108th day of 2009 - 257 remaining
Saturday, April 18, 2009
MIDNIGHT RIDE DAY
At about 10 p.m. on this day in 1775, three men took to their horses to ride from Boston to Concord, MA to warn the citizens of the approaching British army. Most of us know of just one of those riders, one Paul Revere. The famous poem, Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, glorified the Bostonian as the lone rider. He was, in fact, accompanied by William Dawes and Samuel Prescott.
We think it’s time they should get some recognition too! After all, it wasn’t their fault that their partner in the midnight ride was already well known, having been a member of the Sons of Liberty; incited the British by publishing an engraving of the Boston Massacre; carried messages for the Committees of Correspondence, an underground organization; and having been a participant in the Boston Tea Party.
Incidentally, only Prescott made it all the way to Concord. Revere was nabbed by a British cavalry patrol near Lexington, MA (Dawes and Prescott escaped). We’re not sure what happened to Dawes but Revere was released and returned to Lexington -- without his horse. There was lots of running/riding around that night, but suffice to say, when British forces arrived in Lexington, they found the minutemen waiting for them.
In honor of this midnight ride, get out your Revereware and make a pot of tea.
Events
April 18
1796 - The Archers, the first opera written by an American composer, was performed in New York City. Benjamin Carr wrote the work.
1846 - The telegraph ticker (“....- ....- -----”) was patented by R.E. House of New York City. What does the telegraph message above say? “440”.
1877 - Charles Cros wrote a paper on that described the process of recording and reproducing sound. In France, Mr. Cros is still regarded as the inventor of the phonograph, while in the U.S., Thomas Edison gets the credit.
1895 - New York State passed an act that established free public baths! They were to be open 14 hours a day and provide hot and cold water.
1906 - The Great San Francisco Earthquake occurred at 5:13 a.m. The tremendous earthquake was responsible for some 3,000 deaths and catastrophic damage. There were many fires that followed the quake and they took days -- even weeks -- to contain. Survivors of the earthquake gathered annually for memorial services beginning at the moment the predawn temblor struck and became history.
1910 - Walter R. Brookins made the first airplane flight at night. He passed over Montgomery, AL. At least he was pretty sure it was Montgomery...
1923 - Yankee Stadium opened in the Bronx, NY as the hometown team, the NY Yankees, hosted the Boston Red Sox. A record crowd of 74,000 fans saw the action at the first three-level stadium in the U.S.
1929 - Red Nichols and his Five Pennies recorded the Glenn Miller arrangement of Indiana for Brunswick Records. Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa and Jack Teagarden were all part of the recording session that took place in New York City.
1934 - The first Laundromat opened -- in Fort Worth, TX. For the first time, folks could rent washing machines for laundering clothes. Eventually progress made it possible to rent dryers, too!
1945 - It was on Ie Shima, a small island off Okinawa, that Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ernie Pyle’s career came to an end. Worrying more about his Army buddies than himself, he didn’t take cover but turned to ask if they were OK while under Japanese sniper fire. He took a bullet in the left temple. A memorial on the site where Ernest T. Pyle was killed reads, “At this spot the 77th Infantry Division lost a buddy. Ernie Pyle 18 April 1945.” Once buried there, his remains now lie at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Punchbowl Crater on Oahu, Hawaii. Pyle was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.
1956 - Eddie Rommel, a baseball umpire, wore eyeglasses, a first for the game. This game was between the NY Yankees and Washington Senators.
1957 - Comedian Johnny Carson turned briefly to TV acting in a role on the Playhouse 90 production of Three Men on a Horse on CBS-TV. Carson, of Who Do You Trust? fame, was five years from becoming the host of The Tonight Show.
1960 - The Mutual Broadcasting System was sold to the 3M Company of Minnesota for $1.25 million. Previously, the network had been owned by MONY (Mutual of New York).
1965 - Contralto Marian Anderson ended her 30-year singing career with a concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
1966 - Bob Hope did it again after six years! He both hosted and received an award at the 38th Annual Academy Awards celebration at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles. This time he received a gold medal, the Honorary Award for unique and distinguished service to the film industry and the Academy. Other award recipients included Shelley Winters for her Best Supporting Actress role in A Patch of Blue; Martin Balsam, Best Supporting Actor for his performance in A Thousand Clowns. The Best Actor Oscar went to Lee Marvin (Cat Ballou); and Julie Christie picked up the Best Actress Oscar (Darling). The Oscar for the Best Music/Song from a 1965 movie was The Shadow of Your Smile from The Sandpiper (Johnny Mandel-music, Paul Francis Webster-lyrics). It’s a good thing that the Oscars were being broadcast in color this night (the first time) because the Best Director and Best Picture winner was The Sound of Music (Robert Wise, producer and director). We don’t think the hills wouldn’t look very alive in black and white.
1974 - James Brown, the ‘Godfather of Soul’, received a gold record this day for the single, The Payback. Of the 44 hits that Brown would put on the charts over three decades, he received only one other gold record -- for Get on the Good Foot - Part 1 in 1972. His biggest pop hits include: I Got You (I Feel Good) at number three in 1965, Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag at number eight in 1965, It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World at number eight in 1966, I Got The Feelin’ at number six in 1968 and Living in America at number four in 1986. This song was featured in the Sylvester Stallone film, Rocky IV.
1981 - Tom Seaver of the Cincinnati Reds became the fifth pitcher in the history of major-league baseball to earn 3,000 strikeouts in a career. Seaver struck out Keith Hernandez for the historic ‘K’. The Cardinals, however, beat Tom Terrific, 10-4.
1984 - Michael Jackson faced surgery in Los Angeles. Doctors performed scalp surgery to repair damage done after the megastar’s hair caught fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial on January 27. Jackson was hospitalized and recuperated for months before he could return to work. His single recording of Thriller had been certified platinum in February, 1984.
1985 - The sequined ‘King of Show Business’, Liberace, broke his own record for ticket sales at Radio City Music Hall. Liberace grossed more than $2,000,000 for his engagement in the historic New York City venue. His previous record was set in 1984 ($1.6 million in tickets sold).
Birthdays
April 18
1857 - Clarence Darrow
attorney: famous Scopes ‘monkey trial’; died Mar 13, 1938
1880 - Sam (Samuel Earl) Crawford
‘Wahoo Sam’: Baseball Hall of Famer: Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers [all-star: 1907, 1908, 1909]; holds individual career record of 312 triples; died June 15, 1968
1882 - Leopold Stokowski
conductor: Philadelphia Orchestra; died Sep 13, 1977
1918 - Tony Mottola
guitarist: played with Al Caiola, George Hall’s orchestra, CBS radio studio orchestra, worked w/Raymond Scott backing up young Frank Sinatra and Perry Como, arranger for Como’s TV variety show; composer: films: Running on Empty, Violated
1921 - Barbara Hale
actress: Perry Mason, The Oklahoman, The Defense Never Rests, Airport
1930 - Clive Revill
actor: The Sea Wolf, The Empire Strikes Back, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
1936 - Don Ohl
basketball: Detroit Pistons, Baltimore Bullets, Atlanta Hawks
1937 - Robert Hooks
actor: Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, A Woman Called Moses, Heat Wave, The Execution, Passenger 57, Day of Absence, Where’s Daddy?
1938 - Hal Galper
jazz pianist: group: Hal Galper Quintet; played with Cannonball Adderley, Donald Byrd, Stan Getz, Chuck Mangione, Joe Henderson; author: The Touring Musician
1938 - Richie Pettibone
football: Washington Redskins; coach: Oregon State University
1941 - Walt Sweeney
football: Syracuse Univ; NFL: San Diego Chargers
1941 - Mike Vickers
musician: guitar, reeds: group: Manfred Mann: Why Should We Not, Cock-A-Hoop, 5-4-3-2-1, Do Wah Diddy Diddy, Oh No Not My Baby, If You Gotta Go, Go Now, Just like a Woman, The Mighty Quinn, Pretty Flamingo, Semi-Detached Suburban Mr. James, The One in the Middle
1942 - Steve Blass
baseball: pitcher: Pittsburgh Pirates [World Series: 1971/all-star: 1972]
1942 - Pete Gogolak
football: first soccer-style kicker in pro football: Buffalo Bills, NY Giants
1942 - Jochen Rindt
auto racer: Grand Prix champ: U.S. [1969], Monaco GP, Dutch, French, British, German [1970]; killed Sep 5, 1970 during practice for Italian Grand Prix
1946 - Hayley Mills
actress: The Parent Trap, The Moon Spinners, Pollyanna; singer: Let’s Get Together
1946 - Alexander ‘Skip’ Spence
musician: drummer: Jefferson Airplane; guitar, singer: group: Moby Grape; died Apr 16, 1999
1947 - Dorothy Lyman
actress: All My Children, Mama’s Family, Camp Cucamonga: How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Ruby in Paradise
1947 - James Woods
actor: The Onion Field, Holocaust, The Way We Were, Night Moves, Against All Odds, Salvador, Casino, Nixon
1953 - Rick Moranis
actor: Little Giants, The Flintstones, My Blue Heaven, Parenthood, Honey I Shrunk the Kids series, Ghostbusters series, Spaceballs, Little Shop of Horrors, Brewster’s Millions, SCTV; writer: Strange Brew
1956 - John James
actor: Search for Tomorrow, Dynasty, As the World Turns; son of WABC personality Herb Oscar Anderson
1956 - Eric Roberts
actor: Doctor Who, The Hard Truth, Fugitive Among Us, A Family Matter, Descending Angel, To Heal a Nation, The Pope of Greenwich Village, The Coca-Cola Kid, Star 80, Raggedy Man, King of the Gypsies; brother of actress Julia Roberts
1961 - Jane Leeves
actress: Frasier, Throb, Miracle on 34th Street, Mr. Write
1963 - Conan O’Brien
TV talk show host: Late Night with Conan O’Brien; Emmy Award-winning writer: Saturday Night Live [1989]; The Simpsons; producer: Lockwell; comedian: Not Necessarily the News
1976 - Melissa Joan Hart
actress: Clarissa Explains It All, Twisted Desire, Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Chart Toppers
April 18
1948Now is the Hour - Bing Crosby
I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover - The Art Moonie Orchestra
But Beautiful - Frank Sinatra
Anytime - Eddy Arnold
1956Heartbreak Hotel/I Was the One - Elvis Presley
The Poor People of Paris - Les Baxter
Long Tall Sally - Little Richard
Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins
1964Can’t Buy Me Love - The Beatles
Twist and Shout - The Beatles
Suspicion - Terry Stafford
Understand Your Man - Johnny Cash
1972The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack
I Gotcha - Joe Tex
Rockin’ Robin - Michael Jackson
My Hang-Up is You - Freddie Hart
1980Another Brick in the Wall - Pink Floyd
Call Me - Blondie
Ride like the Wind - Christopher Cross
Honky Tonk Blues - Charley Pride
1988Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car - Billy Ocean
Devil Inside - INXS
Where Do Broken Hearts Go - Whitney Houston
I Wanna Dance with You - Eddie Rabbitt
Number 1 April 18th, 1964...Suspicion-Terry Stafford
06 - Suspicion.zip
![Four Leaf Clover: [July 24th, 2009] had to send you some luck hope you needed it
LOL - WitchiGipsi](http://www.abadss.com/forum/images/clover.gif)
NOTE THAT EVERYTHING I SAY IS BASED ON A HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION AND SHOULD BE VIEWED AS FICTIONAL ENTERTAINMENT ONLY.
Guapo Vic.
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