LAPL Blog
Keith Chaffee, Librarian, Central Library

Music Memories: Happy Birthday, Suzanne Vega!
On July 11, 1959, Suzanne Vega was born. Vega is a singer/songwriter who had some unexpected pop success in the late 1980s and early 1990s with a pair of surprising hit singles, “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner.”
Music Memories: Happy Birthday, Barbra Streisand!
Barbra Streisand was born on April 24, 1942. Streisand is a singer, actress, and director whose sixty-year recording career encompasses about 50 albums.
A Week to Remember: Mark Rothko
On September 25, 1903, Mark Rothko was born. With his mother and sister, he emigrated from Russia to the United States at the age of ten, joining his father, who had made the journey some years earlier.
Music Monday: Billy Joel's The Stranger
Forty years ago this week, Billy Joel's The Stranger was released.
A Week to Remember: The Most Unbreakable Record in Sports?
On September 19, 1998, Cal Ripken, Jr. played in his 2,632nd consecutive Major League Baseball game, the longest streak in baseball history. The previous record was Lou Gehrig's 2,130 games; that record had stood for 56 years when Ripken broke it in 1995.
A Week to Remember: Agatha Christie
On September 15, 1890, Agatha Christie was born. The popularity of Christie's murder mysteries is record-breaking. She is the most-translated author in history, with books published in more than 100 languages. Her novels have sold 2 billion copies; only Shakespeare and the Bible have sold more.
Music Monday: Harry Connick, Jr.
Happy birthday to Harry Connick, Jr., who turns 50 today!
Music Monday: Tony Burrows, The Five-Time One-Hit Wonder
You may not know the name Tony Burrows, but if you were listening to pop music in the spring of 1970, you know his voice. In a three-month period, Burrows was the lead singer on four different hit records by four different groups.
A Week to Remember: Thurgood Marshall Joins the Supreme Court
Fifty years ago this week, on October 2, 1967, Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, the first African-American to hold that position. It was the culmination of a distinguished legal career.
Music Monday: 50 Years Ago—A Look Back at 1967
When you look back at 1967, maybe it's the legendary acts you remember.