ED DANAHUE

On this day in 1955, Rosa Parks, a black seamstress in Montgomery,
AL, refused to give up her seat to a white man. Mrs. Parks was
arrested marking a milestone in the civil rights movement in the U.S.

The bus, restored to the 1955 condition of Ms. Parks’ historic ride, is
located in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005)

Heywood "Woody" Allen (Allan Stewart Konigsberg) is 83 today.

Iconic writer and director Woody Allen is known for his unique blend of
comedy and style. His most celebrated films include Annie Hall (1977),
Manhattan (1979), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Deconstructing Harry
(1997), and Midnight in Paris (2011). He performed card and magic tricks
in his youth and underwent the legal process of changing his name to
Heywood Allen when he was 17.

             
1989                                           1998

James Edward Burton was born in Dubberly, Louisiana.

Since the 1950s, Burton has recorded and performed with an
array of notable singers, including Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson,
Johnny Cash, The Everly Brothers, Merle Haggard, Jerry Lee
Lewis, Glen Campbell, Roy Orbison, Vince Gill and the list 
goes on.

Burton has been a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
since 2001. He has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall
of Fame and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.

Critic Mark Demming writes that "Burton has a well-deserved
reputation as one of the finest guitar pickers in either country
or rock, Burton is one of the best guitar players to ever touch
a fretboard."         

From left: Elvis Presley and James Burton.

James Burton (left) and Ricky Nelson (center) with bassist James Kirkland.

From 1963 with James Burton on lead guitar.

The Bob Dylan’s "Like a Rolling Stone" was recorded as
part of the sessions for the forthcoming album Highway
61 Revisited. The song reached No. 2 in the Billboard
charts (No. 1 in Cashbox) and became a worldwide hit.

"My Love" is a love song written by Paul McCartney to his first wife Linda
and was a number 1 single, spending four weeks atop the Billboard Hot
100 chart.  The ballad was the most successful track from the Paul
McCartney and Wings album Red Rose Speedway (1973).     


   

The single “Heartbreak Hotel” topped Billboard‘s Top 100 chart for
seven weeks, Cashbox‘s pop singles chart for six weeks. It was No.
1 on the Country and Western chart for seventeen weeks and went
to No. 3 on the R&B chart, becoming Presley’s first million-seller,
and one of the best-selling singles of 1956. The song reached the
top 5 of Country and best-selling singles of 1956. It also reached
the top 5 of Country and Western, pop, and Rhythm ‘n’ Blues charts
simultaneously and would eventually be certified double platinum
by the Recording Industry Association of America.

In 1995 "Heartbreak Hotel" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of
Fame, and in 2004 Rolling Stone magazine named it one of the "500
Greatest Songs of All Time". That year it was also included in the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame‘s "500 Songs that Shaped Rock & Roll".

     
Elvis Presley holding framed gold record of “Heartbreak Hotel”
while in a recording studio.