First, to continue a decades-long tradition: It’s a great day for groundhogs. Unless they see their shadow and predict six more weeks of winter, in which case they should be turned into ground groundhog.

(Back when I had radio ambitions, I came up with the idea of having a live remote from Sun Prairie where Jimmy the Groundhog would see his shadow and predict six more weeks of winter, then return to the station, only to dramatically go back to Sun Prairie to breathlessly report that someone assassinated Jimmy the Groundhog. It would work with Punxsutawney Phil too.)

Today in 1959, Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper all appeared at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.

That would be their final concert appearance because of what happened after the concert.

Today in 1973, a bad thing to happen to a piano player happened — Keith Emerson of Emerson Lake & Palmer injured his hands when a piano, rigged to explode during a concert, exploded prematurely. That would not make him a …

That same day, or night, was the premiere of NBC-TV’s “The Midnight Special”:

The number one British album today 1974 was the Carpenters’ “The Singles 1969–1973”:

The number one single on both sides of the Atlantic today in 1985:

Today in 2004, CBS-TV apologized for the previous day’s Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, which featured …

Singer Justin Timberlake also apologized, saying, “I am sorry that anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the half-time performance of the Super Bowl,” thus adding the phrase “wardrobe malfunction” to our cultural lexicon.

Birthdays begin with Alan Caddy, guitarist for the Tornadoes:

Graham Nash played for the Hollies and Crosby Stills and Nash (and occasionally Young):

Ronnie Goodson of John Fred and His Playboy Band:

Howard Bellamy was one of the Bellamy Brothers:

Peter Lucia of Tommy James and the Shondells:

Alan McKay played guitar for Earth Wind & Fire:

Ross Valory played bass for the Steve Miller Band and Journey:

Robert Deleo of the Stone Temple Pilots:

Ben Mize played drums for the Counting Crows:

One death of note, today in 2007: Billy Henderson of the Spinners:

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