Perry Como – Time Rewind

On This Day April 10

Click each item below to learn more!

On This Day March 14

Click each item below to learn more!

Celebrity Birthdays

1879 – Physicist Albert Einstein, who developed the theory of relativity (d. 1955)

1933 – Oscar-winning actor Sir Michael Caine (“Deathtrap,” “Educating Rita,” “Hannah and Her Sisters,” “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” “The Cider House Rules,” the “Dark Knight” trilogy, “Inception,” “Interstellar”)

1933 – Grammy-winning composer-producer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Quincy Jones

1948 – Emmy and Tony-winning comedian-actor Billy Crystal (“The Princess Bride,” “When Harry Met Sally…,” “City Slickers,” “Analyze This,” “Monsters, Inc.”)

1988 – NBA superstar and 2015/2016 MVP Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors

1997 – Olympic gold medal gymnast Simone Biles, the most decorated American gymnast in history; also the first American woman to win seven national all-around titles and first female gymnast to earn three consecutive World All-Around titles.

History Highlights

1879 – Albert Einstein, the physicist best known for his theory of relativity and who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1921, is born at Ulm, in Württemberg, Germany.

1950 – The FBI introduces the “Ten Most-Wanted Fugitives” list to help track down dangerous criminals who are at large. The first person placed on the list is Thomas James Holden, wanted for the murder of his wife, her brother and her stepbrother.

1964 – A Dallas jury finds Jack Ruby guilty of murder in the death of JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. Ruby is sentenced to death.

1990 – Running unopposed, Mikhail Gorbachev is elected president of the Soviet Union. While the election was a victory, it also revealed serious weaknesses in Gorbachev’s power base that eventually lead to the collapse of his presidency in December 1991.

1991 – British authorities release the so-called “Birmingham Six” — six Irish men who had been sent to prison 16 years earlier for the 1974 terrorist bombings of two Birmingham, England pubs.

Musical Milestones

1958 – The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awards its first official Gold Record to Perry Como for his last No. 1 single — the smash “Catch A Falling Star.”

1964 – The Beatles begin their seventh and final week as Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers with “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” The following week, the Fab Four are back at No. 1 with “She Loves You.”

1970 – Simon & Garfunkel are in the midst of a six-week domination of the singles chart with “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

1981 – Dolly Parton takes the theme song from the movie “9 to 5” to the top of the singles chart for a second time. The track spent a week at No. 1 beginning on February 21.

1983 – Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Alec John Such form the rock band Bon Jovi in Sayreville, New Jersey.

1987 – “Jacob’s Ladder,” by Huey Lewis and the News, is the No. 1 single. It’s among five Top 10 singles to come off the band’s “Fore!” album.

1998 – Will Smith kicks off a three-week run atop the singles chart with “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It.” The song is based around a sample of “He’s the Greatest Dancer” by Sister Sledge.

On This Day March 3

Click each item below to learn more!

Celebrity Birthdays

1847 – Scientist-inventor Alexander Graham Bell, best known for developing the telephone (d. 1922)

1911 – Actress Jean Harlow, often referred to as the “Original Blonde Bombshell” (d. 1937)

1920 – Actor James Doohan, best known as starship engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott from the “Star Trek” TV and movie series (d. 2005)

1945 – Oscar-winning director George Miller, best known for the “Mad Max” movie franchise and the animated film “Happy Feet”

1947 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jennifer Warnes (“Right Time of the Night,” “Up Where We Belong,” “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life”)

1958 – Golden Globe-winning actress Miranda Richardson (“Blackadder,” “The Crying Game,” “The Apostle,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” “Made in Dagenham”)

1962 – Heisman Trophy-winning retired NFL running back Herschel Walker

1966 – Rapper Tone Loc, born Anthony Smith (“Wild Thing,” “Funky Cold Medina”)

1982 – Actress Jessica Biel (“7th Heaven,” “Ulee’s Gold,” “Summer Catch,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Blade: Trinity”)

History Highlights

1820 – Congress passes the Missouri Compromise, temporarily resolving the first serious political clash between slavery and antislavery interests by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state.

1887 – Anne Mansfield Sullivan begins teaching six-year-old Helen Keller, who lost her sight and hearing at 19 months of age. Under Sullivan’s tutelage, including her pioneering “touch teaching” techniques, the previously uncontrollable Keller thrived, eventually graduating from college and becoming an international lecturer and activist.

1923 – The first edition of Time magazine is published. The 32-page issue features former U.S. House Speaker Joseph G. Cannon on the cover.

1931 – With the stroke of President Herbert Hoover’s pen, the United States officially adopts the “Star-Spangled Banner” as its national anthem.

1950 – Marilyn Monroe makes her first screen appearance when the musical comedy “Love Happy,” starring the Marx Brothers, opens in movie theaters.

1952 – The U.S. Supreme Court upholds a New York state law (Feinberg Law) that prohibits communists from teaching in public schools. Coming at the height of the Red Scare in the U.S., the high court’s decision was further proof that many Americans feared possible subversive communist activity within their borders.

1991 – In what’s believed to be the first viral video, amateur video footage captures the beating of African American motorist Rodney King by four Los Angeles police officers, igniting outrage over alleged police brutality and social inequalities in LA’s black community. The cops are later tried and acquitted, which triggers riots.

Musical Milestones

1951 – “If,” by Perry Como, claims a six-week hold on the top spot on the singles chart.

1973 – Roberta Flack rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” which remains a chart-topper for four weeks. The track goes on to garner Flack Grammys in 1974 for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance as well as a Song of the Year Grammy for its writers, Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox.

1973 – At the 15th Annual Grammy Awards, Roberta Flack wins Song of the Year and Record of the Year honors for “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” as well as Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo for her duet with Donny Hathaway, “Where Is The Love.” Harry Nilsson wins the Best Pop Vocal Performance Grammy for “Without You.”

1984 – “Jump,” by Van Halen, begins its second week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The track, off the band’s “1984” album, remains at No. 1 for five weeks.

1990 – Janet Jackson begins three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart with “Escapade,” off her “Rhythm Nation 1814” album.

2001 – “Stutter,” by Joe featuring Mystikal, holds the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

On This Day January 10

Click each item below to learn more!

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 forms to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, ending World War I.

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!”

On this Day May 18

Click each item below to learn more!

Celebrity Birthdays

1912 – Pop singer and TV personality Perry Como (“Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes,” “It’s Impossible”) (d. 2001)

1920 – Pope John Paul II, born Karol Józef Wojtyla, the second longest-serving pope in history, who was leader of the Catholic Church from 1978 until his death (d. 2005)

1946 – Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, a.k.a. “Mr. October,” who won five World Series Championship rings with the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees.

1952 – Grammy-winning Country Music Hall of Famer George Strait, known as “The King of Country” (“Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind,” “All My Ex’s Live in Texas,” “Write This Down”)

1970 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress, comedian, writer and producer Tina Fey (“Saturday Night Live,” “30 Rock,” ” Mean Girls,” “Baby Mama,” “Date Night,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”)

1975 – Singer-songwriter Jack Johnson (“Flake,” “Better Together,” “Banana Pancakes”)

History Highlights

1917 – Six weeks after the United States formally enters the World War I, Congress passes and President Woodrow Wilson signs into law the Selective Service Act. It requires all American men between the ages of 21 and 30 to register for service in the U.S. military. On June 5, 1917, some 10 million men report to their local Selective Service Registration Boards to sign up.

1953 – Jacqueline “Jackie” Cochran becomes the first woman aviator to break the sound barrier. The so-called “Queen of Speed” was an important contributor to the formation of America’s wartime Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) and Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).

1965 – President Lyndon Johnson announces the launch of Project Head Start, designed as part of his War on Poverty initiative, to provide comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families.

1974 – With its detonation of a nuclear bomb, India officially becomes the world’s sixth nuclear power. International reaction to the test was negative, with Canada cutting off virtually all nuclear assistance. The United States also restricted such collaborations and successfully persuaded India not to carry out further nuclear tests at that time.

1980 – The violent eruption of Washington’s Mount St. Helens kills 57 people, destroys hundreds of homes, levels tens of thousands of acres of forest, triggers mudflows and scatters ash across a dozen states. It becomes one of the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic events in U.S. history.

Musical Milestones

1959 – Considered one of rock and roll’s early classics, “Kansas City,” by Wilbert Harrison, tops the Billboard Hot 100 and remains there for two weeks. The song was written in 1952 by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who had never been to Kansas City. Despite countless covers, including one by Little Richard, only Harrison’s version became a chart-topper.

1963 – Jimmy Soul has the No. 1 single with “If You Wanna Be Happy.” The song holds the top spot for two weeks.

1974 – Ray Stevens races to the top of the pop chart with the novelty song “The Streak,” and stays there for three weeks.

1985 – “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” by Simple Minds, is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Written for the John Hughes coming-of-age movie “The Breakfast Club,” it is the band’s only U.S. chart-topper.

1996 – Bone Thugs-n-Harmony begin eight weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with their Grammy-winning single, “Tha Crossroads.” The song is dedicated to the group’s mentor, the late gangsta rap icon Eazy-E.

2002 – Ashanti is in the middle of a 10-week domination of the singles chart with “Foolish.”