On this day in music, March 28, 1981, Blondie scored their fourth No.1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Rapture.” Their 20th single, which appeared on album Autoamerican, spent two weeks at the top spot and broke ground as the first No.1 hit in the US to feature a rap section. Combining new wave and disco elements, plus rapping by frontwoman Debbie Harry, the song also gave a shout-out to hip-hop trailblazers like Fab Five Freddy (who made a cameo in the music video) and Grandmaster Flash. In addition to Freddy, the video for “Rapture” featured appearances by NYC graffiti artist Lee Quiñones and downtown art sensation Jean-Michel Basquiat.
In 2014, tickets for Kate Bush’s Before The Dawn series of concerts sold out in less than 15 minutes. Scheduled to take place in August and September of that year, the dates marked the London singer-songwriter’s first live shows since her Tour Of Life performances in 1979. Such was the demand, that Bush’s website, along with those of some ticket agencies, crashed. The singer, who said she was “completely overwhelmed by the response,” added seven extra dates to her itinerary.
In 2018, George Ezra’s second studio album, Staying at Tamara’s, topped the UK charts. It was that year’s biggest-selling album in the UK and was nominated for British Album of the Year at the 2019 BRIT Awards.
In 1974, 69-year-old blues singer and guitarist, Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, died of a stroke. Crudup scored six Top 10 R&B hits in the 1940s, including “Rock Me Mama,” but was best known for 1947’s “That’s All Right,” which Elvis Presley popularized in 1954 by releasing it as his debut single for Sun Records.
In 1970, folk duo Simon & Garfunkel scored their sole UK No.1 with “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”
In 2021, British record producer and electronics boffin Malcolm Cecil died at the age of 84. Although he began his music career as a jazz bassist, Cecil was best remembered for his pioneering synthesizer programming work alongside fellow producer Robert Margouleff. Together, they worked on albums by Stevie Wonder, including 1973’s Inner Visions. During the same decade, Cecil contributed his sonic magic to records by the Isley Brothers, Gil Scott-Heron, and Steve Hillage.
In 2001, the hip-hop artist, producer, and record executive born Sean Combs, who went under the stage names Puffy and Puff Daddy, told MTV that in the future, he wanted to be known as P. Diddy. Four years later, he simplified his name to “Diddy.”
In 1964, London’s waxworks museum Madame Tussauds honored pop stars for the first time by unveiling lifelike sculptures of The Beatles.
BORN ON MARCH 28
1941: Charlie McCoy (Harmonica player)
1945: Chuck Portz (The Turtles)
1948: Milan Williams (The Commodores)
1954: Reba McEntire
1965: Steve Turner (Mudhoney)
1969: Cheryl “Salt” James (Salt-N-Pepa)
1976: Dave Keuning (The Killers)
1986: Lady Gaga
The Litchfield Lions Club will be collecting food on Saturday from 9-to-3 at Walmart and at Family Fare in Litchfield. The food and cash collected will be donated to the Meeker Area Food Shelf.
Lions member Brian Cross says the Lions will hand out sheets with suggestions for items to be purchased and donated, and cash is also welcome. He says they will deliver the donations directly to the Food Shelf.
Cross says the Lions Club meets on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month at Prospects and new members are welcome to join. He says they will be having a fundraising breakfast early in April and will have their fly-in breakfast later this summer at the Litchfield Municipal Airport.
Food Shelf Coordinator Jamie Revermann says donations of food and cash are especially welcome this month as Minnesota Food Share provides a match to food shelves depending on the donations they’ve received during their March campaigns. She says the need is especially great right now with more and more families depending on the Meeker Area Food Shelf.
Revermann says the Litchfield Lions Club collected 2,600 pounds of food during their food drive last year. She says the food that is donated this month really helps the Food Shelf as the demand will be picking up as summer approaches and kids are home from school. Donations of food and cash may be delivered to the Meeker Area Food Shelf at 118 North Sibley Avenue in Litchfield, and remember the Lions Food Drive on Saturday from 9-to-3 at Walmart and at Family Fare in Litchfield.
The Roast Beef Dinner in the Forest City Threshers Dining Hall will be on Sunday from 11-to-2. Proceeds from the event will help with the continuing restoration project of the depot building.
Frank Berg says the project at the depot has been going on for 3 years and they’re hoping to get it finished this summer. He says they will be replacing some storm windows and painting the outside of the building.
Berg says they could use some volunteers to help with the painting and with other projects at the Threshing grounds. He says it takes a lot of volunteer help throughout the summer to get ready for their annual show the third weekend of August, and it takes lots of help that weekend too.
Butch Schulte says the depot building includes post office boxes, a telegraph line, hand-cranked telephone, and Rich Dollerschell has his model railroad in the porch. He says the roast beef dinner on Sunday will include Craig Kimmerle playing the piano, and a delicious meal for $15.
Schulte says they would like to thank First District Association, Ag Country Farm Credit Services and Michael Niedzielski of Farm Bureau for their contributions that will make the roast beef dinner possible. He says take-outs will be available, but it’s not drive-through.
Historical Events
1953 – “New Faces (of 1952)” closes at Royale Theater NYC after 365 performances
1969 – Greek poet and Nobel Prize laureate Giorgos Seferis makes a famous statement on the BBC World Service opposing the junta in Greece
1992 – 6th American Comedy Award: Cathy Ladman, Judy Watkins, Billy Crystal
1993 – Type II supernova detected in M81 (NGC 3031)
2023 – Chris Sharma completes the first redpoint of Sleeping Lion in Siurana, Spain, a 9b+ (5.15c) route
2024 – Bus crash kills 45 Easter pilgrims from Botswana in South Africa, with one child surviving a 50 meter drop off the Mmamatlakala bridge, near Mokopane
Famous Birthdays
1741 – Johann Andre, German composer, born in Offenbach, Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1799)
1907 – Irving “Swifty” Lazar, American talent agent, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1993)
1919 – Tom Brooks, Australian cricket umpire (23 Tests 1970-78), born in Paddington, Australia (d. 2007)
1926 – Polly Umrigar, Indian cricket all-rounder and captain (59 Tests, 12 x 100, HS 223, 35 wickets; Bombay, Gujarat), born in Solapur, India (d. 2006)
1945 – Hans Brunhart, Leader of Liechtenstein (1978-93), born in Balzers, Liechtenstein
1973 – Umaga [Edward Fatu], Samoan-American professional wrestler, born in American Samoa (d.2009)
Famous Deaths
1847 – Mariano Rodríguez de Ledesma, Spanish composer, dies at 67
1865 – Albert G Bilders, Dutch landscape painter, dies at 26
1941 – Virginia Woolf, British author (Jacob’s Room, To the Lighthouse), commits suicide at 59
1984 – Benjamin Mays, African-American educator (Morehouse, Howard University) and civil rights leader, dies at 89
1991 – Carlos Montalbán, Mexican-American character actor (Bananas), dies at 86
1992 – Josef Matej, Czech composer, dies at 70
Hennepin Healthcare System CEO Jennifer DeCubellis announced Wednesday that she will step down in May, after more than five years on the job.
DeCubellis took the lead of the state’s biggest safety net hospital system in early 2020, just weeks before Minnesota confirmed its first cases of COVID-19.
“Every leader has a season,” DeCubellis said in a statement to the organization’s board of directors. “We are all destined for a specific purpose, and a strong leader passes the baton when the time is right. That time for me is now.”
In an announcement of her plans to leave, Hennepin Healthcare leaders credited DeCubellis with leading the organization through the pandemic and the civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd. She oversaw efforts to stabilize staffing levels following the pandemic, and the rebuilding of the system’s East Lake Clinic.
Hennepin Healthcare Board Chair Mohamed Omar praised her advocacy for funding and policy to expand health care access.
“She has gone above and beyond for the organization during the most challenging period in healthcare in the last century,” Omar said. “Her expertise and relationships across all levels of government have been invaluable to our healthcare system.”
Hennepin Healthcare leaders say they plan to announce an interim CEO on April 3, and launch a national search for DeCubellis’ successor.