the world’s largest automotive show. By 1965, about 78,000 units of the 356 had been built.

1969 – Golda Meir becomes the first female prime minister of Israel. 

2000 – “Erin Brockovich” opens in U.S. theaters, starring Julia Roberts and Albert Finney, and directed by Steven Soderbergh. The film garners five Oscar nominations and goes on to win one — Best Actress for Roberts, who, with this production, becomes the first actress to command a $20 million paycheck.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1956 – “The Poor People of Paris,” by Les Baxter, tops the Billboard Most Played by Jockeys chart and remains there for four weeks. A week later it begins four- and six-week dominations of the Best Sellers in Stores and Top 100 charts, respectively. 

1958 – The Champs kick off five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Best Sellers in Stores chart (precursor to the Hot 100) with “Tequila.” At the first Grammy Awards ceremony the following May, the song captures Best R&B Performance honors.

1962  – “Hey! Baby,” by Bruce Channel, is in the middle of a three-week run at No. 1 on the pop chart.

1973 – Roberta Flack begins a fourth week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with the Grammy-winning smash “Killing Me Softly.”

1978 – New at the movies: “American Hot Wax,” a film about legendary DJ Alan Freed, who was instrumental in introducing and popularizing rock ‘n’ roll in the 1950s. Freed’s career was destroyed by the payola scandal that hit the broadcasting industry in the early 1960s.

1984 – Van Halen’s “Jump” sits tight during a five-week ride atop the Billboard Hot 100.

1990 – Janet Jackson enjoys her third and final week as a Billboard chart-topper with “Escapade,” off her “Rhythm Nation 1814” album.

2001 – “Stutter,” by Joe featuring Mystikal, begins its fourth and final week as a No. 1 single. 

2007 – “This is Why I’m Hot,” by MIMS, is in its second and final week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

2012 – “We Are Young,” by Fun featuring Janelle Monáe, begins six weeks at No. 1 on the pop chart.

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On This Day: December 7

On This Day December 7

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1915 – Tony and Emmy-winning actor Eli Wallach (“The Misfits,” “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” “Nuts,” “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”) (d. 2014)

1932 – Oscar-winning actress Ellen Burstyn (“The Exorcist,” “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”)

1947 – Baseball Hall of Famer and former Cincinnati Reds catcher Johnny Bench

1949 – Grammy-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer-songwriter and actor Tom Waits (“Jersey Girl,” “Hold On,” “One From the Heart”)

1956 – Basketball Hall of Famer and former Indiana Pacers coach/legendary Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird

1979 – Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles (“Love Song,” “King of Anything”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1941 – Japanese forces launch a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, thrusting the U.S. into World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt calls it “a date which will live in infamy.”

1963 – Decades before the DVR and years before the first Super Bowl, instant replay is used for the first time during an Army-Navy college football game. As the CBS broadcast replays Rollie Stichweh’s winning touchdown, commentator Lindsey Nelson tells viewers, “Ladies and gentlemen, Army did not score again!”

1972 – Apollo 17 hurtles toward space, carrying a three-man crew to the last moon landing of the Apollo program.

1982 – The nation’s first execution by lethal injection takes place at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. Charles Brooks, Jr. was convicted of kidnapping and murdering an auto mechanic.

1993 – Colin Ferguson opens fire on a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) commuter train after it pulls out of New York’s Penn Station, killing six and injuring 19. Other passengers overpower Ferguson when he stops to reload his pistol. The incident comes to be known as the Long Island Rail Road Massacre.

2001 – The heist film “Ocean’s Eleven,” starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle, Andy Garcia and Julia Roberts, and directed by Steven Soderbergh, opens in theaters. It is a remake of the 1960 movie of the same name that starred “Rat Pack” members Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr., along with Angie Dickinson.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1963 – The Singing Nun begins a four-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Dominique,” which goes on to sell 1.5 million copies in the U.S. and win a Grammy for the year’s best Gospel song.

1974 – One-hit wonder Carl Douglas chops his way to the top of the singles chart with “Kung Fu Fighting.” The song, which holds at No. 1 for two weeks, sells 11 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time.

1985 – “Broken Wings,” by Mr. Mister, begins two weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1991 – U2 conquer the Billboard album chart with “Achtung Baby,” featuring “One,” “Mysterious Ways,” “Even Better Than The Real Thing” and other popular tracks.

2002 – Eminem is in the midst of a 12-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100 with “Lose Yourself.” The track, from his “8 Mile” movie soundtrack, becomes the first rap song to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song. It also garners Eminem two Grammys.

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On This Day: October 28

On This Day October 28

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1914 – Physician and medical researcher Jonas Salk, who developed the first safe and effective polio vaccine (d. 1995)

1927 – Grammy-winning jazz vocalist and actress Cleo Laine

1936 – Grammy-winning country music singer-fiddler Charlie Daniels, best known for his 1979 smash “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”

1944 – Actor Dennis Franz (“Die Hard 2,” “NYPD Blue,” “City of Angels”)

1949 – U.S. Olympic decathlon gold medalist and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner, born Bruce Jenner

1952 – Actress Annie Potts (“Ghostbusters,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Toy Story,” “Toy Story 2”)

1955 – Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates

1967 – Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts (“Mystic Pizza,” “Flatliners,” “Steel Magnolias,” “Pretty Woman,” “Erin Brockovich,” “Closer”)

1974 – Grammy and Golden Globe-winning actor-musician Joaquin Phoenix (“Gladiator,” “Walk the Line,” “The Master,” “Her”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1886 – The Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from the people of France to the U.S., is dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland.

1919 – Congress overrides President Woodrow Wilson’s veto of the Volstead Act, paving the way for Prohibition, which remains in effect until passage of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution in 1933.

1922 – The Princeton Tigers take on the Chicago Maroons in the first nationally broadcast college football game in U.S. history. Telephone lines carry the play-by-play from Chicago’s Stagg Field to radio receivers around the country. The Tigers prevail and ultimately go 8 and 0 in the 1922 season, defeating Harvard and Yale to win the Big Three championship.

1962 – The world is pulled back from the brink of nuclear war when the Soviet Union and United States reach an agreement that ends the Cuban Missile Crisis. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev agrees to remove missiles from Cuba in exchange for a U.S. promise to respect Cuba’s territorial sovereignty.

1965 – With the final stainless steel section set into place, construction is completed on the iconic Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.

1998 – President Bill Clinton signs the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) into law to strengthen existing federal copyright protections against new threats posed by the Internet.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1956 – Elvis Presley makes his second appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” and the host presents him with a gold record for “Love Me Tender.”

1967 – Lulu is in the midst of a five-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the theme from the movie “To Sir With Love.”

1972 –  Stevie Wonder releases “Talking Book,” the album that gives us the Grammy-winning “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” and “Superstition.”

1977 – Queen’s “News of the World” is released. The sixth studio album by the British rockers contains two tracks that go on to become Billboard smashes: “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.”

1978 – The hottest song on the radio is “Hot Child in the City” by Nick Gilder.

1989 – Janet Jackson starts a four-week run at No. 1 on the album chart with “Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814,” which contains a record seven Top 5 hit singles, including “Miss You Much,” “Escapade” and “Rhythm Nation.”

2000 – “Come on Over Baby (All I Want Is You),” by Christina Aguilera, is in the middle of a four-week run as a No. 1 single.

2006 – “Money Maker,” by Ludacris featuring Pharrell, kicks off two weeks on top of the pop chart.

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