ROSS SIMPSON

On March 19, 2003, the United States, along with coalition
forces primarily from the United Kingdom, initiated war on
Iraq. Just after explosions began to rock Baghdad, Iraq’s
capital, U.S. President George W. Bush announced in a 
TV address (below), “At this hour, American and coalition 
forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm
Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave 
danger.” President Bush and his  advisors built much of their 
case for war on the specious claim that Iraq, under dictator 
Saddam Hussein, possessed or was in the process of building 
weapons of mass destruction.

Rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Chuck Berry died on this day in
history, March 18, 2017, at age 90.

Born as Charles Edward Anderson Berry on Oct. 18,
1926 in St. Louis, Missouri, Chuck Berry was exposed
to music through his parents and his church.

1947

Geoffrey (Jeff) Arnold Beck
(24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) 

Beck was an English rock guitarist with the Yardbirds and after
fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975,
he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus on
innovative sound, and his releases spanned genres ranging
from blues rock, hard rock, jazz fusion and a blend of guitar-
rock and electronica.

Beck ranked in the top five of Rolling Stone and other magazine’s
list of 100 greatest guitarists. Rolling Stone described him as
"one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock." Beck died
from bacterial meningitis on Tuesday.

The British rock and pop singer and songwriter is 78 today. He
is among the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold
over 250 million records worldwide.