On Aug. 9, 1963, the British TV show “Ready Steady Go” premiered. Most of Britain’s most popular bands appeared on the show.
Also in 1963, singer Whitney Houston was born in Newark, New Jersey.
In 1967, concert officials at the Sunbury Jazz and Blues Festival in England asked Jerry Lee Lewis to leave the stage because they thought the crowd had gotten too wild during Lewis’ performance.
In 1969, actor Sharon Tate and four other people were found brutally murdered in Tate’s Los Angeles home. Cult leader Charles Manson and a group of his followers were later convicted of the crime.
In 1978, bluesman Muddy Waters performed for President Jimmy Carter at a White House picnic.
In 1995, Grateful Dead singer and guitarist Jerry Garcia died of a heart attack while undergoing drug rehabilitation. He was 53.
In 1999, guitarist Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs quit Oasis. Barely two weeks later, bassist Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan quit.
Today’s Birthdays: Jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette is 82. Comedian David Steinberg is 82. Actor Sam Elliott is 80. Singer Barbara Mason is 77. Actor Melanie Griffith is 67. Actor Amanda Bearse (“Married…With Children”) is 66. Rapper Kurtis Blow is 65. “Today” co-host Hoda Kotb is 60. Actor Pat Petersen (“Knots Landing”) is 58. Actor Gillian (JIL’-ee-an) Anderson (“The X-Files”) is 56. Actor Eric Bana (“Star Trek,” ″The Hulk”) is 56. News correspondent Chris Cuomo is 54. Actor Thomas Lennon (″Reno 911!”) is 54. Bassist Arion Salazar (Third Eye Blind) is 54. Rapper Mack 10 is 53. Singer Juanes is 52. Actor Liz Vassey (“CSI,” ″All My Children”) is 52. Actor Kevin McKidd (“Grey’s Anatomy”) is 51. Actor Rhona Mitra (“Nip/Tuck,” “Boston Legal”) is 49. Actor Jessica Capshaw (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Practice”) is 48. Actor Ashley Johnson (“The Help”) is 41. Actor Anna Kendrick (“Pitch Perfect,” ″Twilight”) is 39.
The Meeker County Board of Commissioners approved of a moratorium this week on cannabis businesses. The moratorium will give the Board time to make sure they get an effective ordinance in place prior to January 1st of 2025.
Meeker County Sheriff Brian Cruze says the State of Minnesota legalized marijuana as of August 1st of last year, and there were arguments that it reduces crime, but the data, from states that have legalized marijuana, show that crime numbers have increased. He says you can now legally grow 8 marijuana plants (4 of them mature), and use it yourself or give it away – and only in your own home or a private setting, but it’s not legal to sell it at this point, which is giving the black market a foothold before the laws for selling it legally are put into place.
Sheriff Cruze says it is legal to sell hemp-derived products such as gummies with low levels of THC, but not marijuana which has a high potency of THC. He says you can’t drive if you are under the influence of marijuana, just like drinking, but it can be difficult to test a driver to determine if they are under the influence of marijuana.
Sheriff Cruze says marijuana stays in your system for several days, so you may not be high or impaired, but it would still show up on a test. He says when it becomes legal to sell marijuana, there will likely be more marijuana-related calls to law enforcement and other related crimes and they will just deal with it because that’s what they do.
The annual Twine Ball celebration will be held tomorrow in Darwin. Several events are scheduled to help celebrate the town’s main claim to fame – the Largest Ball of Twine – created by one man (Francis Johnson) – in the world.
Saturday activities will begin in Darwin with the Twine K Run at 7:30 a.m., followed by sand volleyball at 8, kid’s pedal pull at 10, the All Saints raffle from 9-to-2 and a craft fair from 9-to-3. There will be a bean bag tournament Saturday in Darwin at 11, the Grand Day Parade at 12:30, and Minn-E-Rods at 2 p.m. There will be several food vendors in Darwin on Saturday.
On Aug. 8, 1960, Decca Records in Britain destroyed 25,000 copies of the song “Tell Laura I Love Her” by Ray Peterson. The company said the song was “too tasteless and vulgar for the English sensibility.”
In 1970, singer Bessie Smith received a marker for her grave in Philadelphia, 33 years after her death. Janis Joplin cited Smith as one of her influences and bought the marker for the grave.
In 1975, singer Hank Williams Jr. suffered nearly-fatal head injuries when he fell while mountain climbing in southern Montana.
In 1982, singer Mickey Thomas of Jefferson Starship married Sara Kendrick in San Francisco.
In 1986, singer David Crosby was paroled from a Texas prison. He had been serving time for drug and weapons charges.
In 1992, Metallica singer James Hetfield was injured by a stage explosion at a concert in Montreal. At that same show, Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose lost his voice and cut short their set. Fans rioted when the concert ended early.
In 1996, singer Mel Torme was hospitalized after a stroke that left his left side weakened and affected his speech.
In 1999, violence broke out for the second night in a row in the parking lot outside a Dave Matthews Band concert in Hartford, Connecticut. Police say people outside the show threw bottles and rocks.
In 2001, actors Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were divorced after 11 years of marriage.
In 2004, a bus driver for the Dave Matthews Band dumped human waste from the bus into the Chicago River and onto a tour boat carrying more than 100 passengers. The band later settled with the state of Illinois, and the driver pleaded guilty to reckless conduct and pollution charges.
In 2017, singer Glen Campbell died in Nashville, Tennessee, after battling Alzheimer’s disease. He was 81.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Nita Talbot is 94. Actor Dustin Hoffman is 87. Actor Connie Stevens is 86. Country singer Phil Balsley of The Statler Brothers is 85. Actor Larry Wilcox (“CHiPS”) is 77. Actor Keith Carradine (“Madam Secretary”) is 75. Drummer Anton Fig (“Late Show With David Letterman”) is 71. Actor Donny Most (“Happy Days”) is 71. Keyboardist Dennis Drew of 10,000 Maniacs is 67. Actor-turned-investment banker Harry Crosby (“Friday the 13th”) is 66. News anchor Deborah Norville is 66. Guitarist The Edge of U2 is 63. Drummer Rikki Rockett of Poison is 63. Rapper Kool Moe Dee is 62. Singer Scott Stapp of Creed is 51. Country singer Mark Wills is 51. Actor Kohl Sudduth (TV’s “Jesse Stone” movies) is 50. Guitarist Tom Linton of Jimmy Eat World is 49. Singer J.C. Chasez of ‘N Sync is 48. Actor Tawny Cypress (“Heroes”) is 48. Singer Drew Lachey of 98 Degrees is 48. Singer Marsha Ambrosius (Floetry) is 47. Actor Lindsay Sloane (“Sabrina the Teenage Witch”) is 47. Actor Countess Vaughn (“The Parkers,” ″Moesha”) is 46. Actor Michael Urie (“Ugly Betty”) is 44. Actor Meagan Good (“Think Like A Man”) is 43. Guitarist Eric Howk of Portugal. The Man is 43. Actor Jackie Cruz (“Orange Is The New Black”) is 40. Actor Ken Baumann (“The Secret Life of the American Teenager”) is 35. Singer Shawn Mendes is 26. Actor Bebe Wood (“The Real O’Neals”) is 23.