Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe (Oct. 17) Today's birthdays include Jim Seals of Seals and Crofts and Alan Howard of Brian Poole and The Tremeloes, both born in 1941 (age 61); Gary Puckett of Gary Puckett and the Union Gap in 1942 (age 60); James Tucker of the Turtles in 1946 (age 56); Spinal Tap's David St. Hubbins (actor Michael McKean) in 1947 (age 55); Ziggy Marley, son of the late reggae star Bob Marley and a reggae musician in his own right, in 1968 (age 34); and Wyclef Jean in 1969 (age 33). Advertisement Today's musical milestones: In 1967, "Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical" opened at the Public Theater in New York's East Village. It later moved to Broadway for an extended run. Advertisement In 1972, Billy Williams died at age 62. He had a hit single in 1957 with "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter." In 1974, Olivia Newton-John topped the U.S. album charts for the first time with "If You Love Me, Let Me Know." In 1975, Maurice Gibb married his second wife, Yvonne Spencely, whom he had met shortly after separating from his first wife, Lulu. In 1979, Fleetwood Mac released the first single from "Tusk," the follow-up album to the group's record-setting "Rumours" album. In 1985, Sean Penn -- then married to Madonna -- pleaded no contest to charges he assaulted two reporters in Nashville. He was fined $15 and given a 90-day suspended sentence. In 1990, for the first time, the No. 1 album in the United States was only available on CD or cassette -- and could not be found on vinyl. The album was Vanilla Ice's "To The Extreme." Also in 1990, Steppenwolf's 1968 single "Born To Be Wild" re-entered the top-10 in the Netherlands. In 1991, John Mellencamp was hospitalized in Seattle after nearly passing out during a live radio performance. The incident occured on the last day of a four-week promotional tour. He was released the next day and told to go home and take it easy. Advertisement Also in 1991, Jordan Knight of the New Kids On The Block was charged with ordering his bodyguard to beat up a heckler outside a Boston nightclub four months earlier. And in 1991, "Tennessee" Ernie Ford died of liver disease in a Reston, Va., hospital. He was 72. In 1994, Canadian police found the bodies of three young men in a storage building near Vancouver. A diary at the scene said they'd killed themselves in despair over the suicide of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. In 1995, Bruce Springsteen joined Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers on stage for a 100-minute-long set at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, N.J. That's the club where "The Boss" had started out. Also in 1995, a London court sentenced Sting's ex-accountant to six years in prison for stealing more than $9 million from the rocker. In 1996, Chuck Berry made a rare public appearance at a St. Louis nightclub. At midnight, on his 70th birthday, the audience sang "Happy Birthday" to him. In 1997, more than 2,000 people jammed an Aurora, Colo., church for John Denver's funeral service. He'd died Oct. 12 in a plane crash. Advertisement In 1999, country legend Johnny Cash was readmitted to Baptist Hospital in Nashville, suffering from pneumonia. He had nearly died from the illness a year earlier. In 2000, at an auction at the Hard Rock Café in London, George Michael paid $2.2 million for the upright Steinway piano on which John Lennon composed "Imagine" and then donated it to the Beatles Story Museum in Liverpool. Also in 2000, the Squirrel Nut Zippers' fifth album, "Bedlam Ballroom," hit stores. And in 2000, the first release from Marilyn Manson's newly formed label, Posthuman Records, was the soundtrack to the film "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2." Topping the charts on this date: It's All in the Game --Tommy Edwards (1958), Reach Out I'll Be There -- Four Tops (1966), I Honestly Love You -- Olivia Newton-John (1974), Jack & Diane -- John Cougar (1982). Today's musical quiz: This member of the Fugees sang at the memorial service for John F. Kennedy, Jr., in 1999. Who? Answer: Wyclef Jean.
