(Songs featured on-air today are highlighted.)

Today in Detroit History:

• Today in 1967, NBC told affiliates like Detroit’s WWJ (Channel 4)  what it pays actors for guest shots on it’s TV series. $5000 is the going rate for I Spy. Guest stars get $3500 for Ben Gazarra’s Run For Your Life. And Bonanza guests command $3000. Variety shows pay much more with stars like Rock Hudson and Herb Alpert earning $25 grand for a spot on The Kraft Music Hall.
• Today in 1972, a Great Lakes Steel blast furnace on Zug Island exploded, injuring 9 workers and shaking homes as far as two miles away. Furnace C, where the blast took place had been rebuilt just two months prior.
• Today in 1977, A University of Michigan Doctor presented his research paper on the concept of cold water drowning before the American Lung Association in San Francisco. Dr. Martin Neimiroff revived 18-year-old, Brian Cunningham of Jackson the youth had been submerged in an icy pond for 38 minutes. Eleven hours later, Brian Cunningham opened his eyes, gave his crying mother what doctors called “a rude gesture” and went back to sleep. After 11 days, he went home with no physical or mental impairment. Brian Cunningham became an Electrical Technician and died in Palm Bay, Florida at age 60.
• Today in 1979, Mary Pickford, Hollywood’s first movie queen, died of a stroke at the age of 86. At the pinnacle of her movie career, Pickford was the highest paid actress in Hollywood. Fellow silent screen star, Buddy Rogers, Pickford’s third husband was with her when she died. They had been married for 41 years.
• Today in 1982, an emotionally disturbed gunman took four hostages at KOOL-TV in Phoenix, Arizona, demanding airtime so that anchor Bill Close could read a rambling 20 minute statement live. Falcon Crest was interrupted at 9:30PM for the unusual broadcast, after which Joseph Billie Gwin surrendered to police. He was later declared insane and was incarcerated until 2006.
• Today in 1987, NPR’s All Things Considered audience was getting used to two new voices, replacing long time hosts, Susan Stamberg and Noah Adams. News executive Robert Siegel and science reporter Renee Montagne took over the 16 year old program and despite a few love letters to the former anchors, have been receiving favorable reviews.

What’s happening:

Business Insider says those of us who stayed with the same company during The Great Resignation are typically paid 20% less than new recruits. But there are also risks associated with making a move. CNBC warns that in a recession, it’s often the last hired who are the first to be let go. Performance experts advise to concentrate on results. In every economic season, those who deliver have the best career prospects.

If you’re like many of us, you probably paid more for your Memorial Day groceries than you did a year ago. Everything from weather to gas prices seems to be impacting costs. But there’s a silver lining. Last minute shoppers are finding deals, one of the few instances where procrastination can be a positive thing.

Number one on Keener this week in:

(1965) I Can’t Help Myself, Four Tops
(1966) Strangers in the Night, Frank Sinatra
(1967) My Girl Josephine, Jerry Jaye
(1968) Mrs Robinson, Simon & Garfunkle
(1969) Get Back/Dont Let Me Down, Beatles
(1970) Up Around The Bend, Creedence Clearwater Revival
(1971) Want Ads, Honey Cone

Today in History:
1765 Patrick Henry‘s historic speech against the Stamp Act, answering a cry of “Treason!” with, “If this be treason, make the most of it!”
1787 “Virginia Plan” by Thomas Jefferson proposed to the Constitutional Convention advocating for a national government with three branches – legislative, executive, and judicial
1790 Rhode Island becomes last of original 13 colonies ratifying US Constitution
1851 Sojourner Truth addresses 1st Black Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio
1886 American chemist John Pemberton begins to advertise Coca-Cola
1919 Albert Einstein‘s Theory of Relativity, that when light passes a large body, gravity will bend the rays confirmed by Arthur Eddington’s expedition to photograph a solar eclipse on the island of Principe, West Africa
1922 US Supreme Court rules organized baseball is a sport and not a business and thus not subject to antitrust laws
1942 Bing Crosby records “White Christmas“, world’s best-selling single (estimated 100 million copies sold)
1942 “Yankee Doodle Dandy“, based on life of George M. Cohan, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring James Cagney and Joan Lesley, premieres in NYC (Academy Awards Best Actor 1943)
1949 Candid Camera, TV comedy show, moves to NBC
1953 Edmund Hillary (NZ) and Tenzing Norgay (Nepal) are first to reach the summit of Mount Everest as part of a British Expedition
1960 Everly Brothers single “Cathy’s Clown” hits #1
1961 “A Raisin in the Sun“, film adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry’s stage play, starring the Broadway cast including Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, John Fiedler, and Ivan Dixon premieres
1962 Barbra Streisand appears on “The Garry Moore Show”
1973 Columbia Records fires president Clive Davis for misappropriating $100,000 in funds, Davis will start Arista records
1977 Indianapolis 500: A. J. Foyt. becomes first driver to win Indy 500 four times; last time winning car built entirely within US; Janet Guthrie first female to qualify, lasts 27 laps
1977 NBC News & Information Service (24 hr news) ends on radio
1978 US 1st class postage rises to 15 cents (13 cents for 3 years)
1980 Larry Bird beats out Magic Johnson for NBA rookie of year
1987 Michael Jackson attempts to buy Elephant Man’s remains
1989 Student pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, China construct a replica of the Statue of Liberty, naming it the Goddess of Democracy
1994 Andrew Lloyd Webber and Time Rice’s musical “Joseph & the Amazing Dreamcoat” closes at Minskoff Theater, NYC, after 223 performances
2004 The World War II Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
2015 “Jurassic World”, directed by Colin Trevorrow and starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard premieres in Paris
2018 ABC TV network cancels TV comedy “Roseanne” after its star Roseanne Barr posts a racist tweet

Rock and Roll Birthdays – Via DrRock.com:
1935 Sylvia Robinson, American singer (Mickey & Sylvia – “Love Is Strange” #1, 1956; solo – “Pillow Talk”), record producer, and record label executive (Sugar Hill Records), born in Harlem, New York City (d. 2011)
1939 Sir Monti Rock III. (Joseph Montanez Jr.). Flamboyant Puerto Rican-American performer, musician and 60s TV entertainment show guest, opened the disco era with the LP Disco Tex And His Sex-O-Lettes (1975) with producer Bob Crewe (The Four Seasons), scored the hit “Get Dancin’” (#10, 1975) and several others, performed on the Vegas club circuit through the 00s
1941 Roy Crewsdon. Guitarist for British Invasion novelty/comedy pop-rock ‘n’ roll Freddie & The Dreamers, “I’m Telling You Now” (#1, 1965), now operates a bar in Tenerife
1945 Gary Brooker. Chief songwriter, keyboardist and vocals for prog/psych rock Procol Harum, “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” (#5, 1967), solo plus session work for Eric Clapton
1947 Joey Levine. Unabashed bubblegum pop music songwriter, record producer and vocalist, as part of the Jerry Kasenetz/Jeffrey Katz team sang lead vocals for studio group Ohio Express (“Yummy Yummy Yummy,” #4, 1968) and other groups comprised of studio musicians, wrote and produced multiple pop hits by The 1910 Fruitgum Company, The Music Explosion and the 1974 ode to the music industry, “Life is a Rock But he Radio Rolled Me.” (#8, 1974). Levine later formed his own branding company and wrote jingles for national or global brands including Pepsi, Chevrolet and Anheuser-Busch
1947 Junior Campbell. (William Campbell, Jr.). Lead guitar for pop/rock the Gaylords, then Marmalade, “Reflections Of My Life” (#10, 1970)
1947 Larry Harris. (Larry Alan Harris). Music industry executive and co-founder of Casablanca Records with his second cousin, Neil Bogart, signed and launched the careers of Kiss, Donna Summer, Village People and others, plus less flamboyant acts as Cher, funk band Parliament, and comedians Robin Williams and Rodney Dangerfield, left after the disco craze ended and the label fell into decline to work for other labels and open a comedy club in Seattle, died from an abdominal aneurysm on 122/18/2017, age 70
1949 Francis Rossi. Co-founder and lead guitarist for Brit psych-boogie rock Status Quo, “Pictures Of Matchstick Men” (#12, 1968), solo
1950 Rebbie Jackson. (Maureen Reillette Jackson Brown). Eldest of the Jackson family of musicians, performed with her brothers beginning in 1974 on stage and on the TV variety show The Jacksons, issued four solo albums and charted several singles, including “Centipede” (#24, R&B #4, 1984)
1953 Danny Elfman. Grammy-winning TV and film score composer, frequently in collaboration with Tim Burton (Batman, 1989), singer/songwriter and leader of New Wave ska-pop/alt rock Oingo Boingo, “Weird Science” (#45, Dance/Club #21, 1985)
1955 Mike Porcaro. Session musician who joined his brothers Jeff and Steve Porcaro in 1982 as bassist in pop/arena rock Toto (“Africa,” #1, 1982), retired from the band in 2007 and died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, on 3/15/2015, age 59
1956 La Toya Jackson. Background vocals for her brothers’ band The Jackson 5, then largely unsuccessful and unnoticed solo singing career
1959 Mel Gaynor. Drummer for Scottish New Wave pop-rock Simple Minds, “(Don’t You) Forget About Me” (#1, 1985)
1960 Jesse Johnson. Guitarist for R&B/soul-funk The Time, wrote “Jungle Love” (#20, Dance/Club #9, 1984), then solo, “Crazay” (Dance/Club #12, 1986)
1961 Melissa Etheridge. Grammy-winning alt-heartland rock singer, songwriter and guitarist, “I’m The Only One” (#8, 1993), gay activist
1969 Chad Kinchla. (Chandler Kinchla). Guitarist for blues-rock jam band Blues Traveler, “Run-Around” (#8, 1995)
1975 Melanie Brown. Vocals and “Scary Spice” in pop-rock girl-group Spice Girls, “Wannabe” (#1, 1997)

Other Notable Birthdays – Via OnThisDay.com:

1736 Patrick Henry, American Revolutionary and Founding Father famous for his “Give me liberty or give me death” speech, born in Studley, Colony of Virginia, British America (d. 1799)
1903 Bob Hope [Leslie Townes Hope], English-born American actor, comedian and entertainer, born in London (d. 2003)
1914 Stacy Keach, Sr., American actor (Pretty Woman; The Parallax View), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2003)
1914 Tenzing Norgay, Tibetan climber who was the 1st to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953 with Edmund Hillary (exact date of birth unknown, but he celebrated on the 29th), born in either northeastern Nepal or Tibet (d. 1986)
1917 John F. Kennedy, 35th US President (1961-1963) and Senator (D-Mass), born in Brookline, Massachusetts (d. 1963)
1918 Herb Shriner, American humorist and TV host (Herb Shriner Show), born in Toledo, Ohio (d. 1970)
1920 Clifton James, American actor (Live and Let Die, Silver Streak), born in Spokane, Washington (d. 2017)
1939 Al Unser, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1970-71, 78, 87), born in Albuquerque, New Mexico (d. 2021)
1941 Bob Simon, American TV correspondent (CBS, 60 Minutes), born in the Bronx, New York (d. 2015)1958 Annette Bening, American actress (Grifters, Bugsy, American Beauty), born in Topeka, Kansas
1959 Rupert Everett, British actor (Another Country, My Best Friend’s Wedding), born in Burnham Deepdale, England
1972 Laverne Cox, American actress (Orange Is the New Black, Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word) and LGBT advocate, born in Mobile, Alabama