Thursday August the 7th

ON THIS DAY in 1885,
actress/comedienne Billie Burke was born to a show business family in Washington DC.
              
After a bigscreen career which is best remembered in her portrayal of Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz, she starred in her own Saturday morning radio show on CBS as a scatterbrain with a heart of gold.  Later she played the same character on the Eddie Cantor Radio Show, and guested a few times on TV, including two appearances on Playhouse 90.  She died May 14, 1970 at age 84.

In 1937, Bunny Berigan and his orchestra recorded "I Can’t Get Started" for Victor Records.  The tune became Berigan’s longtime theme song.

In 1941, TV station WNBT, Channel 4 in New York City, broadcast the first audience-participation show. Studio guests played charades as part of the fun.   Now known as, NewsChannel 4, the station signed on the air as WNBT on July 1, 1941, at 1:29 p.m. This historic event was the beginning of commercial television in the United States.

In 1949, Martin Kane, Private Eye was first heard on Mutual radio.
              
William Gargan starred on the Sunday afternoon program.

In 1954, "Sh-Boom" by The Crew Cuts hit #1 for 7 weeks on the Billboard Pop Music chart and showed a growing popularity of R&B music amongst the white population.  The Crew Cuts were from Toronto, but the original similarly sounding recording was by the Chords and charting at the same time.

In 1970, Christine McVie joined Fleetwood Mac as the group’s first female member. McVie was married to bass player John McVie. She quit touring with the group in 1991.

In 1974, legendary New York deejay Cousin Brucie (Bruce Morrow) did his last show on WABC, and moved over to WNBC.
              

In 1975, the Rolling Stones received a gold album for "Made in the Shade".

In 1976, the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit was "Don't Go Breaking My Heart,'' by Elton John & Kiki Dee. The song was the first on which John sings to hit No. 1 on the British charts.
              
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niUtGcyf4Jw

In 1986, the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit was "Glory of Love,'' by Peter Cetera. Cetera was a member of the group Chicago until 1982.
              
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmSJDOVGIL8

In 1993, the rap trio Cypress Hill saw their Black Sunday hit #1 on U.S. LP charts. The group, which brought a Latin flavor to hip-hop, was made up of Sen Dog (real name Senen Reyes), B-Real (real name Louis Freese) and D.J. Muggs (real name Larry Muggerud). A sampling of the cuts: I Wanna Get High, Legalize It, Hits from the Bong, Cock the Hammer, Hand on the Glock and the single smash Insane in the Brain. Said B-Real, “I never dreamed it would be number one.” Surprised us too.

In 1995, Ottawa-born Alanis Morissette's biting "You Oughta Know" soared to No. 1 on Billboard's Modern Rock chart and was the most requested tune on rock radio.

In 1996, a federal appeals court in New York ruled that two former members of Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers waited too long to claim that they were cowriters of the group’s legendary 1955 hit "Why Do Fools Fall in Love". A previous court ruling had cleared the way for royalties to go to Jimmy Merchant and Herman Santiago for writing the song with lead singer Frankie Lymon (he died of a overdose of heroin on Feb 28, 1968].

In 1997, Garth Brooks played to a crowd estimated at between 250,000 and 900,000 -- with an HBO audience of more than 15 million.
              
The crowd at the free concert, was the largest ever for a concert in New York’s Central Park. Said Garth of the preparations required, “We rehearse indoors at a place here in New York. Then we rehearse with no sound for the camera guys, so they will hopefully be in the vicinity of what’s going on. And then the rest of it’s really, man, just fly by the seat of your pants. You know, once the show starts, all the rules are out the window.”

In 1998, the 7-year-old son of Grammy-winning producer Bill Bottrell fell to his death from a cliff on the Mendocino County coast in Northern California. Bottrell's son, William, wandered away late in the afternoon and was later found at the bottom of the cliff. Bottrell won a Grammy for producing Sheryl Crow's 1994 "All I Wanna Do."

In 1999, it was Woodstock '99 all over again when violence erupted outside a Dave Matthews Band concert in Hartford, Conn. Unruly behavior in the parking lot of the Meadows Music Theater required intervention by riot police and led to a total of 55 arrests.

                
In 2005, Canadian-born ABC TV news anchor Peter Jennings succumbed to cancer at age 67.


Today's Birthdays

Writer-producer-humorist Stan Freberg is 82.

Singer Herb Reed of The Platters is 80.

Bluesman Magic Slim is 71.

Actress Verna Bloom (Animal House) is 69.

Humorist Garrison Keillor {radio's A Prairie Home Companion) is 66.

Singer B.J. Thomas is 66.

Actor John Glover is 64.

Actor David Rasche is 64.

Musician Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band is 62.

Singer Harold Hudson of The Commodores is 59.

Country singer Rodney Crowell is 58.

Actor Wayne Knight (Seinfeld) is 53.

Singer Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden is 50.

Actor David Duchovny (The X-Files) is 48.

Actress DeLane Matthews (Dave's World) is 47.

Actor Harold Perrineau (Lost, Oz) is 45.

Country singer Raul Malo of The Mavericks is 43.

Actress Sydney Penny (Thorn Birds, All My Children, St. Elsewhere) is 37.

Actress Charlize Theron (Arrested Development, Hollywood Confidential) is 33.


Chart Toppers - August 7th

1946
The Gypsy - The Ink Spots
Doin’ What Comes Naturally - Dinah Shore
They Say It’s Wonderful - Frank Sinatra
New Spanish Two Step - Bob Wills

1955
Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley & His Comets
Ain’t That a Shame - Fats Domino
Learnin’ the Blues - Frank Sinatra
I Don’t Care - Webb Pierce

1964
A Hard Day’s Night - The Beatles
The Little Old Lady (From Pasadena) - Jan & Dean
Everybody Loves Somebody - Dean Martin
Dang Me - Roger Miller

1973
The Morning After - Maureen McGovern
Live and Let Die - Wings
Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple
Lord, Mr. Ford - Jerry Reed

1982
Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
Hurts So Good - John Cougar
Abracadabra - The Steve Miller Band
Honky Tonkin’ - Hank Williams, Jr.

1991
(Everything I Do) I Do It for You - Bryan Adams
P.A.S.S.I.O.N. - Rythm Syndicate
Summertime - D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
She’s in Love with the Boy - Trisha Yearwood

2000
It’s Gonna Be Me - ’N Sync
Bent - Matchbox Twenty
I Wanna Know - Joe
I Hope You Dance - Lee Ann Womack (featuring Sons of the Desert)