Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000)

The 1959 First Annual 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes at Daytona,
(now known as the inaugural Daytona 500) was the second race of the 1959
NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup) season. It was held on February 22,
1959, in front of 41,921 spectators. It was the first race held at the 2.5-mile 
Daytona International Speedway. The race lasted 3:41:22, with an average
speed of 135.521 mph. In the end, with the help of photographs and newsreel
footage, Lee Petty, father of racing legend Richard Petty, was officially declared
the winner.

Johnny Beauchamp, front, and Lee Petty were neck and neck on the final
lap of the inaugural Daytona 500.

Michael Jackson and his brothers, The Jackson 5 made their TV debut 
when they appeared on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand.

Michael Jackson

Carlota Bradley

Sir Sidney Poitier is 88 years old today.

Poitier spent time working as a dishwasher while his friends
assisted him in learning how to read the newspaper and speak
without a Bahamian accent.

He became the first African American to win an Oscar after his
performance in Lilies of the Field (1963). The American Film
Institute called him one of the 25 Greatest Male Stars of All
Time in 1999.

1967

The song “Got A Job” was the first single by The Miracles, who were
then a five-member group that included Smokey Robinson’s bride-to-
be, Claudette. Released on New York’s End label, it got a lot of airplay 
in Detroit and little elsewhere. It was an answer record to the #1 hit 
"Get A Job” by The Silhouettes.

Ray Charles

The song “What’d I Say” was improvised one evening late in 1958
when Charles, his orchestra, and backup singers had played their
entire set list at a show and still had time left; the response from
many audiences was so enthusiastic that Charles announced to
his producer that he was going to record it.

For the rest of his career, Charles closed every concert with the
song. It was added to the National Recording Registry in 2002
and ranked at number 10 in Rolling Stone ‘​s "The 500 Greatest
Songs of All Time".