Auto racing born

1896 Ford Quadricycle with W.Henry Ford, Clara Ford and Henry Ford Jr on board

On 7th September 1896 the first closed-circuit auto race in the world was held at Cranston, Rhode Island. The first auto race track in the US, Narragansett Park, opened in Knightsville in Cranston in September 1915. This was a one mile paved, high-banked oval track but the 1896 race took place on the irregular one mile horse racing dirt track Seven cars responded to the starter's skeptical command: "Go, if you can," for five laps of the circuit. An electric car won that contest, doing the 5 miles in 15 minutes and 1 second, a roaring 20-mile-per-hour pace. Tens of thousands came by horse and buggy and electric trolley to watch.

This photo of the event shows four Duryeas on the left and a Morris & Salom Electrobat on the right.

Buddy Holly

In 1936 on this day Buddy Holly was born. To me this pioneer of Rock’n’roll was the greatest artist of all time! There were people with better voices, better guitar skills, better song-writing skills and yet somehow if I end up singing in the bath it is usually a Buddy Holly song. (Does That Rank as 'too much information?) There are few more fun experiences than singing along to “Peggy Sue” or “That’ll be the day”.

Buddy Holly was born Charles Hardin Holley, in Lubbock, Texas, and the change in surname came around by accident when he was asked to sign a contract which had missed the ‘e’ out. He decided it looked better that way and kept the name. In 1958 he toured the UK with his backing group, The Crickets.

In 1971 Don MacLean released "American Pie" which commemorated the ‘day the music died’, 3rd February 1959, in ‘that’ plane crash which also took the lives of singers Ritchie Valens and J.P.(The Big Bopper) Richardson as well as the pilot Roger Peterson.

Despite his untimely death his music did not die with him. He had recorded so prolifically that new releases were made for another ten years and were awaited by a great following, especially in Europe.

He is ranked no 13 (an appropriate number) in Rolling Stone Magazine’s 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.