Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Celebrity Birthdays for April 24: Actress Shirley MacLaine is 90. Actress-singer-director Barbra Streisand is 82. Country singer Richard Sterban of the Oak Ridge Boys is 81. Drummer Doug Clifford (Creedence Clearwater Revival) is 79.

Celebrity Birthdays for April 21: Actress-comedian-writer Elaine May is 92. Singer Iggy Pop is 77. Actress Patti LuPone is 75. Actor Tony Danza is 73. Actor James Morrison is 70. Actress Andie MacDowell is 66. Singer Robert Smith of The Cure is 65.

Celebrity Birthdays for April 23: Actor Alan Oppenheimer is 94. Actor Lee Majors ("Six Million Dollar Man") is 85. Actress Blair Brown is 78. Actress Joyce DeWitt ("Three's Company") is 75. Writer-director Paul Brickman is 75.

Today in Music History for May 4: In 1905, honky tonk singer Al Dexter was born in Jacksonville, Texas. He perfected his style in the oil-boom dance halls of East Texas.

Today in Music History for May 2: In 1908, the original version of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," with music by Albert Von Tilzer and lyrics by Jack Norworth, was copyrighted by Von Tilzer's York Music Company.

Today in Music History for May 3: In 1903, singer and actor Bing Crosby was born in Tacoma, Wash. He sang with dance bands from 1925-30, and in 1931 began work in radio and films.

Today in Music History for April 29: In 1899, jazz musician, composer and bandleader Edward Kennedy (Duke) Ellington was born in Washington, D.C.

Today in Music History for May 1: In 1786, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's comic opera "The Marriage of Figaro" had its world premiere in Vienna.

Today in Music History for April 30: In 1925, country singer Johnny Horton was born in Tyler, Texas. His "Battle of New Orleans" sold one million copies in 1959, as did his 1960 "North to Alaska," the title song from a John Wayne movie.

Today in Music History for April 28: In 1932, violinist Steven Staryk, considered the leading Canadian-born virtuoso of his generation, was born in Toronto.