Celebrating Dizzy Gillespie’s Birthday With A Google Doodle

Posted by D.A. Gutierrez in Commentary, History, Jazz Events, News

October 21st, 2010   No Comments »

Google displayed a stylized version of its logo on Thursday, October 21, 2001 in honor of jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie's birthday.

Google displayed a stylized version of its logo on Thursday, October 21, 2001, in honor of jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie's birthday.

Having been sick for the last few days, I came home from work early today to fight off the last remnants of a nasty cold. At 5pm I downed a dose of NyQuil in an attempt to get some sleep, and boy did it help! I slept almost until midnight, or “Round Midnight” as may be apropos to say at this moment. Upon waking up, I logged on to the computer and was super excited to find that Google decided to honor what would have been Dizzy Gillespie’s 93rd birthday with a stylized Google Doodle.

In case you’re not already aware, Google is known for displaying specially created versions of its logo in honor of different events. For example, earlier this month they featured an elaborate full motion logo that also played a short clip of John Lennon’s song “Imagine” for what would have been the former Beatles icon’s 70th birthday.

In any case, I’m still sick. I’ve just downed another dose of Nyquil to help me sleep peacefully for the rest of the night. Before it kicks in and I start typing gibberish, I’ll leave you with two memorable Dizzy moments. Happy Birthday, Dizzy!

First up, Dizzy Gillespie’s appearance on The Muppet Show in 1980. Below that is a version (albeit, not my favorite version) of his hit “Manteca.” Enjoy!