Today is Sunday May 20, 2012

On This Day

1830 - H.D. Hyde patented the fountain pen.

1875 - The International Bureau of Weights and Measures was established.

1899 - Jacob German of New York City was the first driver arrested for speeding. He went over the posted 12 mile-per-hour speed limit.

1916 - Norman Rockwell's first cover on "The Saturday Evening Post" appeared.

1920 - Montreal Canada's XWA broadcasts the first scheduled radio program in North America.

1927 - ‘Lucky' Lindbergh flew from Roosevelt Field in New York aboard the "Spirit of St. Louis," en route to Paris, France.

1933 - "Charlie Chan" was heard for the last time on NBC Blue radio.

1939 - Pan American Airways "Yankee Clipper" left Port Washington, NY, for Europe, establishing the first regular air-passenger service across the Atlantic.

1941 - Harry James and orchestra recorded "You Made Me Love You" for Columbia.

1978 - Mavis Hutchinson, 53, was the first woman to run across America. She ran an average of 45 miles each day.

1982 -  "Barney Miller" was seen for the last time on ABC-TV.

1985 - The Dow Jones industrial average broke the 1300 mark.

1989 - 42 year old actress/comedienne Gilda Radner died after a two-year battle with ovarian cancer.

1998 - Frank Sinatra's funeral is held Beverly Hills' Church of the Good Shepherd.

Birthdays - May 20

1768 - Dolley Madison (Payne) (U.S. First Lady, wife of 4th U.S. President James Madison; died July 12, 1849)

1799 - Honore de Balzac (novelist: The Human Comedy, Droll Stories, The Chouans; died Aug 18,1850)

1806 - John Stuart Mill (leader of the utilitarian movement: editor: Westminster Review; philosopher: System of Logic, Principles of Political Economy, Utilitarianism, On Liberty, The Subjection of Women; died May 8, 1873)

1908 - (Jimmy) James (Maitland) Stewart (Academy Award-winning actor: Philadelphia Story [1940]; The Glenn Miller Story, It's a Wonderful Life, Harvey - author of "This Day" at the MITM site Tom Chinnici's all time FAV movie, Rear Window, Anatomy of a Murder, Bell, Book and Candle, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Vertigo, The Man from Laramie; died July 2, 1997)

1916 - Patricia Ellis (Leftwich) (actress: Three on a Match, Back Door to Heaven, The Case of the Lucky Legs, Postal Inspector; died Mar 26, 1970)

1919 - ‘Lonesome' George Gobel (Emmy Award winning personality [1954], comedian: "Well I'll be a dirty bird.": The George Gobel Show, The Eddie Fisher Show, Hollywood Squares; actor: Better Late than Never, The Fantastic World of D.C. Collins, Harper Valley P.T.A.; died Feb 24, 1991)

1920 - Vic Ames (Urick) (singer: group: The Ames Brothers: You, You, You are the One, Rag Mop, Sentimental Me, Undecided, You, You, You, The Man with the Banjo, The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane, Tammy, Melodie d'Amour; killed in car crash Jan 23, 1978)

1923 - Edith Fellows (actress: The Grace Kelly Story, In the Mood)

1927 - David Hedison (Ara David Heditsian) (actor: Licence to Kill, Live and Let Die)

1930 - James McEachin (actor: The Dead Don't Die, Double Exposure)

1933 - Constance Towers (actress: Naked Kiss, On Wings of Eagles)

1936 - Anthony Zerbe (Emmy Award-winning actor: Harry-O [1975-76]; The Young Riders, North and South, Book II, Centennial; Licence to Kill, Onassis, Opposing Force, Dead Zone, Rooster Cogburn, The Parallax View, Papillon, Omega Man, They Call Me Mr. Tibbs, Cool Hand Luke, Harry-O)

1944 - Joe (John Robert) Cocker (singer, songwriter: With a Little Help from My Friends, She Came in through the Bathroom Window, The Letter, Up Where We Belong [w/Jennifer Warnes], You are So Beautiful, When the Night Comes, Cry Me a River)

1946 - Cher (Cherilyn Sarkisian LaPierre) (singer: group: Sonny [Bono] & Cher: I Got You Babe, The Beat Goes On, All I Really Want to Do; solo: Bang Bang, Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves, The Way of Love, Dark Lady; Academy Award-winning actress: Moonstruck [1987]; The Witches of Eastwick, Silkwood, Mask)

1952 - Warren Cann (musician: drums: group: Ultravox: Vienna, All Stood Still, The Thin Wall, The Voice, Reap the Wild Wind, Hymn, Visions in Blue)

1958 - Ronald Prescott Reagan (dancer; talk show host; son of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan)

1959 - Bronson Pinchot (actor: Courage Under Fire, Beverly Hills Cop series, The Flamingo Kid, Risky Business, Perfect Strangers, Sara, Stephen King's The Langoliers)

1960 - Susan Cowsill (singer: At the End of the Day, groups: Continental Drifters, Psycho Sisters, The Cowsills: We Can Fly, Ask the Children, Heather Says, Yellow Pills, Vol I)

1960 - Tony Goldwyn (actor: The Boys Next Door, Truman, Pocahontas: The Legend, Nixon, The Pelican Brief, Ghost, Gaby: A True Story)

1961 - Nick Heyward (musician: guitar, singer, songwriter: Favourite Shirts [Boy Meets Girl], Love Plus One, Fantastic Day, The Day It Rained Forever, Whistle Down the Wind, Take That Situation; group: Haircut 100)

Top of the Charts - May 20
1948
Now is the Hour - Bing Crosby
Baby Face - The Art Mooney Orchestra
The Dickey Bird Song - The Freddy Martin Orchestra (vocal: Glenn Hughes)
Anytime - Eddy Arnold

1956
Heartbreak Hotel/I Was the One - Elvis Presley
The Wayward Wind - Gogi Grant
I'm in Love Again - Fats Domino
Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins

Today is Saturday May 19, 2012

On This Day

1847 - The first English-style railroad coach was placed in service.

1857 - William F. Channing and Moses G. Farmer patented the electric fire alarm system in Boston, MA.

1921 - "Martha," was the first opera presented in its entirety over.

1941 - The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra backed Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell on "Time Was."

1958 - Bobby Darin's single, "Splish Splash." was released.

1962 - Marilyn Monroe performed "Happy Birthday" for President John F. Kennedy during a fund-raiser at New York's Madison Square Garden.

1998: Sonny and Cher are awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Birthdays - May 19

1800 - Sarah Peale (portrait artist; died Feb 4, 1885)

1890 - Ho Chi Mihn (Nguyen That Thanh) (North Vietnamese leader: trail and city named after him; died Sep 3, 1969)

1901 - Dorothy Buffum Chandler (Los Angeles cultural patron; widow of LA Times publisher Norman Chandler; mother of publisher Otis Chandler; Dorothy Chandler Pavillion named for her; died July 6, 1997)

1906 - Bruce Bennett (Herman Brix) (actor: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Dark Passage, Angels in the Outfield; died Feb 24, 2007)

1919 - Georgie Auld (John Altwerger) (musician: saxophones: bandleader; actor: The Rat Race, dubbed soundtrack for Robert DeNero in New York, New York; died Jan 8, 1990)

1925 - Malcolm X (Malcolm Little) (black nationalist and civil rights activist; assassinated Feb 21, 1965)

1930 - Lorraine Hansberry (playwright: A Raisin in the Sun, To Be Young, Gifted and Black; died Jan 12, 1965)

1931 - Stephen Young (Levy) (actor: Judd for the Defense, Patton, Scorned, Who's Harry Crumb?, Deadline, Lifeguard, When Husbands Cheat, Strange Justice)

1934 - Jim Lehrer (PBS: journalist: anchor: The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer; co-anchor: The MacNeil-Lehrer Newshour; novelist: Blue Hearts)

1935 - David Hartman (Emmy Award-winning TV host: Good Morning America; actor: Hello Dolly, Lucas Tanner, The Bold Ones)

1939 - James Fox (actor: Patriot Games, The Russia House, A Passage to India)

1939 - Nancy Kwan (actress: The World of Suzie Wong, Flower Drum Song, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story)

1939 - Francis R. (Dick) Scobee (Commander of the ill-fated U.S. space shuttle, Challenger; killed in Challenger explosion Jan 28, 1986)

1941 - Nora Ephron (author: Heartburn, Sleepless in Seattle)

1945 - Peter Townshend (musician: group: The Who [Rock and Roll Hall of Famers (1990)]: My Generation, Happy Jack, I Can See for Miles, Magic Bus, Won't Get Fooled Again; composed rock-opera: Tommy, See Me, Feel Me, Pinball Wizard; solo: Rough Boys, Let My Love Open the Door, Uniforms, Exquisitely Bored, The Sea Refuses No River)

1949 - Dusty Hill (musician: bass, singer: group: ZZ Top: Jesus Just Left Chicago, LA Grange, Tush, Gimme All Your Lovin', Legs, Sharp Dressed Man, Sleeping Bag)

1952 - Grace Jones (Mendoza) (singer: Slave to the Rhythm; actress: A View to a Kill, Conan the Destroyer, Deadly Vengeance)

1954 - Phil Rudd (musician: drums: group: AC/DC: LPs: Let There Be Rock, Powerage, Highway to Hell, Dirty Deeds Done Cheap, For Those About to Rock)

1956 - Steven (Meigs) Ford (actor: When Harry Met Sally, Body Count, Eraser, Contact, Armageddon; son of former U.S. President Gerald R. and Betty Ford)

Top of the Charts - May 19
1947
Mam'selle - Art Lund
Linda - Buddy Clark with the Ray Noble Orchestra
My Adobe Hacienda - Eddy Howard
New Jolie Blonde (New Pretty Blonde) - Red Foley

1955
Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White - Perez Prado
Unchained Melody - Les Baxter
A Blossom Fell - Nat King Cole
In the Jailhouse Now - Webb Pierce

Today is Friday May 18, 2012

On This Day

1642 - The Canadian city of Montreal was founded.

1798 - Benjamin Stoddert was appointed the first Secretary of the U.S. Navy.

1860 - Abraham Lincoln of Springfield, IL was nominated for the U.S. Presidency by Republican party leaders at a meeting in Chicago.

1942 - "David Harding, Counterspy" premierd on the NBC Blue network.

1951 - The United Nations moved from its temporary headquarters in Lake Success, N.Y., to its permanent home in Manhattan.

1953 - Jacqueline Cochran was the first woman to fly faster than the speed of sound.

1968 - Tiny Tim's "Tiptoe through the Tulips" was released.

1970 - "The Me Nobody Knows" opened at the Orpheum Theatre in NY.

1980 - Mt. St. Helens, quiet for 93 years, erupted.

1992 - The season finale of "Murphy Brown" aired on CBS.

Birthdays - May 18

1897 - Frank Capra (Academy Award-winning director: It Happened One Night [1934], Mr. Deeds Goes to Town [1936], You Can't Take It with You [1938]; It's a Wonderful Life, Lost Horizon, Pocketful of Miracles; died Sep 3, 1991)

1902 - Meredith Willson (Reiniger) (composer: The Music Man, The Unsinkable Molly Brown; died June 15, 1984)

1911 - Big Joe (Joseph Vernon) Turner (rhythm & blues singer: Corrine Corrina, Cherry Red, Still in the Dark, Chains of Love, Sweet Sixteen; died Nov 24, 1985)

1912 - Perry (Pierino) Como (Grammy Award-winning singer: Catch a Falling Star [1958, his first Grammy], Round and Round, Ko Ko Mo [i], Hot Diggity, It's Impossible, Temptation, Dream along with Me [i], And I Love You So, Till the End of Time, Because, Prisoner of Love, Wanted, Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes, Papa Loves Mambo; 15 gold records; Emmy Award-winning TV show: The Perry Como Show [1954, 1955, 1956, 1958-9]; TV host: The Chesterfield Supper Club, The Kraft Music Hall; Christopher Award-winner [1956]; Variety Club's Personality of the Year [1956]; Kennedy Center Honors [1987]; films: Something for the Boys, Doll Face, If I'm Lucky, Words and Music; former barber; died May 12, 2001)

1914 - Pierre Balmain (fashion designer; died June 29, 1982)

1919 - Dame Margot Fonteyn (ballet dancer: Sadler Wells Company; danced with Rudolph Nureyev; died Feb 21, 1991)

1920 - Pope John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla) (264th pope of the Roman Catholic Church: the first Polish pope; died April 2, 2005)

1922 - Kai Winding (jazz musician: trombone: More [theme from Mondo Cane]; died May 6, 1983)

1924 - Jack Whitaker (Broadcasters Hall of Famer: CBS Sports, ABC Sports, WCAU-TV, Philadelphia)

1928 - Pernell Roberts (actor: Bonanza, Trapper John, M.D., Ride Lonesome; died Jan 24, 2010)

1931 - Robert Morse (Tony Award-winning actor: Tru [1990], How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Secret Storm, Wild Palms, Where Were You When the Lights Went Out)

1934 - Dwayne Hickman (actor: The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Cat Ballou)

1948 - Joe Bonsall (singer: The Oak Ridge Boys: Talk about the Good Times, Where the Soul Never Dies, Cryin' Again, American Made, Love Song, I Guess It Never Hurts to Cry Sometimes, Everyday, Make My Life with You, Little Things, Touch a Hand Make a Friend)

1949 - Rick Wakeman (songwriter, musician: keyboards: groups: The Strawbs; Yes: Roundabout; solo LPs: Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table; composer: films scores: The Phantom of the Opera [1990], Playing for Keeps, Creepshow 2, Bullet to Beijing, Midnight in St. Petersburg)

1951 - James Stephens (actor: The Paper Chase, Father Dowling Mysteries, Pancho Barnes, Mysterious Two, First Monday in October)

Top of the Charts - May 18
1946
All Through the Day - Perry Como
The Gypsy - The Ink Spots
Shoo Fly Pie - The Stan Kenton Orchestra (vocal: June Christy)
New Spanish Two Step - Bob Wills

1954
Wanted - Perry Como
Little Things Mean a Lot - Kitty Kallen
If You Love Me (Really Love Me) - Kay Starr
I Really Don't Want to Know - Eddy Arnold

Today is Thursday May 17, 2012

On This Day

1792 - Twenty-four brokers agreed to rates on commissions on stocks and bonds and the New York Stock Exchange was born.

1938 - The NBC Blue network premiered "Information Please."

1971 - "Godspell" opened at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York.

1975 - NBC-TV paid $5,000,000 for the rights to show "Gone with the Wind" one time.

1985 - Bobby Ewing died on the season finale of "Dallas" on CBS-TV.

Birthdays - May 17

1906 - Carl McIntire (clergyman, fire and brimstone fundamentalist minister; died Mar 19, 2002)

1911 - Maureen (Paul) O'Sullivan (actress: Tarzan films: Jane; Hannah and Her Sisters, Peggy Sue Got Married, The River Pirates; died June 23, 1998)

1914 - Stewart Alsop (syndicated columnist [w/brother Joseph]: Matter of Fact; journalist: New York Herald Tribune, Newsweek, Washington Editor of Saturday Evening Post; writer: The Center: The Anatomy of Power in Washington, Stay of Execution : A Sort of Memoir; died May 26, 1974)

1921 - Bob Merrill (songwriter: If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake, Doggie in the Window, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Funny Girl [w/Jules Styne]; died Feb 17, 1998)

1924 - Dick Hixson (trombonist, studio musician)

1932 - Jackie (John) McLean (jazz musician: alto sax; composer, playwright; educator: University of Hartford, CT)

1936 - Dennis Hopper (actor: Easy Rider, Apocalypse Now, Rebel Without a Cause, Giant, Hoosiers, Flashback, Blue Velvet, Super Mario Brothers, True Romance, Speed, Waterworld, Space Truckers; director: Easy Rider, Colors, Chasers)

1938 - Pervis Jackson (singer: group: The Spinners: I'll Be Around, Could It Be I'm Falling In Love; died Aug 18, 2008)

1942 - Taj Mahal (Henry St. Claire Fredericks) (entertainer, songwriter: for film, Sounder; singer: urban folk-blues)

1949 - Bill Bruford (drummer: LPs: Feels Good to Me, One of a Kind, The Bruford Tapes, Gradually Going Tornado, Masterstrokes; [w/Patrick Moraz: Music for Piano and Drums, Flags; groups: Earthworks, Gong, Genesis, Yes: Owner of a Lonely Heart; UK: Danger Money, Night after Night)

1955 - Bill Paxton (actor: Twister, True Lies, Aliens, Apollo 13, Future Shock, The Terminator)

1956 - Bob Saget (actor: Full House; TV host: America's Funniest Home Videos)

1965 - Trent Reznor (Grammy Award-winning singer, musician: Wish [1992]; LP: Pretty Hate Machine; band: Nine Inch Nails)

Top of the Charts - May 17
1945
Candy - Johnny Mercer & Jo Stafford
I'm Beginning to See the Light - The Harry James Orchestra (vocal: Kitty Kallen)
Dream - The Pied Pipers
At Mail Call Today - Gene Autry

1953
I Believe - Frankie Laine
April in Portugal - The Les Baxter Orchestra
Song from Moulin Rouge - The Percy Faith Orchestra
Mexican Joe - Jim Reeves

Today is Wednesday May 16, 2012

On This Day

1990 - Sammy Davis Jr. passed after a battle with throat cancer.

1770 - Marie Antoinette, age 14, married the future King Louis XVI of France, who was 15.

1866 - The U.S. Treasury Department authorized the minting of the nickel, a five-cent coin.

1910 - U.S. Congress authorized the U.S. Bureau of Mines.

1914 - The American Horseshoe Pitchers Association was formed.

1929 - The first Academy Awards were presented.

1929 - Paul Whiteman and orchestra recorded "S'posin'" with Bing Crosby vocals for Columbia.

1946 - "Annie Get Your Gun" opened at New York's Imperial Theatre.

1960 - Billboard magazine reports that Berry Gordy is thinking of starting three record labels, including one called Motown.

1965 - "The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd" premiered at the Shubert in New York.

1971 - The cost of first class U.S mail went up two cents to eight cents.

1987 - 3,200 tons of garbage aboard a huge barge began an eight week, 6,000 mile trip to find a spot to dump its cargo. It returned to NY with all of its cargo.

2003 - Hoboken, NJ names its post office after Frank Sinatra.

Birthdays - May 16

1801 - William Seward (U.S. Secretary of State: negotiated purchase of Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000 [Seward's Folly]; died Oct 10, 1872)

1804 - Elizabeth Palmer Peabody (educator: established 1^st kindergarten in U.S. [1860]; author, publisher: The Dial literary magazine, Kindergarten Messenger; sister-in-law of Nathaniel Hawthorne; died Jan 3, 1894)

1905 - Henry (Jaynes) Fonda (Academy Award-winning actor: On Golden Pond [1981]; Grapes of Wrath, Advice and Consent, Mister Roberts, Young Mr. Lincoln; father of Jane & Peter Fonda; died Aug 12, 1982)

1912 - Studs (Louis) Terkel (writer: Hard Times, Working; died Oct 31, 2008

1913 - Woody (Woodrow Charles) Herman (bandleader: Woodchopper's Ball, The Sheik of Araby, Chloe, Caldonia; died Oct 29, 1987)

1919 - (Wladziu Valentino) Liberace (concert pianist & showman: The Liberace Show; Las Vegas entertainer; died Feb 4, 1987)

1922 - Eddie Bert (jazz musician: trombone)

1929 - Betty Carter (Lillie Mae Jones) (jazz singer: toured with Lionel Hampton & Miles Davis; died Sep 26, 1998)

1937 - Yvonne Craig (actress, dancer: Batman [TV], Barbara Gordon/Batgirl [TV], Digging Up Business, It Happened at the World's Fair, The Young Land, Mars Needs Women)

1947 - Barbara Lee (Jones) (singer: group: The Chiffons: He's So Fine, One Fine Day, Sweet Talkin' Guy; died May 15, 1992)

1947 - Bill Smitrovich (actor: Crime Story, Life Goes On, The Trigger Effect, Bodily Harm, Crazy People, Renegades, A Killing Affair, Splash, Manhunter, The Practice)

1947 - Darrel Sweet (musician: drums, singer: group: Nazareth: LPs: Love Hurts, Snaz; died Apr 30, 1999)

1953 - Pierce Brosnan (actor: Mrs. Doubtfire, Remington Steele, The Manions of America, Noble House, The Heist, Detonator, The Fourth Protocol, Don't Talk to Strangers, The Thomas Crown Affair [1999], The Tailor of Panama; Bond ... James Bond: GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough)

1955 - (Mary) Debra Winger (actress: Forget Paris, Shadowlands, A Dangerous Woman, Leap of Faith, Legal Eagles, Terms of Endearment, An Officer and a Gentleman, Urban Cowboy, French Postcards, Slumber Party '57, Wonder Woman)

1958 - Glenn Gregory (singer: group: Heaven 17: We Don't Need This Fascist Groove Thang, Temptation, Crushed by the Wheels of Industry, Soul Deep, The Foolish Thing to Do; on soundtrack of film: Insignificance)

1959 - Mare Winningham (Emmy Award-winning [supporting] actress: Amber Waves [1979-1980], George Wallace [1997-1998]; The Boys Next Door, Wyatt Earp, Fatal Exposure, Turner and Hooch, St. Elmo's Fire, The Thorn Birds)

1966 - Janet Jackson (singer: Again, Control, Miss You Much, That's the Way Love Goes, What Have You Done for Me Lately; LPs: Janet Jackson, Dream Street, Control, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814, janet, Design of a Decade, The Velvet Rope [has sold some 40-million albums worldwide]; actress: Good Times, Fame, Diff'rent Strokes; Michael's sister)

Top of the Charts - May 16
1944
Long Ago and Far Away - Helen Forrest & Dick Haymes
I'll Get By - The Harry James Orchestra (vocal: Dick Haymes)
San Fernando Valley - Bing Crosby
Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry - Al Dexter

1952
Blue Tango - The Leroy Anderson Orchestra
Kiss of Fire - Georgia Gibbs
Blacksmith Blues - Ella Mae Morse
The Wild Side of Life - Hank Thompson

Today is Tuesday May 15, 2012

On This Day

1862 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture was established by President Abraham Lincoln.

1918 - Regular airmail service between New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. began.

1930 - Ellen Church became the first stewardess for an airline.

1938 - Guy Lombardo and orchestra recorded "Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride" for Victor.

1940 - Nylon hose went on sale throughout the United States.

1964 - The Smothers Brothers performed for the first time in Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Birthdays - May 15

1856 - Lyman Frank Baum (newspaperman, author: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; died May 6, 1919)

1890 - Katherine Anne Porter (Pulitzer Prize-winning writer: Collected Short Stories [1965]; Ship of Fools; died Sep 18,1980)

1902 - Richard Joseph Daley (‘The Boss': politician: former mayor of Chicago; died Dec 20, 1976)

1905 - Joseph (Cheshire) Cotten (actor: Citizen Kane, The Third Man, Duel in the Sun, Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte, Tora Tora Tora, The Philadelphia Story, Once More with Feeling; died Feb 6, 1994)

1909 - James (Neville) Mason (actor: A Star is Born, Georgy Girl, The Verdict, The Boys from Brazil, Charade, The Desert Fox, Island in the Sun, Jesus of Nazareth, North by Northwest, Lolita; died July 27, 1984)

1910 - Constance Cummings (Halverstadt) (Tony Award-winning actress: Wings; Blithe Spirit, Busman's Honeymoon; died Nov 23, 2005)

1911 - Max (Rudolf) Frisch (author: Homo Faber, I'm Not Stiller, Juerg Reinhardt; playwright: The Firebugs, Andorra; died Apr 4, 1991)

1918 - Eddy (Richard Edward) Arnold (‘The Tennessee Plowboy': Country Music Hall of Famer: Make the World Go Away, Kentucky Waltz, The Last Word in Lonesome is Me, I Want to Go with You, I Wouldn't Know Where to Begin, Bouquet of Roses; TV host; died May 8, 2008)

1923 - Richard Avedon (photographer: famous for his 1960s and '70s ‘up-against-the-wall' pictures of celebrities and politicians; died Oct 1, 2004)

1923 - Ellis Larkins (pianist: favorite accompanist of: Mildred Bailey, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Williams; died Sep 29, 2002)

1930 - Jasper Johns (sculptor, painter: Flag, Face with Watch, After Holbein, Grey Numbers)

1936 - Anna Maria Alberghetti (singer, Tony Award-winning actress: Carnival [1962]; Cinderfella)

1936 - Paul Zindel (writer: The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds; died Mar 27, 2003)

1937 - Trini López (singer: If I Had a Hammer, Lemon Tree, I'm Comin' Home Cindy; actor: The Dirty Dozen)

1938 - Lenny Welch (singer: Since I Fell for You, Ebb Tide, Breaking Up is Hard to Do)

1940 - Lainie Kazan (Lainie Levine) (singer, actress: Beaches, My Favorite Year)

1943 - David Cronenberg (director: Crash, M Butterfly, Dead Ringers, The Fly, Dead Zone, Fast Company, They Came from Within)

1947 - Graham Goble (musician: guitar: group: Little River Band: It's a Long Way There, Help is on Its Way, Reminiscing, Lady, Lonesome Loser, Cool Change, The Night Owls, Take It Easy on Me)

1948 - Brian Eno (Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno) (musician: synthesizer: Roxy Music [cofounder]; record producer: Seven Deadly Finns; songwriter [w/David Bowie]: Once in a Lifetime)

1953 - Mike Oldfield (composer, musician: Tubular Bells; film score: Killing Fields)

1955 - Lee Horsley (actor: Unlawful Passage, French Silk, Danielle Steele's Palomino, Sword & the Sorcerer, Nero Wolfe, Hawkeye, Paradise, North and South, Book II, Bodies of Evidence)

Top of the Charts - May 15
1951
If - Perry Como
Mockingbird Hill -Patti Page
On Top of Old Smokey - The Weavers (vocal: Terry Gilkyson)
Cold, Cold Heart - Hank Williams

1959
The Happy Organ - Dave ‘Baby' Cortez
Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home) - The Impalas
Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb) - Edward Byrnes & Connie Stevens
White Lightning - George Jones

Today is Monday May 14, 2012

On This Day

Today we Celebrate the lives of Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darrin...

Bobby Darrtin was born this day in 1936.

Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 - December 20, 1973) was an American singer who performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country. He started as a songwriter for Connie Francis, and recorded his own first million-seller "Splish Splash" in 1958. This was followed by "Dream Lover," "Mack the Knife" and "Beyond the Sea," which brought him world fame. In 1962, he won a Golden Globe for his first film Come September, co-starring his wife Sandra Dee. Through the 1960s he became more political, and worked on Bobby Kennedy's presidential campaign, being present on the night of his assassination. This affected him and sent him into a period of seclusion. Although he made a successful television comeback, his health was starting to fail, as he had always expected, following bouts of rheumatic fever in childhood. This knowledge had always spurred him on to exploit his musical talent while still young. He died at 37, following a heart operation in Los Angeles.

1998 Frank Sinatra died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, at the age of 82...there's not space for more than that on Frank...

1796 - English physician Edward Jenner administered the first vaccination against smallpox.

1862 - Adolphe Nicole of Switzerland patented the chronograph.

1878 - Vaseline, a brand of petroleum jelly was registered by Robert A. Chesebrough.

1904 - The first Olympic Games in the U.S. opened in St. Louis, MO.

1913 - John D. Rockefeller established the Rockefeller Foundation for $100,000,000 to promote "the well-being of mankind throughout the world."

1937 - Duke Ellington recorded "Caravan" for Brunswick.

1945 - "The Sparrow and the Hawk" was broadcast on CBS radio.

1957 - "New Girl in Town" opened at the 46th Street Theatre in New York City.

1985 - The first McDonald's restaurant, in Des Plaines, IL became the first museum of the fast-food business.

Birthdays - May 14

1727 - Thomas Gainsborough (artist: The Blue Boy, The Watering Place; died Aug 2, 1788)

1900 - Billie Dove (Lilian Bohny) (actress: All the Brothers were Valiant, The Black Pirate; died Dec 31 1997)

1916 - Skip (Lloyd) Martin (bandleader, composer, arranger: Hammer Blow [from Mike Hammer], Singin' in the Rain, Guys and Dolls, April Love, Funny Face, Silk Stockings, Les Girls; died Feb 12, 1976)

1917 - Norman Luboff (choral leader: The Norman Luboff Choir; died Sep 22, 1987)

1921 - Richard Deacon (actor: The Dick Van Dyke Show, B.J. and the Bear, Leave It to Beaver, Carousel, Francis in the Haunted House, The Patsy, Bad Manners, Blackbeard's Ghost; died Aug 8, 1984)

1925 - Al Porcino (jazz musician: trumpet: played with Louis Prima, Tommy Dorsey, Georgie Auld, Gene Krupa, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Don Costa, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Jerry Lewis, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, Buddy Rich, Chuck Mangione, Mel Torme)

1925 - Patrice Munsel (soprano: Metropolitan Opera diva [at age 17]; actress: The Great Waltz, Melba; radio performer: The Great Sopranos - Voices of Firestone Classic Performances; radio host: The Patrice Munsel Show)

1936 - Bobby Darin (Cassotto) (Grammy Award-winning singer: Mack the Knife [1959]; Splish Splash, Dream Lover, You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby, Things, If I Were a Carpenter; inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [1990]; actor: Captain Newman, M.D., If a Man Answers, Come September; died Dec 20, 1973)

1943 - Jack Bruce (musician: bass: group: Cream: Sunshine of Your Love, White Room, Crossroads; group: Graham Bond Organization; solo: Themes for an Imaginary Western)

1943 - Derek Leckenby (musician: guitar: group: Herman's Hermits: Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter, I'm Henry VIII I Am)

1944 - George Lucas (George Walton Lucas Jr.) (film producer, director: Star Wars series, Indiana Jones series, American Graffiti)

1944 - Troy Shondell (singer: This Time)

1946 - Gene Cornish (musician: guitar group: The Young Rascals/Rascals: Groovin', How Can I Be Sure, A Beautiful Morning, People Got to Be Free)

1952 - David Byrne (singer: group: Talking Heads: Love Goes to Building on Fire; composer for film: True Stories)

1952 - Robert Zemeckis (Academy Award-winning director: Forrest Gump [1994]; Death Becomes Her, Back to the Future trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Romancing the Stone, Used Cars, I Wanna Hold Your Hand; script writer [w/Bob Gale]: 1941; executive producer: Tales from the Crypt)

1953 - Tom Cochrane (musician: guitar: group: Red Rider: White Hot, Lunatic Fringe, Young Thing, The Untouchable One, Good Times; solo: Life is a Highway, Sinking Like a Sunset, I Wish You Well)

1962 - Ian Astbury (singer: group: The Cult: Spiritwalker, Resurrection Joe, She Sells Sanctuary)

1966 - Fabrice Morvan (performer, lip-syncer: group: Milli Vanilli: Girl I'm Gonna Miss You, Baby Don't Forget My Number, Blame It on the Rain)

Top of the Charts - May 14
1950
My Foolish Heart - The Gordon Jenkins Orchestra (vocal: Eileen Wilson)
It Isn't Fair - The Sammy Kaye Orchestra (vocal: Don Cornell)
The Third Man Theme - Alton Karas
Long Gone Lonesome Blues - Hank Williams

1958
All I Have to Do is Dream - The Everly Brothers
Wear My Ring Around Your Neck - Elvis Presley
Return to Me - Dean Martin
Oh Lonesome Me - Don Gibson

Today is Sunday May 13, 2012

On This Day

1821 - Samuel Rust of New York City patented the first practical printing press built in the U.S.

1873 - Ludwig M. Wolf of Avon, CT patented the sewing machine lampholder.

1918 - The first airmail postage stamps were issued in six, 16 and 24-cent denominations.

1938 - Louis Armstrong and orchestra recorded "When the Saints Go Marching In" on Decca.

1954 - "The Pajama Game" debuted on Broadway.

Birthdays - May 13

1842 - Arthur (Seymour) Sullivan (operetta composer [w/Sir William Gilbert]: H.M.S. Pinafore, The Mikado, Pirates of Penzance; died Nov 22, 1900)

1911 - Robert Middleton (Samuel Messer) (actor: Harrad Experiment, The Law and Jake Wade, Court Jester, Desperate Hours, Career; died June 14, 1977)

1911 - Maxine Sullivan (Marietta Williams) (singer: Loch Lomand, Cockles and Mussels, If I Had a Ribbon Bow; films & stage: Goin' Places, St. Louis Blues, Swingin' the Dream, Midsummer Night's Dream [w/Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman]; died Apr 7, 1987)

1914 - Johnny ‘Johnnie' Wright (country singer: duo: Johnnie and Jack: Poison Love, Crying Heart Blues; solo: Hello Vietnam; married to singer Kitty Wells since 1937)

1922 - Bea (Beatrice) Arthur (Bernice Frankel) (actress: The Golden Girls, Maude, Mame; died Apr 25, 2009)

1925 - Herbert Ross (director: True Colors, My Blue Heaven, Steel Magnolias, Dancers, Footloose, Pennies from Heaven, California Suite, The Turning Point, The Goodbye Girl, The Sunshine Boys, Funny Lady, The Owl and the Pussycat; actor, director: Play It Again, Sam, Goodbye, Mr. Chips; died Oct 9, 2001)

1937 - Zohra Lampert (actress: Alan & Naomi, Splendor in the Grass)

1939 - Harvey Keitel (actor: Smoke, Pulp Fiction, Rising Sun, The Piano, Sister Act, Thelma and Louise, Bugsy, The Two Jakes, The Last Temptation of Christ, Death Watch, Blue Collar, Taxi Driver, Mother, Jugs and Speed, Shining Star, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Mean Streets, Holy Smoke, U-571)

1941 - Senta Berger (actress: The Victors, See How They Run, The Quiller Memorandum, If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium)

1941 - Ritchie Valens (Richard Steven Valenzuela) (singer: Donna, La Bamba; film biography: La Bamba; killed in plane crash Feb 3, 1959)

1943 - Mary Wells (singer: My Guy, Two Lovers, You Beat Me to the Punch, The One Who Really Loves You; died July 26, 1992)

1946 - Danny Klein (musician: bass: group: The J. Geils Band: Give It to Me, Must Have Got Lost, One Last Kiss, Freeze-Frame, Centerfold, Angel in Blue, Land of a 1000 Dances)

1946 - Tim Pigott-Smith (actor: The Jewel in the Crown, Remains of the Day)

1947 - (Pete) Overend Watts (musician: bass: group: Mott the Hoople: All the Young Dudes, Ballad of Mott, All the Way to Memphis, Saturday Gigs)

1949 - Franklyn Ajaye (actor: The Wrong Guys, Fraternity Vacation, The Jazz Singer, Convoy, Car Wash, Keep on Truckin')

1950 - Stevie Wonder (Stevland Morris) (singer: Fingertips, My Cherie Amour, For Once in My Life, Tears of a Clown, If You Really Love Me, co-wrote I was Made to Love Her; Wonder has won 16 Grammy Awards; an Oscar for I Just Called to Say I Love You [from The Woman in Red: 1984]; inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [1989]; has stood up for civil rights, campaigns against cancer, AIDS, drunk driving and the plight of Ethiopians)

1951 - Paul Thompson (musician: drums: group: Roxy Music: Virginia Plain, Pyjamarama, Do the Strand, Editions of You, In Every Dream a Heartache, Street Life, All I Want is You, Out of the Blue)

Top of the Charts - May 13
1949
Cruising Down the River - The Russ Morgan Orchestra (vocal: The Skyliners)
Forever and Ever - Perry Como
Careless Hands - Mel Torme
Lovesick Blues - Hank Williams

1957
School Day - Chuck Berry
A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation) - Marty Robbins
So Rare - Jimmy Dorsey
All Shook Up - Elvis Presley

Today is Saturday May 12, 2012

On This Day

Today is the birthday of Burt F. Bacharach born May 12, 1928. He is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick. Following on with the initial success of this collaboration, Bacharach went on to produce hits with Dusty Springfield, Bobbie Gentry and others.

1831 - The first indicted bank robber in the U.S., Edward Smith, was sentenced to five years hard labor at Sing Sing Prison.

1847 - William Clayton invented the odometer.

1917 - Omar Khayyam, an English bred colt was the first imported horse to win the Kentucky Derby.

1955 - Passengers rode the last run of the Third Avenue elevated, "The El" in New York City.

1971 - The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger married Bianca Perez Morena de Macias.

1978 - The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that it would alternate men's and women's names in the naming of hurricanes.

Birthdays - May 12

1812 - Edward Lear (illustrator, poet, champion of the limerick: Edward Lear's Book of Nonsense; died Jan 29, 1888)

1820 - Florence Nightingale (health activist, nurse: promoted the nursing profession, contributed to modern nursing procedures, founded Nightingale Training School for Nurses; author: Notes on Nursing; died Aug 13, 1910)

1828 - Dante Rossetti (poet: The Blessed Damozel, Sister Helen, The House of Life; artist: The Annunciation; brother of poet Christina Rossetti; died Apr 9, 1882)

1900 - Captain Mildred McAfee (Horton) (1st Director of U.S. Navy WAVES [Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service); Wellesley College President; Distinguished Service Medalist [1945]; died Sep 2, 1994)

1907 - Katharine Hepburn (Academy Award-winning Actress: Morning Glory [1932-33], Guess Who's Coming to Dinner [1967], The Lion in Winter [1968], On Golden Pond [1981]; Adam's Rib, Pat and Mike, The African Queen, The Rainmaker, Rooster Cogburn, Suddenly Last Summer, Mary of Scotland, Love Affair; died June 29, 2003)

1914 - Howard K. (Kingsbury) Smith (journalist, TV anchorman: ABC News; died Feb 15, 2002)

1921 - (Otis W.) Joe Maphis (country singer with wife, Rose Lee: entertainer: Hometown Jamboree, Town Hall Party, Hee Haw; songwriter: Dim Lights Thick Smoke and Loud, Loud Music; died June 27, 1986)

1928 - Burt Bacharach (Oscar-winning composer [w/ Hal David]: Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head [1969]; Tony award for score for Promises, Promises; What the World Needs Now, Walk on By, Close to You, I Say a Little Prayer, Do You Know the Way to San Jose; Oscar-winning team w/wife, Carol Bayer Sager: Arthur's Theme [1981]; That's What Friends are For)

1929 - Samuel Nujoma (President of Namibia [March 21, 1990-present])

1936 - Tom Snyder (broadcast journalist: WNBC, KNBC; host: The Late Show with Tom Snyder, Tomorrow, Contact, The Tom Snyder Radio Show)

1936 - Frank Stella (abstract artist, sculptor, painter: Empress of India, Guadalupe Island)

1937 - George Carlin (comedian: The George Carlin Show, Award Theater, 1st host of Saturday Night Live, The Kraft Summer Music Hall, Wonderful W-I-N-O, Seven Dirty Words, actor: Prince of Tides, That Girl, Car Wash, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure; died June 22, 2008)

1937 - Susan Hampshire (Emmy Award-winning actress: The Forsythe Saga[1969-70], The First Churchills [Masterpiece Theatre, 1970-71], Vanity Fair [Masterpiece Theatre, 1972-73]; The Story of David, Cry Terror, David Copperfield)

1938 - Millie Perkins (actress: Wall Street, Ensign Pulver)

1939 - Ronald L. Ziegler (journalist, Press Secretary for U.S. President Richard M. Nixon; died Feb 10, 2003)

1942 - Ian Dury (singer: Rough Kids, Billy Bentley, Upminster Kid; songwriter: What a Waste, Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick, Sink My Boats, This is What We Find, Reasons to be Cheerful, Delusions of Grandeur, Dance of the Crackpots, The Body Song, Spasticus Autisticus, Profoundly in Love with Pandora; group: Ian Dury & The Blockheads: Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, Sweet Gene Vincent, Billericay Dickie, Paistow Patricia; actor: No. 1, Pirates, King of the Ghetto, Talk of the Devil, Rocinante, Hearts of Fire; died Mar 27, 2000)

1943 - David Walker (musician: guitar: group: Gary Lewis & The Playboys: This Diamond Ring, Everybody Loves a Clown, She's Just My Style)

1945 - Ian McLagan (musician: keyboards: solo LPs: Troublemaker, Bump in the Night; group: The Faces: Stay with Me, Debris, Cindy Incidentally, Pool Hall Richard, You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything)

1948 - Lindsay Crouse (actress: The Juror, The Arrival, Desperate Hours, Places in the Heart, The Verdict, Slap Shot, House of Games, Eleanor & Franklin, All the President's Men, Traps)

1948 - Steve Winwood (singer: groups: Blind Faith; Traffic; Spencer Davis Group: Gimme Some Lovin'; solo: While You See a Chance; Don't You Know What the Night Can Do, Higher Love, The Finer Things, Roll with It)

1950 - Bruce Boxleitner (actor: Scarecrow and Mrs. King, The Babe)

1950 - Billy Squier (singer: Everybody Wants You; wrote and sang on soundtrack: Fast Times at Ridgemont High)

1958 - Kim Greist (actress: Homeward Bound series, Throw Momma from the Train, Brazil, Chicago Hope)

1961 - Billy Duffy (musician: guitar: group: The Cult: Spiritwalker, Resurrection Joe, She Sells Security)

1962 - Emilio Estevez (actor: Breakfast Club, Repo Man, Young Guns, Stakeout, The Mighty Ducks, Men at Work, Freejack; Martin Sheen's son, Charlie's brother, Paula Abdul's ex)

Top of the Charts - May 12
1948
Now is the Hour - Bing Crosby
Manana - Peggy Lee
The Dickey Bird Song - The Freddy Martin Orchestra (vocal: Glenn Hughes)
Anytime - Eddy Arnold

1956
Heartbreak Hotel/I Was the One - Elvis Presley
Standing on the Corner - The Four Lads
The Wayward Wind - Gogi Grant
Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins