November 11 Illinois History Minute

It’s November 11th, Veterans Day, originally known as Armistice Day, and the first day of what came to be known as the Armistice Day Blizzard of 1940. Several midwestern states were hit by sharp temperature drops, heavy snow and high winds. The storm killed 146 people, including thirteen in Illinois. 

“Tweedle Dee” from 1954, was the first big record for singer Lavern Baker, who was born in Chicago on this day in 1929. Her version was overshadowed by a sound-alike cover version recorded by white singer Georgia Gibbs. But Baker would go on to record other hits in the 1950s, including Jim Dandy and I Cried a Tear.