Friday-Sunday, August 26-28, 2005

Jimi gives his 'Foxy Lady' some juice...

August 26th was a memorable day for Jimi Hendrix. It was on that date in 1967 that "Purple Haze" was released and on that same date in 1970, the rocker that made an electric guitar do things that it had no right to do, opened "The Electric Lady" recording studio in New York City...

Hendrix paid $50,000 for the studio on West 8th Street in Greenwich Village intending to turn it into a nightclub. Changing his plans he turned it into the first successful recording studio owned by an entertainer. The studio is still doing sessions today. Jimi opened the studio with a highly sought after 36-track board, opening it up to the public in addition to doing all his sessions there...

It was during the same week of the studio opening that The Jimi Hendrix Experience would play the Isle of Wright Pop Festival in England, prophetically one of Jimi's final performances before his untimely death at 28 a few weeks later...

More August 26 Memories...

1939) The first televised baseball game is shown with the Reds taking on the Brooklyn Dodgers...

1947) The Dodgers Don Bankhead becomes the first black pitcher in baseball...

1957) Ford rolls out the first Edsel...

1964) In Atlantic City, the Democratic National Convention nominates LBJ for a full term as president...

1967) Jimi Hendrix releases "Purple Haze" (feature story)...

1970) Duane Allman starts recording as a member of Eric Clapton's new band, Derek & The Dominoes...

1974) Charles Lindberg reaches the highest altitude possible at 72...

1976) Aerosmith makes the cover of "Rolling Stone"...

1977) The Pretenders make their debut opening for an act called "Strangeways"...

1986) Jennifer Levin is found strangled in Central Park. Robert Chambers eventually pleads quilty to the "preppie murder"...

Happy Birthday to...

1921) Former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee...

1934) Former Celtic great and current play-by-play man Tommy Heinsohn...

1935) Geraldine Ferraro...

1939) Bill White...

1945) Tom Ridge...

1948) Valerie Simpson...

1948) Lee Trevino...

1949) Bob Cowsill...

1980) Macaulay Culkin (wonder if he got a birthday card from Michael)...

Commentary...

As Paul Power will attest, in the early days of WRKO we were aggressive in adding new music to the station to get the jump on WBZ and WMEX and in some cases would add music that they would never play. The Rolling Stones' "Let's Spend The Night Together" is one example, another is "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix...

"Purple Haze" fit like a glove with WRKO being the more aggressive of the comtemporary stations in a market of close to half a million students at Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern, etc. Hey we even had listeners at Harvard and MIT and Jimi Hendrix was being played there so why shouldn't we be playing it on the radio for the masses ? We did and we won...

Saturday, August 27, 2005

The "King" meets the Beatles...

August 27, 1965 was the date that Elvis Presley met the Beatles. The meeting took place at his home. While there are lots of different versions of this historic meeting we will use direct quotes from those who were there starting with Priscilla Presley: "One memorable evening, Colonel Tom Parker arranged for Elvis to meet the Beatles but it was the Beatles who were eager to meet Elvis, not the other way around." John Lennon: "It was nice meeting Elvis. He was just Elvis, you know? He seemed normal to us. He had his TV going all the time, which is what I do, we always have a TV on. In front of the TV he had a massive amplifier and he was playing bass so we just got in there and played with him". Paul McCartney: "We played a bit of pool with a few of his motorcycle mates when Priscilla came in and I got this picture of her as sort of a Barbie doll with a purple gingham dress and gingham bow in her beehive hair with lots of makeup. We all said hello and then it was, "Right lads, hands off, she's going." She didn't stay long."

Two of pop music's biggest icons, Elvis and the Beatles would never meet again...

More August 27 Memories...

1961) "Francis the Talking Mule" is mystery guest on "What's My Line"...

1965) Elvis entertains the Beatles (feature story)...

1965) Bob Dylan releases his second electric LP, "Highway 61 Revisited"...

1966) "Cherish" by the Association is released...

1976) Sex-change tennis player Renee Richards is denied admission to the U.S. Open in Forest Hills...

1978) The Reds' Joe Morgan becomes first player with 500 stolen bases and 200 home runs...

1982) 23-year old Rickey Henderson steals his 119th base, breaking Lou Brock's season record...

1984) President Reagan announces his "Teacher In Space" project...

1990) Stevie Ray Vaughn and 3 members of Eric Clapton's band go down in a helicopter crash in Wisconsin...

1992) John Lennon's handwritten lyrics to "A Day In The Life" sells for $87,000 at an auction...

2001) Work begins on the future site of a WWII memorial in Washington, D.C...

Happy Birthday to...

1929) Ira ("Rosemary's Baby") Levin...

1937) Tommy Sands...

1942) Daryl Dragon ("The Captain")...

1943) Tuesday Weld...

1947) Barbara Bach...

1952) Paul (Pee Wee Herman) Reubens...

Commentary...

When Elvis met the Beatles, limousines were sent to a house in the canyon that the Beatles were renting. Colonel Parker was with John Lennon and Paul McCartney in one limo and Ringo and George were in the other...

The Colonel had leaked the meeting to the press so the Beatles were surrounded by hundreds of screaming girls when they got to Elvises house. At the door to greet them were none other than Elvis Presley and his wife Priscilla...

Sunday, August 28, 2005...

On the night of the day the Beatles appeared on the cover of "Life" magazine, the "Fab Four" opened before 16,000 fans for the first of a two-day concert at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium. The year was 1964 when the Beatles would play 5 dates in New York City. They would return for 2 more dates in 1965 and 1966, both times at Shea Stadium...On this date in 1966 they were one day away from their final U.S. appearance...

1922) The first radio commercial aired on WEAF in New York City (contrary to popular belief it was not voiced by Cousin Brucie)...

1961) The Marvelettes release "Please Mr. Postman"...

1963) Dr. Martin Luther King delivers his "I have a dream" speech before 200,000 in Washington, D.C...

1964) The Beatles play Forest Hills (feature story)...

1968) Police and anti-war demonstrators clash in the streets of Chicago during the Democratic National Convention...

1972) David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars make their debut at Carnegie Hall...

1972) Mark Spitz captures the first of his seven gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Munich...

1973) "Monster Mash" goes gold...

1973) "Smoke on the Water" goes gold...

1984) The Jackson's Victory Tour breaks the record for concert ticket sales, surpassing 1.1 million in 2 months...

1988) "30 Something" and "The Wonder Years" are the big winners at the 40th Emmy Awards...

1991) A Lexington Avenue IRT train derails at Union Square killing 5. A subway motorman is charged with manslaughter...

1995) Chase and Chemical merge creating the biggest bank in the U.S...

1996) A divorce decree is issued ending Prince Charles and Princess Diana's 15-year marriage...

Happy Birthday to...

1925) Billy Grammar...

1930) Ben Gazzara...

1943) Lou Piniella...

1943) David Soul...

1950) Ron Guidry...

1957) Daniel Stern...

1958) Scott Hamilton...

1965) Shania Twain...

1969) Jack Black...

1969) Jason Priestley...

1982) Leann Rimes...

Commentary...

It's interesting to note that the final 2 Beatle dates in New York City, the last 2 of 5 appearances in 1964 were sell-outs, drawing a total of 32,000 fans at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium. Such would not be the case when they played their final New York City date at Shea Stadium in 1966. That show was 11,000 short of a sell-out...

The Beatles would do quite well in New York City, thank you. Their total attendance was 141,000 for 7 dates...