Entertainment History
On April 22, 1961, the first annual Country Music Festival was held in Jacksonville, Florida. Performers included Webb Pierce, Porter Wagoner, Patsy Cline and Earl Scruggs.
In 1966, “Wild Thing” by The Troggs was released in the U.S.
In 1969, John Lennon changed his middle name from Winston to Ono.
Also in 1969, The Who performed the rock opera “Tommy” in its entirety for the first time. That show, in Dolton, England, was unannounced. They premiered it officially in London a few weeks later.
In 1974, singer Tina Turner began filming her role as the Acid Queen in the film version of “Tommy.”
In 1978, Bob Marley and The Wailers performed at the One Love Peace concert in Jamaica. It was his first public appearance in his homeland since being wounded in an assassination attempt about a year-and-a-half earlier.
Also in 1978, the Blues Brothers — John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd — made their network debut on “Saturday Night Live.” On the same show, Steve Martin performed his novelty hit “King Tut.”
In 1979, Keith Richards performed a benefit concert in Ottawa, Canada, with his band, The New Barbarians. The concert was part of his sentence for a 1977 drug arrest.
In 2003, actor Alan Thicke was hit by a puck while playing hockey. He lost five front teeth and needed 30 stitches in his face.
In 2010, Poison singer Bret Michaels was rushed to a hospital after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He was recovering from an emergency appendectomy 10 days earlier.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Jack Nicholson is 87. Singer Mel Carter is 85. Country singer Cleve Francis is 79. Director John Waters is 78. Singer Peter Frampton is 74. Singer Paul Carrack (Squeeze, Mike and the Mechanics) is 73. Actor Joseph Bottoms is 70. Actor Ryan Stiles (“The Drew Carey Show”) is 65. Comedian-turned media mogul Byron Allen is 63. Actor Chris Makepeace is 60. Guitarist Fletcher Dragge of Pennywise is 58. Actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan (“The Good Wife,” ″Grey’s Anatomy”) is 58. Actor Sheryl Lee (“Twin Peaks”) is 57. TV personality Sherri Shepherd (“The View”) is 57. Country singer Heath Wright of Ricochet is 57. Country singer Kellie Coffey is 53. Actor Eric Mabius (“Ugly Betty”) is 53. Bassist Shavo Odadjian of System Of A Down is 50. Singer-guitarist Daniel Johns of Silverchair is 45. Actor Malcolm Barrett (TV’s “Timeless”) is 44. Actor Cassidy Freeman (“Longmire,” “Smallville”) is 42. Actor Zack Gottsagen (“The Peanut Butter Falcon”) is 39. Actor Amber Heard is 38. Drummer Tripp Howell of LANCO is 35. Musician Machine Gun Kelly is 34.
