Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Celebrity Birthdays for Oct. 20: Japan's Empress Michiko is 90. Rockabilly singer Wanda Jackson is 87. Actor William "Rusty" Russ is 74. Al Greenwood, keyboards and synthesizer with Foreigner, is 73. Actress Melanie Mayron ("thirtysomething") is 72.

Celebrity Birthdays for Oct. 21: Keyboardist Manfred Mann is 84. Guitarist Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MG's is 83. Singer Elvin Bishop is 82. TV judge Judy Sheindlin ("Judge Judy") is 82. Actor Everett McGill ("Twin Peaks") is 79.

Celebrity Birthdays for Oct. 25: Actress Marion Ross is 96. Author Anne Tyler is 83. Roy Lynes, organist and vocalist with Status Quo, is 81. Singer Jon Anderson (Yes) is 80. Singer Taffy Danoff of Starland Vocal Band is 80.

Today in Music History for Oct. 29: In 1787, Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni" premiered at the Tyl Theatre in Prague.

Today in Music History for Nov. 2: In 1926, country star Charlie Walker was born in Copeville, Texas. He became a popular disc jockey in Texas as he built a career as a honky-tonk singer.

Today in Music History for Oct. 27: In 1782, Niccolo Paganini, the Italian violinist whose virtuosity became a legend, was born in Genoa. He died in 1840 of cancer of the larynx.

Today in Music History for Nov. 1: In 1847, Emma Albani, the first Canadian singer to distinguish herself in the international world of opera, was born in Chambly, Que.

Today in Music History for Oct. 30: In 1908, Patsy Montana, the first woman in country music to have a million-selling record, was born in Hot Springs, Ark. She accomplished the feat with her 1935 recording of "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart.

Today in Music History for Oct. 28: In 1820, John H. Hopkins, the author and composer of the Christmas hymn "We Three Kings of Orient Are," was born. In 1936, country-rock musician and bandleader Charlie Daniels was born in Wilmington, N.C.

Today in Music History for Oct. 31: In 1937, folksinger Tom Paxton was born in Chicago. He was part of the early-1960s folk revival that also saw the emergence of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.