On this day in 2004
"Burn" by Usher was the #1 song.
How well do you know
"The Greatest Music Of All Time?"
Who’s the male singer/songwriter/musician/Rock & Roll Hall of Famer with 39 Top 40 hits – 11 of them Top 10 – between 1952 and 1963, and was almost lost in a major 2005 weather event?
The answer to the music trivia question can be found at the end of today's post.
Today's Celebrity Birthdays
Actor (Something So Right) Billy L. Sullivan, 33. Actor (MADtv, Less Than Perfect) Will Sasso, 38. Actor (Martin, The Messenger) Carl Anthony Payne II, 44. Actor (Without a Trace, Nashville) Eric Close, 46. Actor (The Aviator, Chicago) John C. Reilly, 48. Three-time boxing champion Hector “Macho” Camacho, 51. Actress (Confessions of a Shopaholic, The English Patient) Kristin Scott Thomas, 53. Actor (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy) Doug Jones, 53. Country music singer Roseanne Cash, 58. Actor (An Education, Spider-Man 2) Alfred Molina, 60. Pro golfer Pat Bradley, 62. Golf champion Jo Anne Washam, 63. Actor (Moulin Rouge!, Gangs of New York) Jim Broadbent, 64. Actor (Braveheart, Trainspotting) James Cosmo, 65. Actress (Dallas, Naked Gun movies)/TV host (Those Amazing Animals) Priscilla Presley, 68. R&B singer (Lady Marmalade)/actress (Be Cool, Bruce Almighty) Patti LaBelle, 69. Actor (M*A*S*H, MASH) Gary Burghoff, 70. Singer/songwriter/Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bob Dylan, 72. Actor (That 70s Show, Up in Smoke)/comedian (Cheech & Chong) Tommy Chong, 75. Actor (Moonraker, Munich, Ronin) Michael Lonsdale, 82.
Priscilla Presley
What A Day This Has Been
May 24, 1764…Boston lawyer James Otis, Jr., who had considered himself a loyal British subject and not a revolutionary, nevertheless denounced "taxation without representation" and called for the colonies to unite in demonstrating their opposition to Britain’s new tax measures.
May 24, 1844…Samuel F.B. Morse gave the first public demonstration of his telegraph by sending a message from the Supreme Court Chamber in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. to the B&O Railroad "outer depot" (now the B&O Railroad Museum) in Baltimore. The famous message was, "What hath God wrought?"
May 24, 1883…After 14 years of construction, the Brooklyn Bridge, connecting the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River, was opened to traffic.
May 24, 1901…Victoria Day was first observed in Canada, 16 months after Queen Victoria's death. The national holiday had been designated to fall on May 24, the Queen's birthday. In 1952, the date of the observance was changed to the first Monday preceding May 25th.
May 24, 1935…The Cincinnati Reds played the Philadelphia Phillies at Crosley Field in the first major league baseball game at night. The switch for the floodlights was thrown by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Although night games played under artificial illumination dated back to the 1880s and were introduced in minor league baseball in the late 1920s, they were initially dismissed as a gimmick by the big league clubs until 1935.
May 24, 1951…Racial segregation in Washington D.C. restaurants was ruled illegal.
May 24, 1954…The German airline Lufthansa was formed.
May 24, 1958…The United Press and the International News Service merged to form United Press International (UPI).
May 24, 1959…Fabian sang "Tiger" and "Turn Me Loose" on CBS-TV's "The Ed Sullivan Show."
May 24, 1959…Former U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles died of colon cancer at age 71.
May 24, 1960…At Owen Bradley's Quonset Hut studio in Nashville, Ferlin Husky recorded "Wings Of A Dove."
May 24, 1960…At Bell Sound Studio in New York City, Jack Scott recorded "It Only Happened Yesterday" and "Cool Water."
May 24, 1963…Blues guitarist/singer/songwriter (Shake Your Money Maker) Elmore James, "the King of the Slide Guitar," died after a heart attack at the age of 45.
May 24, 1964…Viewers of CBS-TV's "The Ed Sullivan Show" saw a taped Beatles performance of "You Can't Do That" from the set of their movie "A Hard Day's Night."
May 24, 1966…Captain Beefheart performed at the Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood, California. His opening acts were Buffalo Springfield and the Doors, whose careers didn't take off until the following year.
May 24, 1966…At Chess Studios in Chicago, Bo Diddley recorded "Who Do You Love?"
May 24, 1966…In Hollywood, Elvis Presley began filming his 20th feature film, "Frankie And Johnny," co-starring Donna Douglas, Harry Morgan, Sue Ane Langdon, Nancy Kovack, Anthony Eisley, and Robert Strauss.
May 24, 1966…The original Broadway production of the musical "Mame," starring Angela Lansbury, Bea Arthur, and Willard Waterman, opened at New York's Winter Garden Theatre for 1508 performances.
May 24, 1967…The Jimi Hendrix Experience concluded their first European tour with a concert at Tivoli Gröna Lund in Stockholm, Sweden.
May 24, 1969…The Guess Who made their U.S. television debut, lip-syncing "These Eyes" and "Laughing," on ABC's "American Bandstand."
May 24, 1970…At the Bath Festival in Somerset, England and just before he joined a religious cult, Peter Green played his last show with the band he founded, Fleetwood Mac.
May 24, 1974…On NBC-TV's "The Midnight Special," Richard Pryor hosted musical guests Olivia Newton-John and Boz Scaggs.
May 24, 1974…Jazz pianist/composer/bandleader (Satin Doll, I'm Beginning To See The Light, Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me, Don't Get Around Much Anymore, Take The 'A' Train, Flamingo, I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart, Caravan, Solitude, Moonglow, Cocktails For Two, Sophisticated Lady, It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing, Mood Indigo, Stormy Weather, Three Little Words) Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington died of lung cancer and pneumonia at the age of 75.
May 24, 1976…France and Britain began trans-Atlantic Concorde service to Washington, DC. The supersonic transport also flew from London to New York during its 27 years of commercial operation, flying these routes at record speeds, in less than half the time of other airliners.. The Concorde's last flight was on November 26, 2003.
May 24, 1978…Van Halen's self-titled debut album was certified Gold.
May 24, 1980…In Los Angeles, the members of Genesis – Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford – manned the box office and sold tickets to their show at the Roxy scheduled for the following night.
May 24, 1981…Comedian/singer/songwriter/radio and TV host/actor (Reds, Stage Door Canteen, The Busy Body)/movie producer (Tonight We Sing, The I Don’t Care Girl, Bloodhounds of Broadway, Wait Till The Sun Shines Nellie, Golden Girl) George Jessel, dubbed "The Toastmaster General of the United States," died after a heart attack at age 83.
May 24, 1982…At the Moscone Center in San Francisco, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Starship, Boz Scaggs, and Country Joe and the Fish played a benefit concert for Vietnam veterans.
May 24, 1985…The James Bond movie "A View to a Kill," starring Roger Moore, Christopher Walken, and Tanya Roberts, with Grace Jones and Patrick Macnee, opened in U.S. and Canadian movie theaters.
May 24, 1986…Davy Jones, Mickey Dolenz, and Peter Tork reunited as the Monkees and began a successful tour at the Concord Hotel, in the Catskill Mountains of New York state.
May 24, 1986…Margaret Thatcher became the first British prime minister to visit Israel.
May 24, 1986…Country music singer Garth Brooks married his college sweetheart, Sandy Mahl. They had three daughters before divorcing 5½ years later.
May 24, 1987…Actress (Gigi, The Music Man, Bell Book and Candle, Around The World in Eighty Days, Garbo Talks, Our Girl Friday, A Little Night Music, The Pickwick Papers, Munster Go Home!, The Naked Edge, Promise Her Anything, The Butler's Dilemma, Rocket to the Moon, I'd Rather Be Rich, Meet Mr. Penny, Merry Comes to Town) Hermione Gingold died of pneumonia at the age of 89.
May 24, 1989…"Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," starring Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Alison Doody, John Rhys-Davies, and River Phoenix, opened in U.S. and Canadian movie theaters.
May 24, 1991…At the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin, Guns n' Roses played the first show of their 192-date Use Your Illusion world tour.
May 24, 1991…Singer (Turn! Turn! Turn!, Mr. Tambourine Man)/songwriter (Eight Miles High)/harmonicist Gene Clark, a founding member of the Byrds and formerly of the New Christy Minstrels, died following a heart attack at 46.
May 24, 1993…Actress Kim Basinger filed for bankruptcy to avoid paying a $7.4 million settlement. She had pulled out of the film "Boxing Helena," resulting in the studio winning an $8.1 million judgment against her. Basinger and the studio eventually settled for $3.8 million.
May 24, 1994…Mahmud Abouhalima, Mohammad Salameh, Nidal A. Ayyad, and Ahmad Ajaj, the four men convicted of bombing New York's World Trade Center were each sentenced to 240 years in prison.
May 24, 1994…TV country music fiddler (The King Ganam Show, Country Hoedown, Holiday Ranch)/Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer Ameen Sied "King" Ganam, "Canada's King of the Fiddle," died at age 78.
May 24, 1995…Former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson died of colon cancer and Alzheimer's disease at the age of 79.
May 24, 1996…"Spy Hard," starring Leslie Nielsen, Nicollette Sheridan, Charles Durning, and Marcia Gay Harden, opened in U.S. and Canadian movie theaters.
May 24, 1997…Actor (Knight Rider, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, Our Man Flint, Von Ryan's Express, Megaforce, Caprice, Eye of the Devil, Out to Sea, Signpost to Murder) Edward Mulhare died of lung cancer at age 74.
May 24, 2000…A New York judge told Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde that if she stayed out of trouble for the next six months her March arrest for protesting the sale of leather goods in a Gap store would be dismissed.
May 24, 2003…Paul McCartney had tea with Russian premier Vladimir Putin, then went to Red Square for his first concert performance behind the "iron curtain." The audience for the show was estimated to be about 20,000 people.
May 24, 2004…An attempt to auction off Bruce Springsteen's birth certificate on eBay was shut down by his attorneys.
May 24, 2004…In California, Madonna began the North American leg of her Re-invention World Tour with three sold-out nights at the Los Angeles Forum.
May 24, 2005…Vivian Liberto, Johnny Cash's first wife, died of lung cancer at age 71, on their daughter Rosanne's 49th birthday, and two weeks after she finished writing her book, "I Walked The Line: My Life With Johnny." The book was published in 2007.
May 24, 2006…Elton John accepted $188,000 in libel damages from London's Daily Mail newspaper over their allegations that he asked guests not to approach him at a charity ball.
May 24, 2008…Comedian (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In)/TV director (Newhart, Brothers, The Waverly Wonders, The Bob Newhart Show) Dick Martin, of the Rowan & Martin comedy team, died of respiratory failure at the age of 86.
May 24, 2008…Jazz/blues organist (I've Got A Woman Part 1) Jimmy McGriff died of complications from multiple sclerosis at 72.
May 24, 2009…Billy Joel was sued by Liberty Devitto, his drummer from 1975 until 2005, for hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid royalties over a ten-year period.
May 24, 2010…The Bee Gees' Robin Gibb had a "meltdown" at London's Heathrow Airport when he allegedly hurled expletives at the British Airways staff and refused to board a plane bound for Los Angeles after he was randomly selected for an extra security check.
May 24, 2010…John Fogerty's 1985 hit "Centerfield" was selected to be honored at the National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies, marking the first time a musician or song has been honored in such a way.
May 24, 2010…Actress (Zorro, Gunfighters of Abilene, Apache Warrior, Man on the Prowl, The Disembodied, The Adventures of Hajji Baba, Bigger Than Life)/dancer Eugenia Paul died at the age of 75.
May 24, 2011…On a visit to the United Kingdom, U.S. President Barack Obama met with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip.
May 24, 2011…TV news anchor (CNBC Squawk Box host) Mark Haines died of congestive heart failure due to cardiomegaly (enlarged heart) at 65.
I Did Not Know That!
Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence; go for greatness. - Johnny Martin
Joke du Jour The minister was preoccupied with thoughts of how he was going to get the congregation to come up with more money than they were expecting for repairs to the church building. Therefore, he was annoyed to find that the regular organist was sick, and a substitute had been brought in at the last minute. The substitute wanted to know what to play.
“Here’s a copy of the service,” the minister said impatiently, “but you’ll have to think of something to play after I make the announcement about the finances.”
During the service, the minister paused and said, “Brothers and sisters, we are in great difficulty. The roof repairs cost twice as much as we expected, and we need $4,000 more. Any of you who can pledge $100 or more, please stand up.”
At that moment, the substitute organist played the National Anthem. And that’s how the substitute organist became the permanent organist!
Answer:
We almost lost Fats Domino when Hurricane Katrina struck his hometown of New Orleans in 2005.
Enjoy your day! Make it matter.
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