Today is day 362 of the Gregorian Calendar year, Boomtime, The Aftermath 70, 3186 YOLD And let us not forget 13.0.8.2.9 mlc (the Mayan Long Count)
Chocolate Candy Day, Yeah.
OK, that's over with, so on with it. A tough day today, X-Rays, Endangered Species Act, Pops Staples, Earl (Fatha) Hines, Johnny Otis, Maurice Ravel and many others, but I'm going with the Greek dude: Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes. As a kid he wanted to be a band leader, as in "big band" and he more or less did. He also had a hit with Harlem Nocturne and wrote another hit, Willie and the Hand Jive, discovered Sugar Pie DeSanto and many others, and wound up in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as Johnny Otis. Here's some of what da Wiki has to say:
Johnny Otis ... was an American singer, musician, composer, arranger, bandleader, talent scout, disc jockey, record producer, television show host, artist, author, journalist, minister, and impresario. He was a seminal influence on American R&B and rock and roll. He discovered numerous artists early in their careers who went on to become highly successful in their own right, including Little Esther Phillips, Etta James, Big Mama Thornton, Johnny Ace, Jackie Wilson, Little Willie John, Hank Ballard, and The Robins (who eventually changed their name to The Coasters), among many others. Otis has been called the "Godfather of Rhythm and Blues".
He grew up in Berkeley, CA, where he famously decided to live and perform as a member of the black community. He later wrote "As a kid I decided that if our society dictated that one had to be black or white, I would be black." His full wikipedia entry is moderately awe inspiring, as was his career and impact on R&B and Rock.
On this day in history:
1836 – Spain recognized the independence of Mexico with the signing of the Santa María–Calatrava Treaty. 1895 – Wilhelm Röntgen publishes a paper detailing his discovery of a new type of radiation, later known as x-rays. 1912 – The first municipally owned streetcars hit the streets in San Francisco. 1918 – Constance Markievicz, while detained in Holloway prison, became the first woman to be elected MP to the British House of Commons. 1973 – The United States Endangered Species Act was signed into law by Pres. Richard Nixon.
Born this day in:
There's no sense in being precise when you don't even know what you're talking about.
~~ John von Neumann 1722 – Eliza Lucas, agriculturalist 1789 – Catharine Maria Sedgwick, novelist of "domestic fiction" 1865 – Félix Vallotton, painter 1882 – Arthur Eddington, astronomer, physicist, and mathematician 1895 – Carol Ryrie Brink, author and playwright 1903 – Earl Hines, pianist and bandleader 1903 – John von Neumann, mathematician and physicist 1910 – Billy Williams, singer 1914 – Pops Staples, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1921 – Johnny Otis, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, and producer 1922 – Stan Lee, publisher, producer, and actor 1928 – Moe Koffman, flute player, saxophonist, and composer 1932 – Dorsey Burnette, singer and songwriter 1938 – Dick Sudhalter, trumpet player, scholar, and critic 1944 – Sandra Faber, astronomer and academic 1944 – Kary Mullis, biochemist and academic 1946 – Edgar Winter, singer, songwriter, keyboard player, and producer 1947 – Dick Diamonde, bass player 1948 – Ziggy Modeliste, drummer 1950 – Alex Chilton, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1950 – Clifford Cocks, mathematician and cryptographer 1953 – Charlie Pierce, journalist and author 1953 – Martha Wash, singer and songwriter 1954 – Gayle King, television journalist 1954 – Denzel Washington, actor, director, and producer 1955 – Liu Xiaobo, author, academic, and activist 1962 – Michel Petrucciani, jazz pianist 1964 – Tex Perkins, singer and songwriter 1969 – Linus Torvalds, computer programmer, developed Linux kernel 1974 – Jocelyn Enriquez, singer 1981 – Elizabeth Jordan Carr, journalist 1981 – Frank Turner, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1989 – Salvador Sobral, singer and Eurovision winner
Died this day in:
Interpretation is the revenge of the intellectual upon art.
~~ Susan Sontag 1503 – Piero the Unfortunate, ruler 1663 – Francesco Maria Grimaldi, mathematician and physicist 1706 – Pierre Bayle, philosopher and author 1795 – Eugenio Espejo, physician, lawyer, and polemicist 1859 – Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, historian and politician 1890 – Dennis Miller Bunker, painter 1916 – Eduard Strauss, violinist and composer 1918 – Olavo Bilac, poet and journalist 1919 – Johannes Rydberg, physicist and academic 1935 – Clarence Day, author and illustrator 1937 – Maurice Ravel, pianist and composer 1945 – Theodore Dreiser, novelist and journalist 1959 – Ante Pavelic, Ustaše war criminal, part of the case against Pius XII 1963 – Paul Hindemith, violinist, composer, and conductor 1983 – Dennis Wilson, the only Beach Boy who surfed, drummer, songwriter, and producer 1986 – John D. MacDonald, author 1989 – Hermann Oberth, physicist and engineer 1992 – Sal Maglie, barber 1993 – William L. Shirer, journalist and historian 1999 – Clayton Moore, Kee Mo Sah Bay 2004 – Susan Sontag, novelist, essayist, critic, and playwright 2008 – Irene Lieblich, painter and illustrator 2010 – Billy Taylor, pianist and composer 2012 – Mark Crispin, computer scientist and academic, designed the IMAP 2014 – Leelah Alcorn, transgender teenager 2015 – John Bradbury, drummer and songwriter 2015 – Lemmy, musician, singer, and songwriter 2016 – Debbie Reynolds, actress, singer and dancer
Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such: National Chocolate Candy Day National Download Day National Call a Friend Day National Short Film Day National Card Playing Day
Music goes here, iirc, well, With apologies ;-)
It's an open thread, so do your thing
Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com