On This Day December 10

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On This Day December 2

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On This Day November 15

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Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1956 – “Love Me Tender,” Elvis Presley’s first movie, opens at the Paramount Theater in New York. Presley plays one of three brothers turned outlaws in the musical Western.

1969 – The Fifth Dimension are in the midst of a three-week hold on the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Wedding Bell Blues.”

1975 – Host Dick Clark welcomes Swedish pop phenom ABBA to TV’s “American Bandstand.”

1975 – Elton John begins his third and final week as captain of the pop chart with “Island Girl,” from his “Rock of the Westies” album.

1980 – After years of success on the music charts with the New Christy Minstrels and The First Edition, Kenny Rogers scores his first No. 1 single as a solo act with “Lady.” The song, written and produced by Lionel Richie, holds the top spot for six weeks.

1986 – “Amanda,” by Boston, begins its second and final week as a No. 1 single. It is the band’s first officially released single since 1978.

1990 – One of pop music’s biggest scandals unfolds as Milli Vanilli producer Frank Farian confirms rumors that band members Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan never actually sang any of their hit records. The duo are stripped of the Grammys they had won for Best New Artist and duped fans file class-action lawsuits.

1997 – Elton John is in the middle of a 14-week domination of the pop chart with his tribute to Princess Diana, “Candle in the Wind 1997.”

2003 – “Baby Boy,” by Beyoncé featuring Sean Paul, is the No. 1 single. 

On This Day October 28

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On this Day August 28

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History Highlights
History Highlights

1955 – While visiting relatives in Mississippi, Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy from Chicago, is abducted, tortured and murdered for allegedly whistling at a white woman four days earlier. Till’s devastated mother insisted on a public, open-casket funeral for her son to shed light on the violence inflicted on Black people in the South. The killers were acquitted, but Till’s death galvanized civil rights activists nationwide.

1963 – More than a quarter of a million people participate in the March on Washington, a peaceful civil rights rally which culminates with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering his famous “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. 

1968 – Riots erupt in the streets of Chicago during the Democratic National Convention as Vietnam War protesters clash with police. 

1981 – Oscar-winning director John Huston, known for such cinematic classics as “The Maltese Falcon,” “Key Largo,” “The African Queen,” “Moulin Rouge” and “The Misfits,” dies of pneumonia at age 81.

1981 – The Centers for Disease Control announces a high incidence of pneumocystis and Kaposi’s sarcoma in gay men, soon to be recognized as symptoms of AIDS. 

1988 – An air show involving military jets at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany turns tragic when three jets collide in mid-air and fall into the crowd. Seventy spectators are killed and hundreds others are injured.

1996 – Four years after their separation, Prince Charles and Princess Diana formally divorce.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1961 – The Marvelettes release their first single, “Please Mr. Postman,” which sells over a million copies and becomes the group’s biggest hit. It reaches the top of both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B survey, becoming Motown’s first chart-topper.

1961 – Joe Dowell rockets to No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart with his cover of “Wooden Heart,” originally performed by Elvis Presley a year earlier in the movie “G.I. Blues.” Presley’s version reached No. 1 in the U.K.

1965 – Bob Dylan kicks off a 40-date North American tour with a performance at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York. For the second time that year, he angers folk music purists when he performs the latter half of his show with an electric guitar.

1971 – The Bee Gees enjoy their fourth and final week at No. 1 on the pop chart with “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.”

1982 – “Eye of the Tiger,” by Survivor, roars into its sixth and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The track is the theme from the movie “Rocky III,” starring Sylvester Stallone.

1986 – Grammy-winning “Queen of Rock ‘n Roll” Tina Turner is honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1993 – Billy Joel’s “River of Dreams” begins three weeks atop the Billboard album chart. The album features cover artwork painted by Joel’s then-wife, Christie Brinkley.

1999 – Christina Aguilera wraps up a five-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Genie in a Bottle.”

2004 – Terror Squad featuring Fat Joe and Remy lays claim to the top spot on the singles chart with “Lean Back.”