Lonnie Melvin "Mel" Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017)

(Fox News) – Country music singer Mel Tillis, whose six-decade career included
hits such as “I Ain’t Never” and “Coca Cola Cowboy,” died today (Sunday).   

His publicist said Tillis passed away at Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala,
Fla. He was previously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville
Songwriters Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry. Former President Barack Obama
awarded Tillis the National Medal of Arts in 2012 (below).

Mel Tillis was among eight recipients
of President Obama’s National Medal
of the Arts in 2012.  

Johnny Rivers (John Henry Ramistella) was born in New York City

Rock ‘n’ roll singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer Johnny Rivers
charted hits during the 1960s and 1970s and remains best known for a string
of hit singles between 1964 and 1968, among them a Chuck Berry "Memphis" ,
"Mountain of Love", "Secret Agent Man", "Poor Side of Town", which went
to  #1 and a Motown cover, “Baby I Need Your Lovin”.

Although his recording career is slowing down,  Johnny Rivers is still touring,
however, performing 50 to 60 shows a year. Increasingly he has returned to
the blues that inspired him initially.

MIKE GRACIA

Harry S. Truman holding up a copy of the Chicago Tribune with the incorrect headline

Harry S. Truman defeated Thomas E. Dewey for the U.S. presidency on this
day in 1948. The Chicago Tribune published an early edition that had the
headline "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN (above)." The Truman victory had 
surprised many polls and newspapers.

President Truman (right) on his campaign train whistle-stop.

On this day in 1963, South Vietnamese President Ngo Dihn Diem was
assassinated in a military coup.

Howard Hughes flew his "Spruce Goose," a huge wooden airplane, for eight minutes in California on this day in 1947. It was the plane’s first and only
flight. The "Spruce Goose," nicknamed because of the white-gray color of
the spruce used to build it, never went into production.

The H-4 today is in McMinnville, Oregon, at the Evergreen Air and
Space Museum, about an hour outside of Portland.

On this day in 1959, Charles Van Doren, a game show contestant
on the NBC-TV program "Twenty-One" admitted that he had been
given questions and answers in advance.

Charles Lincoln Van Doren turned 91 in Feb.   

CARLATA BRADLEY

Over Rogers Dry Lake in Southern California on this day in 1947, pilot Chuck Yeager flew the Bell X-1 rocket plane and became the first person to break
the sound barrier.

Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager turned 94 on February 13.

The Battle of Hastings occurred in England on this day in 1066. The Norman forces of William the Conqueror defeated King Harold II of England.

On this day in 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent resistance to racial prejudice
in America. He was the youngest person to receive the award.

Former President Theodore Roosevelt was shot while campaigning
in Milwaukee, WI. on this day in 1912. His wound in the chest was
not serious and he continued with his planned speech. William
Schrenk was captured at the scene of the shooting.

Bloodstained shirt worn by Roosevelt, photographed following the
assassination attempt.  

William Schrenk

Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977)

Four-time Grammy Award-winning actress and singer Olivia Newton-John 
gained fame in Grease (1978) and released the double platinum album
Physical. She has sold over 100 million records and has released over 10 
Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles. She formed an all-girl group, Sol Four,
with three of her classmates during her teens.