On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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Conference Board's overall confidence index jumped to 134.5 in December from 128.1 in November, with consumers' appraisal of both present situation and their expectations for six months ahead posting substantial gains; consumer confidence is at its highest level since mid-1969; graph
Frank J Prial assesses 1997 wine year; notes a huge harvest in California inspires feelings of optimism (M)
Giuliani administration extends for at least one week its experiment to ease vehicular gridlock in midtown Manhattan by blocking off pedestrian crosswalks; says officials need more time to determine whether program is a success; critics continue to charge that plan inconveniences pedestrians and wastes police resources; photo of anti-barricade demonstration (M)
Article on Washington State and Michigan preparing for Rose Bowl; photo (M)
Ira Berkow Sports of The Times column says that despite recent controversial calls by referees in important game situations, he is not in favor of bringing back the instant replay; photo (M)
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of December 31, 1997, covering December 31, 1997.
Garth Brooks
Celine Dion
Barbra Streisand
LeAnn Rimes
Chumbawamba
1997Ludovic Blas, French footballer[†]
Ludovic Régis Arsène Blas is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Rennes.
1997Cameron Carter-Vickers, English-American soccer player[†]
Cameron Robert Carter-Vickers is a professional soccer player who plays as a center-back for Scottish Premiership club Celtic. Born in England, he plays for the United States national team.
1997Bright Osayi-Samuel, Nigerian footballer[†]
Bright Osayi-Samuel is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a right-back or winger for Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe and the Nigeria national team.
1997Floyd Cramer, American singer-songwriter and pianist (born 1933)[†]
Floyd Cramer was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "whole-step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signature playing style was a cornerstone of the pop-oriented "Nashville sound" of the 1950s and 1960s. Cramer's "slip-note" or "bent-note" style, in which a passing note slides almost instantly into or away from a chordal note, influenced a generation of pianists. His sound became popular to the degree that he stepped out of his role as a sideman and began touring as a solo act. In 1960, his piano instrumental solo, "Last Date" went to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 pop music chart and sold over one million copies. Its follow-up, "On the Rebound", topped the UK Singles Chart in 1961. As a studio musician, he became one of a cadre of elite players dubbed the Nashville A-Team and he performed on scores of hit records.
1997Billie Dove, American actress (born 1903)[†]
Lillian Bohny, known professionally as Billie Dove, was an American actress.
In 1997, the world population was approximately 5,924,787,816 people[†]