Richard Nixon was born 99 years ago today.
It is also the birthday
… of Judith Krantz, 84. She published her first novel at age 50.
… of Bart Starr. The hall-of-fame quarterback is 78.
… of Dick Enberg. The sportscaster is 77 (oh, my!).
… of Joan Báez. The singer is 71. Her parents were born in Mexico and Scotland. Joan was born on Staten Island, New York.
… of Jimmy Page. The Led Zeppelin rocker is 68.
Combining the visceral power and intensity of hard rock with the finesse and delicacy of British folk music, Led Zeppelin redefined rock in the Seventies and for all time. They were as influential in that decade as the Beatles were in the prior one. Their impact extends to classic and alternative rockers alike. Then and now, Led Zeppelin looms larger than life on the rock landscape as a band for the ages with an almost mystical power to evoke primal passions. The combination of Jimmy Page’s powerful, layered guitar work, Robert Plant’s keening, upper-timbre vocals, John Paul Jones’ melodic bass playing and keyboard work, and John Bonham’s thunderous drumming made for a band whose alchemy proved enchanting and irresistible. “The motto of the group is definitely, ‘Ever onward,’” Page said in 1977, perfectly summing up Led Zeppelin’s forward-thinking philosophy.
… of Brenda Gayle Webb. Loretta Lynn’s little sister Crystal Gayle is 61.
… of J.K. Simmons. He’s 57. He’s seen on The Closer and Law & Order as Dr. Skoda, and was terrific, I thought, as Juno’s dad. He’s very good in a small role in Up in the Air, too.
… of New York Times Pulitizer Prize winning book critic Michiko Kakutani. She is 57 today.
… of Muggsy Bogues, shortest player ever in the NBA at 5-foot, three. Bogues is 47 today.
… of Dave Matthews. He’s 45.
… of Chad Ochocinco. He’s Tres-Quatro.
… of Sergio Garcia, 32.
Gilligan (and Maynard Krebs) was born on this date in 1935. That’s Bob Denver, who died in 2005.
Lee Van Cleef, the Bad in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, was born on January 9, 1925. He died in 1989 (but the Good and the Ugly are still alive).
iTunes was announced 11 years ago today; the iPhone five years ago today.