Monday January the 21st

On This Day in 1880
a communications milestone for the community of Victoria BC, as the first business telephones were installed at W. J. Jeffree's Clothing store, and W. I. Pendray's Soap Factory.

On this day in 1891, the composer of" O Canada", Calixa Lavallee, died at Boston at age 48.

On this day in 1897, actor J. (Joseph) Carrol Naish was born in New York City.  He is best remembered for playing the title role in the long-running "Life With Luigi" on radio & (for a shorter period) TV.  He also had the lead in TV's New Adventures of Charlie Chan.  He died of emphysema Jan 19, 1973 two days short of his 76th birthday.  

On this day in 1917, pianist/songwriter/arranger Billy Maxted was born in Racine Wisconsin. He wrote for big band great Benny Goodman & played with Glenn Miller's Orchestra. He died Oct 11, 2001 at age 84.  

                                                                        
On this day in 1919, actress/radio-TV host Jinx (Eugenia) Falkenburg was born in Barcelona Spain.  She was a movie actress & popular model before & during World War II , after which she and her husband Tex McCrary were hosts of "Meet Tex and Jinx" a local radio talk show they conducted from Peacock Alley in New York's  Waldorf Astoria.  They also hosted NBC TV's At Home show, while she was a regular on TV's charades show Masquerade Party.  She died a month after her husband Aug 27, 2003 at age 84.

On this day in 1924, Emmy-winning actor Telly (Aristotle) Savalas was born in Long Island NY.  Although he made many movies he is best remembered as the proudly bald TV detective Kojak.  He succumbed to bladder cancer Jan 22, 1994 one day after his 70th birthday.

Also in 1924, comedian Benny Hill was born Alfred Hawthorne Hill in Southampton England.
His zany  & (for its time) ribald TV show was sold in 140 countries around the world, with viewership in the tens of millions.  He died of heart problems related to obesity April 20 1992 at age 68.  

On this day in 1927, the first opera to be broadcast over a national radio network was presented in Chicago. Listeners heard selections from "Faust".

On this day in 1932, Annunzio Paolo Mantovani gave a memorable concert at Queen's Hall in England to "glowing notices". This was the beginning of the musician's successful recording career that provided beautiful music to radio stations for nearly five decades. Better known as just Mantovani, his music still entertains us with hits like, "Red Sails in the Sunset", "Serenade in the Night", "Song from Moulin Rouge" and "Charmaine".

On this day in 1938, the legendary deejay known as Wolfman Jack was born Robert Weston Smith in Brooklyn.  His unique radio style made him an icon of '60s radio, broadcasting from XERF, then XERB in Mexico and heard throughout a major part of the U.S.; On TV he was announcer for The Midnight Special.  He died following a heart attack July 1, 1995 at age 57.

On this day in 1942, Count Basie recorded one of the great signature numbers of the big band era, One O'Clock Jump, on Okeh records.  

                                                                                                                  
On this day in 1946, "The Fat Man" debuted on ABC radio. J. Scott Smart, who played the portly detective, weighed in at 270 pounds in real life

On this day in 1957, singer Patsy Cline appeared on Arthur Godfrey's nighttime TV show. She warbled the classic, "Walking After Midnight", which quickly launched her career.

              
Also this day in 1957, rocker Chuck Berry recorded "School Day."

On this day in 1959, the Kingston Trio (Bob Shane, Nick Reynolds and Dave Guard) received a gold record for "Tom Dooley". The single could be considered an early folk-form of rap music, considering its less than wholesome message about a guy named Tom Dooley who was going to be hanged - "Poor boy, you're bound to, die."

On this day in 1962, singer Jackie Wilson appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show."  

On this day in 1965, The Animals (below) cancelled a show in New York after U-S immigration officials forced the band to leave the theater.
                                                            

On this day in 1966, George Harrison of the Beatles married Patricia (Patty) Anne Boyd in Surrey, England. The two met on the set of the movie, "A Hard Day's Night". The couple later divorced and she married Eric Clapton.

On this day in 1970, ABC-TV presented "The Johnny Cash Show" in prime time. Previously, the show had been a summer replacement. The regular season series was a big boost for country music. Johnny wore his predictable black on the all-color show.

On this day in 1972, the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit was "American Pie'' by Don McLean. The song, at 8 minutes and 27 seconds, was too long to fit on one side of a single and was split into two parts for release as a 45.

                                                                                                                                  
On this day in 1973, Regina-born Leslie Nielsen appeared on M*A*S*H in the episode called "Ringbanger."

On this day in 1978, the soundtrack of "Saturday Night Fever" reached #1 on the album charts -- a position it held for the next 24 weeks.

On this day in 1982, bluesman B.B. King donated his entire record collection -- seven-thousand records -- to the University of Mississippi. The collection included rare records he played as a D-J in the 1940's.

                                                                        
On this day in 1984, singer Jackie Wilson died at the age of 49. He had been in a coma since his 1975 heart attack during a concert in New Jersey. His funeral was held in Detroit.

On this day in 1985, actor Patrick Duffy announced plans to leave the CBS show "Dallas" at the end of the TV season. He asked that the character of Bobby Ewing not be replaced by another actor. Good thing. Bobby showed up in the new season, miraculously rising from the dead; taking a shower; after being in a tremendous car crash the previous season. And Duffy returned to continue in the role of Bobby Ewing through "Dallas's"  final episode in 1991.

On this day in 1987, Roy Orbison, Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin, & Jackie Wilson are among those inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Also this day in 1987, thirty years after its release, Jackie Wilson's single, "Reet Petite" (written by Motown founder Berry Gordy), ended a month at the top of England's music charts.

On this day in 1989, the song "Two Hearts" by Phil Collins topped the charts and stayed there for 2 weeks.

On this day in 1990, the first MTV "Unplugged" special was aired, with Squeeze as the first performers.

On this day in 1995, the 52nd Golden Globes honored movie stars Forrest Gump, Tom Hanks, Jessica Lange & Brad Pitt.

On this day in 1997, Irwin Jesse Levin, whose song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon `Round the Old Oak Tree" became an unofficial anthem of the US during the Iran hostage crisis, died of kidney failure at the age of 58.

                                                                      
Also this day in 1997, music industry legend Col. Tom Parker, the master promoter who guided Elvis Presley to stardom, died in Las Vegas from complications from a stroke. He was 87.    

On this day in 1998, actor Jack Lord, who starred as Steve McGarett in 203 episodes of Hawaii 5-0, died of congestive heart failure at age 77.

On this day in 1999, R&B singer/pianist Charles Brown died of congestive heart failure at age 76. Brown scored his first hit, "Drifting Blues," in 1946 with Johnny Moore's Three Blazers.

                                                                                                                        
On this day in 2002, singer/songwriter Peggy Lee, one of the truly distinctive voices of her generation, died at age 81.

Also this day in 2002, the 100th episode of "Ally McBeal" aired on FOX.

On this day in 2005, US college DJ, Dave Plotkin, from Rollins College's WPRK-FM in Winter Park, Florida, set a record for the world's longest continuous broadcast by a single jock. He stayed on the air for 110 hours.


Today's Birthdays:  

Actress Ann Wedgeworth (Evening Shade, Somerset, Another World) is 73.

Blues singer Snooks Eaglin is 72.

Singer Richie Havens is 67.

Singer Mac Davis is 66.

Actress Jill Eikenberry (LA Law) is 61.

Guitarist Jim Ibbotson of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is 61.

Singer-songwriter Billy Ocean is 58.

Actor Robby Benson (Ellen, Reunited, Good Advice) is 52.

Actress Geena Davis (Commander-in-Chief, Geena Davis Show, Buffalo Bill) is 52.

Actress Charlotte Ross (NYPD Blue, Jake in Progress) is 40.

Actor John Ducey (Oh, Grow Up!, Will & Grace) is 39.

Actress Karina Lombard (The L Word, The 4400) is 39.

Rapper Levirt of B-Rock and the Bizz is 38.

Drummer Mark Trojanowski of Sister Hazel is 38.

DJ Chris Kilmore of Incubus is 35.

Singer Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) of the Spice Girls is 32.

Singer Nokio of Dru Hill is 29.

Toronto-born actress Ilana Miller (The New Mickey Mouse Club) is 29.

Actress Izabella Miko (Deadwood) is 27.


Chart Toppers

January 21

1949
Buttons and Bows - Dinah Shore
A Little Bird Told Me - Evelyn Knight
On a Slow Boat to China - The Kay Kyser Orchestra (vocal: Harry Babbitt & Gloria Wood)
I Love You So Much It Hurts - Jimmy Wakely

1957
Singing the Blues - Guy Mitchell
The Banana Boat Song - The Tarriers
Young Love - Tab Hunter
Singing the Blues - Marty Robbins

1965
Come See About Me - The Supremes
Love Potion Number Nine - The Searchers
Downtown - Petula Clark
Once a Day - Connie Smith

1973
You’re So Vain - Carly Simon
Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Crocodile Rock - Elton John
Soul Song - Joe Stampley

1981
(Just Like) Starting Over - John Lennon
Love on the Rocks - Neil Diamond
The Tide is High - Blondie
I Love a Rainy Night - Eddie Rabbitt

1989
Two Hearts - Phil Collins
Don’t Rush Me - Taylor Dayne
Armageddon It - Def Leppard
She’s Crazy for Leavin’ - Rodney Crowell