APRIL 6: The Daily Flashback

1896: The first modern Olympic Games began in Athens, Greece.
1916: 26-year-old Charlie Chaplin signed a contract with Mutual Film Corporation for $675,000 a year, becoming the highest-paid film star in the world.
1956: Elvis Presley signed a seven-year, three-picture deal with Paramount Studios worth nearly half a million dollars.
1963: The Kingsmen recorded “Louie Louie.”
1968: Pink Floyd announced founder Syd Barrett had officially left the group due to his suffering from psychiatric disorders compounded by drug use.
1974: “Waterloo” was the winning entry for Sweden in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, making ABBA overnight sensations.
1979: In Beverly Hills, Rod Stewart married Alana Hamilton, the ex-wife of actor George Hamilton.
1983: U.S. Interior Secretary James Watt banned the Beach Boys from the 4th of July celebration on the Washington Mall, declaring that rock ‘n’ roll bands attract the “wrong element.”
1985: Steve Van Zandt announced that he was leaving the E Street Band. Springsteen hired guitarist Nils Lofgren as his replacement.
1987: The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 2,400 for the first time.
1998: The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 9,000 points for the first time.

BIRTHDAYS
1917: Walter Horton
1927: Gerry Mulligan
1929: Andre Previn
1937: Merle Haggard
1960: Warren Haynes
1965: Frank Black

DEATHS
1971: Igor Stravinsky
1998: Tammy Wynette, Wendy O. Williams
2016: Merle Haggard