March 16th, Country Tragedy, and a Puffing Dragon,

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1963 - PETER, PAUL AND MARY released the single "Puff The Magic Dragon".  It was banned by several radio stations whose management suspected that the song was about SMOKING GRASS!

1971 - At the 13th Annual Grammy Awards, SIMON & GARFUNKEL won with "Bridge Over Troubled Water", snagging Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year,  Best Arrangement by Accompanying Vocalists, Best Engineered Record AND Best Contemporary Song!  THE CARPENTERS won Best New Artist only because Simon & Garfunkel had been around since 1964.

1974 - The first performance from the new Grand Ole Opry House at Opryland in Nashville took place.  PRESIDENT NIXON helped open the facility by playing three songs on the piano.  He also played with a yo-yo on stage like Opry star ROY ACUFF.

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1987 - FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD BROKE UP!

1991 - Seven members of REBA MCENTIRE'S band were killed, along with a road manager and two pilots, when their chartered plane crashed in the California mountains near the Mexican border.  Reba survived because she'd taken a separate plane.

1991 - EDDIE VAN HALEN'S wife, VALERIE BERTINELLI, birthed a baby boy in L.A.  They named him WOLFGANG after the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

1995 - MISSISSIPPI FORMALLY ABOLISHED SLAVERY by FINALLY ratifying the 13th Amendment.  The 13th Amendment went into effect way back in 1865.

1995 - Gangsta rapper EAZY E announced that he had AIDS.  He died 10 days later on March 26th, 1995.

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2002 - DAVID GEST married LIZA MINNELLI They divorced a year later.

2005 - ROBERT BLAKE was found NOT GUILTY of the 2001 murder of his wife Bonny Bakley.

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