Thursday June the 5th

ON THIS DAY in 1895,
actor William Boyd was born in Cambridge Ohio.
                
Over a 20 year period beginning in 1935 he played Hopalong Cassidy in movies, on radio & TV.  He negotiated ownership of all his Cassidy films just as the TV era was dawning; they became popular Saturday morning viewing fare, leaving him with financial security for life.  He died of Parkinson's & heart failure Sept. 12 1972 at age 77.

In 1928, actor Robert Lansing was born in San Diego Calif.  His rugged leading man personna made him ideal for TV roles as Gen. George Custer on Branded, Gen. Frank Savage on Twelve O'Clock High, Peter Murphy/Mark Wainwright on The Man Who Never Was, Control on The Equalizer, and Paul Blaisdell in Kung Fu: The Legend Continues.  He died of lung cancer Oct. 23 1994 at age 66.

In 1933, the original CKY Winnipeg, owned by Manitoba Government Telephones, moved to 910 KHz.  In 1948 CKY was sold to the CBC and became CBW.  Lloyd Moffat revived the CKY call letters on December 31, 1949, when he signed on at 580 KHz in Winnipeg.  It quickly became the market leader.

              
In 1937, country singer/songwriter Waylon Jennings was born in Littlefield Texas.  He recorded 60 albums and had 16 No. 1 country singles in a career that spanned five decades. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in October 2001.  He narrated, and sang the theme song for the TV series Dukes of Hazzard. He died Feb. 13 2002 of a diabetes-related illness at age 64.

In 1941, Gene Krupa and his band recorded "After You've Gone" with Roy Eldridge on trumpet.

In 1942, Sammy Kaye and his Swing & Sway Orchestra recorded "I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen."

In 1947, the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit was "Mam'selle,'' by Art Lund.

                
In 1954, "Little Things Mean a Lot" by Kitty Kallen topped the charts and stayed there for 9 weeks.

In 1956, Elvis Presley made his second appearance on TV's "Milton Berle Show.'' His hip-twitching gyrations during his performance of "Hound Dog'' provoked howls of outrage. When Presley later appeared on Ed Sullivan's show, he was shown only from the waist up.

Also in 1956, Gene Vincent's "Be-Bop-A-Lula" was released.

In 1957, "Susie Q" was released by Dale Hawkins.

              
In 1959, Canada's longest running radio program, "The Happy Gang,'' was heard for the last time. "The Happy Gang'' musical troupe began its weekday mid-morning (Pacific time) broadcasts on the C-B-C out of Toronto in 1937.

Also in 1959, Bob Zimmerman graduated from high school in Hibbing, MN. He later changed his name to Bob Dylan.

In 1960, Brenda Lee's "I'm Sorry'' entered the pop charts, eventually making it to number one. The flip side, "That's All You Gotta Do,'' was also a sizeable hit.

In 1961, "Running Scared" by Roy Orbison topped the charts .. but surprisingly in retrospect, only stayed there for the one week.

In 1964, David Bowie, under his real surname Jones, released his first record, "Liza Jane." It was not a hit.

In 1967, John Sullivan, Lonzo of the Lonzo and Oscar country comedy team, died in Nashville at 49. Their biggest hit was a 1940's recording of "I'm My Own Grandpa.'' Lonzo and Oscar played the Grand Ole Opry for years, dishing out cornball gags years before "Hee Haw'' was even dreamed of.

              
In 1971, James Taylor's "You've Got A Friend" was released.

Also in 1971, tickets went on sale for a Grand Funk Railroad concert at Shea Stadium in New York. All were sold within 72 hours, and the concert grossed more than 300-thousand dollars. That was about two-thousand more than the Beatles' 1965 Shea concert.

In 1972, Maureen McGovern quit her job as a full-time secretary for a new career as a full time singer.

In 1973, Toronto newsman Gordon Sinclair wrote and first broadcast the words to one of the most popular spoken-word recordings of all time: "The Americans". Originally just a script for his "Let's Be Personal" program on CFRB Toronto, it was Gordon's reaction to the U.S.-bashing that had reached a fever pitch around the world. Versions of "The Americans" by CKLW News Director (& brother to Hudson Mack) Byron MacGregor (below), Country singer Tex Ritter and Gordon himself hit US charts in 1974.
              

In 1974, Sly Stone married Kathy Silva on stage during a Sly and the Family Stone concert at Madison Square Garden in New York.

In 1975, the Rolling Stones became the first artists to receive record royalties from the Soviet Union when copyright laws there were changed.

In 1977, (Sleepy) John Estes, among the last first-generation bluesmen, died of a stroke in Brownsville, Tennessee while preparing for a European tour. He was 74.

              
In 1977, DJ Charlie Van Dyke did his last show on KHJ Radio, Los Angeles.

Also on this date in 1977, Alice Cooper's pet boa constrictor was fatally bitten by a rat it was being fed for breakfast. Cooper held a public audition a week later in Los Angeles to find a replacement for the snake, which was featured in his act.

In 1982, CISN-FM Edmonton signed on with 100,000 watts on 103.9 MHz as "Kissin' Country".

Also in 1982, legendary DJ Cousin Brucie (below) returned to New York City Radio on WCBS-FM.
              

In 1983, U2 performed a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado. The concert was recorded and released as an EP and a video cassette, both called "Under A Blood Red Sky." Footage was also used in the "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" video.

In 1984, the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit was "Time After Time,'' by Cyndi Lauper.

In 1987, ABC's "Nightline" presented it's 1st "Town Meeting." The subject was AIDS & the open-ended show ran until 3:47 AM.

In 1987, Canadian pop star Bryan Adams joined Ringo Starr and George Harrison on stage at London's Wembley Arena to close the second annual Prince's Trust rock gala. They joined with Elton John, Boy George, Eric Clapton and Ben E. King in a rendition of King's ''Stand By Me.'' Prince Charles set up the Prince's Trust fund in 1976 to help young people who are socially, economically or physically handicapped.

              
In 1993, country superstar Conway Twitty died at age 59 of a ruptured stomach vessel after collapsing in his tour bus after a show in Branson, Mo. He scored 39 No. 1 Billboard country hits - including four duets with Loretta Lynn - among them "Hello Darlin','' "You've Never Been This Far Before'' and "Happy Birthday Darlin'.''

In 1993, singer Mariah Carey married her boss, Sony Music president Tommy Mottola, at a Manhattan church. Celebrities in attendance included Robert DeNiro, Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen, and Billy Joel and wife Christie Brinkley. Carey and Mottola ended their marriage after only four years.

Also on this date in 1993, a protest in New York City against explicit rap lyrics sort of ran out of steam. Reverend Calvin Butts rented a small steamroller to drive over some offensive C-D's and tapes in front of his Harlem church. But he abandoned his plan after crushing only a few cassettes when some counter-demonstrators stood in front of the pile of rap music.

In 1994, singer/cornetist Ish Kabbible, whose real birth name was Merwyn A Bogue, a long time member of & manager of Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge on radio, died at age 86.

In 1995, the 29th Music City News Country Awards saw top honors go to Alan Jackson and Reba McEntire.

              
In 1996, actor Vito Scotti, who played the title role for part of the TV run of Life with Luigi, and supporting roles for another 40 years, from Peter Gunn to Mad About You, died of lung cancer at age 78.  

In 1996, an arrest warrant was issued for former Milli Vanilli member Rob Pilatus after he disappeared from a drug treatment center in Los Angeles. He turned up 6 days later at another center.

In 1998, actress Jeanette Nolan died following a stroke at age 86. During the golden age of radio she played a variety of characters on such programs as "The March of Time", "Cavalcade of America", "The Court of Missing Heirs", "The Adventures of Mister Meek", "Life Begins" and "Manhattan at Midnight".  She appeared in more than 300 television shows, including "Perry Mason" (1957), "I Spy" (1965), "MacGyver" (1985), "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955), and as a regular on "The Richard Boone Show" (1963) and "The Virginian" (1962). She received four Emmy nominations.

Also in 1998, thousands of Gloria Estefan fans danced in the streets of Miami Beach in a huge block party celebrating the release of her album "Gloria.''

              
In 1999, Mel Torme, the Russian-Jewish kid from the South Side of Chicago who became an international singing star with sidelines as an actor, a songwriter, an arranger, a drummer and a writer, died from compilations of the stroke that halted his career in 1996. He was 73.

In 2001, "The Beat" Vancouver was approved on 94.5 MHz from a Mount Seymour transmitter site. It would be another ten months before the official startup.

Also in 2001, CFSR AM850 Abbotsford was approved by the CRTC to move to FM at 107.1 MHz, while Nanaimo's CKEG AM1570 was approved to switch to FM, at 106.9.

In 2002, Dee Dee Ramone, bass player for the pioneer punk band the Ramones, died in Los Angeles at age 50.

Also in 2002, singer R. Kelly was arrested in central Florida on 21 counts of child pornography, stemming from a video allegedly of Kelly having sex with an underage girl.

              
In 2004, actor Ronald Reagan who broadcast baseball on midwest radio, and hosted Death Valley Days & GE Theatre on TV, and who became the 40th President of the US, died of Alzheimer's at age 93.

In 2006, Vancouver's AM 730 became the first commercial radio station in North America to broadcast all-traffic during the rush hours.  Time shifting CKNW talk shows throughout the rest of the day filled out the schedule.  Beginning Oct. 12 all day continuous traffic reports were heard from 6 am-7:30 pm; six weeks later traffic would become the station's focus 24/7.

In 2007, Vancouver's FM 95-3 CRAVE FM debuted at 7 am with "Music" by Madonna. Z 95.3 had signed off 31 hours earlier.


Today's Birthdays:

Singer/actor Bill Hayes (Your Show of Shows, Days of Our Lives) is 83.

Broadcast journalist Bill Moyers (PBS) is 74.

Actor Howard Platt (Bob Newhart Show, Sanford & Son, Empire) is 70.

Singer Floyd Butler of Friends of Distinction is 67.

Country singer Don Reid of the Statler Brothers is 63.

Guitarist Fred Stone of Sly and the Family Stone is 62.

Singer Laurie Anderson is 61.

Country singer Gail Davies is 60.

Drummer Nicko McBrain of Iron Maiden is 56.

Actress Nancy Stafford (Matlock, The Doctors) is 54.

Saxophonist Kenny G is 52.

Toronto-born actress Nicolette Goulet (Guiding Light) is 52.

Singer Richard Butler of Psychedelic Furs is 52.

Actor Jeff Garlin (Curb Your Enthusiasm) is 46.

Actor Ron Livingston (The Practice, Band of Brothers) is 41.

Singer Brian McKnight is 39.

Musician Claus Norreen (Aqua) is 38.

Actor-singer-producer Mark Wahlberg, aka rapper Marky Mark (Entourage) is 37.

Actor Chad Allen (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) is 34.

Bassist P-nut of 311 is 34.

Actress Navi Rawat (Numb3rs) is 31.

Actress Liza Weil (Gilmore Girls) is 31.

Bassist Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy is 29.

Guitarist Seb Lefebvre of Simple Plan is 27.


Chart Toppers

June 5

1948
Nature Boy - Nat King Cole
Toolie Oolie Doolie - The Andrews Sisters
Baby Face - The Art Mooney Orchestra
Texarkana Baby - Eddy Arnold

1956
The Wayward Wind - Gogi Grant
Standing on the Corner - The Four Lads
I’m in Love Again - Fats Domino
Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins

1964
Love Me Do - The Beatles
Chapel of Love - The Dixie Cups
Love Me with All Your Heart - The Ray Charles Singers
My Heart Skips a Beat - Buck Owens

1972
I’ll Take You There - The Staple Singers
The Candy Man - Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sylvia’s Mother - Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show
The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A. - Donna Fargo

1980
Funkytown - Lipps, Inc.
Coming Up - Paul McCartney & Wings
Don’t Fall in Love with a Dreamer - Kenny Rogers with Kim Carnes
My Heart - Ronnie Milsap

1988
One More Try - George Michael
Shattered Dreams - Johnny Hates Jazz
Naughty Girls (Need Love Too) - Samantha Fox
What She Is (Is a Woman in Love) - Earl Thomas Conley