- Today in 1967, Detroit announced the formation of a 39-man brigade of “litter police” who would begin ticketing sanitation code viiolators on June 1. Fines as high as $500 dollars and 90 days in jail could be issued for serious litterbugs.
- Today in 1972, A 15-year-old Ann Arbor 9th grader is suing the state, calling a law that bars people under the age of 18 from running for public office discriminitory. Sonia Yaco, a member of the Human Right’s Party who had successfully fielded two council members was an Ann Arbor School Board hopeful.
- Today in 1977, over 40,000 people were nursing sunburns after showing up at Metropolitan Beach over the weekend. A heatwave that brought temperatures in the upper 80s drove more than 100,000 area residents to Metro Park beaches.
- Today in 1979, A scenario from a government study of the effects of nuclear war estimated 220,000 Detroiters would die instantly of an atom bomb was dropped at the Ford-Chrysler Freeway interchange. The 150 page study was conducted at the behest of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
- Today in 1982, At least a dozen law makers, including Governor Milliken and House Speaker Bobby Crim are among the list of lame duck public servants who will step down at the end of their next terms. The age old debate between loss of experienced legislators and the value of new political blood continued as a combination of the State’s financial misery and desire for higher public office motivated political vetrans to move onward.
- Today in 1987, Highland Appliance was advertising a Sanyo VHS VCR with 14 day scheduleing and a wireless remote control for the low, low price of $269.00. That’s over $800 dollars adjusted for inflation.
1785 Benjamin Franklin announces his invention of bifocals
1788 South Carolina becomes 8th state to ratify US constitution
1867 Jesse James gang robs bank in Richmond, Missouri (2 die, $4,000 taken)
1903 1st automobile trip across US leaves San Francisco for New York, (arrives July 26)
1922 Walt Disney incorporates his 1st film company Laugh-O-Gram Films
1934 American outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow – Bonnie and Clyde – are killed by police in an ambush near Sailes, Louisiana
1949 Federal Republic of [West] Germany created out of the American, British and French occupation zones
1958 Mao Zedong starts the “Great Leap Forward” movement in China
1969 BBC orders 13 episodes of Monty Python’s Flying Circus
1971 American rock group Iron Butterfly (“In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”) disbands
1980 Horror film “The Shining” released directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, based on book by Stephen King
1984 “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”, 2nd in the film series, directed by Stephen Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford, opens in the US
1994 “Star Trek: The Next Generation” finale airs this week in syndication
Music released today:
1975: 10cc, “I’m Not In Love” [UK], Art Pop-Rock, The Original Soundtrack, “Good News”
1987: Bob Seger, “Shakedown”, Album Rock, Beverly Hills Cop II[Sndtrk], “The Aftermath”
1966: Marvin Gaye, Moods Of Marvin Gaye LP
1969: The Who, Tommy LP
1975: Elton John, Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy LP
1995: The Rembrandts, LP
2006: Huey Lewis & The News, Greatest Hits & Videos LP
Rock Birthdays: Via DrRock.com
1910: Artie Shaw / (Arthur Jacob Arshawsky), Big Band-era bandleader, composer and one of the most-renowned clarinetists of all time, his version of Cole Porter‘s “Begin The Beguine” (#3, 1938) is one of the most popular and enduring songs of the Swing Era, retired from touring in the early 50s, returned briefly in the mid-80s and died of natural causes on 12/30/2004, age 94
1918: Bumps Blackwell / (Robert Blackwell), Early rock ‘n’ roll and soul music producer, Specialty Records executive, managed Little Richard and co-wrote several hits, including “Long Tall Sally” (#6, R&B #1, 1956), guided multiple other R&B/soul acts including Ray Charles, Sam Cooke and Sly & The Family Stone, died of pneumonia on 1/27/1985, age 66
1921: Humphrey Lyttleton, Jazz bandleader, trumpeter, composer and BBC Radio 4 host, I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, died of an aortic aneurysm on 4/25/2008, age 86
1925: Mac Wiseman / (Malcolm Bell Wiseman), Known as “The Voice with a Heart,” former radio DJ and guitarist for Bill Monroe‘s Foggy Mountain Boys, started a solo career in 1951 and became a legend in bluegrass and country music with over 60 albums and a knack for pulling from other genres through his versions of “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” (Country #10, 1955), the R&B standard “I Hear You Knockin’,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Never Going Back Again” and others, also recorded with jazz great Woody Herman and folkie John Prine, co-founded the Country Music Association (CMA) in 1958 to save country music from the rise of rock ‘n’ roll, received a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) fellowship in 1993 honoring his contributions to traditional American music and arts, died from kidney failure on 2/24/2019, age 93.
1928: Rosemary Clooney, Immensely popular 40s-50s adult pop singer, “Mangos” (#10, 1957), stage and film actress, died of lung cancer on 7/29/2002, age 74
1933: Gary Burden, Grammy-winning designer of music album covers for many rock and pop luminaries, including The Doors, the Eagles, Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne, as well as 40 covers for Neil Young beginning with After The Gold Rush (1970) and continuing for over 35 years, died from undisclosed causes on 3/7/2018, age 84
1934: Robert Moog, Keyboard musician and electronics inventor who built his first electronic music instrument, the Theremin (Thereminophone) at age 14 and followed with the first synthesizer in 1974 and the MiniMoog in 1970, the “first compact, easy-to-use synthesizer,” becoming a key figure in the development of synthesized electronic music in the 60s and 70s, diagnosed with brain cancer and died four months later on 8/21/2005, age 71.
1941: General Norman Johnson, Frontman and lead singer for R&B/soul-pop Chairmen Of The Board, “Give Me Just A Little More Time” (#3, 1970), left for a successful songwriting career, including the Grammy-winning “Patches” for Clarence Carter (#4, R&B #2, 1971) and “Want Ads” for Honey Cone (#1, R&B #1, 1971), died from lung cancer on 10/13/2010, age 69.
1944: Tiki Fulwood / (Raymond Fulwood), Drummer for R&B/soul-funk (“P-Funk”) giants Parliament-Funkadelic, “One Nation Under A Groove” (#31, 1978), died from stomach cancer on 10/29/1979, age 35
1945: Misty Morgan / (Mary Donahue), With husband Jack Blanchard, one-half of the country-pop vocal duo Jack & Misty, scored two crossover hits, including the Grammy-nominated “Tennessee Bird Walk” (#23, Country #1, 1970) among 15 country chart hits, continued to record and perform without chart success into the 00s, diagnosed with cancer in late 2020 and died on New Year’s Day, 1/1/2021, age 75.
1946: Danny Klein, Bassist for boogie-blues-rock ‘n roll bar band J. Geils Band, wrote “Centerfold” (#1, 1982)
1946: Ruth Underwood / (Ruth Komanoff), Marimba, vibraphone, xylophone and general percussionist for Frank Zappa and his backing band, The Mothers Of Invention (“Brown Shoes Don’t Make It,” 1967) in the 60s and 70s, also did session work for pop-rock Ambrosia, jazz-fusion George Duke and others, retired from music in the 80s
1947: Bill Hunt, Horns and keyboards for pop-rock Electric Light Orchestra, “Don’t Bring Me Down” (#4, 1979) and 26 other Top 40 hits
1953: Rick Fenn, Guitarist and vocals for soft pop-rock 10cc, “I’m Not In Love” (#2, 1975), session work with Mike Oldfield, Rick Wakeman and others
Other Notable Birthdays: Via OnThisDay.com
1883 Douglas Fairbanks, American actor (The Mark of Zorro, 3 Musketeers, Robin Hood), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1939)
1910 Benjamin “Scatman” Crothers, American singer, musician (“Television Blues”), and actor (Chico and the Man; The Shining), born in Terre Haute, Indiana (d. 1986)
1912 John Payne, American actor (The Restless Gun, Miracle on 34th Street), born in Roanoke, Virginia (d. 1989)
1945 Lauren Chapin, actress (Kathy-Father Knows Best)
1952 ‘Marvelous’ Marvin Hagler, American boxer (undisputed World Middleweight champion 1980-87; second-longest unified C’ship reign in history), born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 2021)
1958 Drew Carey, American actor & comedian (Drew Carey Show), born in Cleveland, Ohio
1958 Mitch Albom, American writer
1974 Ken Jennings, American game show contestant, born in Edmonds, Washington
