Ella Jane Fitzgerald (1917 – 1996)
On April 25, 1917, jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald is born in Newport
News, Virginia.
Fitzgerald’s most famous collaborations were with the vocal
quartet Bill Kenny & the Ink Spots, trumpeter Louis Armstrong,
the guitarist Joe Pass, and the bandleaders Count Basie and
Duke Ellington.
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.
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.
