Good News in History, July 9

Happy 49th Birthday to the “coolest, weirdest, and savviest rock stars of our time,” Jack White. Born in Detroit, his run of work with the White Stripes, Raconteurs, Dead Weather, and through to his solo work catapulted him to superstardom in the hearts of angsty teens and aging rockers alike. Much the way his fan base spanned generations, White created much of his brilliant music by connecting aspects and flavors of many great American genres from blues and Americana to punk rock. He did it with soul, and without irony; without a hint of throwback Thursday to any of it, and with complete authenticity. READ a bit more… (1975)

Winning 12 Grammy and 33 nominations, White would no doubt prefer for this column to mention how his music narrates the lives of those who have listened to it rather than listing awards. To that end, he created quite simply one of the world’s most iconic melodies with his song Seven Nation Army, a song which after becoming a smash hit for the millennial generation, is now played in pretty much every sports stadium on Earth, and very well could continue to be played long after White’s eventual death.

White has long been a proponent of analog equipment and the associated working methods. Beginning in the fifth grade, he and his childhood friend, Dominic Suchyta, would listen to records in White’s attic on weekends and began to record cover songs on an old four-track reel-to-reel tape machine. The White Stripes’ first album was largely recorded in the attic of his parents’ home.

Jack White co-founded Third Man Records (obviously he owns a record company) Using the slogan “Your Turntable’s Not Dead”, Third Man presses vinyl records, for the artists on its label, for White’s own musical ventures, as well as for third parties for hire.

The National Recording Preservation Foundation received an inaugural gift of $200,000 from White to use toward restoring and preserving deteriorating sound recordings on media such as reel-to-reel tape and old cylinders.

MORE Good News on this Day:

• The Act Against Slavery was passed in Upper Canada and the importation of slaves into Lower Canada prohibited (1793)
• Argentina declared its independence from Spain, signing a Declaration of Independence (1816)
• The first-ever Wimbledon tennis championship began as the first official lawn tennis tournament, which included men’s singles only (1877)
• Elvis Costello quit his day job at Elizabeth Arden Cosmetics to become a full-time musician (1977)
• The New Zealand Parliament passed the Homosexual Law Reform Act legalizing homosexuality in New Zealand (1986)
• Pete Sampras won his seventh Wimbledon singles title, tying the men’s record at the All England Club (2000)
• “The Office” created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, starring Ricky Gervais and Martin Freeman premiered on BBC Two in the UK (2001)
• South Sudan declared itself a nation, officially becoming independent of Sudan after two civil wars and millions of casualties (2011)

22 years ago today, The African Union was established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with its first chairman being the South African President and dear friend of Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki. With the same objectives as the UN, but dealing exclusively for Africans, its aim is to increase prosperity and “continental recognition.” Several of its founding initiatives, like the Africa Free Trade Area—the largest free trade agreement on a single continent, have greatly improved future outlooks for ordinary Africans.

The Union has had a difficult history attempting to aid in the resolution of some of the greatest challenges facing any society, including a mix of large ungovernable territories and international terrorism, and managing epidemics like HIV/AIDS, African swine and bird flus, and Ebola.

Nevertheless, other areas such as free trade as mentioned above, or justice and legal protection under the guidance of the African Charter of Human and People’s Rights, recently used to guarantee the rights of the Ogiek Community in Kenya to continue living on their ancestral land of thousands of square miles of forest, are marked improvements over previous attempts to improve conditions on an always bubbling continent. READ More… (2002)

Happy 68th Birthday to actor Tom Hanks. Known for both his dramatic and comedic roles (Big, A League of Their Own, Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail), he is one of the most popular film stars in the world—and in 2018 was the highest-grossing actor in the U.S.

Hanks collaborated with director Steven Spielberg on five films, including Saving Private Ryan and The Terminal, and is himself a director, producer, and screenwriter—and, of course, the voice of Sheriff Woody in Toy Story.

Over Hanks’s illustrious career, he has received many award nominations, including six Academy Award nods, including two consecutive wins for Best Actor for Philadelphia, and Forrest Gump.

He was awarded the Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2016, and is one of the most covered celebrities on Good News Network for his philanthropy, good deeds, and charity work. WATCH clips from his top 10 early movies… (1956)

And, 66 years ago today, Bill Haley & His Comets went to No.1 on the US singles chart with Rock Around the Clock—the first rock and roll recording to hit the top of Billboard's Pop charts. Staying at No.1 for eight weeks (and topping charts in the U.K. too) it became one of the biggest selling singles of all time. A 12-bar blues song written by Max C. Freedman and Jimmy De Knight, it was an anthem for rebellious 1950s youth and is widely considered to be the song that, more than any other, brought rock and roll into mainstream culture around the world, especially after Bill Haley & His Comets toured Europe two years later, bringing rock to that continent for the first time. With the lead singer’s spit curl and the band's matching plaid dinner jackets and energetic stage behavior, they were viewed as revolutionary in their time, much like The Beatles were a decade later. WATCH the band perform the song for dancers of the day... (1955) [raw]

 

And, 64 years ago today, 7-year-old Roger Woodward, who was wearing a life jacket, survived a 162-foot plunge over Niagara Falls after a boating accident.

Woodward, who later developed a love of boating, became a certified diver, even joined the Navy, became the first person to go over the Falls by accident and live. He had one peaceful moment during the chaotic, scary incident.

While he was going over the brink of the Falls, he said he felt like he was “floating in a cloud. I had no sensation of up or down.” Newspapers called it a “miracle” that he survived the rocky bottom of Horseshoe Falls. It may have been a “water cone” that broke his fall, a phenomenon of water and air bouncing back up from the rocks. The retired white-collar worker, who still lives in Alabama suffered only a slight concussion, scrapes, and bruises. His first word when rescued in Ontario by the tour boat at the bottom was reportedly, “Gosh”. (1960)

And, on this day in 1948, Satchel Paige, arguably the best pitcher ever to throw a baseball, became the first African-American pitcher in the newly desegregated Major Leagues. He came in as a 42-year-old rookie (the oldest ever) helping lead the Cleveland Indians to a World Championship.

Playing in the Negro Leagues for much of his career, he won an astonishing 2,000 games, pitched about 50 no-hitters and 250 shutouts. He was so good, that he was brought to the mound again at age 58 with a one-day contract and threw three shutout innings against the Boston Red Sox.

Once, against the “Down the Bay Boys”, he got into a jam in the ninth inning of a 1–0 ballgame when his teammates made three consecutive errors, loading the bases for the other team with two outs. Angry, Paige said he stomped around the mound, kicking up dirt. The fans started booing him, so he decided that “somebody was going to have to be showed up for that.” He called in his outfielders and had them sit down in the infield while, with surefire confidence, he pitched to the final batter. With the fans and his own teammates howling, Paige struck him out to win the game. WATCH a video to see him in action…

 

And, 69 years ago today, Bill Haley & His Comets went to No.1 on the US singles chart with Rock Around the Clock—the first rock and roll recording to hit the top of Billboard’s Pop charts. Staying at No.1 for eight weeks (and topping charts in the U.K. too) it became one of the biggest-selling singles of all time.

A 12-bar blues song written by Max C. Freedman and Jimmy De Knight, it was an anthem for rebellious 1950s youth and is widely considered to be the song that, more than any other, brought rock and roll into mainstream culture around the world, especially after Bill Haley & His Comets toured Europe two years later, bringing rock to that continent for the first time.

With the lead singer’s spit curl and the band’s matching plaid dinner jackets and energetic stage behavior, they were viewed as revolutionary in their time, much like The Beatles were a decade later. WATCH the band perform the song for dancers of the day… (1955)

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