In the mood for a good movie? Some toe-tapping music? A thrilling book? ON THIS DAY will lead you to new possibilities every day, tied to interesting moments from history and popular culture. Whether it’s streamable and downloadable music and film, e-books and e-audio, or physical books and DVDs, we hope you’ll find something to enjoy as you pick up a few bits of history each day.

	On this day in 1931, Otis Blackwell was born. Blackwell never broke through to popular success as a performer, but he was one of the most important songwriters of early rock'n'roll. Among the rock standards written by Blackwell are "Fever," "Great Balls of Fire," "Breathless," "Don't Be Cruel," and "All Shook Up." Blackwell's own recordings of many of those hits can be heard on They Called It Rock & Roll, available for streaming or download at Freegal.
	On this day in 1938, John Corigliano was born. Corigliano has won both the Pulitzer Prize and the Academy Award for his compositions, and has written in most forms of concert music -- chamber, concerto, symphony, opera, choral. His first symphony, which premiered in 1990, was among the first large pieces of music to be written in response to the AIDS/HIV epidemic; it has been recorded several times, which is unusual for contemporary music. Leonard Slatkin's performance with the National Symphony Orchestra is available for streaming or download at Freegal.
	And on this day in 1985, Iain Banks was born. Banks was successful as an author of both mainstream and science fiction; his SF novels were published with his middle initial -- Iain M. Banks -- to help his two audiences keep them separate. The first Iain Banks novel, The Wasp Factory, is the story of an emotionally disturbed young man living on a remote island; the first Iain M. Banks novel, Consider Phlebas, finds a utopian civilization challenged by contact with what it sees as more primitive societies. Both books are available as e-books at OverDrive.