Wednesday, May 3, 2006

Spotlight
Happy 73rd birthday to James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul." After a stint in jail for armed robbery, Brown turned to music, joining a rhythm and blues group called The Famous Flames. Their first single, "Please, Please, Please," was a million-selling hit and reached #5 on the R & B charts. Brown continued to be popular in the southern US, and in 1963 the recording of his performance "Live at the Apollo" made him a nationwide success. It was among four of Brown's albums to be included in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all times. In 2003, Brown was a Kennedy Center Honoree.

Quote
"The one thing that can solve most of our problems is dancing." – James Brown

Word of the day
funk: in music, a style with syncopated rhythms and a heavy bass line; James Brown was an originator of funk. (© )

Holiday
Yom Ha'atzma'ut (Israeli Independence Day)

Today's News

• Mission: Impossible III: LA Times dispensers are rigged to play theme song; readers think they're bombs (story)
• David Blaine: is spending the week in a water-filled sphere in front of Lincoln Center (story)
• Malaysia: 33-year-old man weds woman, 104 (story)

Today's History

• Jamaica: Christopher Columbus sighted the lush island while seeking China (1494)
• Nellie Tayloe Ross: the nation's first female governor was appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt as director of the US Mint — another first for women (1933)
• UN Human Rights Commission: the US lost its seat for the first time in over 50 years (2001)

Today's Birthdays

• Golda Meir: fourth prime minister of Israel (1898-1978)
• Pete Seeger: singer, songwriter and activist, "Little Boxes," "Turn Turn Turn," "If I Had a Hammer" (87)
• Dulé Hill: Charlie on The West Wing, also in Holes (32)