On this day in music, March 20, 2020, 81-year-old country music icon, Kenny Rogers, passed away. Born in Houston, TX, Rogers first tasted fame as part of the country-rock quintet, First Edition, which scored several US chart hits between 1967 and 1973. Launching his solo career in 1975, Rogers went on to score over 120 hit singles and sell more than 100 million records. His most famous songs were the US chart-toppers “Lady” and “Islands In The Stream,” the latter a duet with Dolly Parton. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013.
In 1991, Michael Jackson signed the biggest deal in recording history when Sony Corp
awarded him with a $1 billion contract. The unprecedented agreement guaranteed the “Thriller” singer an advance payment of $5 million per album and also gave him a 25% royalty rate based on retail sales.
In 1993, Jamaican artist Shaggy (real name Orville Richard Burrell) saw his debut single “Oh Carolina” top the UK pop chart. The song was a cover of a 1960 Prince Buster-produced Ska hit by the Folkes Brothers. It was the first of four UK No.1s for the Kingston-born performer.
In 2017, Ed Sheeran reached the summit of the UK singles chart with “Shape of You.” In December 2018, it became the first song to hit two billion streams on Spotify and to date is the most streamed song on the music platform.
In 1977, glam rock pioneers T.Rex played their final concert at The Locarno in Portsmouth, UK. The show closed out their Dandy In The Underworld tour, which featured support act The Damned. In September of that year, the band’s leader, Marc Bolan, was killed in a car crash.
In 1960, Elvis Presley began his first recording session 18 days after his discharge from the US Army. The session took place in RCA Studios Nashville, where the Memphis singer cut the soon-to-be No.1 comeback single, “Stuck On You.”
In 1982, Joan Jett And The Blackhearts topped the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll,” a cover of a 1975 single by the UK band The Arrows. It spent seven weeks at No. 1 and reached No. 4 in the UK.
BORN ON MARCH 20
1917: Vera Lynn
1936: Lee “Scratch” Perry
1951: Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer)
1959: Richard Drummie (Go West)
1968: Fredrik Schnfeldt (The Wannadies)
1972: Alex Kapranos (Franz Ferdinand)
1976: Chester Bennington (Linkin Park)
Meeker Area Ministries is continuing its mission of finding permanent housing for the homeless in Meeker County and to help them develop a stable lifestyle. The organization is in the process of upgrading a 4-unit complex where two of the units are currently livable and has two transitional apartments in the UCAP office at 409 North Sibley Avenue, along with a motel room to provide shelter for the homeless.
Rochelle Brummond says the average stay in their transitional housing is 42 days, and they have lots of success stories as they work alongside their clients and help them with goal-setting. She says they especially try to help families with children who need to have stability in their lives.
Brummond says MAM can become a reference for people who have been homeless because – if they’ve been homeless, they have no background when renters are seeking references. She says one of their recent success stories involved a man who had been homeless most of his life and just started renting his own apartment.
Tom Evenson says that man is a great example of how MAM works alongside homeless people and helps them develop a new lifestyle.
Evenson says MAM has guidelines that need to be followed. He says many churches throughout Meeker County help support their mission, but if anyone is willing to send a donation, they may be mailed to Meeker Area Ministries, P.O. Box 192, Litchfield, MN 55355. For more information about MAM, call Rochelle at 320-693-7911, extension 1401.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has named Joseph Shimota the 2025 volunteer snowmobile safety instructor of the year. Shimota, a snowmobile enthusiast who has been actively riding for more than 60 years, is also the president of the Sno Skippers Snowmobile Club, and has been a lead instructor since 1993, holding classes at the Willmar Community Center, and has helped more than 1,700 students earn their snowmobile safety certification.
DNR Conservation Officer Shane Vernier, who is stationed in Willmar says Joe is well known in the Kandiyohi County area for his commitment to safety education. He says his dedication to the next generation of riders ensures our trails remain safe and enjoyable for all, and his deep knowledge of the snowmobile industry offers students a unique, hands-on perspective when it comes to machine maintenance and responsible operation.
Shimota’s duties as president of the Sno-Skippers include extensive involvement in maintaining about 160 miles of groomed trails and hosting snowmobile races and other community events. Shimota is also a volunteer instructor for all-terrain vehicles, having certified more than 560 students since 2015.
Each day a business will be featured as “Business of the Day” and every time their commercial is aired be the 7th caller and win a chance to receive KLFD Bucks to be spent at our “Business of the Day” locations.
Monday thru Friday, at 4 pm we will draw out a winner to be put into our final drawing to be held sometime later in April. Once your name has been drawn out daily and put into the final drawing, you are no longer qualified to call in. Otherwise, you can keep calling in once a day to qualify.
