FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

American Bandstand, abbreviated AB, is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the program’s producer. It featured teenagers dancing to Top 40 music introduced by Clark; at least one popular musical act—over the decades, running the gamut from Jerry Lee Lewis to Run–D.M.C.—usually appeared in person to lip-sync one of their latest singles. Freddy Cannon holds the record for most appearances, at 110.

The show’s popularity helped Dick Clark become an American media mogul and inspired similar long-running music programs, such as Soul Train and British series Top of the Pops. Clark eventually assumed ownership of the program through his Dick Clark Productions company.

LEGACY

American Bandstand played a crucial role in introducing Americans to such famous artists as Prince, Jackson 5, Sonny and Cher, Aerosmith, and John Lydon‘s PiL—all of whom made their American TV debuts on the show. American Bandstand was a daily ritual for many teenagers throughout the nation. The Top 40 hits that everyone heard were matched with fun routines performed by relatable teenagers. It became a staple in homes and heavily influenced American society culturally, musically, and socially. It also was a prototype for musical television properties including cable channel MTV and Fox’s reality-competition show American Idol.

TODAY’S ALMANAC

Labor Day

Always the first Monday in September, Labor Day is meant as a tribute to the American worker to whom the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country is made possible.

The holiday started modestly in cities and towns, with the first celebration on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, held by the Central Labor Union. GIven the growth of labor organizations at this time in American history and the era of industrialization, the idea of a day to honor the American worker quickly spread to other cities and then to states.

In 1884, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday. The observance of Labor Day began as a street parade to exhibit to the public “the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations” of the community, followed by a relaxing day for the workers and their families.

There is some doubt as to the individual who first proposed the holiday for workers. Most believe it was the idea of Peter J. Maguire (although recent research has shown that it might have been his brother Matthew’s idea), a labor union leader who in 1882 proposed a celebration honoring the American worker. The date chosen was simply “convenient,” according to Maguire, because it was midway between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving.

Although the day’s focus on organized labor has diminished over the years, the legal holiday still marks the end of summer and the traditional time for children to return to school.

Question of the Day

Can you please tell me where I should go to see the “horns” of the Moon pointing up?

Around 18 to 28 degrees north latitude, the horns of the Moon at times point directly up. This happens just after sunset in the west, near the horizon, for a waxing Moon and just before sunrise in the east, near the horizon, for a waning moon. The same is true at around 18 to 28 degrees south latitude—just exchange east and west. A beautiful picture of the Moon with its horns pointing upward (but not straight up) is visible over a much wider area. In the United States, southern Florida is a great place to see this.

Advice of the Day

Wisdom is common sense in an uncommon degree.

Home Hint of the Day

Don’t forget to paint the top and bottom edges of a door, interior or exterior. Moisture will seep into any unfinished surface and cause the door to swell.

Word of the Day

Friggatriskaidekaphobia

The fear of Friday the 13th.

Puzzle of the Day

The Buckeye State.(Name the U.S. state!)

Ohio

Born

• Louis VIII of France – 1187
• Tommaso Campanella (philosopher) – 1568
• Johann Christian Bach (composer) – 1735
• Jesse James (outlaw) – 1847
• Napoleon Nap” Lajoie” (baseball player) – 1875
• Bob Newhart (actor) – 1929
• Raquel Welch (actress) – 1940
• Freddie Mercury (singer) – 1946
• Michael Keaton (actor) – 1951
• Dweezil Zappa (musician) – 1969
• Skandar Keynes (actor) – 1991

Died

• Saint (Mother Teresa of Calcutta missionary) – 1997
• Leo Penn (director) – 1998

Events

• Great Fire of London ended– 1666
• Russia’s Peter the Great imposed a tax on beards– 1698
• First Continental Congress opened, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania– 1774
• First standardized naval uniforms adopted for U.S.– 1776
• The Central Labor Union in New York organized the first Labor Day parade– 1882
• A treaty of peace signed in Portsmouth, NH, ending the Russo-Japanese war– 1905
• USS Mount Vernon torpedoed by German submarine off France– 1918
• Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago published in the U.S.– 1958
• Cassius Clay won an Olympic gold medal for boxing– 1960
• Lynette Fromme attempted to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford– 1975
• After 30 years, ABC canceled TV show American Bandstand– 1987
• Lake water DNA analysis showed no evidence of the Loch Ness Monster (but perhaps a giant eel)– 2019

Weather

• 112 degrees F, Centreville, Alabama– 1925
• The temperature in Portland, Oregon, reached 102 degrees F– 1944

COURTESY www.almanac.com