rapper – Time Rewind

On This Day January 15

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On This Day April 16

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Celebrity Birthdays

1867 – Wilbur Wright, who along with his brother Orville, is considered a pioneer of flight (d. 1912)

1889 – Silent film icon Charlie Chaplin (d. 1977)

1935 – Pop vocalist Bobby Vinton (“Roses Are Red,” “Blue Velvet,” “Mr. Lonely“)

1939 – Pop singer Dusty Springfield {“Wishin’ and Hopin’,” “The Look of Love”) (d. 1999)

1947 – Retired NBA legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, born Ferdinand Lewis (Lew) Alcindor, Jr.

1954 – Emmy and Tony-winning actress Ellen Barkin (“Buckaroo Banzai,” “The Big Easy,” “Sea of Love,” “Switch”)

1965 – Actor-comedian Martin Lawrence (“Bad Boys,” “Blue Streak,” “Big Momma’s House”)

1971 – Grammy-winning Tejano superstar Selena Quintanilla (d. 1995)

1993 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and record producer Chance The Rapper, born Chancelor Bennett (“Confident,” “Coloring Book”)

History Highlights

1947 – A powerful explosion aboard a chemical-laden freighter docked at Texas City, near Houston, touches off fires that destroy much of the city. Nearly 600 people are killed in what is still considered one of the worst industrial accidents in U.S. history.

1947 – Multimillionaire financier and presidential adviser Bernard Baruch coins the term “Cold War” to describe relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. The phrase sticks, and for more than four decades is a fixture of American diplomacy.

1968 – The longest night game in Major League Baseball ends in the Houston Astrodome in the wee hours of the morning with the Astros shutting out the New York Mets 1-0 in 24 innings.

1972 – The Chinese government sends President Richard Nixon two giant pandas as a sign of friendship. The gesture becomes known as “Panda Diplomacy.” Female panda Ling-Ling and male companion Hsing-Hsing make their home at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

2007 – In one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history, 32 people are gunned down on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, by a student at the college who would later take his own life.

Musical Milestones

1964 – The Beatles film chase scenes for their movie, “A Hard Day’s Night,” with actors dressed as policemen (“Bobbies”) in the Notting Hill Gate area of London. That evening, the Fab Four record the title track at Abbey Road Studios.

1966 – “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration,” by The Righteous Brothers, is in the middle of three weeks as a No. 1 single. Billboard goes on to rank the track as the No. 3 single for all of 1966.

1973 – Paul McCartney’s first television special, “James Paul McCartney,” airs on ABC-TV. The show, which includes performances by McCartney and Wings, is broadcast in the U.K. about a month later.

1977 – The hottest song on the radio is “Don’t Give Up on Us,” by David Soul, best known as the star of the 1970s TV police drama, “Starsky & Hutch.”

1983 – “Billie Jean,” from Michael Jackson’s Grammy-winning “Thriller” album, wraps up seven weeks as a No. 1 single.

1994 – R. Kelly is midway through a four-week ride at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Bump ‘N Grind.”

2005 – “Candy Shop,” by 50 Cent featuring Olivia, is in the midst of a nine-week domination of the U.S. pop chart.

2018 – Kendrick Lamar becomes the first rapper to win the Pulitzer Prize. The honor is for his 2017 album, “DAMN.” The recognition is part of a growing acceptance of hip-hop by reigning cultural institutions.

On This Day January 17

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Celebrity Birthdays

1706 – U.S. Founding Father, statesman, publisher and inventor Benjamin Franklin (d. 1790)

1899 – American gangster Al Capone (d. 1947)

1922 – Actress-comedian Betty White, whose eight decades in show business included memorable roles in TV’s “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Golden Girls,” “Hot in Cleveland” and “Saturday Night Live”) (d. 2021)

1927 – Singer-actress Eartha Kitt, best known for her rendition of “Santa Baby” and for playing Catwoman in the 60’s “Batman” TV series (d. 2007)

1931 – Emmy, Golden Globe and Tony-winning actor James Earl Jones, whose many performances include providing the voice of Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” movie series and Mufasa in Disney’s “The Lion King”

1942 – Former World Heavyweight Boxing champion Muhammad Ali (d. 2016)

1957 – Comedian and “Family Feud” host Steve Harvey

1962 – Golden Globe-winning actor-comedian Jim Carrey (“Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” “Dumb and Dumber,” “The Mask,” “Batman Forever,” “Liar Liar,” “The Truman Show,” “Man on the Moon,” “Bruce Almighty,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Mr. Popper’s Penguins”)

1964 – Former First Lady Michelle Obama

1971 – Rapper and singer-songwriter Kid Rock, born Robert James Ritchie

1980 – Actress-singer Zooey Deschanel (“All the Real Girls,” “Elf,” “The Happening,” “(500) Days of Summer,” “New Girl”)

History Highlights

1916 – Golf great Walter Hagen and some 30 other pro golfers meet in New York City and form the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA).

1950 – Eleven Boston bandits stage what comes to be called the “crime of the century,” the “perfect crime” and the “fabulous Brink’s robbery.” The group steals more than $2 million ($29 million today) from the Brink’s Armored Car depot in Boston. Six years later, the suspects are finally arrested — just days before the statute of limitations for the heist was to expire.

1953 – General Motors (GM) unveils a prototype Chevrolet Corvette sports car (code-named EX-122) at the Motorama auto show in New York City. Named for a fast type of naval warship, Corvette would eventually become an iconic American muscle car that is still in production today.

1955 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus (SSN 571), sets out to sea. Over the next several years, the vessel shatters all submerged speed and distance records.

1961 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers his farewell address to the nation and warns against the accumulation of power by “the military-industrial complex.”

1994 – A powerful earthquake rocks Los Angeles, leaving 57 people dead and causing billions of dollars in damage. The Northridge Quake, as it’s known, remains one of the most destructive in U.S. history.

Musical Milestones

1969 – Led Zeppelin’s self-titled debut album, featuring a stylized photo of the exploding Hindenburg airship on the cover, is released to a lackluster reception. The album, which includes the tracks “Good Times Bad Times” and “Dazed and Confused,” eventually climbs to No. 10 and helps shape the evolution of hard rock and heavy metal.

1970 – The Doors play the first of four shows at the Felt Forum in New York City. The performances are recorded for an eventual live compilation album.

1976 – Barry Manilow’s “I Write the Songs” reaches the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and goes on to win a Grammy for Song of the Year. Ironically, Manilow did not write this song. It was penned by Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys.

1987 – “Shake You Down,” by Gregory Abbott, is the No. 1 single.

1990 – The Four Seasons, The Platters, The Four Tops, Hank Ballard, Bobby Darin, Simon & Garfunkel, The Kinks, and The Who are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during the fifth annual awards presentation in New York.

1998 – The Australian pop duo Savage Garden kicks off two weeks as Billboard chart-toppers with “Truly Madly Deeply.”

2004 – OutKast is in the middle of a nine-week domination of the pop chart with “Hey Ya!”

On This Day January 15

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Celebrity Birthdays

1913 – Actor Lloyd Bridges (“Sea Hunt,” “Airplane!” “East of Eden”) (d. 1998)

1929 – Nobel Peace Prize-winning civil rights leader and Baptist minister Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (d. 1968)

1937 – Oscar-winning actress Margaret O’Brien (“Jane Eyre,” “Meet Me in St. Louis”)

1951 – Singer, dancer, comedian and actress Charo, born María del Rosario Mercedes Pilar Martínez Molina Baez

1957 – Actor-director Mario Van Peebles (“21 Jump Street,” “New Jack City,” “Baadasssss!”)

1968 – Emmy-winning actor Chad Lowe (“ER,” “Melrose Place,” “Life Goes On,” “Pretty Little Liars”)

1981 – Grammy-winning rapper Pitbull, born Armando Christian Pérez (“I Know You Want Me,” “Give Me Everything,” “Timber”)

1988 – Grammy-winning DJ Skrillex, born Sonny John Moore

History Highlights

1943 – The world’s largest office building, The Pentagon, is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia, as the home of the U.S. Department of Defense, which was then known as the U.S. War Department.

1967 – The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles with the Green Bay Packers defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10.

1974 – Nostalgic sitcom “Happy Days,” starring Henry Winkler as super-cool biker Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli, premieres. Ron Howard co-stars as Fonzie’s friend, Richie Cunningham. The show, created by Garry Marshall, runs for 11 seasons and was one of the highest-rated series of the 1970s.

1981 – The award-winning dramatic police series “Hill Street Blues” debuts on NBC.

2009 – In what comes to be called the “Miracle on the Hudson,” a US Airways passenger jet makes an emergency landing in the frigid Hudson River between Manhattan and New Jersey after a bird strike disables its engines during take-off from LaGuardia Airport. All 155 passengers and crew of the Airbus A-320 survive, and pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger is hailed as a hero. In 2016, the story is made into a movie directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks as “Sully.”

Musical Milestones

1966 – The Beatles have a No. 1 single with “We Can Work It Out.”

1972 – Don McLean’s classic track, “American Pie,” conquers the Billboard singles chart and holds the top spot for four weeks.

1977 – “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” by Leo Sayer is the hottest song on the radio.

1983 – “Down Under” puts Men At Work on top of the Billboard singles chart. It’s the second single from the Australian band’s “Business As Usual” album to reach No. 1.

1994 – Mariah Carey’s “Hero” marks its fourth and final week as a No. 1 single.

2005 – “Let Me Love You,” by Mario, is in the middle of nine weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 and later garners a Grammy nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.

On This Day January 1

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Celebrity Birthdays

1735 – American Revolution patriot Paul Revere (d. 1818)

1919 – Author J. D. Salinger, best known for his critically acclaimed novel “The Catcher in the Rye” (d. 2010)

1938 – Tony-winning actor Frank Langella (“Dracula,” “Dave,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Unknown”)

1942 – Country Joe McDonald, lead singer of the 60s psychedelic rock group Country Joe & the Fish

1943 – Actor-comedian Don Novello, best known as Father Guido Salducci on “Saturday Night Live”

1958 – Rapper Grandmaster Flash, born Joseph Saddler, considered one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting and mixing

1969 – Actor Morris Chestnut (“Boyz n the Hood,” “The Best Man,” “Ladder 49”)

History Highlights

1818 – Mary Shelley’s classic “Frankenstein” is published.

1863 – President Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation aimed at abolishing slavery in the U.S.

1942 – The United Nations is created when U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill issue a declaration, signed by representatives of 26 countries, vowing to form an international postwar peacekeeping organization.

1959 – Cuban President Fulgencio Batista is overthrown by Fidel Castro’s rebel forces during the Cuban Revolution. Amid celebration and chaos in the capitol of Havana, the U.S. is left to determine how best to deal with the radical Castro and brewing anti-Americanism in Cuba.

1971 – A ban on cigarette advertising on American television takes effect, with the last commercial (for Virginia Slims) broadcast on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” at 11:50 p.m.

1994 – The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) takes effect between Canada, the United States and Mexico. Former President George H.W. Bush signed the NAFTA agreement in 1992 before leaving office.

Musical Milestones

1953 – One of America’s first country music superstars, Hank Williams, dies at the age of 29, but leaves a lasting legacy that continues to influence artists of all musical genres.

1959 – Country music legend Johnny Cash (a.k.a. “The Man in Black”) plays his first of many free concerts at California’s San Quentin Prison. The captive audience of inmates included future country music great Merle Haggard , who, at 19, was serving time for grand theft auto and armed robbery.

1962 – From the “Ooops” file: The Beatles audition for London record company Decca on the same day as Brian Poole & the Tremeloes. Decca tells The Beatles, “guitar groups are on their way out,” and signs the Tremeloes.

1966 – Simon & Garfunkel are No. 1 on the singles chart with “The Sounds of Silence.”

1977 – Rod Stewart begins his eighth and final week on top of the pop chart with “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright).”

1983 – Hall & Oates dominate the Billboard Hot 100 for a third week with “Maneater.”

2000 – “Smooth,” by Santana featuring Rob Thomas, scores its ninth week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The track will spend one more week at No. 1 and later capture three Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

On This Day November 2

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Celebrity Birthdays

1734 – American pioneer-explorer-frontiersman Daniel Boone (d. 1820)

1913 – Oscar-winning actor Burt Lancaster (“Elmer Gantry,” “The Swimmer,” “Atlantic City,” “Field of Dreams”) (d. 1994)

1914 – Actor Ray Walston (“My Favorite Martian,” “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”) (d. 2001)

1938 – Journalist and conservative political commentator Pat Buchanan

1942 – Actress Stefanie Powers (“Hart to Hart”)

1961 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter k.d. lang (“Constant Craving,” “Miss Chatelaine”)

1966 – Actor David Schwimmer, best known for playing Ross Geller in the popular NBC sitcom “Friends”

1974 – Grammy-winning rapper-actor Nelly, born Cornell Haynes, Jr. (“Country Grammar,” “Hot in Herre,” “Dilemma,” “Party People,” “Just a Dream”)

History Highlights

1902 – Automobile designer Andrew Riker delivers the first four-cylinder, gas-powered “Locomobile” to a buyer in New York City. It’s a 12-horsepower Model C that sells for $4,000.

1947 – Aviator and engineer Howard Hughes performs the first and only flight of his Spruce Goose, the largest fixed-wing aircraft ever built. The entire flight lasts only about a minute, as the mammoth, eight-engine airplane travels for one mile just above the surface of Long Beach Harbor in California. However, it was enough to prove to skeptics that the machine could actually fly.

1948 – In the greatest upset in presidential election history, Democratic incumbent, Harry S. Truman, defeats his Republican challenger, Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York, by just over two million popular votes.

1983 – With the stroke of his pen, President Ronald Reagan designates the third Monday of January a federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

1992 – Producer, director and screenwriter Hal Roach—best known for producing the “Laurel and Hardy” and “Our Gang” (later called “The Little Rascals”) film comedy series—dies at the age of 100.

Musical Milestones

1963 – “Sugar Shack,” by Jimmy Gilmer and The Fireballs, is in the middle of five weeks on top of the Billboard pop chart. By the end of the month, the track is certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling more than a million copies.

1968 – The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” is in the midst of a nine-week ride atop the singles chart, forcing Mary Hopkin to settle for second-place with her single “Those Were the Days.”

1974 – His musical commentary on the social strife of 1970s America puts Stevie Wonder on top of the singles chart for a week with “You Haven’t Done Nothin’,” featuring backup vocals by The Jackson 5.

1985 – “Part-Time Lover,” by Stevie Wonder, begins a week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1991 – Karyn White has the No. 1 single with “Romantic.”

1996 – “Macarena,” by Los del Rio enters the final week of a 14-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

2002 – On his 28th birthday, Nelly concludes a tenth and final week at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Dilemma,” featuring Kelly Rowland. The song captures a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 45th Grammy Awards.

On This Day September 25

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Celebrity Birthdays

1897 – Nobel Prize-winning novelist William Faulkner (“‘The Sound and the Fury,” “As I Lay Dying”) (d. 1962)

1929 – Emmy-winning TV journalist Barbara Walters, the first woman to co-anchor a network evening news broadcast and who appeared as a host of numerous TV programs, including “Today,” “The ABC Evening News,” “20/20” and “The View” (d. 2022)

1944 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor Michael Douglas (“The Streets of San Francisco,” “The China Syndrome,” “Romancing the Stone,” “Wall Street,” “The War of the Roses,” “Falling Down,” “The American President,” “Wonder Boys,” “Last Vegas”)

1947 – Supermodel-actress Cheryl Tiegs, remembered for adorning covers of the “Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue” and for her 1978 “Pink Bikini” poster, which became an iconic image of 1970s pop culture

1951 – Actor Mark Hamill, best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” movies

1952 – Actor Christopher Reeve, who was paralyzed in a 1995 horse-riding accident (“Superman,” “Somewhere in Time,” “Deathtrap,” “The Remains of the Day”) (d. 2004)

1961 – Actress Heather Locklear (“TJ Hooker,” “Melrose Place,” “Spin City”)

1968 – Grammy-winning actor-rapper Will Smith (“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Independence Day,” “Men in Black,” “Ali,” “I, Robot,” “I Am Legend,” “Hancock,” “After Earth,” “Suicide Squad,” “King Richard”)

1969 – Oscar-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones (“The Mask of Zorro,” “Entrapment,” “Traffic,” “Chicago,” “Oceans Twelve,” “The Terminal”)

History Highlights

1957 – Nine Black students (the “Little Rock Nine”) enter all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas escorted by the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division. Three weeks earlier, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus had surrounded the school with National Guard troops to block federal court-ordered racial integration. After a tense standoff, President Dwight D. Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and deployed 1,000 army paratroopers to Little Rock to enforce the court order.

1959 – Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev kicks off two days of meetings with President Dwight Eisenhower at Camp David. The two men reach general agreement on several issues, but a spy plane incident in May 1960 crushes any hopes for further improvement in U.S.-Soviet relations during the Eisenhower years.

1961 – President John F. Kennedy gives his “Sword of Damocles” speech before the United Nations General Assembly. He outlines the threat nuclear weapons had on the world, and challenges the Soviet Union to a “peace race…until general and complete disarmament has been achieved.”

1963 – The first in a series of 1960s teen beach movies is launched when “Beach Party,” starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, opens in U.S. theaters.

1978 – Tragedy erupts in the skies over San Diego as a small Cessna aircraft being used for flying lessons collides with a Pacific Southwest Airlines 727 (PSA Flight 182). The accident kills 153 people, including seven on the ground, and 22 homes where the burning jet fell are damaged or destroyed.

1981 – Sandra Day O’Connor is sworn in as the first female associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

1997 – NBC’s prime time medical drama “ER,” which supercharged George Clooney’s acting career, opens its fourth season with live performances — first for East coast viewers and a second time for its West coast audience. The episode, entitled “Ambush,” draws a record 42.7 million viewers, becoming the series’ highest rating ever. “ER” aired for a total of 15 seasons, making it the longest-running primetime medical drama.

Musical Milestones

1965 – The Beatles get animated — literally — as they join the Saturday morning cartoon lineup in ABC’s “The Beatles,” which runs for three seasons. While authentic Beatles music was used in the show, the speaking parts were recorded by voice actors.

1967 – The Beatles begin recording the Paul McCartney song “The Fool on the Hill” at Abbey Road Studios. John and George play harmonicas, Paul plays a recorder and handles lead vocals while Ringo plays drums.

1970 – “The Partridge Family,” starring Oscar-winner Shirley Jones and her actual stepson, teen heartthrob David Cassidy, premieres on ABC. Inspired by real-life vocal group The Cowsills, the show runs for 96 episodes through September 1974.

1982 – The Steve Miller Band works some magic on the singles chart by making “Abracadabra” return to the No. 1 spot where it had been three weeks earlier before Chicago’s “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” bumped it.

1993 – “Dreamlover,” by Mariah Carey, is in the midst of an eight-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100.

1999 – TLC top the pop chart with “Unpretty,” the trio’s fourth No. 1 single. It goes on to receive Grammy nominations for Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group.

2004 – “Goodies,” by Ciara featuring Petey Pablo, is the No. 1 single.

On This Day September 13

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Celebrity Birthdays

1857 – Businessman and philanthropist Milton Hershey, who founded the Hershey Chocolate Company (d. 1945)

1941 – Vocalist David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat & Tears

1944 – Golden Globe-winning actress Jacqueline Bisset (“The Detective,” “Bullitt,” “Murder on the Orient Express,” “The Deep,” “Dancing on the Edge”)

1944 – Singer-songwriter and bassist Peter Cetera, best known as front man for the band Chicago

1964 – Talk show host, political commentator and author Tavis Smiley

1969 – Actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, producer and author Tyler Perry, born Emmitt Perry, Jr., best known for his TV show “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne”

1977 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Fiona Apple (“Criminal, “Shadowboxer”)

History Highlights

1969 – “Scooby Doo Where Are You” premieres, introducing a band of meddling kids to the Saturday morning cartoon lineup.

1971 – A four-day revolt by inmates at Attica Prison in upstate New York comes to an explosive end as state police troopers and National Guardsmen storm the maximum-security facility with teargas and a hail of gunfire. Forty-three people are killed.

1974 – “The Rockford Files,” starring James Garner as a private investigator, debuts on NBC.

1976 – “The Muppet Show” debuts with host Kermit The Frog joined by new Jim Henson creations, including Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear.

1993 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shakes hands with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat at the White House after signing an accord granting limited Palestinian autonomy.

1994 – President Bill Clinton signs the Federal Assault Weapons Ban into law. The bill bans 18 specific firearms and certain features on guns, but only those manufactured after enactment. The measure expires exactly 10 years later, in 2004, since Congress did not reauthorize it.

2008 – Hurricane Ike makes landfall along the Texas Gulf coast in the early morning hours as a Category 2 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour. The third costliest storm in U.S. history after Hurricane Katrina causes flooding and severe wind damage across Galveston and Houston, leaving many without power for weeks.

Musical Milestones

1960 – The U.S. Congress passes an amendment to the Communications Act outlawing payola — payments of cash or gifts to radio stations in exchange for playing certain records on the air.

1965 – Louis Armstrong captures Best Male Vocalist honors for “Hello, Dolly!” at the 7th Annual Grammy Awards.

1975 – Glen Campbell is riding high on the Billboard Hot 100 as “Rhinestone Cowboy” marks its second week at No. 1. The track also spends three weeks on top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.

1980 – “Upside Down,” by Diana Ross, is mid-way through a four-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1986 – Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away,” lands on top of the Billboard singles chart. The song is from the soundtrack to the movie “Top Gun,” starring Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer and Kelly McGillis. It goes on to capture an Academy Award for Best Original Song and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.

1996 – Hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur dies of injuries sustained six days earlier in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting. He is just 25.

1997 – Mariah Carey kicks off three weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “Honey.”

2003 – “Shake Ya Tailfeather,” by Nelly, P. Diddy and Murphy Lee, is in the middle of four weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

2008 – T.I. claims the top spot on the singles chart with “Whatever You Like.”

On this Day May 21

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Celebrity Birthdays

1904 – Jazz pianist Fats Waller, best remembered for such jazz standards as “Ain’t Misbehavin’” (d. 1943)

1917 – Actor Raymond Burr (“Perry Mason,” “Ironside”) (d. 1993)

1948 – Singer-songwriter Leo Sayer (“You Make Me Feel Like Dancing,” “When I Need You,” “More Than I Can Say”)

1952 – Actor-pro wrestler Mr. T, born Laurence Tureaud, known for his trademark mohawk and gold chains and who starred in the 1980s TV programs “The A-Team” and “Mister T”

1957 – Actor Judge Reinhold (“Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “Beverly Hills Cop,” “Ruthless People”)

1959 – Actor-director Nick Cassavetes (“Face/Off,” “The Astronaut’s Wife,” “John Q,” “Alpha Dog,” “She’s So Lovely,” “The Notebook”)

1966 – Actress Lisa Edelstein (“The West Wing,” “Ally McBeal,” “House”)

1972 – Acclaimed rapper The Notoroius B.I.G. (a.k.a. Biggie Smalls), born Christopher Wallace (d. 1997)

1980 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Gotye, born Wouter De Backer, best known for his 2011 smash “Somebody That I Used to Know”

History Highlights

1881 – After being around wounded soldiers during the Civil War and, later, the Franco-Prussian War overseas, nurse and educator Clara Barton establishes the American Red Cross to provide humanitarian aid to victims of wars and natural disasters as well as to military personnel and their families.

1901 – Connecticut becomes the first state to impose a speed limit for motor vehicles (known then as “horseless carriages”). Motorists are required to keep it to 12 miles per hour in the city and 15 miles per hour on country roads. Speed limits were first enacted in Connecticut because horseless carriage manufacturers were springing up all across New England, and New Englanders were buying, and driving, their products.

1917 – The Great Atlanta Fire destroys much of that city’s Fourth Ward, including nearly 2,000 homes and businesses. Ten thousand people—nearly one tenth of the city’s population—are left homeless.

1979 – Gay rights activists riot outside San Francisco City Hall following the conviction of Dan White for the murders of Mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk, an openly gay San Francisco supervisor. Protesters participating in the so-called White Night Riots contend that White’s sentence is too light.

1980 – A new installment to George Lucas’ “Star Wars” film saga opens in U.S. theaters: “The Empire Strikes Back.”

1999 – Ninetheenth time’s the charm! After 18 straight years of being nominated for a Best Actress Daytime Emmy Award and never winning, Susan Lucci finally captures the coveted honor for her portrayal of Erica Kane in the popular ABC soap opera “All My Children.”

Musical Milestones

1955 – Rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry enters a Chicago sound studio and records his first single, “Ida Red.” During the session, his producer decides the track needs a new name: “Maybelline.” It becomes the first of Berry’s many hits.

1968 – “Tighten Up,” by Archie Bell & The Drells from Houston, Texas, is in the middle of a two-week run as the No. 1 single.

1971 – Marvin Gaye releases his eleventh studio album, “What’s Going On,” which becomes Motown Records’ best-selling album to date. It serves as a musical commentary on the Vietnam War. The title track soars to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becomes one of Gaye’s signature songs.

1977 – His musical tribute to jazz legend Duke Ellington, “Sir Duke,” puts Stevie Wonder on top of the singles chart.

1979 – Elton John becomes the first Western rock star to tour the Soviet Union. Over the course of eight days, he plays four concerts at the Great October Hall in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) and four more at the exclusive Rossya Hotel in Moscow.

1983 – David Bowie grabs the top spot on the singles chart for a week with “Let’s Dance,” off the album of the same name. Coincidentally, that album was nominated for an Album of the Year Grammy but had the misfortune of competing against Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

1994 – “I Swear,” by All-4-One, begins an 11-week domination of the pop chart.

2011 – Adele kicks off seven weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Rolling in the Deep,” which goes on to capture Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Short Form Music Video Grammys.

On this Day May 6

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Celebrity Birthdays

1856 – Psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, considered the pioneer of psychoanalysis (d. 1939)

1895 – Actor and 1920s silent film era sex symbol Rudolph Valentino (d. 1926)

1915 – Oscar-winning actor-director-writer-producer Orson Welles (“Citizen Kane,” “War of the Worlds”) (d. 1985)

1931 – Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays, affectionately known as “The Say Hey Kid”

1945 – Grammy-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bob Seger (“Night Moves,” “We’ve Got Tonight,” “Against the Wind”)

1955 – Emmy-winning TV host Tom Bergeron (“America’s Funniest Home Videos,” “Dancing With the Stars”)

1961 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor, director and producer George Clooney (“ER,” “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” “Oceans Eleven” and its sequels, “Syriana,” “Michael Clayton,” “Gravity,” “Money Monster”)

1987 – Rapper Meek Mill, born Robert Rihmeek Williams

History Highlights

1935 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs an executive order creating the Works Progress Administration (WPA), designed to put unemployed Americans to work during the Great Depression in return for temporary financial assistance.

1937 – The German airship Hindenburg explodes in a fireball while approaching its mooring mast at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people die in the disaster, described by radio reporter Herb Morrison in the historic broadcast featuring his exclamation, “Oh, the humanity!”

1954 – British athlete Sir Roger Bannister becomes the first person to run a mile in under four minutes (3:59.4)

1994 – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and French President Francois Mitterand preside over a ceremony officially opening a rail tunnel beneath the English Channel. The Channel/Euro Tunnel or Chunnel connects Britain and the European mainland for the first time.

2004 – More than 52 million viewers tune in for “The Last One” (a.k.a. “The One Where They Say Goodbye”), the final episode of NBC’s long-running primetime comedy series “Friends.” The sitcom picked up six Emmys during a 10-season run and turned its six principal cast members into household names.

Musical Milestones

1967 – Frank and Nancy Sinatra enjoy their fourth and final week atop the singles chart with “Somethin’ Stupid.”

1973 – Paul Simon sets out on his first concert tour without partner Art Garfunkel, using The Jesse Dixon Singers for backup vocals. First stop: Boston. The shows across America and Europe are recorded and released in March 1974 on the album “Paul Simon in Concert: Live Rhymin’.”

1978 – The Bee Gees’ “Night Fever,” from the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack, begins its eighth and final week as a No. 1 single.

1989 – Madonna enters her third and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Like a Prayer.”

1995 – “This Is How We Do It,” by Montell Jordan, is midway through a seven-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100.

2002 – A heart attack claims the life of songwriter and producer Otis Blackwell at the age of 71. Blackwell wrote several rock and roll classics over the years, including “All Shook Up,” “Return To Sender,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Great Balls of Fire” and “Fever.”