On This Day: January 10

On This Day January 10

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Celebrity Birthdays
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
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
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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On This Day: December 22

On This Day December 22

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1912 – Lady Bird Johnson, former U.S. First Lady and wife of 36th President Lyndon Johnson (d. 2007)

1915 – Actress Barbara Billingsley, who played housewife June Cleaver on TV’s “Leave It to Beaver” (d. 2010)

1917 – Longtime “Match Game” host Gene Rayburn, born Eugene Jelyevich (d. 1999)

1936 – Emmy-winning actor Hector Elizondo (“The Taking of Pelham One Two Three,” “Pretty Woman,” “Chicago Hope,” “Last Man Standing,” “The Princess Diaries”)

1945 – Emmy-winning TV journalist and former ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer

1949 – Singer-songwriter and Bee Gees band member Robin Gibb (d. 2012)

1949 – Singer-songwriter and Bee Gees band member Maurice Gibb (d. 2003)

1962 – Tony-winning actor Ralph Fiennes, born Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (“Schindler’s List,” “The English Patient,” the “Harry Potter” movie series, “Red Dragon,” “The Constant Gardener,” “In Bruges,” “The Reader,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Menu”)

1989 – Singer-songwriter-actress and youngest “American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks (“Tattoo,” “No Air,” “Battlefield”)

1993 – Grammy-winning pop singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor (“All About That Bass,” “Lips Are Moving,” “Dear Future Husband,” “Like I’m Gonna Lose You,” “No”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1900 – The first car manufactured under the Mercedes name (Mercedes 35 hp) is delivered to its buyer — Emil Jellinek, an Austrian car racer and automotive executive.

1952 – General Motors completes a production-ready prototype of the first Corvette (EX-122) to display three weeks later at GM’s Motorama auto show in New York City. It becomes Chevrolet’s flagship sports car and remains a fixture of automotive culture.

1956 – Colo, the first gorilla born in captivity, enters the world at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio, weighing slightly more than three pounds. Beloved the world over, Colo dies just weeks after her 60th birthday, on January 17, 2017. Colo is credited with helping the Columbus Zoo establish its reputation as a global leader in gorilla breeding, care, habitat and conservation.

1978 – Serial killer John Wayne Gacy confesses to murdering over two dozen boys and young men and burying their bodies under his suburban Chicago home.

1984 – Bernhard Goetz, a 37-year-old white man, shoots four black teenagers on a New York City subway train after they surround him and ask for $5. Goetz is heralded as a hero and dubbed the “Subway Vigilante.”

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1962 – “Telstar,” by The Tornados, soars to the top of the singles chart, becoming the first major hit on the American chart by a British band.

1979 – Rupert Holmes begins a two-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Escape (The Piña Colada Song).”

1979 – Pat Benatar’s breakthrough single, “Heartbreaker,” lands on the Billboard Hot 100 and climbs as high as No. 23. The Grammy-winning rocker produces 16 more hits through the 1980s.

1984 – Madonna kicks off six weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Like a Virgin.”

1990 – “Because I Love You (The Postman Song),” by Stevie B, is the No. 1 single. It holds the top spot for four weeks.

2001 – Nickelback sets out on a four-week domination of the singles chart with “How You Remind Me.”

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