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Yesterday in La Crosse

No 29th this February, but Leap Day has had memorable music

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It may be an Olympic year, but it’s not a leap year.  February 29th in history has been memorable on occasion.  On that day in 1940, “Gone With the Wind” won the Oscar for best picture…and a big band hit was number 1 on the charts:     On February 29th, 1940, ”In the Mood” by Glenn Miller was #1. In 1944, the top song was a Latin number, “Besame Mucho,” once covered by the Beatles. “The Great Pretender” by the Platters was a chart-topper in February of 1956. The Beatles were everywhere in February of 1964, with the chart-topping “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” The 1960 Leap Day hit was the mellow theme from “A Summer Place,” performed by Percy Faith. Not so mellow, the “Theme from SWAT” in 1976, and “Jump” by Van Halen on February 29th of 1984. “Love Is Blue” was #1 at Leap Day of 1968. And Queen had 1980’s Leap Day hit, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” Helping you remember Leap Days, Yesterday in La Crosse.

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.

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