Today in Detroit

• Today in 1967, The Detroit Police Officers Association, in the midst of contract negations took out a quarter page ad in the city’s newspapers asking “How does it feel to be held up? Stick around and find out.” The ad went on to say that better police protection cost just four dollars per day per officer.
• Today in 1972, Warren city officials were taking heat for voting unanimously to double their pay, despite federal rules prohibiting large pay raises during President Nixon’s economic freeze. Mayor Ted bates said senior employees had not had a raise in 15 years with “70 employees making more than the mayor.” Bates said the increases would not go into effect until submitted to and approved by the Federal Pay board.
• Today in 1977, Detroit mourned the passing of commentator Lou Gordon who died the previous morning at age 60. A weekend fixture on Channel 50, Gordon, who considered himself “The people’s advocate.” rose to national prominence when former Michigan governor George Romney made the famous “Brain washing” statement on Gordon’s program that observers felt ended his political career.
• Today in 1979, Flint’s Star Theater announced it’s summer lineup, including Battlestar Galactica star Dirk Benedict in Oklahoma, Paul Lynde in Woody Allen’s Don’t Drink the Water and Ed Ames in Man of La Mancha. All Whiting Auditorium tickets cost $8.98.
• Today in 1982, General Motors announced an agreement to sell Japanese built Isuzu automobiles in the US. Chairman Roger Smith cited labor costs as a key factor in the decision.
• Today in 1987, some of the movies playing on the big screen in Detroit included the Jim Cash and Jack Epps, Jr. penned Secret of My Success, starring Michael J. Fox, Ernest Goes to Camp, starring Jim Varney and Meadowbrook Theater was promoting their summer line-up including America and Three Dog night.

What’s Hot on the Net: Via J.J. Duling:

Holidays celebrated on May 25 include: Geek Pride day, National Brown-Bag-It Day, National Tap Dance Day, National Wine Day and National Towel Day, celebrated in honor of Douglas Adams author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Don’t forget your towel. You never know when a Vogon destructor fleet might emerge.

 

Today in History:

1787 Constitutional convention opens at Philadelphia, George Washington presiding
1922 Babe Ruth suspended 1 day and fined $200 for throwing dirt on an umpire
1927 Henry Ford announces that he is ending production of the Model T Ford
1935 Legendary American athlete Jesse Owens equals or breaks 4 world records in 45 minutes at a Big Ten meet at Ferry Field in Ann Arbor, Michigan; remembered as “the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport”
1961 JFK announces US goal of putting a man on the Moon before the end of decade
1965 Muhammad Ali KOs Sonny Liston at 2:12 of round 1 at Central Maine Civic Center, Lewiston to retain his WBC/WBA heavyweight boxing title
1967 John Lennon takes delivery of his psychedelically painted Rolls Royce
1969 “Midnight Cowboy” directed by John Schlesinger and starring Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman is released (Academy Awards Best Picture 1970)
1973 George Harrison releases single “Give Me Love” in UK
1977 Original “Star Wars” movie (Episode IV – A New Hope), directed by George Lucas and starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, first released
1979 Horror film “Alien”, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Sigourney Weaver is released
1983 “Return of the Jedi” (Star Wars Episode VI), produced by George Lucas first released
1983 Kirk Gibson (Tigers) & Jorge Orta (Blue Jays) hit inside park HRs
2011 Oprah Winfrey airs her last show, ending her twenty five year run of The Oprah Winfrey Show
2012 A SpaceX Dragon becomes the first commercial spacecraft to dock at the International Space Station
2017 Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg receives an honorary degree from Harvard University, after dropping out in 2004
2017 “Wonder Woman” directed by Patty Jenkins, starring Gal Gadot and Chris Pine premieres in Los Angeles – 1st superhero film directed by a woman

Music released today:

1957 Buddy Holly, “That’ll Be The Day”, B-Side: “I’m Looking For Someone To
1962 Isley Brothers release “Twist & Shout”
1965 Chad & Jeremy, Before And After LP (Single: “Can’t Get Used to Losing You”)
1968 Rolling Stones release song “Jumping Jack Flash”
1973 Mike Oldfield, Tubular Bells

Rock Birthdays: Via DrRock.com

1921 Hal David, Pop/MOR lyricist, co-wrote dozens of hits, often in collaboration with composer Burt Bacharach, including “(They Long To Be) Close To You” for the Carpenters (#1, 1970), “Walk On By” for Dionne Warwick (#6, 1964), won two Oscars for film score to Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969) and for “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” from the soundtrack (B. J. Thomas, #1, 1969), died from a stroke on 9/1/2012, age 91.
1922 Kitty Kallen / (Katherine Kalinsky), Pop vocalist with 21 Top 40 hits in the 40s and 50s, including “Little Things Mean A Lot” (#1, 1954), retired from singing in 1955 to nurse paralyzed vocal cords but returned in 1959 to score two additional hits before Beatlemania sank her career
1927 Norman Petty, Musician and record producer best known for his work in the 50s with Buddy Holly and his backing band, The Crickets, as coach, recording engineer, producer, band manager and occasional co-writer of numerous hit songs, including “Peggy Sue” (#3, 1957), also fronted his own band and produced albums for Roy Orbison, Waylon Jennings, Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs and others, died from leukemia on 8/15/1984, age 57
1927 Paul Oliver / (Paul Hereford Oliver), Brit architectural historian whose sideline interest in blues music led him to author several early and authoirtative books on the subject, including “The Story Of The Blues” (1969), wrote multiple biographies and narratives about indigenous American music over 40 years, left an unfinished 1,400 page manuscript on Texas blues when he died from natural causes on 8/15/2017, age 90
1936 Tom T. Hall / (Thomas Hall), Grammy-winning country music songwriter known as the “Storyteller” for his deep and inciteful lyrics, wrote 12 Country #1 hits, including the crossover “Harper Valley P.T.A.” for Jeannie C. Riley (#1, Country #1, 1968) and, as a solo artist, recorded 21 Country Top 10 hits, including “I Love” (#12, Country #1, 1973), later in life transitioned to bluegrass music and was inducted in 2018 with his wife Dixie Hall into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, died at home from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on 8/20/2021, age 85.
1936 Donnie Elbert, R&B/Northern soul singer with a lone 50s minor hit, “What Can I Do?” (#61, R&B #12, 1957), left for the UK and recorded there with some success in the 60s, returned to the US in 1970 and had eight charting singles in eight years, including “Where Did Our Love Go” (#15, R&B #6, 1971), died of a stroke on 1/26/1989, age 52
1939 Jimmy Capps / (James Dixon Capps), Nashville A-Team session guitarist and 50-plus-year member of the Grand Old Opry house band dubbed the “master of smoothness” by his peers, played on hundreds of iconic country music singles as well as crossover hits by Tammy Wynette (“Stand By Your Man,” # 19, Country #1, 1968), Kenny Rogers (“The Gambler,” # 16, Country #1, 1978) and Oak Ridge Boys (“Elvira,” #5, Country #1, 1981), averaged more than 500 recording session per year at his peak and appeared on stage at the Opry on weekends for five decades, worked with contemporary stars in the 90s and 00s, published the 2018 autobiographical The Man In Back covering his career as a backing musician, died from undisclosed causes on 6/2/2020, age 81.
1947 Mitch Margo / (Mitchell Stuart Margo), Tenor vocals and piano for blue-eyed R&B/doo-wop group The Tokens, was just 14 years old when the band released it’s biggest hit, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” (#1, 1961), later helped produce albums for the Chiffons and Tony Orlando & Dawn, wrote songs for others, including “Laugh ” (1967) for The Monkees and “Slow Dance” (1989) for The Carpenters, performed with various Tokens lineups, composed TV scores and painted for album covers and children’s books until his death from natural causes on 11/24/2017, age 70
1949 Clarence Burke Jr., With his four siblings, lead singer in the “First Family of Soul,” Chicago R&B/soul The Five Stairsteps “O-o-h Child” (#7, R&B #14, 1970), worked with Billy Preston and George Harrison‘s Dark Horse label, reformed the Stairsteps with two brothers as R&B/disco The Invisible Man’s Band (“All Night Thing,” Dance/Club #10, 1980), continued to perform until just before his death from undisclosed causes on 5/26/2013, age 64
1950 Jean Millington, Vocals and guitar with sister June in pioneering all-girl rock quartet Fanny (“Butter Boy,” #29, 1975), one of the earliest women-only rock bands and the first to release an album on a major record label (Fanny, Reprise, 1970), broke up in 1975 but continued to record and perform with her sister as a duet and in various Fanny reunions, including as Fanny Walks The Earth with an eponymous album in 2018.
1950 Robby Steinhardt / (Robert Eugene Steinhardt), Classical-trained violinist and founding member of prog/heartland rock Kansas (“Carry On Wayward Son,” #11, 1977) with whom he shared lead vocalist duties and acted as the MC during live performances, left in 1982 to pursue other interests and played with Rick Moon in prog rock Steinhardt Moon, and in the ’90s with the band Stormbringer, rejoined Kansas in 1997 but left again in 2006 due to the heavy touring schedule, participated in various projects and recorded with Yes and Jethro Tull when not with Kansas, was recording a solo album and preparing for a tour when he contracted acute pancreatitis and died on 7/17/2021, age 71.
1951 Chuck Ruff / (Charles Frederick Carson Ruff), Rock drummer best known as a founding member of hard rock Edgar Winter Group (“Frankenstein,” #1, 1973 and “Free Ride,” #14, 1973), later played on albums by Sammy Hagar (“Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy” (#13, 1983) and worked in various solo and collaboration bands, died after a long illness on 10/14/2011, age 60
1955 John Grimaldi, Guitarist for hard/art rock Argent, “Hold Your Head Up” (#5, 1972)

Other Notable Birthdays: Via OnThisDay.com

1803 Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist and philosopher (Concord Hymn), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1882)
1878 Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, American actor and tap dancer (Stormy Weather; The Little Colonel), born in Richmond, Virginia (d. 1949)
1889 Igor Sikorsky, Russian-American pioneer of aviation in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, born in Kyiv, Ukraine (d. 1972)
1898 Gene Tunney, American boxer (world heavyweight champion 1926-30), born in NYC, New York (d. 1978)
1927 Robert Ludlum, American spy novelist (Bourne Identity), born in NYC, New York (d. 2001)
1933 Roger Bowen, American actor (M*A*S*H, Main Event, What about Bob, Petulia), born in Providence, Rhode Island (d. 1996)t
1939 Sir Ian McKellen, English film and theatre actor (Lord of the Rings; X-Men), born in Burnley Lancashire
1944 Frank Oz, American muppetteer (Grover-Sesame Street, Muppet Show), born in Hereford, England
1947 Karen Valentine, American actress (Love American Style, Room 222), born in Santa Rosa, California
1951 Bob Gale, American screenwriter (Back to the Future), born in University City, Missouri
1963 Mike Myers, Canadian actor and comedian (SNL, Wayne’s World), born in Scarborough, Ontario
1969 Anne Heche, American actress (Donnie Brasco, Juror, Volcano), born in Aurora, Ohio
1970 Octavia Spencer, American actress and producer (The Help, Hidden Figures), born in Montgomery, Alabama