What Happened the Day You Were Born?
The obvious reply to this one is, “I WAS BORN!” However, there had to be more, so my quest to discover who/what was making the news that day began with a simple query at PCHSearch&Win – “What happened on October 31, 1969?”
A Tale of Two Georges
I came into the world at 2:19 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 31, 1969. While there may have been some small celebrations around that event, two major worldwide stars had defining moments in their careers on that day – Boxer George Foreman and Beatle George Harrison!
The George Foreman Story
I’m a big fan of boxing, and several years ago I was fortunate enough to work with George Foreman. Big George was on his way to recapturing the (arguably) most important title in all of sports – heavyweight champion of the world!
George would eventually retire from boxing with a professional record of 76 wins and only 5 losses, but on the morning of October 31, 1969, he was best known as a 1968 gold medalist and rising star with a record of 7-0. That evening, George took on Peruvian Roberto Davila in Madison Square Garden. It went all eight rounds, but Foreman prevailed and raised his record to 8-0!
The George Harrison Story
I’m also a big fan of music, and still have an original copy of The Beatles’ 1963 album, With the Beatles! While I was never fortunate enough to meet this George, his music (with and without the Beatles) has been an important part of my life.
In September 1969, the Beatles released Abbey Road, and the first single from the album – a George Harrison song titled “Something” – would follow on October 31, 1969.
John Lennon called “Something” the “best track on the album,” and Paul McCartney said it was the best song Harrison had ever written. Frank Sinatra, who would release a cover version one year later, called it “the greatest love song ever written.” In fact, “Something” went on to become the second-most covered Beatles song (after “Yesterday”) and, along with Sinatra, was covered by Elvis Presley, James Brown, Smokey Robinson, Joe Cocker, Ray Charles, and Eric Clapton, along with another 150 or so other artists.
OK, blog readers, it’s time to tell us the amazing, interesting, cool, or just plain weird things that happened the day YOU were born. Leave your stories in the Comments below!
Russell S.
PCH Creative
