[buddyjh]

320th day of 2009 - 45 remaining

Monday, November 16, 2009
SIXTEEN TONS DAY

‘Tennessee’ Ernie Ford drove to the top spot on the record charts on this day in 1955. Sixteen Tons, where he owed his “soul to the company store,” became the fastest-selling record in history, jumping to #1 in just 3 weeks. The tune, on Capitol Records, stayed at #1 for eight weeks.

Ernie (bless his little pea-pickin’ heart) Ford is known for other classics, including: Mule Train (1949), The Shotgun Boogie (1950), The Cry of the Wild Goose (1950), I’ll Never Be Free (w/Kay Starr - 1950), Mr. and Mississippi (1951) and The Ballad of Davy Crockett (1955).

Ford was also famous for his religious albums, his NBC-TV show (1956-1961), and his many other television appearances. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1960.

But, we remember him most fondly for that 1955 smash about work, work, work: “You load sixteen tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt...”

Events
November 16
1864 - To celebrate General Sherman’s march to the sea, Henry Clay wrote the song, Marching Through Georgia.

1875 - Dr. William G. Arlington Bonwill of Philadelphia, PA was issued a patent for his dental mallet used to impact gold into cavities. Noting the new invention, Bonwill’s first patient was reported to have said, “YeeeeeeeeOWWWWWWW!!!!” when the mallet hit the exposed nerve of a tooth. Dr. Bonwill replied with the well-known comeback line, “Oops!”

1901 - Henry Fournier drove a mile in 51 4/5 seconds, becoming the first auto racer to drive more than a mile-a-minute in competition -- in Brooklyn, NY.

1907 - Oklahoma, the Sooner State, was the 46th state to enter the United States of America. The word, Oklahoma, is a combination of two Choctaw words meaning red people. Then, why Sooner? Many, many Oklahoma homesteaders thought sooner was better than later, better to stake their homesteads first, before it was legal to do so. Oil wells pop up all over the Oklahoma landscape, even in the bustling state capital, Oklahoma City. And, when that wind comes sweeping down the plain, it picks up the state bird, the scissor-tail flycatcher, and spreads the parasitic state flower, the mistletoe.

1908 - Conductor Arturo Toscanini made his debut in the United States this day. He appeared at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, conducting Aida.

1932 - The Palace Theatre in New York City closed its doors to vaudeville. It had been the most famous vaudeville theatre in America. The Palace became a movie house with live performances preceding the flicks.

1935 - The Rodgers and Hart musical, Jumbo, opened in New York City for a run of 233 performances.

1937 - Bob Crosby and his orchestra recorded South Rampart Street Parade -- on Decca Records.

1958 - Six inches of snow fell on Tucson, Arizona, catching autumn golfers by surprise, to be sure...

1960 - The famed actor of the silver screen, Clark Gable, died at the age of 59. Gable, who played Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind and starred in so many other classic films, succumbed to a heart attack at 10:50 p.m. in Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital.

1967 - Retired harness racehorse Native Dancer died after stomach surgery in Philadelphia.

1970 - Anne Murray received a gold record for Snowbird. She was the first Canadian recording artist to receive a gold record.

1974 - NBC-TV began a two-night showing of the award-winning motion picture, The Godfather, starring Marlon Brando. The film represented the highest price paid for a movie shown on TV. NBC paid Paramount Pictures $10 million for the showing of the picture, a deal Paramount “...just couldn’t refuse.”

1975 - Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears rushed for 105 yards in a game against the San Francisco 49ers. It was Payton’s first game of 100 plus yards. He did it over 50 times throughout his career and added two 200-yard games, as well.

1982 - The 57-day strike by players in the National Football League ended. It was the first regular-season pro-football strike in the history of the NFL.

1986 - Gerber Products announced intentions to produce baby food in plastic jars, instead of glass -- a first for the industry.

1986 - The first comic miniseries was presented. Fresno poked fun at soap operas -- on CBS-TV.

1998 - TIME magazine (cover date Nov 16) reported in depth on Newt Gingrich’s resignation as Speaker of the U.S. House of Reprenstatives: Fall of the house of Newt, “An election shock ignites a Republican revolt: Gingrich is only the first victim in the growing fight for the party’s future.”

Birthdays
November 16
1873 - W.C. (William Christopher) Handy
composer: ‘Father of the Blues’: St. Louis Blues; died Mar 28, 1958

1889 - George S. (Simon) Kaufman
playwright: The Cocoanuts, A Night at the Opera, [w/Moss Hart]: The Man Who Came to Dinner, You Can’t Take It with You; died June 2, 1961

1895 - Paul Hindemith
composer: Gebrauchsmusik; operas: Cardillac, Matthias the Painter; concertmaster: Frankfurt Opera; conductor & viola soloist: Amar-Hindemith String Quartet; organized Turkey’s symphony orchestra; teacher: Berlin Conservatory, Yale University, University of Zurich; died Dec 28, 1963

1905 - Albert ‘Eddie’ Condon
musician: guitar, bandleader, promoter of Dixieland Jazz; died Aug 4, 1973

1909 - (Oliver) Burgess Meredith
Emmy Award-winning actor: The Big Event: Tail Gunner Joe [2-6-77], Batman, Gloria, Mr. Novak, Search, The Day of the Locust, Rocky series, Advice and Consent, Grumpy Old Men, In Harm’s Way, Of Mice and Men; TV host: Those Amazing Animals; author: So Far, So Good a Memoir; died Sep 9, 1997

1922 - Royal Dano
actor: Mr. Lincoln, Ghoulies 2, The Red Badge of Courage, Huckleberry Finn, The Right Stuff, Johnny Guitar, The Trouble with Harry; died May 15, 1994

1931 - Bob Gibson
singer, songwriter, leader of folk music movement in late ’50s: John Riley, Old Blue, Daddy Roll ’Em, Wayfaring Stranger; duo: Gibson and [Bob] Camp; died Sep 27, 1996

1932 - Harry Chiti
baseball: catcher: Chicago Cubs, KC Athletics, Detroit Tigers, NY Mets; died Jan 31, 2002

1934 - Guy Stockwell
actor: The Richard Boone Show, Beau Geste, Return to Peyton Place, Airport 1975, Columbo: Columbo Goes to College; brother of actor Dean Stockwell; died Feb 6, 2002

1935 - Elizabeth Drew
journalist, author: On the Edge: The Clinton Presidency, Showdown: The Struggle Between the Gingrich Congress and the Clinton White House, Whatever It Takes: The Real Struggle for Political Power in America

1935 - Clu Gulager
actor: The Killing Device, My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, Return of the Living Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, Kenny Rogers as the Gambler series, Force of One, The Other Side of Midnight, Smile Jenny You’re Dead, The Last Picture Show, The Killers, The Virginian, The Tall Man, The Survivors, San Francisco International Airport

1942 - Joanna Pettet
actress: Best Sellers, Casino Royale, Double Exposure, Captains and the Kings, Knots Landing

1945 - Martine Van Hamel
ballet: American Ballet Theatre

1946 - Jo Jo (Joseph) White
basketball: Boston Celtics: MVP 1976 playoffs

1950 - David Leisure
actor: Empty Nest

1950 - Harvey Martin
football: Dallas Cowboys DE: Super Bowls X, XII, XIII; died Dec 24, 2001

1951 - Herb Washington
world indoor track records: 50 and 60-yard dashes: 5.0 and 5.8 seconds; baseball: Oakland A’s

1952 - Glenn (Lawrence) Burke
baseball: LA Dodgers [World Series: 1977], Oakland Athletics; died May 30, 1995

1958 - Marg Helgenberger
actress: C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation, Ryan’s Hope, China Beach, Through the Eyes of a Killer, Fallen Angels, Fire Down Below, Gold Coast, Perfect Murder, Perfect Town

1959 - Larry Mize
golf champion: Masters [1987]

1959 - Corey Pavin
golf: 14 PGA Tour victories; U.S. national teams: Walker Cup [1981]; USA vs. Japan [1982]; Nissan Cup [1985]; Ryder Cup [3: 1991, 1993, 1995]; The Presidents Cup 2: 1994, 1996

1963 - Zina Garrison
tennis: Olympic Gold Medalist [Seoul, 1988, w/Pam Shriver]; founder: Zina Garrison All-Court Tennis Academy [for inner city youth, Houston]

1964 - Dwight ‘Doc’ (Eugene) Gooden
baseball: pitcher: NY Mets [Rookie of the Year: 1984/all-star: 1984-1986, 1988/Cy Young Award: 1985/World Series: 1986], NY Yankees

1966 - Dean McDermott
actor: Earth : Final Conflict, La Femme Nikita, Spenser : Small Vices, The Outer Limits, Rookies, Due South, Power Play, Brian’s Song

1967 - Lisa Bonet
actress: The Cosby Show, A Different World, Angel Heart, Bank Robber

1970 - Martha Plimpton
actress: The Goonies, Parenthood, The Mosquito Coast

Chart Toppers
November 16
1947I Wish I Didn’t Love You So - Vaughn Monroe
Near You - The Francis Craig Orchestra (vocal: Bob Lamm)
You Do - Dinah Shore
I’ll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms) - Eddy Arnold

1955Sixteen Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford
Autumn Leaves - Roger Williams
Only You - The Platters
Love, Love, Love - Webb Pierce

1963Deep Purple - Nino Tempo & April Stevens
Washington Square - The Village Stompers
I’m Leaving It Up to You - Dale & Grace
Love’s Gonna Live Here - Buck Owens

1971Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves - Cher
Theme from Shaft - Isaac Hayes
Imagine - John Lennon Plastic Ono Band
Lead Me On - Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn

1979Heartache Tonight - Eagles
Dim All the Lights - Donna Summer
Still - Commodores
You Decorated My Life - Kenny Rogers

1987I Think We’re Alone Now - Tiffany
Mony Mony "Live" - Billy Idol
(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life - Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes
Maybe Your Baby’s Got the Blues - The Judds

Chart Topper November 16th, 1963...Deep Purple - Nino Tempo & April Stevens

[Victor Hugo]

Thanks for the Information Buddy, Special ‘Tennessee’ Ernie Ford drove to the top spot on the record charts on this day in 1955. Sixteen Tons, where he owed his “soul to the company store,” became the fastest-selling record in history, jumping to #1 in just 3 weeks. The tune, on Capitol Records, stayed at #1 for eight weeks.
This give me a lot of remembers.

[Crystal Dragon]

Sponsored by Martha White!!

Thanks Buddy!!
Great Stuff as Always!!!

[marty napier]

thank you buddy!