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On This Day January 10

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Celebrity Birthdays

1904 – Actor Ray Bolger, who played the scarecrow in the classic film “The Wizard of Oz” (d. 1987)

1943 – Singer-songwriter Jim Croce (“Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” “Time in a Bottle”) (d. 1973)

1945 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Rod Stewart (“Maggie May,” “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright),” “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?”) 

1948 – Grammy-winning Steely Dan lead singer and songwriter Donald Fagen 

1949 – Retired two-time World Heavyweight Boxing champion-turned-ordained minister George Foreman

1953 – Grammy-winning rock singer-songwriter Pat Benatar (“Hit Me with Your Best Shot,” “Love Is a Battlefield,” “We Belong,” “Invincible,” “Heartbreaker”)

History Highlights

1901 – Crude oil gushes from a drilling derrick at Spindletop Hill near Beaumont, Texas, coating the landscape in “black gold” and ultimately launching the U.S. petroleum industry. 

1920 – The League of Nations is formed (without the United States) to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, ending World War I. The body is officially dissolved exactly 26 years later with the establishment of the United Nations.

1946 – The first General Assembly of the United Nations opens in London with 51 nations represented. 

1962 – NASA announces plans to build the C-5 rocket booster, later known as the Saturn V rocket, which propelled every Apollo mission and Skylab (space station) into space. 

1971 – The long-running dramatic series “Masterpiece Theatre” premieres on Public Television (PBS).

1990 – Time Warner forms as a result of the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications Inc. 

Musical Milestones

1953 – “Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes,” by Perry Como, begins a five-week run at No. 1 on the pop chart.

1964 – The first U.S. Beatles album, “Introducing…The Beatles,” is released on Vee-Jay records, ten days ten days before Capitol Records issues “Meet the Beatles!”

1970 – B.J. Thomas is in the middle of a four-week ride at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.”

1976 – The Citizens Band (CB) radio craze is in full swing when one-hit-wonder C.W. McCall tops the singles chart for a week with “Convoy.” The song also becomes a No. 1 country hit and inspires the 1978 movie of the same name. 

1984 – Cyndi Lauper becomes the first female recording artist since Bobbie Gentry in 1967 to be nominated for five Grammy Awards: Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Performance (Female), Record of the Year and Song of the Year. She wins Best New Artist.

1987 – The Bangles enjoy a fourth and final week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Walk Like an Egyptian.” The song is the group’s first chart-topper.

1997 – Elton John’s tribute to Princess Diana, “Candle in the Wind 1997,” wraps up 14 weeks atop the Billboard singles chart.

2004 – OutKast is in the midst of nine weeks on top of the pop chart with “Hey Ya!”

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