Kiss – Time Rewind

On This Day April 27

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On This Day January 30

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Celebrity Birthdays

1882 – Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR), 32nd U.S. president (d. 1945)

1930 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor Gene Hackman (“The French Connection,” “The Poseidon Adventure,” “Superman,” “Reds,” “Unforgiven,” “The Firm,” “Crimson Tide,” “Get Shorty,” “The Royal Tenenbaums”)

1937 – Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave (“Murder on the Orient Express,” “Julia,” “The Bostonians,” “Mrs. Dalloway,” “Howard’s End,” “Girl, Interrupted”)

1941 – Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who previously served as Defense Secretary under President George H. W. Bush

1951 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Phil Collins, formerly of the rock band Genesis (“In the Air Tonight,” “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now),” “One More Night,” “Sussudio,” “Two Hearts,” “Another Day in Paradise”)

1974 – Oscar-winning actor Christian Bale (“Empire of the Sun,” “American Psycho,” “The Machinist,” “Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Fighter,” “American Hustle,” “The Big Short,” “Vice”)

History Highlights

1933 – Adolf Hitler is appointed and sworn in as Chancellor of Germany.

1933 – “The Lone Ranger” debuts on Detroit radio station WXYZ, introducing listeners to the legendary “masked rider of the plains.” The show remains on Detroit radio until the mid 1940s. The three main actors who played the Lone Ranger were George Seaton (in 1933), Earle Graser (1933-1941), and Brace Beemer (1941-1954).

1948 – Mohandas Gandhi (also known as Mahatma Gandhi), the political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement and a global advocate for non-violent civil disobedience, is assassinated in New Delhi by a Hindu fanatic.

1956 – Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s home is bombed by an unidentified white supremacist in retaliation for the Montgomery Bus Boycott. No one is injured, and shortly after the attack, King preaches non-violence to a crowd that had gathered near the site of the blast.

1972 – In Londonderry, Northern Ireland, 13 unarmed civil rights demonstrators are shot and killed by British Army paratroopers in an event that becomes known as “Bloody Sunday.” The protesters, all Northern Catholics, were marching in opposition to the British policy of internment of suspected Irish nationalists.

1994 – American speed skater Dan Jansen sets a new world record of 35.76 at the World Sprint Championships in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Musical Milestones

1961 – “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” by The Shirelles, begins two weeks on top of the pop chart. Co-written by legendary singer-songwriter Carole King, the recording is the first by an African American girl group to reach No. 1.

1969 – The Beatles entertain for the last time in public when they play a free rooftop concert above the London headquarters of Apple Records. Throngs of passersby gather below to take in the music.

1973 – KISS makes its first-ever concert appearance, performing at the Popcorn Pub in Queens, New York (later known as Coventry). About 10 guests attend and, according to bassist Gene Simmons, the band earned $50 for playing two sets.

1982 – “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do),” by Daryl Hall & John Oates, becomes the duo’s fourth single to top the Billboard Hot 100.

1988 – The Australian rock band INXS rules the singles chart for a week with “Need You Tonight.” The track, from the “Kick” album, is the group’s only No. 1 in the U.S.

1999 – Britney Spears kicks off two weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “…Baby One More Time,” her debut single.

2010 – Ke$ha rules the pop chart with “Tik Tok.”

On This Day January 20

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Celebrity Birthdays

1896 – Oscar-winning comedian-actor-singer and writer George Burns, born Nathan Birnbaum (“The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show,” “The Sunshine Boys,” “Oh, God!”) (d. 1996)

1920 – Actor DeForest Kelley, who played Dr. “Bones” McCoy in the “Star Trek” TV and movie series (d. 1999)

1920 – Italian film director Federico Fellini (La strada,” “Le notti di Cabiria,” “8 1/2,” “Amarcord”) (d. 1993)

1930 – Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to set foot on the moon

1946 – Director David Lynch (“Eraserhead,” “The Elephant Man,” “Blue Velvet,” “Twin Peaks,” “Wild at Heart,” “Lost Highway,” “Mulholland Drive”)

1952 – Singer-songwriter and guitarist Paul Stanley, born Stanley Bert Eisen, of the rock band Kiss

1966 – Actor Rainn Wilson, best known for his role as Dwight Schrute in the TV comedy, “The Office.”

History Highlights

1841 – During the First Opium War, China cedes the island of Hong Kong to the British with the signing of the Chuenpi Convention — an agreement seeking an end to the first Anglo-Chinese conflict.

1937 – Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated as U.S. president for the second time. His first inauguration, in 1933, was held in March, but the 20th Amendment, passed later that year, made January 20 the official inauguration date for all future presidents.

1961 – President John F. Kennedy is sworn into office and delivers his inaugural address outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The speech concludes with his now-famous line: “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”

1980 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter calls for the 1980 Summer Olympics to be moved from the planned host city, Moscow, or canceled altogether if the Soviet Union fails to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan within a month.

1981 – Minutes after Ronald Reagan’s inauguration as the 40th U.S. president, 52 American captives held at the American embassy in Teheran, Iran, are released, ending the 444-day Iran Hostage Crisis.

1984 – Hungarian-born Olympic gold medal swimmer and actor Johnny Weissmuller, who played Tarzan in the movies, dies at the age of 79.

1993 – Actress, fashion icon and philanthropist Audrey Hepburn (“Roman Holiday,” “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “My Fair Lady”) dies of colon cancer at the age of 63. Hepburn remains among just a handful of performers who have won Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony Awards.

2009 – On a freezing day in Washington, D.C., Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th U.S. president. The son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, Obama was the first African-American to win election to the nation’s highest office.

Musical Milestones

1964 – The British Invasion is on as Capitol Records releases “Meet the Beatles!,” the band’s second album in the U.S.

1965 – American disc jockey Alan Freed is 43 years old when he dies from cirrhosis brought on by alcoholism. Freed, a 1986 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, is credited with coining the term “rock ‘n’ roll.” His career was destroyed by the payola scandal that shook up the American broadcasting industry in the early 1960s.

1968 – “Judy in Disguise (with Glasses),” a parody of The Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” puts John Fred and his Playboy Band at No. 1 on the singles chart for two weeks.

1971 – “What’s Going On,” by Marvin Gaye, is released and introduces fans to a different, more personal side of the Motown star in this anthem about social injustice. The song spends five weeks on top of the Hot Soul Singles chart before crossing over to the Billboard Hot 100, where it climbs to No. 2.

1973 – Carly Simon begins her third and final week on top of the singles chart with “You’re So Vain.” After years of speculation, Simon eventually admits that the song refers to actor Warren Beatty.

1988 – Mick Jagger presides as The Beatles are inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Paul McCartney decides not to attend, issuing a statement citing ongoing business differences among The Beatles.

1990 – Michael Bolton rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You.” The single holds the No. 1 spot for three weeks.

1996 – The Mariah Carey-Boyz II Men collaboration, “One Sweet Day,” is midway through a 16-week ride on top of the Billboard singles chart –the longest-running No. 1 song in the chart’s history at that time.

2007 – “Irreplaceable,” Beyoncé, is in its sixth week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The track remains there for another four weeks and clinches a Record of the Year Grammy nomination.

On This Day December 20

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Celebrity Birthdays

1881 – Baseball Hall of Famer Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers coach who introduced Jackie Robinson, the farm club system and the batting helmet to baseball (d. 1965)

1898 – Actress Irene Dunne (“Showboat, “Anna and the King of Siam,” “Love Affair”) (d. 1990)

1932 – Actor John Hillerman (Higgins in the 1980s “Magnum, P.I.” series) (d. 2017)

1945 – Peter Criss, founding member and original drummer for the rock n’ roll supergroup, KISS

1946 – TV producer Dick Wolf (“Miami Vice,” “Law & Order”)

1957 – Singer-songwriter Billy Bragg (“She’s Leaving Home,” “We Laughed”)

1970 – Director-producer Todd Phillips (“The Hangover” series, “Due Date,” “Road Trip,” “Starsky & Hutch”)

1983 – Actor-comedian Jonah Hill (“Superbad,” “Knocked Up,” “21 Jump Street,” “This Is the End,” “22 Jump Street,” “Moneyball,” “The Wolf of Wall Street”)

History Highlights

1803 – One of the greatest real estate deals in history is completed as France turns over more than a million square miles of the Louisiana Territory to the U.S. for a price equal to about $20 per square mile.

1963 – More than two years after construction of the Berlin Wall by East Germany to prevent citizens from fleeing its communist regime, the wall is temporarily opened for the holidays. Nearly 4,000 West Berliners are granted one-day passes to cross into East Berlin to visit relatives. The wall is sealed off again on January 5, 1964.

1968 – Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Nobel laureate John Steinbeck, best known for works like “East of Eden,” “Of Mice and Men” and “The Grapes of Wrath,” dies at the age of 66.

1989 – Michael Moore’s documentary “Roger & Me,” about the economic toll General Motors’ factory closings and layoffs had on his hometown of Flint, Michigan, opens in theaters. It launches Moore’s career as a filmmaker.

1989 – The U.S. invades Panama in an effort to overthrow military dictator Manuel Noriega.

Musical Milestones

1957 – Rock and Roll legend Elvis Presley is served his draft notice by the U.S. Army. Three months later, he ships out to the Company “D” 1st Tank Battalion 32nd Armor Corps based in Germany.

1969 – Peter, Paul and Mary top the Billboard Hot 100 with “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” The song, written by John Denver, becomes the trio’s only No. 1 single and final hit recording.

1973 – The talent behind hits like “Dream Lover,” “Mack the Knife” and “Beyond the Sea” — teen idol Bobby Darin — dies at the age of 37 following open heart surgery.

1975 – “That’s the Way (I Like It),” by KC and the Sunshine Band, is the No. 1 single.

1986 – The Bangles start a four-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Walk Like an Egyptian.” That makes the track the final No. 1 single of 1986 and the first of 1987.

1997 – Elton John’s updated version of “Candle in the Wind,” a tribute to Princess Diana, maintains its hold on the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

On This Day September 18

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Celebrity Birthdays

1905 – Oscar-winning actress Greta Garbo, born Greta Lovisa Gustafson (d. 1990)

1933 – Emmy-winning actor Robert Blake (“Baretta,” “Money Train,” “Lost Highway”)

1939 – Actor Fred Willard (“This Is Spinal Tap,” “Waiting for Guffman,” “Best in Show,” “A Mighty Wind,” “For Your Consideration,” the “Anchorman” movie series)

1940 – Actor, singer and former teen idol Frankie Avalon, best known for his hit single “Venus” and the “Beach Party movie series

1961 – Emmy-winning actor James Gandolfini, best known for playing mobster Tony Soprano in the HBO series “The Sopranos” (d. 2013)

1971 – Actress-producer Jada Pinkett Smith (“True Colors,” “A Different World,” “The Nutty Professor,” “Menace II Society,” “Set It Off, “Scream 2,” “Ali,” “The Matrix Reloaded/Revolutions,” “Madagascar”)

1971 – Former professional cyclist Lance Armstrong

1973 – Actor James Marsden (“X-Men,” “Superman Returns,” “Hairspray,” “Enchanted,” “Hop,” “27 Dresses,” “The Notebook”)

1975 – Actor-comedian Jason Sudeikis (“Saturday Night Live,” “Hall Pass,” “Horrible Bosses,” “Epic,” “We’re the Millers”)

History Highlights

1793 – President George Washington lays the cornerstone to the United States Capitol in the building’s southeast corner during a Masonic ceremony that concludes with a 15-gun salute. Washington would return periodically to oversee construction, but did not live to see Congress occupy the new building. He died in December 1799, less than a year before the Senate and House would first convene in the Capitol.

1851 – The first edition of The New York Times is published as the New-York Daily Times and costs readers two cents.

1964 – After a four-season run in primetime, Tod Stiles and Buz Murdock park their Chevy Corvette for the last time as CBS broadcasts the “Route 66” series finale.

1965 – Television viewers meet secret agents Maxwell Smart and 99 as NBC debuts “Get Smart.” The spy sitcom, starring Don Adams and Barbara Feldon and created by comedic genius Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, runs for five seasons and introduces viewers to the first true mobile phone—embedded in the bottom of Smart’s shoe.

1975 – FBI agents in San Francisco capture newspaper heiress and fugitive Patty Hearst and charge her with armed robbery. Hearst is the granddaughter of media mogul William Randolph Hearst.

Musical Milestones

1961 – Bobby Vee starts a two-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Take Good Care of My Baby.”

1970 – Jimi Hendrix, considered one of rock music’s greatest guitarists of all time, dies of an apparent drug overdose in London at the age of 27. Hendrix dazzled audiences in the 1960s with groundbreaking guitar-playing techniques and experimental sounds.

1976 – “Play That Funky Music,” by Ohio-based funk-rock band Wild Cherry, kicks off three weeks as a No. 1 single. The track sells more than 2.5 million copies in the U.S. and becomes the band’s only Top 40 song.

1983 – Members of Kiss appear without makeup for the first time during an interview on MTV.

1987 – The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson are nominated to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

1993 – Mariah Carey dominates the Billboard Hot 100 with “Dreamlover,” which holds at No. 1 for eight weeks. It becomes her seventh career chart-topper.

1999 – TLC kicks off three weeks on top of the Billboard singles chart with “Unpretty.”

2004 – “Goodies,” by Ciara featuring Petey Pablo, is in the middle of a seven-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. pop chart.

On this Day August 25

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Celebrity Birthdays

1917 – Actor-director Mel Ferrer (“War and Peace,” “Green Mansions,” “Wait Until Dark”) (d. 2008)

1918 – Grammy and Tony-winning composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein (“West Side Story,” “Peter Pan,” “Candide,” “Wonderful Town,” “On the Town,” “On The Waterfront”) (d. 1990)

1921 – Producer, actor, singer and sportscaster Monty Hall, best known as host of the TV game show “Let’s Make a Deal” (d. 2017)

1930 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor Sir Sean Connery, best known for playing British secret agent James Bond/007 in seven Bond movies (d. 2020)

1931 – Emmy-winning TV host, actor and singer Regis Philbin (“Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee,” “Live! with Regis and Kelly,” ” Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”) (d. 2020)

1933 – Actor Tom Skerritt (“M*A*S*H,” “Up In Smoke,” “Alien,” “Top Gun,” “A River Runs Through It,” “Contact,” “Picket Fences”)

1935 – Oscar-winning director William Friedkin (“The Boys in the Band,” “The French Connection,” “The Exorcist,” “Sorcerer,” “The Brinks Job,” “Cruising,” “To Live and Die in L.A.”) (d. 2023)

1941 – Rock singer-bassist and KISS founder Gene Simmons, born Chaim Weitz

1954 – Singer-songwriter Elvis Costello (“Alison,” “Everyday I Write the Book,” “Veronica”)

1958 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning director Tim Burton (“Beetlejuice,” “Batman,” “Edward Scissorhands,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Ed Wood,” “Big Fish,” “Alice in Wonderland”)

1961 – Country music singer-songwriter and actor Billy Ray Cyrus, best known for his 1992 smash “Achy Breaky Heart”

1968 – Emmy-winning TV chef Rachael Ray

History Highlights

1916 – The National Park Service is founded to manage and preserve national parks and monuments for future generations.

1939 – MGM Studios’ “The Wizard of Oz” premieres, starring Judy Garland as Dorothy. It and “Gone With The Wind,” which was released later that year, are the first major motion pictures to use Technicolor at a time when films were shot in black and white.

1944 – Allied troops liberate Paris after more than four years of Nazi occupation. German resistance proves to be light and the commander of the German garrison, General Dietrich von Choltitz, defies Adolf Hitler’s order to blow up Paris landmarks and burn the city to the ground before its liberation. Choltitz signs a formal surrender that afternoon, and the next day, Free French General Charles de Gaulle leads a liberation march down the Champs d’Elysees.

1984 – Author Truman Capote (“Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “In Cold Blood”) dies in Los Angeles at the age of 59.

1985 – Samantha Smith of Maine, the 11-year-old “ambassador” to the Soviet Union, dies in a plane crash. Smith was best known for writing to Soviet leader Yuri Andropov in 1982 and visiting as Andropov’s guest in 1983.

2009 – Edward “Ted” Kennedy, the youngest brother of President John F. Kennedy and a U.S. senator from Massachusetts from 1962 to 2009, dies of brain cancer at age 77 at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.

Musical Milestones

1962 – Seventeen-year-old Eva Narcissus Boyd, a.k.a. “Little Eva,” scores her first and only No. 1 hit with “The Loco-Motion.”

1970 – Elton John plays his first American gig at the Troubadour in Los Angeles.

1973 – One-hit-wonder Stories has the most popular song on the radio with “Brother Louie.”

1975 – Bruce Springsteen releases his breakthrough album, “Born To Run,” which contains fan favorites including the title track, “Thunder Road” and “Jungleland.”

1979 – The Knack kick off six weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “My Sharona.” The track becomes Capitol Records’ fastest gold status debut single since “I Want to Hold Your Hand” by The Beatles in 1964.

1984 – Ray Parker, Jr. begins his third and final week on top of the pop chart with “Ghostbusters,” the theme from the movie of the same name.

1990 – “Vision of Love,” by Mariah Carey, enters its fourth and final week on top of the pop chart.

2001 – Alicia Keys rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “Fallin’,” off her debut album, “Songs in A Minor”

On this Day August 11

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Celebrity Birthdays

1921 – Author Alex Haley (“Roots,” “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”) (d. 1992)

1925 – TV talk show host Mike Douglas (“The Mike Douglas Show”) (d. 2006)

1949 – Singer-songwriter Eric Carmen (“All By Myself,” “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again,” “She Did It,” “Hungry Eyes,” “Make Me Lose Control,”)

1950 – Apple Computer co-founder Steve “Woz” Wozniak

1953 – Pro wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan, born Terry Gene Bollea

1954 – Singer-songwriter Joe Jackson (“Is She Really Going Out With Him,” “Steppin’ Out,” “Breaking Us In Two”)

1965 – Tony and Emmy-winning actress Viola Davis (“Doubt,” “The Help,” “How to Get Away With Murder”)

1983 – Actor Chris Hemsworth (“Thor,” “Snow White and the Huntsman,” “Red Dawn,” “Star Trek Into Darkness,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron”)

History Highlights

1934 – The first inmates, classified as “most dangerous,” arrive at the federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, joining a few dozen prisoners left over from the island’s days as a U.S. military prison.

1956 – Abstract artist Jackson Pollock dies in a drunk-driving car crash at the age of 44.

1965 – Following the arrest of a young black motorist, the predominately black Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts erupts in riots that last six days and leave more than 30 people dead.

1965 – The Ford Motor Company introduces the Bronco to compete with the Jeep CJ-5 and International Harvester Scout. The Bronco gets a massive publicity boost in June of 1994 when it was the subject of a low-speed LA police chase involving then-murder suspect O.J. Simpson. More than five decades later, an updated version of the workhorse is still going strong.

1973 – “American Graffiti” opens in theaters. The coming-of-age film set in 1962 California was co-written and directed by George Lucas and stars Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard and Harrison Ford.

1984 – During a sound check before a Saturday radio broadcast, President Ronald Reagan jokingly says, “My fellow Americans. I’m pleased to announce that I’ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.” Reagan was unaware, however, that the feed was live. The Soviets, who find no humor in the remark, put their military on high alert.

2014 – Oscar-winning actor-comedian Robin Williams (“Mork and Mindy,” “The World According to Garp,” “Moscow on the Hudson,” “Good Morning, Vietnam,” “Dead Poets Socity,” “Aladdin,” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “The Birdcage,” “Good Will Hunting”) dies by suicide at the age of 63.

Musical Milestones

1962 – Neil Sedaka has his first No. 1 single with “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.” The song holds the top spot for two weeks.

1964 – The Beatles’ movie “Help!” premieres in New York. Directed by Richard Lester, it is the Fab Four’s second film.

1979 – ‘Disco Queen’ Donna Summer begins her fifth and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Bad Girls.”

1984 – Who ya gonna call? Ray Parker, Jr. starts a three-week run at No. 1 with the theme from the film “Ghostbusters.”

1999 – KISS arrives on Hollywood Boulevard to unveil their star on The Walk Of Fame. The band had released over 30 albums and sold over 80 million records worldwide.

2001 – Boy band NSYNC’s “Celebrity” album debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.