FEBRUARY 3 — 1959 The Day the Music Died; 1781 The Race for Dan River; 2017 “Tattooed New York” Exhibit begins; 2002 Super Bowl XXXVI
FEBRUARY 3
1959 – The Day the Music Died. By bye, Miss American Pie.
…Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and JP the Big Bopper Richardson were killed in an airplane crash on February 3, 1959. They were having problems with their tour bus so Holly chartered a plane to take them to the Winter Dance Party Tour. His bassist, Waylon Jennings, gave up his seat to Richardson, who was sick and needed to get to a doctor. Valens won a coin toss to get onboard. Buddy Holly was already a couple years into stardom and was 22. The Big Bopper had a top 10 hit with Chantilly Lace. Valens was only 17 but had already scored big time with La Bamba four months prior.
The cause of the crash was blamed on pilot error, which is odd because the pilot was highly experienced and knew the area very well. Holly’s pistol was found near the crash site two months later, implying that a firearm may have been discharged which took down the plane. In 2015 the investigation was reopened to check for reasons why the plane went down, it’s believed to be due to failure of the right rudder, improper weight distribution, or something else.
1781 –The Race for Dan. Yesterday I talked about Continental General Nathanial Greene arriving in North Carolina for much needed rest and refueling. British General Charles Cornwallis was after him and his men and was catching up. There was literally a race to the Dan River, which ran through N. Carolina and Virginia near the border. If Greene won the race, he could cross the river and block Cornwallis from his supply in Virginia. But if Cornwallis won the race, he could defeat Greene’s army. Both men knew this.
Greene had an advantage over Cornwallis: the canoe. As legend has it, Polish engineer and military adviser Thaddeus Koscliusko made canoes available for Greene, and took it one step further. He accurately; predicted the two-day interval between a heavy rainfall and rising river water. Greene beat Cornwallis to the Yadkin, and by the time Cornwallis got there the river had risen to the point of where Cornwallis couldn’t cross. Instead, the next morning, Cornwallis saw Greene’s camp on the other side of the river and started shooting, but the camp was too far away and Cornwallis was unable to do any damage at all. He would have to march his forces to a much more shallow area and wouldn’t finish crossing the Yadkin until February 7th, which by then, Greene had a two day headstart on Cornwallis.
2017 “Tattooed New York” exhibit begins.
You realize that tattoos were illegal in NYC from 1961 until 1997?
There were several reasons why. According to gothamist.com. Hepatitis B outbreaks were the main reason, though there’s not sign of any of that actually happening. Also, the mayor wanted to clean the town up for the world’s Fair coming up in 1964, and/or it could’ve been a city health inspector who had a grudge against some of the tattooists, , and even a scare of contaminated shellfish.
But just like the prohibition of the 1920s, this couldn’t be stopped either. Tattoo artists were very much in business in their own apartments. People of all walks of life wanted one. Fred Grossman; who was a tattoo artist in Coney Island, actually sued the city all the way up to the highest court in the land but got shot down, basically stating that tattoos look trashy, in so many words.
Finally in 1997 Mayor Rudy Giuliani lifted the ban, observing that throughout the entire ban, tattoos were being given in the shadows, and despite that there has never been a known outbreak of Hepatitis B.
2007 Happy anniversary Jackass prankster Bam Margera and Missy Rothstein. I can’t help but wonder if she married him for his life insurance policy.
2002 – Super Bowl XXXVI, Tom Brady and the New England Pats v Kurt Warner and the Greatest Show On Turf St. Louis Rams. Mariah Carey sang the Star Spangled Banner and U 2 played halftime. This would be a particularly patriotic game as it followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Rams were fravored by 16 points. Another thrilling finish it was tied with a little over a minute to go. Tom Brady had no timeouts left but was able to lead his team down the field and Adam Vinatieri scored the game winning kick….again.