Friday-Sunday, December 9-11, 2005

The treasure that was Sam Cooke...

Now that Bobby Darin has been immortalized on film it's time for another legend's life to be memorialized and my vote goes to Sam Cooke. A movie on Cooke's life has been in the rumor stages for a dozen years. To paraphrase one of Cooke's best records, "A Change Is Gonna Come", how about "A Movie Is Gonna Come" ???

Every pore of Sam Cooke oozed more charisma, talent and soul than most performers dream about. I mean who else could score with the dreamy innocence and longing of a "You Send Me", turn on the soul with "Bring It On Home To Me" and counter with a hit about the Twist ? ("Twistin' The Night Away"). And let's not forget "Chain Gang", "Wonderful World", "Shake" and "Another Saturday Night". Being a crusader for civil rights as Sam Cooke was adds still another dimension to a story demanding to be told...

The 41st anniversary of the passing of Sam Cooke is this Sunday, December 11th. Details of the mysterious hotel shooting that robbed us of another musical icon and treasure are still sketchy at best. His talent is not. Cooke was inducted as a charter member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. Cooke's influence in the careers of other artists is immense and includes Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Lou Rawls, Al Green and even stretches as far as Rod Stewart and beyond...

Allen Klein owns the Sam Cooke catalogue and it will be through Allen's efforts that the Sam Cooke story makes it to the big screen. One bit of advice Allen, when it comes time to cast for the movie, don't get Jamie Foxx. Ray Charles can't play Sam Cooke. Pass on Denzel and think maybe Usher or some young, talented black actor and whatever you do and whoever it is, please use Sam Cooke's voice on the sound track. You owe us that...

December 9 Memories...

1793) "The American Minerva" becomes New York's 1st daily newspaper (founded by Noah Webster, who gave us our 1st dictionary)...

1907) Christmas Seals go on sale for the 1st time in the Wilmington, Delaware post office (proceeds went to fight tuberculosis)...

1940) The timebuy is born as the Longines Watch Company signs the 1st FM radio advertising contract with experimental station W2XOR in New York City (catchy call letters)...

1958) The John Birch Society is formed in Indianapolis by Robert H. W. Welch Jr. and 11 others (as an anti-Communist society)...

1963) The 1st Supremes album, "Meet The Supremes" is released...

1967) LBJ's daughter Lynda (bird) marries a Marine, Charles Robb in the White House (Robb who would become Governor of Virginia and Lynda are still married so let's make this a "Happy Anniversary" item, done !)...

1968) The Supremes and Temptations special, "TCB (Takin' Care of Business)" airs on NBC-TV...

1972) Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" is released...

1975) President Ford signs a $2.3 billion seasonal loan authorization to prevent New York City from defaulting (despite his "Drop Dead" message to New York)...

1977) The Lakers Kermit Washington punches Houston's Rudy Tomjanovich in the face during a game (Tomjanovich would need facial reconstruction and collect $2 million from the Lakers in a settlement. Washington was fined $10,000 and suspended for 60 days)...

1978) The Blues Brothers a.k.a. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd release their version of Sam & Dave's "Soul Man"...

1979) Religious broadcaster Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen dies at 84...

1981) Orioles lead singer Sonny Til dies of a heart attack at 51...

1984) The Jacksons play their last show together in Los Angeles...

1990) Lech Walesa wins Poland's 1st direct presidential election in the country's history...

1992) Britain's Prince Charles and Princess Diana announce their separation...

1993) Endeavor astronauts complete repairs on the Hubble Space Telescope...

1995) The Beatles' "Anthology I" quickly shoots to the top of the charts following a 6-hour ABC documentary ("Free as a Bird", the 1st new Beatle tune in 25 years is included in the anthology)...

2002) United Arlines files Chapter 11 (after losing $4 billion in the previous 2 years)...

Happy Birthday To...

1918) Kirk Douglas...

1925) Dina Merrill...

1928) Dick Van Patten...

1930) Buck Henry...

1934) Judi Dench...

1941) Beau Bridges...

1953) John Malkovich...

1957) Donny Osmond...

1962) Felicity Huffman...

Saturday, December 10, 2005...

December 10 Memories...

1906) President Theodore Roosevelt becomes the 1st American to win the Nobel Peace Prize...

1927) The Grand Ole Opry makes its 1st radio broadcast from Nashville...

1949) Fats Domino records his 1st hit, "The Fat Man" (Fats will sell over 6.5 million records during his 6-decade career)...

1953) Hugh Hefner publishes the 1st "Playboy" (featuring photos of Marilyn Monroe) with an initial investment of $7,600...

1958) The 1st domestic passenger jet flight in the U.S. takes 111 passengers from New York to Miami on a National Airlines Boeing 707...

1963) At the age of 6, Donny Osmond makes his debut with the Osmonds on NBC-TVs "Andy Williams Show"...

1964) Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. becomes the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize...

1965) The Grateful Dead play their 1st concert (at Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco)...

1967) 26-year old Otis Redding is killed along with most of the Bar-Kays when his small plane crashes into a Wisconsin lake (during a tour)...

1971) Joseph Durso of the New York Times called this "the worst trade in baseball history" and few could argue. The trade ? The Mets send Nolan Ryan to the Angels for Jim Fregosi (All Ryan would do was go on to pitch 7 no-hitters and become the greatest stikeout pitcher of all-time and you might ask what Fregosi would accomplish and we'll tell you. On the downside of his career he would bat a mighty .232 for the Mets)...

1976) "Wings Over America" by Paul McCartney & Wings is released...

1983) The Steelers beat the Jets 34-7 in the last NFL game played at Shea Stadium...

1984) "Do They Know It's Christmas" is released by Band-Aid (a group assembled to aid in famine relief)...

1992) WNEW-AM signs off at 1130 on the dial, becoming business radio WBBR (on December 2nd WQXR would adapt an adult-standards format, similar fo WNEW as WQEW)...

1994) For their peace efforts in the Middle East, Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin receive the Nobel Peace Prize...

1996) Country great Faron Young takes his own life...

1999) Rick Danko of The Band dies at 56...

2002) Former President Carter accepts the Nobel Peace Prize for his diplomacy in the Middle East in the '70s...

Happy Birthday To...

1943) Chad Stuart (Chad & Jeremy)...

1948) Ralph Tavares (of Tavares)...

1952) Susan Dey ("The Partridge Family" & "L.A. Law")...

1963) Michael Clarke Duncan ("The Green Mile")...

Sunday, December 11, 2005...

December 11 Memories...

1872) Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback (what was his name before he changed it ?) becomes America's 1st black governor when he takes office as acting governor of Louisiana...

1936) Britain's King Edward VIII abdicates the throne in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson (now that's love)...

1946) UNICEF (The United Nations International Children's Fund) is established to provide relief to children in countries devastated by war...

1951) The Yankee Clipper, Joe DiMaggio retires after a 13-year career (DiMaggio will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955)...

1957) Jerry Lee Lewis secretly marries his 13-year old third cousin Myra Gale Brown (it's his 3rd marriage but strangely enough Myra's 1st)...

1958) The Coasters record "Charlie Brown"...

1960) Aretha Franklin makes her New York debut at the Village Vanguard...

1964) Sam Cooke is shot to death at the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles (feature story)...

1971) Carly Simon releases "Anticipation" (a.k.a. "The Ketchup Song")...

1975) The Yankees pick up Willie Randolph, Mickey Rivers and Ed Fiqueroa in 2 outstanding, separate trades...

1981) Muhammad Ali fights his last fight, losing to Trevor Berbick (Ali retires with a 56-5 record with 37 knockouts)...

1982) Ralph Sampson and Patrick Ewing put on a show as Sampson leads top ranked Virginia to a 68-63 victory over Georgetown (Sampson scores 23 points, pulls down 16 rebounds and blocks 7 shots while Ewing scores 16 with 8 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Sampson would be drafted #1 by Houston in 1983 and Ewing #1 with that famous and controversial lottery pick by the Knicks in 1985)...

1985) General Electric agrees to buy RCA for $6.3 billion. Included in the deal is NBC Radio & Television...

1988) Don Henley, Tom Petty, Graham Nash and Bonnie Raitt put on a benefit show in Los Angeles to pay tribute to Roy Orbison...

1990) Donald Trump tells wife Ivana "you're fired" as the pair divorce after 12 years of marriage...

1991) A West Palm Beach jury acquits William Kennedy Smith of sexual assault and battery, rejecting the allegations of Patricia Bowman...

1997) Jewel, Sinead O'Connor and Emmylou Harris perform the Beatles' "In My Life" together at the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo, Norway...

1998) The House Judiciary Committee approves 3 articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton...

2000) Shortstop Alex Rodriguez agrees to a $252 million deal with Texas, the most lucrative sports contract in history...

Happy Birthday To...

1931) Rita Moreno...

1940) David Gates (Bread)...

1942) Donna Mills...

1943) John Kerry...

1944) Brenda Lee...

1949) Teri Garr...

1971) Patriot linebacker Willie McGinest...