Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Celebrity Birthdays for May 6: Baseball Hall-of-Famer Willie Mays is 93. Singer Bob Seger is 79. Singer Jimmie Dale Gilmore is 79. Singer and comedian Lulu Roman ("Hee Haw") is 78. Actor Alan Dale ("Lost," ''Ugly Betty") is 77.

Celebrity Birthdays for May 8: Naturalist Sir David Attenborough is 98. Author Thomas Pynchon is 87. Singer Toni Tennille is 84. Actor James Mitchum is 83. Country singer Jack Blanchard is 82. Bassist Paul Samwell-Smith (The Yardbirds) is 81.

Celebrity Birthdays for May 5: Actor Michael Murphy is 86. World and Olympic champion pairs figure skater Barbara Wagner is 86. Actor Lance Henriksen ("Millennium," ''Aliens") is 84. Comedian-actor Michael Palin (Monty Python) is 81.

Celebrity Birthdays for May 7: Singer Thelma Houston is 81. Actress Robin Strasser ("One Life To Live," ''Passions") is 79. Singer-songwriter Bill Danoff (Starland Vocal Band) is 78. Drummer Bill Kreutzmann of the Grateful Dead is 78.

Celebrity Birthdays for May 9: Actor-writer Alan Bennett is 90. Guitarist Sonny Curtis of Buddy Holly and The Crickets is 87. Composer Bruce Mather is 85. Producer-director James L. Brooks is 84.

Today in Music History for May 16: In 1896, violinist Frantz Jehin-Prume, the first musician of international reputation to choose Canada as his home, gave his final concert in Montreal with pianist Victoria Cartier.

Today in Music History for May 18: In 1911, Big Joe Turner, one of the forefathers of rock 'n' roll, was born in Kansas City.

Today in Music History for May 14: In 1936, singer Bobby Darin, whose real name was Walden Robert Cassotto, was born in New York City. Darin's big break came in 1958 when he wrote and recorded "Splish Splash," which reached No. 3 on the U.S.

Today in Music History for May 17: In 1893, the Arion Male Voice Choir gave its first concert at Institution Hall in Victoria.

Today in Music History for May 13: In 1919, the first Manitoba Music Competition Festival opened in Winnipeg. About 2,500 performers took part in the first festival, sponsored by the Men's Musical Club.