Headlines & Tidbits from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s & 80s
American Experience:
1945 – Japan surrenders unconditionally to end WW II on Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day)
1969 – The Woodstock Music and Art Fair opened on Friday August 15 at Max Yasgur’s Dairy Farm in upstate New York. 450,000 people met to watch two-dozen bands play music for 3 straight days. It was a happening like no other in a time of American history that no one will ever forget.
Movies & TV:
1939 – “Wizard of Oz” premieres at Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Hollywood.
1948 – “Candid Camera” with Allen Funt debuts on ABC TV.
1948 – CBS_TV broadcast the first nightly news show with Douglas Edwards as anchorman.
1964 – The Beatles’ “A Hard Days Night” opens in New York City.
1981 – “The Waltons” last broadcast took place on CBS-TV.
Music & Radio:
1952 – Willie Mae Thornton (Big Mama) recorded the original version of Hound Dog that Elvis Presley brought to superstardom 4 years later.
1958 – Elvis Presley’s single Hard Headed Woman went gold.
1962 – Ringo Starr replaces Pete Best as the Beatles drummer
1965 – “I Got You Babe” by Sonny & Cher hits#1
1966 – The Beatles play their final tour show in the US at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
1967 – Fleetwood Mac made their stage debut at the National Blues and Jazz Festival in Great Britain.
1974 – Ramones concert debut at New York City’s CBGBs.
1981 – Endless Love by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie hit #1 and stayed there for 9 weeks.
1985 – The album Like A Virgin by Madonna sold five million copies, making it the first solo album by a female artist to do this.
The Arts:
1987 – A Chorus Line celebrated its 5,000th performance.
Celebrity Headlines:
1958 – Buddy Holly weds Maria Santiago
1977 – August 16th. Elvis Presley dies, leaving his family and millions of fans devastated.
1985 – Madonna weds Sean Penn
Sports:
1935 – Babe Ruth played his final game at Fenway Park, with 41,766 fans packed in to see him.
1935 – The first trans-continental roller derby match took place at the Coliseum in Chicago, IL. 25 teams had to skate 3,000 miles. It took the winning team, Clarice Martin and Bernie McKay, over a month of grueling 11 ½ hour days to finish the derby on September 22.
1948 – Babe Ruth, Baseball legend (NY Yankees), dies in NY at 53
1951 – The 1st baseball game in color was broadcast on TV (Braves vs Dodgers) (WCBS-NYC)
1954 – The first issue of Sports Illustrated magazine reached newsstands
1970 – Patricia Palinkas became the first woman to play in a professional football league game. She held the ball for the placement kickers of the Orlando Panthers.
Technology & Inventions:
1953 – The Wiffle Ball was invented by David Mullany and his son. They had been trying to invent a ball that would curve at every throw.
1981 – IBM, International Business Machines, introduced the personal computer Model 5150 PC with PC-DOS version 1.0. It cost $1,565.00. The PC was very popular and soon IBM was the #1 computer company, with Apple slipping to #2.
Automobile News:
1954 – Workers at the Studebaker automotive factory agreed to pay cuts of $12 – $20 a week to try and help the company to stay afloat. Ford, Chrysler and General Motors eventually drive Studebaker out of business.
Famous Birthdays:
1930 – Don Ho (Donald Tai Loy Ho), singer, entertainer and host of The Don Ho Show.
1941 – David Crosby from Crosby, Stills & Nash
1957 – Richie Ramone, drummer for The Ramones
1958 – Madonna (Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone)
1959 – Magic (Earvin Jr.) Johnson, basketball star
1960 – Timothy Hutton, actor
1961 – Susan Olson, actress, Cindy on The Brady Bunch
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