DEATHS
1965 Bill Black, who backed Elvis Presley on his early hits, died of a brain tumor at the age of 39. After leaving Elvis, he formed Bill Black’s Combo and placed 8 hits in the US Top 40, including “White Silver Sands” in 1960.
2003 Teddy Randazzo, a Rock icon from the 1950s who composed classic hit songs such as “Goin’ Out of My Head” and “Hurt So Bad”, passed away at the age of 68.

HISTORY
1871 - M.F. Galethe patented the cigar lighter.
1942 - The Alaska highway across Canada was formally opened.

ENTERTAINMENT
1955 - Elvis Presley agrees to let Col. Tom Parker be his manager. Not really a colonel, Parker was a flamboyant promoter whose previous experience includes The Great Parker Pony Circus and Tom Parker and His Dancing Turkeys and is a veteran of carnivals, medicine shows and various other entertainment enterprises.

1960 - “Stay” by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs topped the Billboard chart. At just one minute, 37 seconds long, it is the shortest number one song in Rock and Roll history.

1960 - Neil Sedaka performed “Calendar Girl” on “American Bandstand.”

1960 - Call this Ray Charles’ heyday. He has four singles on the Billboard Hot 100 “Georgia on My Mind” (No. 5), “Ruby” (No. 51), “Hard Hearted Hannah” (No. 66), and “Come Rain or Come Shine” (No. 95).

1962 - The Elvis Presley film “Girls! Girls! Girls!” opened in the U.S.

1980 - An estimated 83 million viewers tuned in to find out “who shot J.R.” on the CBS prime-time soap opera Dallas. Kristin was the character that fired the gun.

2003 - The Dells are inducted as members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame