On this Day: June 4

Musical Milestones

1966 – Percy Sledge marks the second and final week at No. 1 on the pop chart with “When a Man Loves a Woman.”

1977 – Supertramp releases “Give a Little Bit,” which becomes a No. 15 Billboard single.

1984 – Bruce Springsteen releases the album “Born In The U.S.A.,” which goes on to top the album chart for seven weeks and spawns seven Top 10 singles, including the title track. It becomes the best-selling album of 1984 and the best-selling record of Springsteen’s career.

1988 – Singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman’s self-titled debut album hits the top of the U.S. album chart, giving us hits like “Fast Car” and “Talkin’ ’bout a Revolution.” It paves the way for Chapman to capture Grammys for Best New Artist, Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (“Fast Car”).

2005 – Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together” kicks off 14 non-consecutive weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

History Highlights

1919 – Congress passes the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote, and sends it to the states for ratification. The measure takes effect about a year later. On November 2, 1920, more than 8 million women across the U.S. vote in elections for the first time.

1942 – The Battle of Midway begins, becoming one of the most decisive U.S. victories against Japan during World War II.

1967 – At the Emmy Awards, Bill Cosby, the first black performer to star in a dramatic series, is crowned best actor for his role in “I Spy.”

1977 – The first personal computer, the Apple II, goes on sale, retailing for about $1,300..

1989 – Chinese troops storm through Tiananmen Square in the center of Beijing, killing and arresting thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators. The brutal Chinese government assault shocks the West and brings denunciations and sanctions from the United States.

Celebrity Birthdays

1907 – Golden Globe-winning actress Rosalind Russell (“His Girl Friday,” “Auntie Mame,” “Gypsy”) (d. 1976)

1924 – Actor Dennis Weaver (“Gunsmoke,”McCloud,” “Duel”) (d. 2006)

1928 – Sex therapist-talk show host Dr. Ruth Westheimer

1936 – Oscar-winning actor Bruce Dern (“They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” “Coming Home,” “Nebraska”)

1944 – Singer-songwriter-actress Michelle Phillips, a member of the 60s folk/pop band The Mamas and the Papas

1971 – Actor Noah Wyle, best known for his role as Dr. John Carter in the hit NBC medical drama “ER”

1975 – Comedian-actor Russell Brand (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “Get Him to The Greek”)

1975 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actress-director and humanitarian Angelina Jolie

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The Very Best of Supertramp

Supertramp

Born in the U.S.A.

Bruce Springsteen

The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote

Elaine Weiss

Escape From China: The Long Journey From Tiananmen to Freedom

Zhang Boli

Girl, Interrupted

Starring Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie and Clea Duvall, and directed by James Mangold

Duel

Starring Dennis Weaver and directed by Steven Spielberg

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On this Day: June 3

Musical Milestones

1956 – Authorities in Santa Cruz, California impose a ban on rock and roll at public gatherings, calling the music “Detrimental to both the health and morals of our youth and community.” Media coverage of the ban sparks a backlash, and it isn’t long before the ban is suspended.

1967 – Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin begins a two-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with her Grammy-winning R&B smash, “Respect.”

1972 – The Staple Singers take their single, “I’ll Take You There,” to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. 

1975 – Actor and bandleader Ozzie Nelson dies of cancer at the age of 68.

1978 – The nation’s hottest single is a duet by Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams: “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late.”

1989 – Soap opera star-vocalist Michael Damian’s cover of the David Essex classic, “Rock On,” climbs to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. 

1995 – Bryan Adams begins five weeks on top of the Billboard singles chart with “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?” The track is featured in the Johnny Depp movie, “Don Juan DeMarco.”

2006 – The No. 1 spot on the pop chart belongs to Chamillionaire featuring Krayzie Bone with “Ridin’.”

History Highlights

1800 – John Adams, the second president of the United States, becomes the first president to make his home in Washington, D.C. when he takes up residence at Union Tavern in the Georgetown section.

1937 – The Duke of Windsor – formerly King Edward VIII of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – marries Wallis Warfield, the American divorcee for whom he abdicated the British throne in December 1936.

1965 – NASA launches Gemini IV, the first multi-day manned space mission. Astronaut Ed White performs the first spacewalk by an American.

1979 – A blowout at the Ixtoc I oil well in the southern Gulf of Mexico leads to one of the largest oil spills in history. More than 176 million gallons spills before the well is finally capped nine months later. 

1989 – China’s government sends troops to force pro-democracy demonstrators out of Tiananmen Square following seven weeks of occupation.

2002 – Lew Wasserman, an agent and studio executive who was arguably the most influential Hollywood mogul for some 40 years after World War II, dies at the age of 89.

Celebrity Birthdays

1906 – Dancer-singer-actress Josephine Baker (d. 1975)

1925 – Actor Tony Curtis (“Houdini,” “Some Like It Hot,” “Spartacus”) (d. 2010)

1929 – Game show creator-host Chuck Barris (“The Dating Game,” “The Newlywed Game,” “The Gong Show”) (d. 2017)

1936 – Author-screenwriter Larry McMurtry, best known for his 1985 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Lonesome Dove”

1942 – Singer-songwriter Curtis Mayfield, best known for his 1972 “Super Fly” movie soundtrack (d. 1999)

1950 – Singer and bass guitarist Suzi Quatro, best known for her 1978 hit “Stumblin’ In”

1950 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Deniece Williams (“Free,” “Let’s Hear It For The Boy”)

1967 – CNN host and reporter Anderson Cooper

1986 – Grand slam tennis champion and Olympic gold medalist Rafael “Rafa” Nadal

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The Essential Johnny Mathis

Johnny Mathis

I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You

Aretha Franklin

Princes at War: The Bitter Battle Inside Britain's Royal Family in the Darkest Days of WWII

Deborah Cadbury

The People's Republic of Amnesia: Tiananmen Revisited

Louisa Lim

Lonesome Dove

Larry McMurtry

Some Like It Hot

Starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, and directed by Billy Wilder

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