Monday, September 10, 2012

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS:

• Jose Feliciano (Singer/songwriter/guitarist) (67)
• Amy Irving (Actress) (59)
• Bill O'Reilly (Fox News talk show host, The O'Reilly Factor) (63)
• Arnold Palmer (Legendary pro golfer, PGA Hall-Of-Famer) (83)
• Ryan Phillippe (actor, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Cruel Intentions, The Lincoln Lawyer; ex-husband of Reese Witherspoon) (38)
• Guy Ritchie (British movie director, Swept Away, Sherlock Holmes, Snatch; Madonna's ex-husband) (44)
• Colin Firth (British actor, Pride and Prejudice, Shakespeare in Love, Bridget Jones's Diary, Love Actually, A Single Man, The King's Speech) (52)
• Bob Lanier (NBA Hall-Of-Famer with theDetroit Pistons andMilwaukee Bucks) (64)
• Joe Perry (lead guitarist, Aerosmith) (62)
• Robin Goodridge (drummer, Bush) (46)
• Danny Hutton (singer, Three Dog Night) (70)
• Barriemore Barlow (former drummer, Jethro Tull) (63)
• Don Powell (former drummer, Slade) (66)
• Johnnie Fingers (keyboardist, the Boomtown Rats) (56)
• Cynthia Lennon (former wife of John Lennon; mother of Julian Lennon) (73)
• Philip Baker Hall (actor, Magnolia, Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, the library cop on Seinfeld) (81)
• Mikey Way (bassist, My Chemical Romance) (32)
• Miles Zuniga (singer-guitarist, Fastball) (46)
• Chris Columbus (director, the first two Harry Potter movies) (54)
• Randy Johnson (major league pitcher) (49)
• Sanjaya Malakar (American Idol finalist) (23)

ON THIS DAY:

• 1846, Elias Howe received a patent for his hand-cranked sewing machine.
• 1934 Former single season home-run record holder and New York Yankee Roger Maris is born.
• 1948, Mildred Gillars, who was accused of being Nazi wartime radio broadcaster "Axis Sally," was indicted on treason charges in Washington, D.C.
• 1955, the TV western Gunsmoke debuted on CBS.
• 1963, Twenty black students entered public schools in Birmingham, Tuskegee, and Mobile, Alabama, following a standoff between federal authorities and Governor George C. Wallace.
• 1964, "You Really Got Me" by the Kinks hits Number One on theU.K. pop chart.
• 1964, Rod Stewart records his first single "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" featuring John Paul Jones, who later would play bass for Led Zeppelin.
• 1966, Revolver by the Beatles hits Number One on the album chart, where it stays for six weeks.
• 1972, the U.S. Men's Olympic basketball team lost 51-50 to the Soviet Union in the gold medal game at the Munich Olympics, the most controversial game ever in international basketball. The Americans furiously disputed the result of the game, in which the clock was twice reset in the final seconds. They have refused to this day to accept their silver medals.
• 1974 The New York Dolls break up.
• 1975, Alive! by Kiss is released.
• 1977, "Handy Man" by James Taylor peaks at Number Four on the pop chart, where it stays for two weeks.
• 1977, convicted murderer Hamida Djandoubi became the last person to be executed by the guillotine in France, which abolished capital punishment four years later.
• 1980, Emotional Rescue by the Rolling Stones is certified platinum.
• 1983, Alpha by Asia peaks at Number Six on the album chart, where it stays for four weeks.
• 1983, Lawyers In Love by Jackson Browne peaks at Number Eight on the album chart, where it stays for three weeks.
• 1987 Osama bin Laden officially launches al Qaeda inAfghanistan.
• 1988, "Simply Irresistible" by Robert Palmer peaks at Number Two on the pop chart, where it stays for two weeks.
• 1988, "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses hits Number One on the pop chart, where it stays for two weeks.
• 1988, "When It's Love" by Van Halen peaks at Number Five on the pop chart.
• 1993, The TV series The X-Files premieres.
• 1998 The Beastie Boys are presented with the Video Vanguard Award at the 15th annual MTV Video Music Awards.
• 2000, Indiana University fired long-time basketball coach Bobby Knight for what was called a pattern of unacceptable behavior.
• 2004 AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson and bassist Cliff Williams, along with other artists, perform at a Hurricane Charley benefit inEstero,Florida, with money going to the Hurricane Charley Disaster Relief Fund and the American Red Cross.
• 2005, Audioslave, Staind, Green Day, the Dave Matthews Band, Motley Crue, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Lynyrd Skynyrd, John Mellencamp, Kanye West, Kid Rock, Kelly Clarkson, Rob Thomas, Brian Wilson, Melissa Etheridge, Sheryl Crow, and New Orleans natives the Neville Brothers and the Radiators, and many others perform on ReAct Now: Music & Relief, a telethon to raise money for rescue and relief efforts in the Gulf region devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The show airs on MTV, VH1, CMT, VH1 Classic, and MTV2.
• 2005 Nickelback performs at NASCAR's Chevy Rock N Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway inVirginia, where the band's name is also painted on a car.
• 2006 Keane cancels a North American tour because frontman Tom Chaplin needs more time to complete drug and alcohol rehab. The band had already postponed the dates once before so that Chaplin could get treatment for his addictions.