February 9th

Today is the birthday

… of Roger Mudd, 84.

… of Nobel Prize-winner for literature J.M. Coetzee. He’s 72.

… of Carole King. Tonight You’re Mine Completely, You Give Your Love So Sweetly — at 70. Songs she’s written or co-written are listed at CaroleKing.com — there are three pages of titles beginning with A alone, 6 beginning with I.

Lookin’ out on the morning rain
I used to feel uninspired
And when I knew I had to face another day
Lord, it made me feel so tired

Before the day I met you, life was so unkind
But your love was the key to my peace of mind

‘Cause you make me feel
You make me feel
You make me feel like
A natural woman

One fine day
You’ll look at me
And you will know our love was meant to be
One fine day
You’re gonna want me for your girl

Stayed in bed all morning just to pass the time
There’s something wrong here, there can be no denying
One of us is changing
Or maybe we just stopped trying

And it’s too late, baby, now it’s too late
Though we really did try to make it
Something inside has died
And I can’t hide and I just can’t fake it

My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue
An everlasting vision of the ever-changing view
A wondrous, woven magic in bits of blue and gold
A tapestry to feel and see, impossible to hold

That’s her in 2010 in the video below accompanying a friend (of 40 years) on some song she wrote.

… of Joe Pesci. Tommy DeVito is no longer a “yute,” he’s 69.

… of Barbara Lewis. Baby I’m Yours and I’ll be Yours Until the Stars Fall from the Sky — or until she’s 69.

… of Alice Walker. One assumes her birthday cake is The Color Purple as she turns 68 today.

… of Mia Farrow. The former Mrs. André Previn, Mrs. Frank Sinatra and significant other of Woody Allen is 67.

… of Ciarán Hinds. The actor who played Julius Caesar on Rome is 59 today.

… of Travis Tritt. He’s 49. Here’s A Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares).

… of Julie Warner. Vialula is 47 today.

Bill Veeck, the man who brought a dwarf (Eddie Gaedel) to bat in the major leagues, was born on this date in 1914. Veeck was owner of three different major league franchises (Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns and Chicago White Sox) and created many of the publicity innovations we take for granted today. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.

Country star Ernest Tubb was born in Crisp, Texas, on February 9, 1914.

Honky-tonk singer-songwriter, movie actor, record retailer, a longtime Grand Ole Opry star, and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Ernest Dale Tubb was among the most influential and important country performers in history. Throughout his own illustrious fifty-year career he gave numerous younger stars invaluable broadcast and concert exposure.

Country Music Hall of Fame

Dean Rusk, Secretary of State in the Administrations of Kennedy and Johnson, was born February 9, 1909. I met Secretary Rusk at the Johnson Library. Unlike most high-profile board members, Rusk thought meeting the staff was a considerate thing to do.

Mary Margaret Wood was born February 9, 1892. As Peggy Wood she appeared in an early TV series “Mama” and as the head nun in The Sound of Music.

Samuel J. Tilden was born on this date in 1814. Along with Andrew Jackson in 1824 and Albert Gore in 2000, Tilden in 1876 shares the honor of winning the popular vote and having the electoral vote taken from him.

William Henry Harrison, the ninth President of the United States, and the one serving the shortest period of time — just 30 days — was born on February 9th in 1773. Harrison’s grandson, Benjamin, was the 23rd president.

The Beatles first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show 48 years ago today.

The United States went on year-around Daylight Saving Time, called War Time, on February 9, 1942 (it ended on September 30, 1945).