NewMexiKen

Wow, since I last posted birthdays for this date, David Carradine (1936-2009) and James MacArthur (1937-2010) have died. Both were 72.

It’s still the birthday

… of Flutist James Galway. He’s 71.

… of Jerry Butler. His precious love is 67.

… of Gregg Allman. Not such a ramblin’ man now that he’s 63.

As the principal architects of Southern rock, the Allman Brothers Band forged this new musical offshoot from elements of blues, jazz, soul, R&B and rock and roll. Along with the Grateful Dead and Cream, they help advance rock as a medium for improvisation. Their kind of jamming required a level of technical virtuosity and musical literacy that was relatively new to rock & roll, which had theretofore largely been a song-oriented medium. The original guitarists in the Allman Brothers Band – Duane Allman and Dickey Betts – broke that barrier with soaring, extended solos. Combined with organist Gregg Allman’s gruff, soulful vocals and Hammond B3 organ, plus the forceful, syncopated drive of a rhythm section that included two drummers, the Allman Brothers Band were a blues-rocking powerhouse from their beginnings in 1969.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

… of Bill Bryson. The humor writer is 59. Not much funny about that.

… of Kim Basinger. Might take her more than 9½ weeks now that she’s 57.

… of Teri Hatcher. She’s desperate at 46.

… of Sinead O’Connor. Nothing compares 2 her at 44.

Sammy Davis Jr. was born 84 years ago today.

The showman was born in a Harlem tenement, grew up in vaudeville from the age of 3 and never went to school. His talents as a mime, comedian, trumpet player, drummer, pianist and vibraphonist as well as singer and dancer were shaped from his childhood and made him one of the nation’s first black performers to gain mainstream acclaim.

With heavy jewelry around his neck and on his fingers, and clad in a snug jumpsuit or tuxedo, the short, slim showman with a broken nose, defiant jaw and big, crooked smile had a rakish charm that energized stages for decades. He sold out leading nightclubs and concert halls, won personal triumphs in such Broadway musicals as ”Mr. Wonderful” (1956) and ”Golden Boy” (1964), illumined movies and television and made scores of hit recordings with such signature songs as ”What Kind of Fool Am I?,” ”Candy Man,” ”Mr. Bojangles” and ”I’ve Gotta Be Me.”

New York Times obituary, 1990

Elzie Crisler Segar was born on this date in 1894. In 1919 he created a comic strip called Thimble Theater featuring the characters Olive Oyl, Castor Oyl and Horace Hamgravy. In 1929 he added a character called Popeye. Segar died in 1938. Popeye is still around.

Eli Whitney was born on December 8th in 1765. His invention that removed seeds from short staple cotton made him famous in history and caused the civil war. He was also an innovator in the use of interchangeable parts for mass manufacturing. As he was attempting, unsuccessfully, to mass produce firearms for the U.S. Army he also invented cost accounting.

Jeanette Rankin cast the sole vote in Congress against the U.S. declaration of war on Japan on this date in 1941. She had also voted against entry into World War I. When elected in 1916, Rankin was the first woman member of the U.S. House of Representatives. She was not re-elected in 1918, after voting against entry in the First World War, but was returned to Congress for one term in 1940. Jeanette Rankin was a social worker and a lobbyist for peace and women’s rights. She died just before her 93rd birthday in 1973. She is one of the two Montanans honored in The National Statuary Hall Collection of the U.S. Capitol.