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: May 24

On this Day May 24

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Celebrity Birthdays
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
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
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.”

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