Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe (Sept. 2) Today's musical birthdays include Sam Gooden of the Impressions, who was born in 1939 (age 63; Jimmy Clanton in 1940 (age 62); Maria Muldaur in 1942 (age 60); Rosalind Ashford of Martha and the Vandellas in 1943 (age 59); keyboardist Marty Grebb of The Buckinghams in 1946 (age 56); Steve Porcaro, formerly with Toto, in 1957 (age 45); Simply Red's Fritz McIntyre in 1958 (age 44); and k.d. lang in 1961 (age 42). Advertisement Today's musical milestones: In 1931, Bing Crosby's first radio show, "15 Minutes with Bing Crosby," debuted on CBS. In 1970, Genesis ran an ad in "Melody Maker." Phil Collins answered it and joined the group. In 1978, George Harrison married Olivia Trinidad Arias. They'd met in 1974 when Olivia worked as a secretary for Dark Horse Records in Los Angeles. Advertisement In 1982, the house in Surrey, England, owned by Rolling Stone Keith Richards was badly damaged by fire for the second time in nine years. In 1986, former backing singer Cathy Evelyn Smith was sentenced to three years in prison for giving John Belushi the lethal combination of cocaine and heroin -- known as a "speedball" -- that killed him. In 1988, a worldwide charity tour to raise funds for Amnesty International was launched with a concert in London featuring Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Peter Gabriel and Tracy Chapman, among others. In 1993, Pearl Jam and En Vogue were the big winners at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles. Also in 1993, a spokeswoman for Paisley Park Records denied reports that The Artist Formerly Known As Prince now wanted to be called "Victor." In 1994, the promoters of Woodstock '94 announced refunds for those people who bought tickets but were turned away because of thw crowds. On this day in 1995, Michael Jackson's newly released single, "You Are Not Alone," entered Billboard's Hot 100 in the No. 1 spot, the first song in history to debut at the top of the chart. Advertisement Also in 1995, an all-star line-up -- including Bruce Springsteen, the Allman Brothers, Aretha Franklin, Sheryl Crow, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Melissa Etheridge, John Mellencamp, and Bon Jovi -- performed at a concert marking the opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. Also in 1995, country singer Reba McEntire made history when her new song "On My Own" became the first single shipped through cyberspace to country music radio stations. And in 1995, the fourth annual Hog Farm PIGnic in Northern California turned into a two-day celebration of the late Grateful Dead founder Jerry Garcia, who'd died the previous month. In 1998, Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan pleaded innocent to charges that he assaulted a security guard during a concert the previous month (Aug. 15) in Pontiac, Mich. Also in 1998, the Temptations immortalized their famous dance steps in cement at the Motown Cafe in New York City. In 2000, Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell married actress Leighanne Wallace, 25, in Atlanta. Littrell's four bandmates attended the wedding at the Peachtree Christian Church. Advertisement Today's musical quiz: The original members of the Impressions included these two musicians. Who? Answer: Jerry "the Ice Man" Butler and Curtis Mayfield.
