Today is the birthday
… of Roger Mudd, 83.
… of Nobel Prize-winner for literature J.M. Coetzee. He’s 71.
… of Carole King. Tonight You’re Mine Completely, You Give Your Love So Sweetly — at 69. 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 tiredBefore 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 tryingAnd 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 last year 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 68.
… of Barbara Lewis. Baby I’m Yours and I’ll be Yours Until the Stars Fall from the Sky — or until she’s 67.
… of Alice Walker. One assumes her birthday cake is The Color Purple as she turns 67 today.
… of Mia Farrow. The former Mrs. André Previn, Mrs. Frank Sinatra and significant other of Woody Allen is 66.
… of Senator Jim Webb, 64.
… of Travis Tritt. He’s 48. Here’s A Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares).
… of Julie Warner. Vialula is 46 today.
… of the newest Oriole, Vladimir Guerrero. He’s 36.
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. As told in the first chapter of Veeck’s autobiography, Veeck as in Wreck: “When Eddie went into that crouch, his strike zone was just about visible to the naked eye. I picked up a ruler and measured it for posterity. It was 1-1/2 inches. Marvelous.”
Dean Rusk, Secretary of State in the Administrations of Kennedy and Johnson, was born 102 years ago today. 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.
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.