On This Day November 27 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1940 – Martial artist and actor Bruce Lee (d. 1973) 1941 – Country music singer Eddie Rabbitt (“I Love a Rainy Night,” “Drivin’ My Life Away,” “You and I”) (d. 1998) 1942 – Pioneering rock guitarist and singer Jimi Hendrix (d. 1970) 1955 – Science educator-TV host Bill “The Science Guy” Nye 1957 – Diplomat, author and presidential daughter Caroline Kennedy 1964 – Actress Robin Givens (“Head of the Class,” “Sparks”) History Highlights 1910 – The largest railway station in the world — Pennsylvania Station — opens in Midtown Manhattan, establishing itself as an architectural and transportation marvel. However, the complex is demolished in 1963 due to declining rail travel and eventually becomes the site of the sports and entertainment venue, Madison Square Garden. 1965 – Detroit Red Wing Gordie Howe scores his 600th goal in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. Howe is the first (until Wayne Gretzky) NHL player to score 600 times in a career. 1971 – The Soviet Union’s unmanned Mars 2 spacecraft becomes the first man-made object to reach the surface of the Red Planet. 1973 – The U.S. Senate votes to confirm Gerald Ford as vice president, succeeding Spiro Agnew, who resigned amid charges of financial misconduct. 1978 – Gay rights activist Harvey Milk and openly gay San Francisco Mayor George Moscone are murdered by former by City Supervisor Dan White. White receives a five-year prison sentence for the killings. Unable to resume a normal life following his release, he takes his own life in 1986. Musical Milestones 1967 – The Beatles release the “Magical Mystery Tour” album, which introduces fans to hits like “Hello, Goodbye,” “Penny Lane” and “All You Need is Love.” 1968 – Steppenwolf’s self-titled debut album, featuring “Born to Be Wild” and “The Pusher,” is certified gold with sales in excess of 500,000 copies. Both tracks are also part of the soundtrack to the 1969 cult classic, “Easy Rider.” 1970 – George Harrison releases “All Things Must Pass,” which contains the hit singles “My Sweet Lord” and “What Is Life,” as well as songs such as “Isn’t It a Pity” and the title track that had been rejected for Beatles productions. The triple album becomes the best selling album by any solo Beatle. 1982 – Lionel Richie’s “Truly” begins two weeks on top of the Billboard singles chart. 1993 – Meat Loaf is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),” the first single from his album “Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell.” 1999 – “Smooth” by Santana featuring Rob Thomas is mid-way through a 12-week domination of the pop chart. The song goes on to capture three Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. READ MORE
On This Day October 10 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1900 – Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award-winning actress Helen Hayes, known as the “First Lady of American Theater” (d. 1993) 1917 – Legendary jazz composer and pianist Thelonious Monk, often called “the high priest of bebop” (d. 1982) 1941 – Emmy-winning actor and narrator Peter Coyote (“E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,” “Jagged Edge,” “Outrageous Fortune,” “Out of the Blue,” “Hatchet,” ” The Roosevelts”) 1946 – Tony-winning actor, dancer and singer Ben Vereen (“Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Pippin,” “Wicked,” “Roots”) 1954 – Rock musician and Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth 1958 – Country music superstar Tanya Tucker (“Delta Dawn,” “What’s Your Mama’s Name?”) 1959 – Emmy-winning actor Bradley Whitford (“The West Wing,” “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” “The Mentalist,” “Billy Madison”) History Highlights 1845 – The U.S. Naval Academy opens in Annapolis, Maryland, with 50 midshipmen students and seven professors. Known as the Naval School until 1850, the curriculum included mathematics and navigation, gunnery and steam, chemistry, English, natural philosophy and French. 1886 – Griswold Lorillard of Tuxedo Park, New York fashions the first tuxedo for men by cutting the tails off a tailcoat. 1973 – Vice President Spiro Agnew resigns from office after pleading no contest to a tax evasion charge. 1985 – U.S. Navy fighter jets intercept an Egyptian airliner carrying the Palestinian terrorists who hijacked the Achille Lauro cruise ship days earlier and killed an American passenger. 1985 – Hollywood loses actor-filmmaker Orson Welles (“War of the Worlds,” “Citizen Cane”) to a heart attack at age 70. 1985 – Lung cancer claims the life of 65-year-old actor Yul Brynner (“The King and I,” “The Ten Commandments,” “The Magnificent Seven”), who recorded an impassioned anti-smoking public service announcement shortly before his death. 2004 – Actor Christopher Reeve, beloved for his starring role in four “Superman” movies, dies of heart failure at the age of 52. Left quadriplegic in a 1995 horse-riding accident, Reeve had become an outspoken advocate for spinal cord research until his death, establishing a foundation still in operation today. Musical Milestones 1956 – Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender,” from the movie of the same name, debuts on the pop chart, reaching No. 1 a month later. It is an adaptation of the Civil War-era tune “Aura Lee or The Maid with Golden Hair.” 1960 – The novelty song “Mr. Custer,” by Larry Verne, begins a week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. 1970 – “Cracklin’ Rosie” gives Neil Diamond his first ride to the top of the singles chart, where it holds for a week. 1979 – “The Rose,” starring Bette Midler as a self-destructive 1960s rock star, premieres in Los Angeles. The movie, based on the life of rock legend Janis Joplin, goes on to receive four Oscar nominations, including Best Actress in a Leading Role (Midler, in her screen debut). 1981 – The Diana Ross-Lionel Richie duet, “Endless Love,” concludes its nine-week reign over the singles chart. 1987 – “Here I Go Again,” by British rockers Whitesnake, spends a week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. 1988 – U2 release “Rattle and Hum,” a companion to the movie of the same name. The album contains live performances from the band’s successful 1987-88 “The Joshua Tree” tour, as well as additional songs recorded at the historic Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. 1992 – Boyz II Men are in the middle of an epic 13-week domination of the singles chart with their Grammy-winning smash, “End of the Road.” 2009 – The Black Eyed Peas begin the final week of a marathon 14-week hold on the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Gotta Feeling.” The song goes on to capture a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. READ MORE