.

“Light My Fire” spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard
Hot 100 chart, and one week on the Cash Box Top 100, nearly a year
after its recording. The song is #35 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500
Greatest Songs of All Time. It was also included in the Songs of the
Century list and was ranked number 7 in VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs
of All Time list.

(The National Aeronautics and Space Administration)

NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act
on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The agency became operational
on October 1, 1958.

“Shout was the Isley Brothers first million-selling hit. It did not reach
higher than #47 on the Billboard Hot 100, it became their first gold
single on the basis of its longevity. The song was inducted to the
Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and is ranked #118 on Rolling
Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.

                (29 July 1883 – 28 April 1945)

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led
the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the
key figures in the creation of Fascism. He became the 40th
Prime Minister of Italy in 1922. In late April 1945 during World 
War ll with total defeat looming, Mussolini attempted to escape
to Switzerland, only to be quickly captured and executed by
Italian partisans.

Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler in 1940

NBC asked Paar to succeed Steve Allen as host of The Tonight Show. He hosted
the talk show from July 29,  1957 to March 30, 1962. At first, the show was called
Tonight starring Jack Paar; after 1959 it was officially known as The Jack Paar
Show. During its run it was broadcast from Studio 6B (formerly known as the
Texaco Star Theatre) inside the RCA Building, the same studio that later
hosted early episodes of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. In
1957 and 1958, The Jack Paar Tonight Show was awarded the Primetime
Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series.

Paar’s original announcer was actor Franklin Pangborn (above clip),
but he was fired after only a few weeks for not showing enough
“spontaneous enthusiasm”. His replacement was Hugh Downs who
remained with the show until the end.

Hugh Downs (left) co-hosting with Jack Parr