December 8, 2012

470 years ago
1542

Born on this date
Mary, Queen of Scots. Queen of Scotland, 1542-1567; Queen Consort of France, 1559-1560. Mary assumed the Scottish throne when her father, King James V, died just 6 days after she was born. She was convicted of treason after being implicated in the Babington plot, calling for the assassination of Queen Elizabeth I of England, and was beheaded on February 5, 1587 at the age of 44.

70 years ago
1942

Died on this date
Albert Kahn, 73. U.S. architect. Mr. Kahn designed many of the buildings in Detroit, including factories for the Packard and Ford motor companies.

50 years ago
1962

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy: Si è spento il sole--Adriano Celentano

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Lovesick Blues--Frank Ifield (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Big Girls Don't Cry--The 4 Seasons (4th week at #1)

U.S. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Big Girls Don't Cry--The 4 Seasons (5th week at #1)
2 Return to Sender--Elvis Presley
3 Bobby's Girl--Marcie Blane
4 Limbo Rock--Chubby Checker
5 Telstar--The Tornados
6 The Lonely Bull--The Tijuana Brass
7 Don't Hang Up--The Orlons
8 All Alone Am I--Brenda Lee
9 Ride!--Dee Dee Sharp
10 Release Me--"Little Esther" Phillips

Singles entering the chart were Monsters' Holiday by Bobby (Boris) Pickett and the Crypt Kickers (#76); Me and My Shadow by Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. (#91); See See Rider by LaVern Baker (#92); I'm so Lonesome I Could Cry by Johnny Tillotson (#94); You've Really Got a Hold on Me by the Miracles (#95); I Saw Linda Yesterday by Dickey Lee (#96); and Remember Then by the Earls (#97).

40 years ago
1972

Died on this date
William Dieterle, 79. German-born U.S. film director. Mr. Dieterle began his career in Germany before leaving for Hollywood in the 1930s. His movies included The Last Flight (1931); A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935); The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936); The Life of Emile Zola (1937); Juarez (1939); The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939); Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940); and The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941).

30 years ago
1982

Died on this date
Marty Robbins, 57. U.S. musician. Mr. Robbins was primarily known as a country singer and songwriter--reaching #1 on the Billboard country singles chart 16 times from 1953-1976--but he also had success crossing over into the pop charts from 1956-1962. His biggest hit, El Paso, entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the fall of 1959 and spent two weeks at #1 in January 1960. Other notable hits of Mr. Robbins included Singing the Blues (1956); A White Sport Coat (1957); The Story of My Life (1957—the first song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David to achieve chart success); The Hanging Tree (1959—the title song from the movie); Ballad of The Alamo (1960); Don’t Worry (1961); Devil Woman (1962); and Ribbon of Darkness (1965). His last performance in Edmonton took place shortly before he died after a history of heart problems, and shortly after he had appeared in and recorded the title song to the movie Honkytonk Man (1982).

25 years ago
1987

Diplomacy
U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, meeting in Washington, signed the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, calling for the elimination of an entire class of weapons.