D-Day: “On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline, to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which, “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end, the Allies gained a foot-hold in Continental Europe. The cost in lives on D-Day was high. More than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded, but their sacrifice allowed more than 100,000 Soldiers to begin the slow, hard slog across Europe, to defeat Adolf Hitler’s crack troops.” (US Army)
Possibly one of the most powerful early reports on that fateful day came from CBS’s Richard C. Hottelet, who flew with a Marauder squadron over Normandy at the exact moment of “H-Hour,” when the landings began. The power of his writing and the directness of his delivery helped set the standard for news reporting in the days before personality and opinion overtook the airwaves. Here are seven minutes of compelling radio heard as the first journalists returned from the battlefield to report to the world.
Number one on Keener this week in:
(1964) Memphis, Johnny Rivers
(1965) I Can’t Help Myself, Four Tops
(1967) Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, Frankie Valli
(1969) Get Back/Dont Let Me Down, Beatles
(1970) Up Around The Bend, Creedence Clearwater Revival
Today in History:
1844 Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) formed by George Williams in London
1925 Walter Chrysler founds automobile manufacturer Chrysler Corporation
1931 George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin‘s musical “Girl Crazy” starring Ginger Rogers and featuring debut of Ethel Merman, closes at the Alvin Theater, NYC, after 272 performances, and making stars of Rogers and Merman
1942 Japanese forces retreat, ending Battle of Midway
1944 Operation Overlord: As part of the D-Day landings, the 82nd Airborne Division arrives at the French town of Sainte-Mère-Église
1960 Roy Orbison releases “Only the Lonely”
1960 “Steve Allen Show” last airs on NBC-TV
1962 The Beatles meet their producer George Martin for the first time and record “Besame Mucho” with Pete Best on drums
1965 Rolling Stones release single “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
1968 Senator Robert F. Kennedy dies from his wounds after he was shot the previous night
1971 Final broadcast of “The Ed Sullivan Show” (a repeat from 7 February) on CBS-TV
1972 David Bowie releases his breakthrough album “The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars”
1978 US TV news program “20/20“, created by Roone Arledge premieres on ABC
1979 Willie Horton becomes 43rd player to hit 300 HRs in the majors
1983 “Octopussy“, 13th James Bond film, starring Roger Moore, Maud Adams and Louis Jourdan premieres in London
1991 NBC announces Jay Leno will succeed Johnny Carson as host on “The Tonight Show” on May 25, 1992
1998 TV sitcom “Sex and the City” premieres in the US on HBO, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon
2002 “The Bourne Identity” directed by Doug Liman and starring Matt Damon premieres in Los Angeles, California
Rock and Roll Birthdays – Via DrRock.com:
1936 Levi Stubbs / (Levi Stubbles), Vocals for six decade R&B/soul vocal quartet The Four Tops, “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” (#1, 1966), died in his sleep on 10/17/2008
1939 Gary “U.S.” Bonds (Gary Levone Anderson), R&B/soul and rock ‘n’ roll singer and songwriter, “Quarter To Three” (#1, 1961) and “This Little Girl” (#11, 1981), age 72
1942 Howard Kane / (Howard Kirschenbaum), Vocals for clean cut pop-rock Jay & The Americans, “Cara Mia” (#4, 1965) and nine other Top 30 hits
1944 Peter Albin, Guitarist for 60s Janis Joplin-fronted, psych-rock Big Brother & The Holding Company, “Piece Of My Heart” (#12, 1968) and her solo albums
1951 Dwight Twilley, Power pop bandleader, singer and songwriter best known for his Top 20 hit “I’m On Fire” (#16, 1975) and an otherwise unremarkable career leading the Dwight Tilley Band plus solo efforts
1961 Dee C. Lee / (Diane Catherine Sealy)), Vocals for New Wave dance-pop Wham!, “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” (#1, 1984), left to join sophisti-pop-soul The Style Council, “My Ever Changing Moods” (#29, UK #5, 1984), then solo “See The Day” (UK #3, 1985)
1974 Uncle Kracker / (Matthew Shafer), Long time vocals and DJ in Kid Rock‘s band, then rock/hip hop fusion solo career, “Follow Me” (#5, 2001), now country-rock, “Smile” (#31, 2009)
Other Notable Birthdays: Via OnThisDay.com
1755 Nathan Hale, American Revolutionary War patriot, “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.”, born in Coventry, Connecticut, North American Colonies (d. 1776)
1901 Sukarno, 1st President of Indonesia (1945-67), born in Surabaya, Java (d. 1970)
1917 Kirk Kerkorian, American CEO and “father of the mega-resort” (MGM, UA), born in Fresno, California (d. 2015)
1947 Robert Englund, American actor (Freddy vs. Jason, A Nightmare on Elm Street), born in Glendale, California
1956 Björn Borg, Swedish tennis player (11-time Grand Slam winner), born in Stockholm, Sweden
1959 Amanda Pays, English actress (Max Headroom, Off Limits), born in London, England
1967 Paul Giamatti, American actor
