The Police – Time Rewind

On This Day December 31

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On This Day October 2

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Celebrity Birthdays

1869 – Civil rights leader Mahatma Gandhi, who successfully led India in a nonviolent revolution against the British Empire (d. 1948)

1890 – Comedian Groucho Marx, born Julius Henry Marx (d. 1977)

1945 – Singer Don McLean, best known for his smash single “American Pie”

1948 – Fashion designer Donna Karan

1949 – Acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz, known for her celebrity portraits

1951 – Singer-songwriter and guitarist Sting, born Gordon Sumner, former front man for the band The Police and 17-time Grammy Award winner

1954 – Actress Lorraine Bracco (“Goodfellas,” “The Sopranos,” “Rizzoli & Isles”)

1970 – Actress-TV talk show host Kelly Ripa (“All My Children,” “Hope & Faith,” “Live! with Regis and Kelly,” “Live! with Kelly,” “Live with Kelly and Ryan”)

History Highlights

1835 – Mounting tensions between Mexico and Texas lead to violence when Mexican soldiers attempt to disarm the people of Gonzales, sparking the Texan war for independence. The battle flag used by the Texans at the Battle of Gonzales gained recognition as the “Come and Take It” flag, referring to a small cannon that Mexican forces tried to repossess.

1919 – President Woodrow Wilson, who had just cut short a cross-country speaking tour to promote formation of the League of Nations (a precursor to the United Nations), suffers a massive stroke, which leaves him partially paralyzed on the left side of his body. The stroke is kept a secret from the public, but forces Wilson to abandon his campaign for the League and weakens his presidency.

1950 – The first Peanuts comic strip, created by Charles Schulz, is published in seven newspapers across the U.S. Schulz originally called his strip “L’il Folks,” but United Features Syndicate changed the name.

1959 – “The Twilight Zone,” created and hosted by Rod Serling, premieres with an episode called “Where Is Everybody?” starring Earl Holliman. The black & white sci-fi series runs for five seasons.

1967 – Thurgood Marshall, the first African American U.S. Supreme Court justice, is sworn in to office.

1985 – Actor Rock Hudson becomes the first high-profile celebrity to die of complications from AIDS. Hudson’s death, at the age of 59, raises public awareness of the epidemic, which until that time had been ignored by many in the mainstream as a “gay plague.”

2006 – A 32-year-old milk truck driver enters the West Nickel Mines Amish School in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, and fatally shoots five female students and wounds five more before taking his own life. The gunman, Charles Carl Roberts IV, had no criminal history or record of mental illness.

Musical Milestones

1961 – “Take Good Care of My Baby,” by Bobby Vee, enters its third and final week as a No. 1 single.

1965 – The McCoys claim the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Hang On Sloopy.”

1971 – Rod Stewart’s “Every Picture Tells a Story,” featuring his breakthrough hit “Maggie May,” tops both the U.S. and U.K. album charts.

1976 – Wild Cherry’s single, “Play That Funky Music,” begins its third and final week at No. 1.

1982 – John Mellencamp (known then as John Cougar) kicks off four weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Jack and Diane.” He also rules the Billboard album chart with the breakthrough LP it came from: “American Fool.”

1993 – “Dreamlover,” by Mariah Carey, is midway through an eight-week domination of the singles chart.

1998 – Aerosmith soars to No. 1 with “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” the hit single from the movie “Armageddon,” starring Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton and Ben Affleck.

2004 – “Goodies,” by Ciara featuring Petey Pablo, is in the middle of a seven-week run atop the pop chart.

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 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.

On this Day July 23

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Celebrity Birthdays

1918 – Major League Baseball All-Star shortstop Pee Wee Reese, born Harold Henry Reese (d. 1999)

1933 – Emmy-winning actor and game show host Bert Convy (d. 1991)

1940 – Radio talk show host Don Imus (d. 2019)

1961 – Emmy-winning actor Woody Harrelson (“Cheers,” “Indecent Proposal,” “Natural Born Killers,” “Kingpin,” “The Thin Red Line,” “True Detective”)

1965 – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist and songwriter Slash, born Saul Hudson, formerly with Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver

1967 – Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman (“The Talented Mr. Ripley,” “Capote,” “Scent of a Woman,” “Boogie Nights,” “Mission: Impossible III,” “Doubt,” “The Hunger Games”) (d. 2014)

1973 – Former White House intern-turned-designer Monica Lewinsky

1987 – Actor Daniel Radcliffe, best known for his portrayal of Harry Potter in the movie series

History Highlights

1885 – Shortly after completing his memoirs, Civil War hero and former president Ulysses S. Grant dies of throat cancer.

1967 – A police raid on an illegal Detroit bar triggers the 12th Street Riot, with days of firebombing, violence and looting, as African Americans lash out over police brutality, housing discrimination and unemployment.

1982 – Actor Vic Morrow and two child actors are killed in an accident involving a helicopter while filming a Vietnam combat scene for “Twilight Zone: The Movie” — director John Landis’ film adaptation of Rod Serling’s TV series. The deaths lead to tighter on-set safety measures by the film industry.

1984 – Vanessa Williams gives up her Miss America title — the first resignation in the pageant’s history — after Penthouse magazine announces plans to publish nude photos of her. At 21, Williams was the first African American woman to win the Miss America crown. Despite the scandal, she goes on to enjoy a successful singing and acting career that continues today.

1985 – A revolution in gaming takes place as Commodore releases the Amiga 1000, the home computer that played host to everything from Speedball to Rainbow Islands.

1996 – At the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, the U.S. women’s gymnastics team, nicknamed the “Mag 7” or “Magnificent 7,” captures its first-ever team gold.

Musical Milestones

1966 – Tommy James and the Shondells have the No. 1 single in the U.S. for a second straight week: “Hanky Panky.”

1977 – Barry Manilow’s “Looks Like We Made It” makes it to the No. 1 spot on the singles chart.

1983 – “Synchronicity,” by The Police, kicks off 17 weeks on top of the Billboard album chart. It is the band’s fifth and final studio album and goes on to capture three Grammy Awards. In 2009, it is inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

1988 – The first single from Richard Marx, “Hold On to the Nights,” is the hottest song on the radio.

1988 – Guns N’ Roses scores a huge popular breakthrough when their first hit single, “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” enters the Billboard Top 40. It climbs to No. 1 that September.

1994 – “I Swear,” by All-4-One, is in the middle of an 11-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100.

2005 – Mariah Carey claims the top spot on the pop chart with “We Belong Together.”

2011 – Grammy-winning British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse (“Stronger Than Me,” “Rehab”) dies of alcohol poisoning in her London townhouse at the age of 27.

On this Day July 16

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Celebrity Birthdays

1887 – Major League Baseball player “Shoeless” Joe Jackson (d. 1951)

1907 – Popcorn pioneer Orville Redenbacher (d. 1995)

1907 – Actress Barbara Stanwyck (“Double Indemnity,” “Sorry, Wrong Number”) (d. 1990)

1911 – Actress-dancer-singer Ginger Rogers, who often collaborated with entertainer Fred Astaire (d. 1995)

1952 – Composer and drummer for The Police, Stewart Copeland

1963 – Actress Phoebe Cates (“Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “Gremlins”)

1967 – Comedian-actor and “SNL” alum Will Ferrell (“Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” “Talladega Nights,” “Blades of Glory,” “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues”)

1971 – Actor-singer Corey Feldman (“Stand By Me,” “The Goonies,” “Lost Boys,” “Gremlins,” “The ‘Burbs”)

History Highlights

1790 – President George Washington signs into law the Residence Act, which grants him the authority to select a new site for a capital of the United States on the east bank of the Potomac River.

1935 – The first parking meter in the U.S. — Park-O-Meter No. 1 — is installed at the intersection of First Street and Robinson Avenue in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The device was the creation of Carl Magee (pictured), founder of the Oklahoma News newspaper, who was determined to alleviate parking congestion. Magee saw the meter, and the threat of being ticketed, as a way to prevent drivers from leaving their cars parked endlessly on the street.

1945 – The nuclear age begins as the so-called “Trinity Test” is conducted. Part of the Manhattan Project, the world’s first successful test of an atomic bomb takes place during the early morning hours in the desert at Alamogordo, New Mexico.

1951 – J. D. Salinger’s novel, “The Catcher in the Rye,” is published and becomes one of the best known works in American literature. To date, more than 65 million copies have been sold.

1969 – Apollo 11 roars from its launch pad at Cape Kennedy, Florida on the first manned mission to the moon. Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin set out to fulfill a national objective declared by President John F. Kennedy in May of 1961: perform a crewed lunar landing and return safely to Earth.

1999 – A single-engine plane piloted by publisher and presidential son John F. Kennedy, Jr. crashes into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha’s Vineyard, killing Kennedy, 38, his wife Carolyn, 33, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, 34. Five days later, underwater divers discover all three bodies still strapped into their seats.

Musical Milestones

1966 – “Hanky Panky,” by Tommy James & the Shondells, begins two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, the same duo that penned the hits “Be My Baby” and “Leader of the Pack.”

1966 – Guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker form Cream, generally regarded as rock music’s first “supergroup.” The band breaks up about two years later, but not before cranking out classic recordings like “Sunshine of Your Love,” “Badge,” “Strange Brew” and “White Room.”

1972 – After 16 years as their lead singer, Motown legend Smokey Robinson leaves The Miracles (originally named the Five Chimes) for a solo career.

1977 – The hottest single belongs to then-teen heartthrob Shaun Cassidy: “Da Doo Ron Ron.”

1981 – One of America’s great musical storytellers, Grammy-winning folk-rock singer Harry Chapin (“Cat’s in the Cradle,” “Taxi”), dies in a Long Island, New York car crash.

1983 – The Police enter their second week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Every Breath You Take,” which remains a chart-topper for eight weeks.

1994 – All-4-One is in the middle of an 11-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Swear.”

2005 – Mariah Carey rules the singles chart with “We Belong Together,” which holds at No. 1 for 14 nonconsecutive weeks. The track is from her tenth studio album, “The Emancipation of Mimi.”

On this Day July 9

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Celebrity Birthdays

1938 – Tony and Golden Globe-winning actor Brian Dennehy (“Silverado,” “Cocoon,” “F/X,” “Presumed Innocent,” “Death of a Salesman”) (d. 2020)

1942 – Actor Richard Roundtree, best known for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 movie “Shaft” and its two sequels

1947 – NFL Hall of Famer and actor O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted in 1995 in a high-profile trial on charges that he murdered his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman

1951 – Oscar-winning actor Chris Cooper (“Lone Star,” “American Beauty,” “The Bourne Identity,” “Syriana,” “Adaptation”)

1952 – Former “Entertainment Tonight” host-turned-musician John Tesh

1955 – Actor Jimmy Smits (“LA Law,” “NYPD Blue”)

1956 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor-producer Tom Hanks (“Big,” “Philadelphia,” “Forrest Gump,” “Apollo 13,” “Cast Away,” “Toy Story” animated film series)

1957 – Actress Kelly McGillis (“Witness,” “Top Gun”)

1964 – Rock musician-actress Courtney Love, born Courtney Michelle Harrison, widow of grunge legend Kurt Cobain

1976 – Actor-director Fred Savage, best known for his role as Kevin Arnold in the ABC series “The Wonder Years”

History Highlights

1777 – New York elects its first governor, Brigadier General George Clinton, who becomes not only the longest serving New York governor, but longest serving governor in the U.S. In 1805, he is elected vice president, serving under Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, until his death in 1812.

1877 – The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club begins its first lawn tennis tournament at Wimbledon, then a suburb of London. Twenty-one amateurs show up to compete in the Gentlemen’s Singles tournament — the only event at that time.

1941 – British cryptologists break the secret Enigma code used by the German army to direct ground-to-air operations on Europe’s Eastern front.

1948 – Leroy “Satchel” Paige is 42 years old when he pitches two innings for the Cleveland Indians in his debut with the newly–and barely–integrated American League. The game comes 21 years after the great pitcher’s first Negro League appearance.

1968 – Sports history is made in Houston as the first All-Star game played indoors and on artificial turf gets underway in the Astrodome. The National League wins and Willie Mays is declared MVP.

1971 – President Richard Nixon’s National Security Adviser, Henry Kissinger, makes a secret trip to the People’s Republic of China to negotiate a detente between the U.S. and China.

1974 – Former U.S. Chief Justice Earl Warren, who headed the commission that investigated the JFK assassination, dies in Washington, D.C. at the age of 83.

1999 – The teen sex comedy “American Pie,” starring Jason Biggs and Alyson Hannigan, opens and becomes a box office sensation, spawning an empire of sequels and direct-to-DVD spin-offs.

2000 – Venus Williams wins at Wimbledon for the first time, becoming the first female African American Wimbledon champion since Althea Gibson won back-to-back titles in 1957 and 1958.

Musical Milestones

1955 – “Rock Around the Clock,” by Bill Haley & His Comets, becomes the first rock ‘n’ roll record to reach No. 1 on the U.S. pop chart, known then as Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart. The single spends eight weeks on top.

1958 – Johnny Cash signs with Columbia Records, where he remains for the next 30 years, releasing more than 60 albums.

1962 – Bob Dylan records the legendary protest song, “Blowin’ in the Wind,” for his second album, “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.” Hundreds of artists have recorded the song over the years, with Peter, Paul & Mary achieving the most commercially successful version. In 1994, the track is inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

1977 – Songwriter-turned-singer Alan O’Day has the hottest single with “Undercover Angel.”

1983 – The Police have a No. 1 hit for eight weeks with “Every Breath You Take,” the first single released from “Synchronicity” — the band’s most successful and last studio album.

1988 – Cheap Trick’s “The Flame” burns bright for two weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100.

1994 – “I Swear,” by All-4-One, is in the midst of 11 weeks as a Billboard chart-topper. Earlier that same year, the original recording of that song was a No. 1 country hit for John Michael Montgomery.

2005 – Mariah Carey returns to the top of the pop chart with “We Belong Together,” which spent four weeks at No. 1 until Carrie Underwood bumped it for a week with “Inside Your Heaven.” Carey’s hit reigns for 10 more weeks.