BIRTHDAYS-Abraham Lincoln and
Charles Darwin are born on the same day in 1809, although an ocean apart;
Austrian Emperor Francis II, Thaddeusz Kosciuszko, Joe Garagiola, Luigi
Boccherini, John L. Lewis, Bill Russell, Franco Zeffirelli, Lorne Greene, Joe
Don Baker, Arsenio Hall, Christina Ricci is 35, Josh Brolin is 47.
1924- RHAPSODY IN BLUE- Band leader Paul Whiteman had commissioned a
rhapsody for Jazz Band from the famous composer George Gershwin. Tonight at a
concert at the Aeolian Hall in New York City it premiered in a long bill of
"Modern Music". Also on the bill was jazz interpretations of
"Yes We have no Bananas" and "Kitten on the Keys." Sergei
Rachmaninoff, Fritz Kriesler, Igor Stravinsky and Leopold Stokowski were in
attendance.
Interestingly enough Gershwin’s
orchestrator was Ferde Grofe’ the composer famous for the Grand Canyon Suite.
It was Grofes’ idea to bring in a jazzman named Ross Gorman to do the opening
clarinet solo. While rehearsing the piece Gorman took Gershwin’s opening 17
note ascent and ‘smeared’ the riff to the long high note, creating the famous
opening. Gershwin liked it so much he told him to play it always that way.
Gershwin was originally going to
call his piece Concert Rhapsody for Jazz Band & Piano or American Rhapsody but
his brother Ira Gershwin was inspired by some Whistler paintings he saw
recently at a museum called Nocturne in Blue and Green and Harmony in Grey and
Green. He suggested Rhapsody in Blue.
1947- THE BIRTH OF THE 'NEW LOOK'
The Paris fashion show where designer Christian Dior defined the look for women
of the 1950s into the early 60's: Wasp waists, gloves and patent leather
accessories, pleated mid length skirts.
1964- Miles Davis and his band
played Carnegie Hall.
1994-"WHY ME! WHY ME?!"
The Winter Olympics at Lillehammer began, which are remembered mainly for
figure skater Tanya Harding hiring a hit man to break her rival Nancy Kerrigan's kneecaps with a steel pipe.
Despite all the hub-bubb the gold was won by Ukrainian skater Oksana Baiyul who
was arrested a year later for drunk driving.
Nancy Kerrigan signed a
multi-million dollar endorsement contract with Disney, which she succeeded in
blowing within a month by making fun of Disneyworld during a parade. Within
range of a microphone she whispered." This is all so corny!" When
someone asked if Tanya Harding could get any commercial endorsements, it was
pointed out that she's an asthmatic who smokes Marlboros.
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