102nd day of 2009 - 263 remaining
Sunday, April 12, 2009
ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK DAY (AND NIGHT)
Bill Haley and His Comets recorded Rock Around the Clock for Decca Records on this day in 1954. The song was recorded at the Pythian Temple, “a big, barnlike building with great echo,” in New York City. Rock Around the Clock was formally released a month later.
Most rock historians feel the tune, featured in the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle, ushered in the era of rock ’n’ roll. It hit number one on June 29, 1955 and stayed there for eight weeks, remaining on the charts for a total of 24 weeks.
Rock Around the Clock was not Haley’s first recording, however. He had waxed three other songs, all for Decca: Shake, Rattle and Roll, Dim, Dim the Lights, and Mambo Rock. And, through 1974, Haley and his group charted 14 hits, including, See You Later, Alligator from 1956. Rock Around the Clock was re-released in 1974. On its second run it made it to number 30 on the pop charts.
Haley died of a heart attack in Harlingen, TX on February 9, 1981. He was posthumously awarded the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1982 for Rock Around the Clock. The record has now sold over 25,000,000 copies.
Events
April 12
1799 - Phineas Pratt patented the comb cutting machine -- a “machine for making combs.”
1833 - Charles Gaylor patented the fireproof safe in New York City. The safes are widely used to protect everything from priceless art to sensitive computer software. Some safes can burn at 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour and the contents will still be as cool as a cucumber. Other units can sustain heat up to 400-500 degrees for about the same time without damaging the valuable contents within.
1847 - Yung Wing, one of several Chinese students to arrive in America this day, went on to become the first student from China to graduate from Yale University [1854].
1877 - James Alexander Tyng, while playing a baseball game in Lynn, MA, became the first ballplayer to wear a catcher’s mask.
1892 - Voters in Lockport, NY became the first in the U.S. to use voting machines.
1905 - The Hippodrome opened in New York City with the gala musical revue, A Yankee Circus on Mars. Realize please, that this extraordinary event was done without the help of even one hippo...
1932 - The thrill-comedy, Joe Palooka, which would also be a popular comic strip, made its debut on CBS radio.
1939 - One of the classic theme songs of the Big Band era was recorded for Decca. Woody Herman’s orchestra recorded Woodchopper’s Ball.
1955 - The polio vaccine of Dr. Jonas Salk was termed “safe, effective and potent” by the University of Michigan Polio Vaccine Evaluation Center.
1963 - Bob Dylan appeared in his first solo concert at Town Hall in New York City.
1964 - Arnold Palmer won his fourth Masters title and became the first golfer to make career earnings of $506,496.84. We haven’t a clue where the 84 cents came from.
1964 - Philadelphia singer Chubby Checker married former Miss World, the Dutch-born beauty Catharina Lodders.
1967 - Jim Brown made his TV acting debut in Cops and Robbers on the NBC show I Spy, starring Bill Cosby and Robert Culp. I Spy aired from 1965 through 1968. The primary characters, Cosby and Culp, were secret agents posing as a top-notch tennis star and his trainer-companion. I Spy was the first television series to co-star a black actor.
1969 - Lucy and Snoopy of the comic strip Peanuts made the cover of Saturday Review.
1984 - Challenger astronauts made the first satellite repair in orbit by returning a healthy Solar Max satellite to space. The orbiting sun watcher had been circling the Earth for three years with all circuits dead before repairs were made.
1985 - Federal inspectors declared that four animals of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus were not unicorns, as the circus said, but goats with horns which had been surgically implanted. The circus was ordered to quit advertising the fake unicorns as anything else but goats. We assure you that no animals are harmed in the production of Those Were the Days and we use only first-rate, genuine unicorns.
1985 - Senator Joseph ‘Jake’ Garn became the first space politician as he lifted off this day from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
1987 - Larry Mize, 28, hit a miracle shot -- a 140-foot chip -- to win the Masters golf title in Augusta, GA. Mize defeated Greg Norman and Severiano Ballesteros in a playoff.
Birthdays
April 12
1777 - Henry Clay
‘The Great Pacificator’: U.S. Secretary of State under John Quincy Adams; three time unsuccessful candidate for president of U.S.: “I would rather be right than president.”; died June 29, 1852
1904 - Lily (Alice) Pons
soprano singer, actress: I Dream Too Much, That Girl from Paris; died Feb 13, 1976
1916 - Russ Garcia
musician, composer, orchestra leader: Waiter, Make Mine Blues [w/Anita O’Day]; Royal Wedding Suite [w/Oscar Peterson]
1919 - Billy (Richard) Vaughn
musician, orchestra leader: Melody of Love, The Shifting, Whispering Sands, Sail along Silver Moon; baritone singer with The Hilltoppers; music director: Dot Records; died Sep 26, 1991
1923 - Ann Miller (Lucille Ann Collier)
actress, dancer: Easter Parade, Sugar Babies, You Can’t Take It with You, Hit the Deck, Kiss Me Kate, On the Town, Room Service, Lovely to Look At; died Jan 22, 2004
1926 - Jane Withers
actress: Captain Newman, M.D., Giant, The Farmer Takes a Wife, Bright Eyes, TV commercials: Josephine the plumber
1932 - Tiny Tim (aka Darry Dover, Larry Love) (Herbert Khaury)
ukulele playing, falsetto singer: Tiptoe Through the Tulips, Sonny Boy; film: You Are What You Eat, TV: Laugh In; died Nov 30, 1996
1933 - Charlie (Charles Richard) Lau
baseball: Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Braves, Baltimore Orioles, KC Athletics, Atlanta Braves; died Mar 18, 1984
1938 - Judy Lynn
country singer: Footsteps of a Fool; entertainer: Las Vegas; The Judy Lynn Show; Snake Valley Jamboree Queen [1952]; U.S. Champion Yodeler [1953]; Miss Idaho [1955]
1940 - Herbie Hancock
Oscar-winning jazz/fusion musician, composer of original score: Round Midnight [1986]; TV score: Rockschool; singles: Riot, Cantaloupe Island, Rockit, Dolphin’s Dance
1944 - Terry (Walter) Harmon
baseball: Philadelphia Phillies
1944 - John Kay (Joachim Krauledat)
guitarist, vocalist: group: Steppenwolf: Born To Be Wild, Magic Carpet Ride, Rock Me
1946 - Ed O’Neill
actor: Married......with Children, Little Giants, Wayne’s World, Deliverance, Dragnet [2003]
1947 - Dan Lauria
actor: The Wonder Years, Amazing Grace, In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco, Stakeout
1947 - David Letterman
TV host & comedian: Late Night with David Letterman
1949 - Scott Turow
author: Presumed Innocent, The Burden of Proof
1950 - ‘Chip’ James Earl Carter III
son of 39th U.S. President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Roslyn Carter
1950 - David Cassidy
actor: The Partridge Family, Spirit of ’76, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; singer: Cherish, I Think I Love You; son of actors: Jack Cassidy, Evelyn Ward
1951 - Alex Briley
singer: group: The Village People: YMCA
1952 - Reuben Gant
football: Oklahoma State Univ., Buffalo Bills
1956 - Andy Garcia
actor: When a Man Loves a Woman, A Show of Force, The Godfather: Part 3, The Untouchables, Blue Skies Again
1957 - Vince Gill
Grammy Award-winning singer: When Love Finds You [1994], I Still Believe in You [1992], When I Call Your Name [1990], Restless [w/Steve Wariner and Ricky Skaggs] [1991]; Grammy Award-winning musician: guitar: Red Wing [w/Asleep at the Wheel] [1993]; songwriter: If It Weren’t for Him [w/Roseanne Cash]; groups: Bluegrass Alliance, Sundance, The Cherry Bombs, Pure Prairie League
1958 - Will Sergeant
musician: guitar: groups: Echo & the Bunnymen: Pictures on My Wall, Rescue; Electrafixion: LPs: Zephyr, Burned
1971 - Shannen Doherty
actress: Beverly Hills 90210, Our House, Little House on the Prairie, Night Shift, Heathers
1979 - Claire Danes
actress: How to Make an American Quilt, Home for the Holidays, Little Women, My So Called Life, Law & Order, The Mod Squad [1999]
Chart Toppers
April 12
1950If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’d’ve Baked a Cake - Eileen Barton
Music, Music, Music - Teresa Brewer
Peter Cottontail - Gene Autry
Long Gone Lonesome Blues - Hank Williams
1958Tequila - The Champs
He’s Got the Whole World (In His Hands) - Laurie London
Book of Love - The Monotones
Oh Lonesome Me - Don Gibson
1966The Ballad of the Green Berets - SSgt Barry Sadler
(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration - The Righteous Brothers
Daydream - The Lovin’ Spoonful
I Want to Go with You - Eddy Arnold
1974Sunshine on My Shoulders - John Denver
Hooked on a Feeling - Blue Swede
Bennie & The Jets - Elton John
A Very Special Love Song - Charlie Rich
1982I Love Rock ’N Roll - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
We Got the Beat - Go-Go’s
Make a Move on Me - Olivia Newton-John
Big City - Merle Haggard
1990Love Will Lead You Back - Taylor Dayne
I’ll Be Your Everything - Tommy Page
All Around the World - Lisa Stansfield
Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart - Randy Travis
Rock Around The Clock
rock around the clock-bill haley & comets.zip
Guapo Vic.
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