Next on the list is the one and only Mister Robert Edward Lee, born in 1807. In Virginia, of course. His father was "Light Horse Harry" Lee, an officer in the Continental Army. Dad was quite brave, and quite well-connected to people like Washington, his relative Richard Henry Lee, and most of the other people of consequence in 18th century Virginia. He died when Robert was pretty young. Robert wound up at West Point, graduating at the top of his class, without getting a single demerit, which contributes to my belief that he probably wasn't a lot of fun at parties. His wife was the great-granddaughter of Martha Washington, so he was closely connected there, too. Not that Washington could help him at all, being dead. He was offered the command of the Union Army, but declined, feeling that he should follow Virginia (George Thomas was also from Virginia, and didn't share that sentiment. Just sayin'). At any rate, Lee went on to play a key role in the Civil War. He was a great tactician, but left a lot to be desired when it came to strategy. Though if I ever go back to Virginia, I'll probably be lynched for saying that.
In 1809, the creepy Edgar Allen Poe was born. He was a pioneer in the fields of detective stories, sci-fi, and the even more important field of "the starving writer", being the first person in America to earn his keep as a writer.
1917 gave us the one and only John Raitt, Broadway stud-muffin and singer extraordinaire. And thus, by extension, it also gave us Bonnie Raitt, since she is his daughter. John was the star of a lot of the musicals you've heard of.
Remember "Coach" from the early Cheers? Well he was born on this date in 1924, under the guise of Nicholas Colasanto.
Phil Everly was born in 1939. He has a brother named Don, you know. Together they were the one and only Everly Brothers. Phil is the high harmony one, and also generally has the only lines that don't feature both of them singing. Phil (and Don too) are the cousins of James Best, aka Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane of Hazzard County Georgia. The TV version of Hazzard, that is, where he had to run around like an idiot and try to capture Bo and Luke Duke. Phil was a pallbearer for his friend Buddy Holly, while Don was apparently too devastated to even attend the funeral. Interestingly, the brothers enlisted in the Marines in 1961, which I never knew. Sadly, it didn't do for them what joining the Army did for Elvis. Which just goes to show that the Army is waaaaay cooler!
Speaking of Phil Everly, which led us to Buddy Holly, which further leads us to Holly's eulogy song by Don McLean, happy birthday to "a girl who sang the blues", Janis Joplin. Born on this date in 1943. She's one of the many famous singers who died at the age of 27, Amy Winehouse being the most recent. Being from Texas, she apparently loved her some Southern Comfort, which surprises me not at all. Apparently she was a bit of an oddball in school, and her classmates teased the crap out of her. There's no mention of whether that included classmates Jimmy Johnson and G. W. Bailey, known today as "Coach Johnson" and "Corporal Rizzo" (from M*A*S*H) respectively. She performed at Woodstock, where she wasn't that great. Probably due to all the heroin and alcohol she and a friend did backstage, since she wasn't due to go onstage for hours. Friends are a blessing sometimes, aren't they?
Three years later, we got the one and only Dolly Parton. Tell me that isn't weird to have two musical icons born on the same date, and have them be so different. Not to mention that it's weird to think of Dolly in the same breath as Joplin.
William Ragsdale was born on this date in 1961. He was the star of the awesome show "Inside Herman's Head". Which oddly doesn't even show up in his bio here, but they throw in the part about him briefly appearing in Ellen's TV show as her "boyfriend" back before she decided that her lesbianism was a great career move. And to think he probably wouldn't have been mentioned here if I hadn't recognized the name!
And that's a cool place to stop, especially since nobody else born on this date interests me.
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