1957, The Year of My Birth and Other World News

January 12, 1957 had its moments. The least of the world events of that day was the birth of a ten pound, six ounce boy named Chris Alan Mills with Calvin Russell MD presiding. It might seem a little self serving for a person to write an article about the day they were born, and that may be true. But it is also an interesting way to refresh one’s memory of some important historical events that may well have had a part in shaping his/her life

Lets look at some music oriented history makers. This is actually the big one, or rather, The Big One. Otis Blackwell had written a song and on this day, January 12, 1957, after nine takes, somebody suggested they give it one more try. So, Dudley Brooks sat back down at the piano and Elvis grabbed his mic and together they recorded “All Shook Up” at Radio Records in Hollywood.

In March of 1957, Elvis purchased a mansion in Memphis, Tennessee and called it Graceland.

Actually, it was a good day for music. On that very day, Sun Records released “Flyin’ Saucer Rock n’ Roll” by Billy Riley and His Little Green men. This Rockabilly classic featured Roland Janes on guitar and Jerry Lee Lewis on piano.

The TV game show called To Tell the Truth was on at that time. I will give a brief description of the show for those who don’t know about it. Three contestants would walk onto the stage. Each would state his name, except they all gave the same name. After that, a story about the real person with that name was told. A panel of celebrities would ask questions and then would vote for who they thought was the true person introduced with that name. Here is a video of the beginning of the show on January 12, 1957. See how quickly you catch the blooper on this live TV show.

I searched for famous people with whom I share the same birth date and year but came up with only one. In keeping with the already special day, this is a very interesting person. John Alan Lasseter was born January 12, 1957. Currently he is the Principal Creative Adviser for Walt Disney Imagineering. Lasseter is also known for his ground breaking work with CGI animation. In 1986 he began to oversee all of Pixar’s films as executive producer as well as directing Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Cars, and Cars 2. Lasseter has two Academy Awards for his work on the animated short film Tin Toy. He also received a Special Achievement Award for Toy Story.

Lets branch out and see what was happening in the world at large during 1957, the year of my birth.

One of the biggest news stories was the founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and other African-American clergy who were seeking equal rights for members of their community. The year held many, significant civil rights news makers.

• Egypt took control of the Suez Canal.
• The USSR launched the first intercontinental ballistic missile.
• Viet Cong Guerrillas bombed Saigon killing over 400 South Vietnamese officials.
• “Papa Doc” Francois Duvalier was elected president of Haiti.
• Hurricane Audrey and subsequent tidal wave hit the coasts of Texas and Louisiana.
• Federal troops were sent to Arkansas to enforce anti segregation laws.
• Peak of the Baby Boomer years, defined by US Govt as the period between 1946 and 1964.
• Sputnik I, the world’s first artificial satellite, was successfully launched by the Soviets, Marking the start of the space race between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.

The events and people around us, whether on a global scale, or simply our family and friends, shape us as we grow through those early formative years. The racial rioting of the 60s left an impression on me, as did the body counts on the news broadcasts during the early years of the War in Vietnam. But there were positive impressions as well, such as Dr. Martin Luther King whose special day we observe in the United States on January 21.

I enjoyed pulling all of this information together for this article. Much of it was light and fun. Some was very sobering, such as the reign of Papa Doc Duvalier in Haiti, and the Norfolk Journal and Guide cartoon pictured above. This was a good exercise for me. Maybe there are others here on HubPages who would like to research the world of the day and year they were born. I would enjoy reading and seeing the results of your research.