Olympics – Time Rewind

Musical Milestones

1954 – Doris Day has the No. 1 single with “Secret Love” from the movie “Calamity Jane.”” The recording goes on to capture an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

1961 – “Pony Time” by Chubby Checker gallops away as the No. 1 single for three weeks.

1971 – Five months after her death, Janis Joplin begins nine weeks on top of the Billboard album chart with her second and final solo studio album, “Pearl,” which contains her smash “Me and Bobby McGee.”

1980 – The first and last Grammy ever awarded for Best Disco Recording goes to Gloria Gaynor for “I Will Survive,” unofficially marking the end of the disco era.

1988 – George Michael kicks off two weeks on top of the singles chart with “Father Figure,” off his debut studio album, “Faith.”

1993 – Whitney Houston wraps up a 14-week reign over the pop chart with “I Will Always Love You,” a song written and originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1973.

1999 – “Angel of Mine,” by Monica, is in the midst of a four-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

History Highlights

1827 – Masked and costumed students dance through the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana, marking the beginning of the city’s famous Mardi Gras celebrations.

1951 – On the heels of FDR’s four successive presidential terms, Congress ratifies the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution in 1, limiting the tenure of presidential office to two terms.

1964 – The Italian government announces that it is accepting suggestions on how to save the renowned Leaning Tower of Pisa from collapsing.

1991 – During the Persian Gulf War, President George H. W. Bush announces that “Kuwait is liberated.”

Celebrity Birthdays

1902 – Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck (“The Grapes of Wrath,” “East of Eden,” “Of Mice and Men”) (d. 1968)

1930 – Oscar-winning actress Joanne Woodward (“The Three Faces of Eve,” “Rachel Rachel,” “Summer Wishes,” “Winter Dreams,” “Mr. and Mrs. Bridge”)

1932 – Oscar-winning actress Elizabeth Taylor (“National Velvet,” “A Place in the Sun,” “Giant,” “Cat On a Hot Tin Roof,” “Butterfield 8,” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”) (d. 2011)

1940 – Actor Howard Hesseman, best known for playing DJ Johnny Fever on the 1970s TV sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati”

1980 – Presidential daughter and businesswoman Chelsea Clinton

1981 – Pop and classical singer-songwriter Josh Groban, who has performed at both the Olympics and the Super Bowl

1983 – Actress Kate Mara (“Brokeback Mountain,” “We Are Marshall,” “Shooter,” “The Open Road,” “Transcendence,” “Fant4stic” “House of Cards”)

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Pearl

Janis Joplin

Faith

George Michael

New Orleans Carnival Krewes: The History, Spirit & Secrets of Mardi Gras

Rosary O’Neill

A Brief History of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

Piero Pierotti

Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Starring Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman and Burl Ives, and directed by Richard Brooks

Musical Milestones

1960 – Percy Faith starts a nine-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Theme From A Summer Place.”

1975 – The Average White Band scores No. 1 on the singles chart with “Pick Up The Pieces,” while the album containing that track, “AWB,” tops the Billboard album chart.

1989 – Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Tina Turner, wins the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocalist for her “Tina Live in Europe” album.

1990 – Milli Vanilli (Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan) win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Nine months later, they are stripped of the honor after they are caught lip-syncing and admit they never sang a single note on the acclaimed “Girl You Know It’s True” album.

1992 – “I’m Too Sexy,” by British band Right Said Fred, marks its third and final week as a No. 1 single.

1997 – The Spice Girls begin four weeks as Billboard chart-toppers with “Wannabe,” the band’s debut single.

2003 – “All I Have,” by Jennifer Lopez featuring LL Cool J, rules the Billboard Hot 100. Lopez goes on to name her 2016 Las Vegas Residency Show after the song.

History Highlights

1959 – In a photo finish, Lee Petty emerges as the winner of the first Daytona 500 auto race.

1980 – One of the most dramatic upsets in Olympics history takes place in Lake Placid, New York. In what is known as “The Miracle on Ice,” the underdog U.S. hockey team, made up of college players, defeats the four-time defending Gold medal-winning Soviet team 4-3 at the XIII Olympic Winter Games.

1987 – Pop art pioneer, filmmaker and cultural icon Andy Warhol dies at the age of 58.

2014 – One of the world’s most-wanted criminals, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera — head of the Sinaloa cartel, the world’s biggest drug trafficking organization — is arrested in a joint U.S.-Mexican operation in Mexico, after outrunning authorities for more than a decade.

Celebrity Birthdays

1732 – First U.S. President George Washington (d. 1799)

1907 – Actor Robert Young (“Father Knows Best,” “Marcus Welby, M.D.”) (d. 1998)

1932 – Massachusetts Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy (d. 2009)

1944 – Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme (“Melvin and Howard,” “Swing Shift,” “Married to the Mob,” “The Silence of the Lambs,” “Philadelphia”)

1950 – Retired NBA legend Julius “Dr. J” Erving

1959 – Golden Globe-winning actor Kyle MacLachlan (“Dune,” “Blue Velvet,” “Twin Peaks,” “Sex and the City,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Portlandia”)

1966 – Comedian and “Saturday Night Live” (“SNL”) alum Rachel Dratch

1975 – Golden Globe-winning actress, producer and director Drew Barrymore (“E.T.: The Extraterrestrial,” “Boys on the Side,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “50 First Dates,” “Grey Gardens,” “Blended”)

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AWB

Average White Band

Spice

Spice Girls

The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team

Wayne Coffey

The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again

Andy Warhol

Philadelphia

Starring Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington and Antonio Banderas, and directed by Jonathan Demme

Twin Peaks: The Complete Series

Starring Kyle MacLachlan and Michael Ontkean, and directed by David Lynch

Musical Milestones

1959 – Legendary rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix is 16 years old when he makes his stage debut during a performance at Temple De Hirsch Sinai synagogue in Seattle. He is fired before the second set begins.

1965 – “This Diamond Ring,” by Gary Lewis & the Playboys, begins a two-week ride atop the Billboard singles chart.

1970 – The single “Instant Karma! (We All Shine On),” by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band, is released in the U.S. Lennon wrote, recorded and mixed the track all in one day, on January 27, 1970, with producer Phil Spector, at the Abbey Road Studios in London.

1982 – The J. Geils Band’s “Centerfold” is midway through a six-week domination of the singles chart.

1988 – “Seasons Change,” by Expose, tops the Billboard Hot 100.

1991 – Actor Jack Nicholson presents Bob Dylan with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 34th Annual Grammys.

1999 – Monica is in the middle of a four-week run at No. 1 on the pop chart with “Angel of Mine.”

History Highlights

1792 – President George Washington signs the Postal Act, creating the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

1895 – American journalist, orator and anti-slavery leader Frederick Douglass dies at the age of 78.

1962 – John Glenn launches into space from Cape Canaveral, Florida aboard NASA’S Mercury capsule, named Friendship 7, on the first orbital flight by an American astronaut. He completes three Earth orbits in just under five hours, ushering in a new era of spaceflight for the United States.

1965 – Ranger 8 crashes into the moon after a successful mission to photograph possible landing sites for the Apollo program.

1986 – The Soviet Union launches the first components of the Mir space station, which orbits Earth more than 86,000 times before falling harmlessly into the South Pacific near Fiji in March 2001.

1998 – American Tara Lipinski is 15 when she wins the Gold medal in women’s figure skating at the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, becoming the youngest gold medalist in her sport.

2003 – A hundred people are killed, 230 others are injured when pyrotechnics during a Great White concert at The Station nightclub in Warwick, Rhode Island set fire to flammable foam installed as soundproofing. The club burns to the ground in less than three minutes.

Celebrity Birthdays

1902 – Pioneering photographer and preservationist Ansel Adams (d. 1984)

1927 – Oscar-winning actor-director Sidney Poitier (“Lilies of the Field,” “In the Heat of the Night,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “To Sir, With Love,” “Sneakers,” “The Jackal”)

1963 – Retired basketball star Charles Barkley, named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History

1966 – Fashion icon, supermodel and entrepreneur Cindy Crawford

1967 – Legendary grunge music pioneer Kurt Cobain, lead singer-songwriter-guitarist of the band Nirvana (d. 1994)

1988 – Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter Rihanna, born Robyn Rihanna Fenty (“Umbrella,” “We Found Love,” “The Monster”)

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Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix

Power To The People - The Hits

John Lennon

Friendship 7: The Epic Orbital Flight of John H. Glenn, Jr.

Colin Burgess

The Postal Age: The Emergence of Modern Communications in Nineteenth-Century America

David M. M. Henkin

Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs

Ansel Adams

To Sir, With Love

Starring Sidney Poitier, Christian Roberts and Judy Geeson, and directed by James Clavell

Musical Milestones

1959 – “Stagger Lee,” by Lloyd Price, is the most popular single.

1964 – The Beatles are guests on “The Ed Sullivan Show” for a second time, with this broadcast originating from the Deauville Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. CBS gave away 4,500 tickets, however the hotel could only accommodate 2,600 people.

1974 – A Bob Dylan album reaches the top of the Billboard album chart for the first time. “Planet Waves,” featuring a collaboration with The Band, holds the top spot for four weeks.

1975 – After a four-season run as half of “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour,” Cher gets her own weekly variety show on CBS, simply called “Cher.” The series features guests like Elton John, Bette Midler, David Bowie, Bill Cosby, the Smothers Brothers, George Burns, Steve Martin and more.

1980 – “Do That to Me One More Time” becomes the Captain & Tennille’s second No. 1 single.

1985 – “Careless Whisper,” by Wham! featuring George Michael, tops the Billboard singles chart and stays there for three weeks.

2002 – Usher begins his fifth and final week atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “U Got It Bad.”

History Highlights

1923 – English archaeologist Howard Carter opens the tomb of the ancient Egyptian ruler King Tutankhamen.

1959 – Fidel Castro is sworn in as prime minister of Cuba after leading a guerrilla campaign that forced right-wing dictator Fulgencio Batista into exile.

1968 – The nation’s first 911 emergency telephone system goes into service in Haleyville, Alabama. Today, across the U.S., an estimated 240 million calls a year are made to 911.

1984 – Bill Johnson becomes the first American man to win an Olympic gold medal in downhill skiing, a sport long dominated by European athletes.

Celebrity Birthdays

1935 – Musician, record producer and U.S. Congressman Sonny Bono, best known as half of the Sonny & Cher pop duo (d. 1998)

1952 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter James Ingram (“One Hundred Ways,” “Baby Come to Me,” “Yah Mo B There,” “I Don’t Have the Heart”) (d. 2019)

1957 – Emmy and Grammy-winning actor LeVar Burton (“Roots,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Reading Rainbow”)

1958 – Grammy-winning rapper and actor Ice-T, born Tracy Marrow (“New Jack City,” “Ricochet,” “Law & Order SVU”)

1959 – Retired tennis champion and sports commentator John McEnroe

1964 – Actor Christopher Eccleston (“28 Days Later,” “Thor: The Dark World,” “Doctor Who”)

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The Best of Captain & Tennille: The Millennium Collection

Captain & Tennille

Ladies And Gentlemen: The Best Of George Michael

George Michael

The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamen (Egypt)

Howard Carter and A. C. Mace

Fidel Castro: My Life: A Spoken Autobiography

Ignacio Ramonet and Fidel Castro

The Best Of Sonny & Cher

Sonny & Cher

New Jack City

Starring Wesley Snipes, Ice-T and Allen Payne, and directed by Mario Van Peebles

Musical Milestones

1914 – The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is established to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members.

1961 – “Calcutta,” by Lawrence Welk, is the most popular single in America.

1961 – Frank Sinatra launches Reprise Records in order to have more artistic freedom for his own recordings — a move that garners him the nickname “The Chairman of the Board.” Reprise later becomes the home of many influential acts, such as Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman and The Beach Boys.

1967 – The Beatles release the double A-sided single “Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane” on Capitol Records in the U.S.

1971 – “One Bad Apple,” by The Osmonds, latches on to the No. 1 spot on the singles chart for five weeks.

1993 – “I Will Always Love You,” by Whitney Houston, is in the midst of a 14-week ride atop the singles chart.

History Highlights

1861 – Colonel Bernard Irwin becomes the first person awarded the new U.S. Medal of Honor for leading his troops in a battle against the Chiricahua Apaches during a rescue mission.

1945 – Allied firebombing raids begin against Dresden, reducing the eastern German city to rubble and flames and leaving thousands dead. The assault becomes the single most destructive bombing of World War II — including Hiroshima and Nagasaki — and has been considered controversial because Dresden was neither significant to German wartime production nor an industrial center.

1965 – Sixteen-year-old Peggy Fleming wins the ladies senior figure skating title at the U.S. Figure Skating championships in Lake Placid, New York. Fleming goes on to win Olympic gold.

1974 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union.

2001 – “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” by director Ang Lee, earns 10 Oscar nominations, becoming the first Asian film and only the seventh foreign-language production to get a nod for Best Picture.

Celebrity Birthdays

1923 – Retired U.S. Air Force General Chuck Yaeger, the first pilot to break the sound barrier

1933 – Actress Kim Novak (“Vertigo,” “The Man With the Golden Arm,” “Bell, Book and Candle”)

1934 – Golden Globe-winning actor George Segal (“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” “A Touch of Class,” “Just Shoot Me,” “The Goldbergs”)

1942 – Singer-songwriter Peter Tork, best known as keyboardist and bass guitarist of The Monkees (d. 2019)

1944 – Talk show host and former Cincinnati Mayor Jerry Springer

1944 – Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress Stockard Channing (“Grease,” “Six Degrees of Separation,” “The West Wing”)

1950 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and former Genesis front man Peter Gabriel (“Solsbury Hill,” “Shock the Money,” “Sledgehammer,” “Don’t Give Up,” “Big Time,” “In Your Eyes,” “Red Rain”)

1979 – Actress Mena Suvari (“American Beauty,” “American Pie,” “Six Feet Under”)

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The Best of The Osmonds: The Millennium Collection

The Osmonds

Whitney The Greatest Hits

Whitney Houston

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Starring Michelle Yeoh, Chow Yun Fat and Zhang Ziyi, and directed by Ang Lee

Grease

Starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, and directed by Randal Kleiser

American Pie

Starring Jason Biggs, Jason Biggs and Chris Klein, and directed by Paul Weitz

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.”

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.”

2000 – “Come on Over Baby (All I Want Is You),” by Christina Aguilera, is the No. 1 single.

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 passes the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto, paving the way for Prohibition.

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.

Celebrity Birthdays

1914 – Physician and medical researcher Jonas Salk, who developed the first safe and effective polio vaccine (d. 1955)

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”)

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Always On Sunday: An Inside View of Ed Sullivan, the Beatles, Elvis, Sinatra & Ed's Other Guests

Michael Harris

Talking Book

Stevie Wonder

Liberty's Torch: The Great Adventure to Build the Statue of Liberty

Elizabeth Mitchell

Thirteen Days

Starring Kevin Costner and Bruce Greenwood

Erin Brockovich

Starring Julia Roberts and Albert Finney

Walk The Line

Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon

Musical Milestones

1964 – The Animals rule the Billboard Hot 100 with “The House of the Rising Sun,” which also makes it to No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart.

1966 – With a blend of comedy and music, “The Monkees” TV show debuts on NBC and runs for nearly two years.

1970 – “War,” by Edwin Starr, begins its third and final week as a No. 1 single.

1981 – The Diana Ross-Lionel Richie duet “Endless Love” is midway through a nine-week run as the No. 1 single.

1998 – Aerosmith’s single, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” from the movie “Armageddon,” tops the Billboard Hot 100 for a second week.

2003 – The “Man in Black,” country music legend Johnny Cash, dies in Nashville of complications from diabetes at the age of 71. Cash was one of country music’s biggest stars throughout the ’50s and ’60s, scoring more than 100 hit singles.

History Highlights

1940 – Four teenagers stumble upon prehistoric cave paintings while following their dog into a cavern near Montignac, France. The site, consisting primarily of animal renderings, is known as the Lascaux grotto.

1953 – In what is considered the “social event of the season,” Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts marries Washington Times-Herald photographer Jacqueline Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island. Kennedy is elected the 35th president of the United States seven years later.

1974 – Violence erupts in the streets of Boston on the first day of school over court-ordered busing intended to integrate the public schools.

1977 – Anti-Apartheid leader Steven Biko dies from head trauma suffered during a police beating days earlier.

1978 – The sitcom “Taxi,” starring Judd Hirsch and Danny DeVito, premieres on ABC.

1992 – Best known for his role as the murderous Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic “Psycho,” actor Anthony Perkins dies from AIDS-related pneumonia at age 60.

Celebrity Birthdays

1913 – U.S. Olympic track and field legend Jesse Owens, known as “The Buckeye Bullet” (d. 1980)

1931 – Country music singer George Jones (d. 2013)

1940 – Actress Linda Gray, who played Sue Ellen Ewing in the TV series “Dallas”

1943 – Singer-songwriter Maria Muldaur, best known for her 1974 smash “Midnight at the Oasis”

1944 – Grammy-winning soul singer-songwriter and producer Barry White (d. 2003)

1951 – Actor Joe Pantoliano (“Risky Business,” “The Matrix,” “The Sopranos”)

1973 – Actor Paul Walker, best remembered for his role in “The Fast and the Furious” movie franchise (d. 2013)

1980 – Retired NBA/Houston Rockets star center and Basketball Hall of Famer Yao Ming

1981 – Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe-winning singer-actress Jennifer Hudson (“Dreamgirls,” “Sex and the City,” “The Secret Life of Bees,” “Winnie Mandela”)

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The Millennium Collection: Best of Edwin Starr

Revered for the storming protest classic “War,” Edwin Starr didn’t need another hit to achieve legendary status in soul circles, so electrifying was that single performance. Nevertheless, he had several Top 10 hits on the R&B charts during the late ’60s and early ’70s, and enjoyed a brief renaissance in the disco era.

Johnny Cash The Greatest: The Number Ones

With his deep, resonant baritone and spare percussive guitar, Johnny Cash didn’t sound like Nashville, nor did he sound like honky tonk or rock ‘n roll. He created his own sub-genre, falling halfway between the blunt emotional honesty of folk, the rebelliousness of rock ‘n roll, and the world-weariness of country.

Common Ground

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award and the American Book Award, the bestselling “Common Ground” is much more than the story of the busing crisis in Boston as shared through the experiences of three families. As Studs Terkel remarked, it’s “gripping, indelible…a truth about all large American cities.”

Psycho

Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece of the macabre stars Anthony Perkins as the troubled Norman Bates, whose old dark house and adjoining motel are not the place to spend a quiet evening. No one knows that better than Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), the ill-fated traveler whose journey ends in the notorious “shower scene.”

Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics

The story of Jesse Owens at the Berlin games is that of an athletic performance that transcends sports. It is also the intimate and complex tale of one remarkable man’s courage. Drawing on unprecedented access to the Owens family, previously unpublished interviews and exhaustive archival research, Jeremy Schaap tells the dramatic tale of Owens and his fellow athletes at the contest dubbed the “Nazi Olympics.”

The Sopranos

For six seasons, fans devotedly watched Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) struggle to balance his home life with the criminal organization he leads. Audiences tuned in to see the mob, the food, the family and who was next to be whacked. Now you can own what Vanity Fair called, “the greatest show in TV history”, in the ultimate “Sopranos” keepsake. Co-starring Edie Falco, Lorraine Bracco, Michael Imperioli, Steven Van Zandt and Joe Pantoliano.

Musical Milestones

1964 – The Supremes reign over the singles chart with “Where Did Our Love Go,” which holds at No. 1 for two weeks.

1976 – A judge rules that when George Harrison wrote “My Sweet Lord,” he plagiarized The Chiffons’ “He’s So Fine, written by Ronnie Mack. The crime costs the ex-Beatle $1.6 million for what the court calls “subconscious plagiarism.”

1985 – Huey Lewis and the News enjoy a second and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “The Power of Love.”

1991 – Metallica’s self-titled album, also known as “The Black Album,” kicks off four weeks on top of the Billboard album chart and goes on to sell more than 16 million copies in the U.S. alone.

1996 – “Macarena,” by Los del Rio, is in the midst of a 14-week domination of the pop chart.

2002 – “Dilemma,” by Nelly and Kelly (Rowland), claims the No. 1 spot on the Billboard singles chart.

History Highlights

1888 – A passerby in London’s East End discovers the mutilated body of prostitute Mary Ann Nichols, the first victim of serial killer Jack the Ripper.

1964 – California surpasses New York to become the most populated state in the U.S.

1972 – American swimmer Mark Spitz speeds his way to an unprecedented seven Gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany.

1980 – Representatives of Poland’s communist government agree to the demands of striking shipyard workers in Gdansk. Former electrician Lech Walesa leads the striking workers, who go on to form Solidarity, the first independent labor union to develop in a Soviet bloc nation.

1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales, and her companion, Dodi Al-Fayed, die in a Paris car crash while being pursued at high speed by photographers on motorbikes. The tragedy leaves the world shocked and saddened.

Celebrity Birthdays

1924 – Comedic actor Buddy Hackett, born Leonard Hacker (“The Music Man,” “Loose Shoes,” “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,” “The Love Bug”) (d. 2003)

1928 – Oscar-winning actor James Coburn (“Our Man Flint,” “Affliction”) (d. 2002)

1945 – Singer-songwriter Van Morrison (“Brown Eyed Girl,” “Moondance”)

1945 – Grammy-winning violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman

1949 – Golden Globe-winning actor Richard Gere (“American Gigolo,” “An Officer and A Gentleman,” “Pretty Woman,” “Primal Fear,” “Chicago,” “Nights in Rodanthe,” “Arbitrage”)

1970 – Singer-songwriter-actress Debbie Gibson (“Only in My Dreams,” “Lost in Your Eyes,” “Shake Your Love”)

1971 – Actor-comedian Chris Tucker (“Def Comedy Jam,” “The Fifth Element,” the “Rush Hour” movie series, “Silver Linings Playbook”)

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Early Takes Volume 1 / George Harrison

George Harrison’s ability to balance lofty spiritual concerns within the framework of a pop song was one of his greatest strengths, and it is well documented on this collection of previously unreleased recordings.

Metallica

One of the biggest-selling albums of all time, Metallica’s self-titled disc (a.k.a. “The Black Album”) marked a major turning point for the band even before it was released in 1991. It was the first solid indication Metallica were no longer interested in writing pure thrash metal and wanted to reach a wider and more mainstream audience.

Mark Spitz: The Extraordinary Life of an Olympic Champion

Swimmer extraordinaire Mark Spitz is arguably the most famous and successful Olympic athlete of all time. This book dives into Spitz’s career, behind-the-scenes anecdotes about him and his competitors, and untold stories that shed light on his complicated personality. Old and new fans alike will appreciate the depth and details of this swimming icon’s story.

Diana: Her True Story — In Her Own Words

The sensational biography of Princess Diana, written with her cooperation and now featuring exclusive new material to commemorate the 20th anniversary of her death.

The Essential Van Morrison

This comprehensive anthology of one of the Emerald Isle’s most soulful singers hits the high points of Van Morrison’s five-decade-long artistic evolution.

Pretty Woman

Vivian (Julia Roberts) is a spirited, streetwise diamond in the rough when she meets shrewd, no-nonsense billionaire Edward Lewis (Richard Gere). It’s a chance encounter that turns a week-long “business arrangement” into a timeless rags-to-riches romance. Directed by Garry Marshall.

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.

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.”

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.

History Highlights

1963 – A quarter of a million people participate in the March on Washington, a peaceful civil rights rally during which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers 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.

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

Celebrity Birthdays

1943 – Actor-singer David Soul, born David Richard Solberg, best remembered for his role as Detective Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchinson in the 1970s TV series “Starsky & Hutch”

1957 – Actor Daniel Stern (“Diner,” “City Slickers,” “Home Alone,” “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” “The Wonder Years”)

1958 – U.S. Olympic Gold Medal figure skater and TV commentator Scott Hamilton

1962 – Golden Globe-winning director David Fincher (“Alien 3,” “Seven,” “Fight Club,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Social Network”)

1965 – Grammy-winning country music singer-songwriter Shania Twain (“You’re Still the One,” “From This Moment On,” “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”, “I’m Gonna Getcha Good!”, “Forever and for Always”)

1969 – Actor Jason Priestley (“Beverly Hills, 90210,” “Call Me Fitz”)

1969 – Actor-comedian-musician Jack Black (“Shallow Hal,” “High Fidelity,” “School of Rock,” “Tropic Thunder,” the “Kung Fu Panda” movies, “Gulliver’s Travels,” “Goosebumps”)

1982 – Grammy-winning country singer LeAnn Rimes, who covered the single “Blue” at the age of 13 and became the youngest country star since Tanya Tucker in 1972

1986 – Singer Florence Welch, lead singer of the indie rock band Florence and the Machine (“Kiss with a Fist,” “Shake It Out”)

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Best Of The Marvelettes

Born into the girl-group era of the early 1960s, the Marvelettes are famous for delivering Motown’s first No. 1 record on the pop charts, “Please Mr. Postman.” Smokey Robinson wrote and produced additional hits for band, including “As Long As I Know He’s Mine,” “He’s A Good Guy (Yes He Is)” and “Don’t Mess With Bill.”

Number Ones / Bee Gees

Relying on exceptional songwriting and impeccable vocals, the Bee Gees crafted a long-running career that began in the late 1950s in Australia. Along the way, they became a hit-producing psychedelic pop group in England during the 1960s, the biggest disco band in the world in the 1970s, and enoyed a late comeback as adult contemporary crooners in the 1990s.

This Is The Day: The March on Washington

A stirring photo-essay by photographer Leonard Freed documenting the March on Washington of August 28, 1963 — the historic day on which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial. This book commemorates the 50th anniversary of the march that ultimately led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

An Open Book

In An Open Book, Oscar-winning director John Huston — a veteran of five marriages, innumerable friendships, practical jokes, horses, love affairs, and intellectual obsessions — tells his own story in his own way. It is direct, unadorned, complete and wonderful reading.

Greatest Hits / Shania Twain

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Shania Twain rose from humble beginnings to become one of the best-selling female artists in the history of country music. She has delivered some of the most recognizable songs in the country genre, and this collection brings together her finest work.

School of Rock

Jack Black stars as a wanna-be rock star. Kicked out of his band and desperate for work, he impersonates a substitute teacher at a prep school and turns a class of studious fifth graders into a high-energy rock band. Co-starring Joan Cusack and Miranda Cosgrove.