The Lovin’ Spoonful – Time Rewind

On This Day March 17

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On this Day August 27

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Celebrity Birthdays

1908 – Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ), 36th U.S. president (d. 1973)

1916 – Singer and comic actress Martha Raye, born Margie Yvonne Reed (“Rhythm on the Range,” “The Woods Are Full Of Cuckoos,” “The Martha Raye Show”) (d. 1994)

1942 – Daryl Dragon, the keyboard-playing half of the Captain & Tennille (d. 2019)

1943 – Golden Globe-winning actress Tuesday Weld, born Susan Ker Weld (“Play It As It Lays,” “Looking For Mr. Goodbar,” “The Winter of Our Discontent,” “Once Upon a Time in America”)

1947 – Actress-model Barbara Bach, known for her role as Anya in the James Bond movie “The Spy Who Loved Me,” and as the wife of musician Ringo Starr

1952 – Actor Paul Reubens, best known for his character Pee-wee Herman (d. 2023)

1963 – Actress, former MTV VJ and current Sirius/XM “90s on 9” host ‘Downtown’ Julie Brown

1976 – Actress Sarah Chalke (“Roseanne,” “Scrubs, “How I Met Your Mother”)

History Highlights

1883 – The most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history jolts Krakatoa (also known as Krakatau), a small, uninhabited volcanic island located west of Sumatra in Indonesia. The resulting explosions and tsunamis kill an estimated 36,000 people.

1953 – “Roman Holiday,” featuring Audrey Hepburn in her first starring movie role, premieres in New York City.

1955 – The first edition of “The Guinness Book of Records” is published in England as a resource for pub patrons to settle friendly disputes. By that Christmas, it becomes a British best-seller. Today, it is the leading international authority for certifying every conceivable world record, from longest mustache to most tattooed woman, and everything in between.

1962 – NASA launches the Mariner 2 space probe on a mission to fly by Venus and return data on the planet’s atmosphere, magnetic field, charged particle environment and mass.

1964 – Gracie Allen, who kept radio and TV audiences laughing for decades with comedy partner and husband George Burns, dies at age 69.

1966 – Sixty-five-year-old Francis Chichester sets sail from Plymouth, England aboard his yacht, Gipsy Moth IV, on the first solo around-the-world trip by sea. He completes the voyage nine months and one day later with only a single stop in Sydney, Australia, and is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

1984 – President Ronald Reagan announces the Teacher in Space Project to inspire students, honor teachers and spur interest in mathematics, science and space exploration. New Hampshire social studies teacher Christa McAuliffe is eventually selected out of 11,000 applicants to be the first teacher in space. Sadly, she is killed along with all her fellow crew members in the January 1986 explosion of the space shuttle Challenger 73 seconds after liftoff.

Musical Milestones

1966 – “Summer in the City,” by The Lovin’ Spoonful, enters its third and final week on top of the singles chart.

1967 – Beatles manager Brian Epstein, regarded by many as “the fifth Beatle,” dies of a drug overdose at the age of 32.

1977 – The Emotions top the Billboard Hot 100 with “Best of My Love.”

1983 – “Every Breath You Take” by The Police, from the band’s “Synchronicity” album, begins its eighth and final week as the No. 1 single.

1988 – George Michael’s “Monkey” swings its way to the top of the Billboard singles chart and hangs there for two weeks. It is his sixth solo chart-topper.

1990 – Stevie Ray Vaughan, ranked seventh among the 100 greatest gutarists of all time by Rolling Stone magazine, dies in a helicopter crash at the age of 35.

1991 – Pearl Jam’s debut album, “Ten,” is released, spawning three hit singles: “Alive,” “Even Flow” and “Jeremy.” The album, which eventually climbs to No. 2, is credited, along with Nirvana’s “Nevermind,” with helping bring alternative rock into the mainstream.

1994 – Boyz II Men kick off 14 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “I’ll Make Love to You,” which goes on to capture a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

2005 – “We Belong Together,” by Mariah Carey, is the No. 1 single.

2011 – “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” by Katy Perry, begins two weeks as the No. 1 single.

On this Day August 20

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Celebrity Birthdays

1833 – Benjamin Harrison, 23rd U.S. president (d. 1901)

1931 – Boxing promoter Don King

1942 – Singer-songwriter-producer and actor Isaac Hayes, best known for his soundtrack to the 1971 movie “Shaft,” which garnered him a Best Original Song Oscar (d. 2008)

1946 – Journalist and former network TV anchor Connie Chung

1947 – Actor Ray Wise (“Swamp Thing, ” “RoboCop,” “Twin Peaks,” “Jeepers Creepers 2,” “X-Men: First Class,” “24”)

1948 – Former Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant

1952 – Rock singer-songwriter John Hiatt

1954 – Emmy-winning NBC News “Today” show co-host and weather anchor Al Roker

1956 – Tony-winning actress Joan Allen (“Burn This,” “The Heidi Chronicles,” “Nixon,” “The Contender,” “The Ice Storm,” “Pleasantville,” “The Notebook,” “The Bourne Supremacy” and its sequels)

1958 – Director-producer-screenwriter David O. Russell (“Flirting with Disaster,” “Three Kings,” “I Heart Huckabees,” “The Fighter,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “American Hustle”)

1974 – Golden Globe-winning actress Amy Adams (“Catch Me If You Can.” “Junebug,” “Enchanted,” “Doubt,” “The Fighter,” “American Hustle,” “Big Eyes”)

1992 – Singer-songwriter and actress Demi Lovato, who launched her career on Disney Channel’s “Sonny with a Chance” series

History Highlights

1619 – A Dutch ship carrying 20 enslaved Africans arrives in Jamestown, Virginia, laying the foundation for slavery in the American colonies.

1911 – A dispatcher in the “New York Times” office sends the first around-the-world telegram.

1953 – The Soviet Union publicly admits to the test detonation of a hydrogen bomb.

1977 – NASA launches the unmanned Voyager 2 spacecraft. This electronic “eye in the sky,” along with its companion Voyager I—set for blast-off two weeks later—still beams back new information about the final frontier of our solar system today.

1980 – Italian mountaineer Reinhold Messner becomes the first person to climb Mount Everest alone and without the use of oxygen tanks.

1986 – The term “going postal” is established on this day after 44-year-old U.S. Postal Service employee Patrick Sherrill opens fire on coworkers in Edmund, Oklahoma. He shoots 20 people, killing 14 of them, before turning the gun on himself.

1989 – Lyle and Erik Menendez shoot their parents, Jose and Kitty, to death in the family’s Beverly Hills mansion. The crime would shock and grip the entire country.

Musical Milestones

1966 – “Summer in the City,” by The Lovin’ Spoonful, is in the midst of a three-week run at No. 1 on the pop chart.

1969 – John, Paul, George and Ringo come together for the last time as they put the finishing touches on the “Abbey Road” album.

1977 – “Best of My Love,” by The Emotions, reaches No. 1 on the singles chart and remains on top for four weeks. It goes on to win a Grammy for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal.

1983 – The Police rule the Billboard Hot 100 with their Grammy-winning single, “Every Breath You Take,” off the “Synchronicity” album.

1988 – Steve Winwood rules both the Billboard album chart and Hot 100 chart. “Roll With It” is the No. 1 album while the title track is the No. 1 single. His work garners Grammy nominations for Album of the Year and Record of the Year.

1994 – “Stay (I Missed You),” by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories, begins its third and final week as a No. 1 single. The music video was shot in Loeb’s New York City apartment and directed by Ethan Hawke.

2005 – Mariah Carey has the No. 1 single with her Grammy-winning single, “We Belong Together.”

On this Day August 13

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Celebrity Birthdays

1860 – Markswoman and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show star Annie Oakley (d. 1926)

1899 – Legendary director Alfred Hitchcock, nicknamed the “Master of Suspense” (“Psycho,” “Rear Window,” “North by Northwest,” “Vertigo,” “Dial M for Murder,” “The Birds”) (d. 1980)

1926 – Former Cuban President Fidel Castro (d. 2016)

1929 – Actor Pat Harrington, Jr., most recognized as building superintendent Dwayne Schneider on the CBS sitcom “One Day at a Time” (d. 2016)

1930 – Internationally acclaimed Hawaiian entertainer Don Ho, most remembered for his 1966 hit single “Tiny Bubbles” (d. 2007)

1949 – French high wire artist Philippe Petit, famous for his 1974 World Trade Center high-wire walk

1951- Singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg (“The Power of Gold,” “Longer”) (d. 2007)

1959 – Former “Partridge Family” co-star and talk show host Danny Bonaduce

1962 – Actor John Slattery, best known for his portrayal of Roger Sterling in the “Mad Men” TV series

History Highlights

1907 – The first taxicab hits the streets of New York City.

1942 – Walt Disney’s classic animated film “Bambi” premieres at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. It becomes Disney’s fifth animated feature.

1948 – Responding to heightened Soviet pressure on western Berlin, U.S. and British planes airlift a record amount of supplies into sections of the city under American and British control. Pilots had to navigate weather so bad that the day became known as “Black Friday.”

1961 – Berlin, Germany becomes a divided city, as East German soldiers lay barbed wire and bricks to prevent residents of the Soviet-controlled eastern part of the city from fleeing to the democratically controlled western section. The Berlin Wall becomes one of the most iconic symbols of the Cold War.

1981 – President Ronald Reagan signs the Economic Recovery Tax Act (ERTA), an historic package of tax and budget reductions that sets the tone for his administration’s overall economic policy, often referred to as “Reaganomics.”

1995 – Former New York Yankees slugger and Baseball Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle dies of liver cancer at the age of 63.

Musical Milestones

1964 – The Supremes record “Baby Love,” which climbs to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 that fall, becoming the Motown sensation’s second chart-topper.

1965 – The Beatles touch down at New York’s Kennedy International Airport for their second North American tour, which includes their now-legendary performance before nearly 56,000 fans at Shea Stadium.

1966 – “Summer in the City,” by The Lovin’ Spoonful, begins three weeks as a No. 1 single. It is the first song ever produced that features a jack-hammer sound effect.

1975 – Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band begin their “Born to Run” tour at New York’s Bottom Line night club.

1977 – Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO), the band that gave us “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” and “Let It Ride,” breaks up.

1977 – Andy Gibb begins his third and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Just Want to Be Your Everything.”

1980 – Devo releases the new wave/synth-pop single “Whip It,” which climbs as high as No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song continues to get heavy airplay today on 80s and new wave-format radio stations.

1982 – Soul singer Joe Tex dies at his home in Navasota, Texas, following a heart attack at the age of 49. He had nine Top 40 hits during his music career, including the 1972 No. 2 single. “I Gotcha.”

1983 – The Police are in the midst of an eight-week domination of the pop chart with “Every Breath You Take,” off their Grammy-winning “Synchronicity” album.

1994 – “Stay (I Missed You),” by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories, is in the middle of a three-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The single earns Loeb the distinction of being the first artist to have a No. 1 hit before even being signed to a record label.

2005 – Mariah Carey rules the pop chart with “We Belong Together,” off her “The Emancipation of Mimi” album.