On This Day: February 13

On This Day February 13

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Celebrity Birthdays
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”)

History Highlights
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. 

1923 – The New York Renaissance (a.k.a. “The Rens”), the first all-Black professional basketball team, is organized. It becomes one of the dominant teams of the 1920s and 1930s.

1945 – Allied firebombing raids begin against Dresden, reducing the eastern German city to rubble and flames, and causing around 25,000 deaths. 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.

Musical Milestones
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 American bandleader and television host Lawrence Welk, begins two weeks as the No. 1 single.  It becomes the most successful chart hit of Welk’s career.

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.

1982 – The J. Geils Band is in the midst of a six-week stretch at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Centerfold.”

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

1999 – Monica begins a four-week hold at No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart with “Angel of Mine.”

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On this Day: July 27

On this Day July 27

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1922 – Emmy and Peabody Award-winning TV writer-producer Norman Lear (“All in the Family,” “The Jeffersons,” “Maude,” “Good Times”) 

1944 – Singer Bobbie Gentry, who claimed Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance honors for the 1967 hit “Ode to Billie Joe”

1948 – Olympic gold medal figure skater Peggy Fleming 

1949 – Singer Maureen McGovern, the talent behind the 1973 hit “The Morning After” from the movie “The Poseidon Adventure” 

1972 – Comedian-actress and “SNL” alum Maya Rudolph (“50 First Dates,” “Grown-ups,” “Bridesmaids”) 

1977 – Golden Globe-winning actor Jonathan Rhys Myers (“Prozac Nation,” “Bend It Like Beckham,” “Match Point,” “Elvis”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1940 – Bugs Bunny makes his debut in the Merrie Melodies cartoon “A Wild Hare,” and remains an American cultural icon all these decades later.

1953 – After three years of combat, the United States, the People’s Republic of China, North Korea, and South Korea agree to an armistice, bringing the Korean War to an end.

1965 – President Lyndon Johnson signs the Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act into law, requiring cigarette makers to print health warnings on every pack of smokes.

1974 – The Watergate scandal boils over as the House Judiciary Committee recommends that President Richard Nixon be impeached and removed from office for obstruction of justice. 

2003 – Entertainer Bob Hope—known for his decades of overseas tours to perform for American troops and who hosted 18 Oscar ceremonies and received five honorary awards from the Academy—dies at the age of 100.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1940 – “Billboard” magazine publishes its first music popularity chart. The No. 1 song for the week ending July 27, 1940 is “I’ll Never Smile Again” by Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra with vocals provided by Frank Sinatra and The Pied Pipers.

1959 – Paul Anka is in the middle of four weeks at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Lonely Boy.”

1963 – Jan & Dean ride the tide through a second week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Surf City.” It’s the first surf song to become a national chart-topper.

1974 – “Annie’s Song,” a tribute to his wife, propels John Denver to the top of the singles chart. 

1976 – Nearly four years after U.S. immigration officials threaten to deport him, John Lennon acquires his green card. It allows Lennon to settle in the U.S., where he lived, raised a son and remained until his tragic death on December 8, 1980.

1991 – “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” by Bryan Adams kicks off seven weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The track appears on the “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” movie soundtrack as well as on Adams’ sixth studio album, “Waking Up the Neighbours.”

1996 – The No. 1 song in the U.S. is “You’re Makin’ Me High”/”Let It Flow,”  by Toni Braxton. The track holds the top spot for a week.

2002 – Rap sensation Nelly rules the Billboard pop chart with “Hot in Herre,” which remains a chart-topper for seven weeks.

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