Tom Lehrer celebrates his birthday today. Gosh, he wrote and performed some funny songs. And in a style unto himself; he sounded just like, uh, Tom Lehrer. Carl Perkins, a giant in country music history born this day as well. He's famous for, uh, for being a giant in country music history.
But speaking of giants--and we were, weren't we?--one of MY favorite musical history celebs: Giovanni Pierluigi Palestrina. Born this day in 1525. (Ron Wood, however, looks older.) Some people say that Western Music started with Giovanni P. (To be fair, some OTHER people say Western Music started with Sid Vicious, so take your pick.)
Anton Bruckner's 5th Symphony premiered this day in 1894. It may be the longest symphony on record (or cassette) but nobody knows for sure, since the first performance is still in progress! Marion Anderson sang in front of the Lincoln Memorial this day in 1939. Lincoln's statue reportly smiled. (Sid Vicious reportedly tried to spray paint Lincoln.)