Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

And it seems to me you lived your life like a candle in the wind..."

A tragic high speed early morning car accident in Paris took the life of Princess Diana Spencer and plunged the world into mourning on this date in 1997. Driver Henri Paul, who was drunk, lost control of the Mercedes S-280, crashing into a pillar on the underpass below the Pont de l'Alma...

Diana's companion, Dodi Fayed was killed instantly as was driver Henri Paul. Trevor Rees Jones, bodyguard of the princess escaped with serious but nonfatal injuries. He was the only one wearing his seat belt. Trapped inside the car, Diana suffered massive chest injuries, was treated at the scene. Taken to Pitie-Salpetiere Hospital, the princess suffered cardiac arrest and at 3AM was pronounced dead...

What followed was an outpouring of love from all corners of the world. Mourners would bring more than a million bouquets of flowers and waited more than 12 hours to sign books of condolences. A charity fund would raise $133 million of which $48 million came from sales of Elton John's memorial single "Candle In The Wind 1997" and $20 million from official Diana souvenirs...

Diana's funeral service was watched by an estimated 2 billion people worldwide. Diana was 36 at the time of her death...

More August 31 Memories...

1950) Brooklyn Dodger Gil Hodges hits 4 home runs in one game, tying a major league record...

1969) Heavweight champ Rocky Marciano dies in a light plane crash in Iowa, the day before his 46th birthday...

1974) "The Partridge Family" TV show ends, David Cassidy pursues a solo career...

1974) Carole King's "Jazzman" is released...

1976) A judge rules that George Harrison was guilty of copying from the Chiffons song "He's So Fine" when he wrote "My Sweet Lord"...

1981) The 30-year contract between Milton Berle and NBC-TV expires...

1985) "Night Stalker" killer Richard Ramirez is captured by residents of an East Los Angeles neighborhood...

1989) The Rolling Stones begin their 1st concert tour in 8 years at JFK stadium in Philadelphia...

1995) The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opens in Cleveland...

1997) Princess Diana dies at 36 (feature story)...

1997) The Yankees retire Don Mattingly's number, #23...

1998) "Titanic" becomes the first movie in North America to earn more than $600 million...

2001) A Bronx Little League team's 3rd place finish is ruled invalid because star pitcher Danny Almonte was found to be 2 years older than the age limit of 12...

2002) Jazz great Lionel Hampton hits his last note on the vibes at 94...

Happy Birthday to...

1916) Broadcast journalist Daniel Schorr...

1931) Dan Rather...

1935) National's manager/Hall of Famer Frank Robinson...

1939) Crickets' drummer Jerry Allison...

1945) Violinist Itzhak Perlman...

1945) Van Morrison...

1949) Richard Gere...

1953) O.J. Prosecutor Marcia Clark...

1970) Deborah Gibson...

Commentary...

About Diana Frances Spencer: Lady Di was born July 1, 1961 in England...She became known as Lady Diana Spencer in 1975...She became a kindergarten teacher at a fashionable school in suburban London after completing her education...In 1980 she began a romance with Prince Charles. In 1981 they were engaged to be married...On July 29, 1981 nearly one billion viewers in 74 countries witnessed her marriage to the heir to the British throne...their first child, Prince William was born in 1982. Second child, Prince Henry was born in 1984...In 1992 Diana and Charles formally separated and in August of 1996, the prince and princess reached a final divorce agreement...

Diana's looks and shy demeanor made her an instant media sensation. She would become one of the most photographed women in the world and the focus of paparazzi wherever she went. Lady Di's generous spirit was also felt with the countless hours she devoted to charity work...

Princess Diana's flame was extinguished at the age of 36. The end of Elton John's memorial song to Lady Di puts things in the right perspective, "And your footsteps will always fall here along England's greenest hills. Your candle's burned out long before your legend ever will..."

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

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Reunited and it feels so good...

Simon and Garfunkel did it, so too did Sonny & Cher, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Billy Martin and George Steinbrenner did it five times and on this date in 1995 James Taylor and Carly Simon joined the ranks of reunited couples by appearing together for the first time in 16 years...

James and Carly decided to let bygones be bygones to raise their voices in song for "Livestock '95" at a benefit performance for the Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society as Cape Cod's summer drew to a close on the Vineyard...

This was not an easy reconciliation to make for either James or Carly following the end of their storybook marriage of 11 years in 1983...the bitter feelings of the breakup continue to this day but for one day in 1995 they were reunited and it felt so good...

More August 30 Memories...

1961) "Michael" by the Highwaymen tops the charts...

1963) The "hotline" between Washington and Moscow goes into operation...

1964) The Beatles draw 18,000 for a concert at Atlantic City's Convention Hall...

1965) "Help!" tops the charts for the Beatles...

1965) Thurgood Marshall is confirmed by the Senate as the first black Supreme Court justice...

1970) Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, the Who, Joni Mitchell, Jethro Tull, the Moody Blues and more appear at the Isle of Wight Pop Festival...

1972) John Lennon & Yoko Ono perform at their "One To One" benefit for children at Madison Square Garden...

1976) Tom Brokaw joins the "Today Show" as news anchor...

1980) Cher makes an unannounced appearance as vocalist with Black Rose at a concert in Central Park...

1981) The Rolling Stones release their "Tattoo You" LP...

1984) An auction of Beatles memorabilia including Ringo's snare drum and an unpublished book by John Lennon raises $270,000...

1988) Julianne Phillips files for divorce from Bruce Springsteen...

1989) Leona Helmsley is found quilty of income tax evasion by a New York federal jury...

1992) "Northern Exposure" wins the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series...

1993) Billy Joel becomes the first musical guest on the debut of "The Late Show With David Letterman" on CBS-TV...

1995) James Taylor and Carly Simon reunite on Martha's Vineyard (feature story)...

Happy Birthday to...

1919) Kitty Wells, the Queen of Country Music...

1928) Bill ("The Bob Newhart Show") Daily...

1930) Warren Buffett...

1939) Elizabeth Ashley...

1943) Skier Jean-Claude Killy...

1947) Peggy Lipton...

1951) Timothy Bottoms...

1953) Celtic great Robert ("The Chief") Parish...

1963) Boston's Michael Chiklis...

1972) Cameron Diaz...

1973) Lisa ("The View") Ling...

1982) Tennis player Andy Roddick...

Commentary...

I've had the pleasure of meeting both James Taylor and Carly Simon. Both artists were part of the CBS family of record artists when I met them. James, a quiet man would often come up to use a CBS Records International office to promote an upcoming overseas date by phoning ahead. Interestingly enough when I met Carly in the 80's she was not with James but with Sarah and Ben, her children with James...

Carly recently released "Moonlight Serenade", a CD of standards on Columbia Records and James performs frequently throughout the country. Both still have property on Martha's Vineyard, where they spend most of their time, apart. Carly also owns "Hot Tin Roof" where son Ben has performed. Earlier this month Carly gave one of her rare performances on the Vineyard. James has a massive estate on the island that is only reachable by boat...

When they're willing to talk about their relationship you get a mixed message of who caused the breakup. They've both gone on with their lives, James, remarried and Carly happy with her new career direction...


Monday, August 29, 2005

Monday, August 29, 2005

The long and winding road ends at "The Stick"...

Brian Epstein was depressed up until showtime on the night of August 29, 1966. He would be the only one among the 25,000 plus fans that realized that the long and winding road was about to end for the Beatles that night at Candlestick Park in San Francisco...

The Beatles final U.S. concert took place on the 8th anniversary of the day George Harrison first appeared with the Quarrymen led by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. It was also on this date in 1964 that the Beatles drew 16,000 at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, their 5th New York City appearance that year...

How ironic for the Beatles to play their last U.S. date in San Francisco, where they started on August 19, 1964. Their first U.S. venue was the Cow Palace and they would end it all 2 years and 10 days later at Candlestick Park on August 29, 1966. Read my commentary for some interesting memories of that final appearance...

More August 29 Memories...

1958) Alan Freed wraps up the summer with a "Big Beat Show" at the Brooklyn Fox...

1958) George Harrison joins the Quarrymen (mentioned in feature story)...

1958) The Air Force Academy opens in Colorado Springs...

1964) Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman" is released...

1964) Walt Disney's "Mary Poppins" premieres...

1964) The Beatles perform in Forest Hills (mentioned in feature story)...

1965) 75-year old Met manager Casey Stengel retires after a 56-year career...

1966) The Beatles play their last U.S. date (feature story)...

1966) Mia Farrow quits "Peyton Place"...

1967) The final episode of "The Fugitive" airs...

1970) "Lola" by the Kinks is released...

1971) Paul & Linda McCartney top the charts with "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"...

1973) President Richard M. Nixon is ordered to turn over the Watergate tapes...

1977) 3 people are arrested trying to steal Elvis Presley's body...

1977) Lou Brock breaks Ty Cobb's 49-year stolen base record with his 893rd swipe...

1982) Swedish film star Ingrid Bergman dies on her 67th birthday...

1982) The Steve Miller Band tops the charts with "Abracadabra"...

1996) Isaac Hayes asks presidential candidate Bob Dole to stop using his song "Soul Man" which Dole had changed to "I'm A Dole Man"...

2002) Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel is sentenced to 20 years to life for bludgeoning his teenage neighbor...

Happy Birthday to...

1923) Actor-director Richard Attenborough...

1936) Senator John McCain...

1938) Elliott Gould...

1941) Robin Leach...

1958) Michael Jackson...

1962) Rebecca DeMornay...

Commentary...

Some Beatle facts you may not have known: Lennon and McCartney wrote and recorded 105 songs together...they wrote 16 for other artists...The Beatles recorded 11 songs written by George Harrison...their last U.K. concert was at Wembley on May 1, 1965...their last single in Britain was released in February, 1970. It was "Let It Be"...their last American release was "The Long and Winding Road" released May 7, 1970...their last LP, "Let It Be" was released in the U.K. on May 8, 1970 and in America 7 days later...

Either totally oblivious or caught up in his emotions, Ringo Starr when asked his feelings about the Beatles last U.S. concert replied, "It was such a big time in my life, I don't remember it"...

You can save the whales by collecting the whole set...


Friday, August 26, 2005

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...


Thursday, August 25, 2005

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Follow the yellow brick road...

Elton John took his first step down that yellow brick road on this date in 1970 when he debuted at The Troubador in West Hollywood...

Bearded and wearing bell bottoms and a red tee-shirt with "Rock and Roll" printed on it, Elton did an hour set that included "Your Song", "Border Song", "Take Me To The Pilot" and "Honky Tonk Women". Elton co-headlined with the "immortal" David Ackles nightly through August 30th...

If you're wondering what the music critics thought of this new 23-year old rocker, this is what the L.A. Times said, "Rejoice. Rock music has a new star who was in almost every way, magnificent. He's going to be one of Rock's biggest and most important stars." In 1990 Rolling Stone rated this show among the top 20 concerts that changed Rock and Roll...

More August 25 Memories...

1952) Tiger pitcher Virgil Trucks pitches his second no-hitter of the season, beating the Yankees 1-0...

1956) To make room for newly acquired Enos Slaughter, the Yankees release Phil Rizzuto...

1960) The AFL begins placing players names on the back of their jersey...

1970) Elton John debuts (feature story)...

1973) The Allman Brothers release "Ramblin' Man"...

1975) Bruce Springsteen releases his "Born To Run" LP...

1976) The self-titled Boston LP debuts...

1978) The shroud of Turin goes on display...

1979) "Cars" by Gary Numan is released...

1984) The body of author Truman Capote is discovered. Capote was 59...

1985) Dwight "Doc" Gooden at 20 becomes the youngest pitcher to win 20 games. He will finish the season 24-4...

1986) Paul Simon releases "Graceland"...

1991) "LA Law" and "Cheers" are the big winners at the 43rd Emmy Awards...

1993) Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman is indicted for terrorist activities that include the first World Trade Center bombing...

1994) The marriage between Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley is formally dissolved...

1994) Jimmy Buffett's plane flips over after taking off in Nantucket. Buffett will swim to safety (he then proceeded getting wasted away in Margaritaville)...

2003) Tennis champion Pete Sampras retires...

Happy Birthday to...

1916) Van Johnson...

1921) Monty Hall...

1930) Sean Connery...

1931) Regis Philbin...

1933) Tom Skerritt...

1938) Soap star David Canary...

1942) The O'Jay's Walter Williams...

1946) Baseball Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers...

1949) Gene Simmons of Kiss...

1951) Judas Priest lead singer Rob Halford...

1954) Elvis Costello...

1964) Blair Underwood...

1966) Former major league malcontent Albert Belle...

Commentary...

Elton John's journey down the yellow brick road continues with top grossing concerts that include the 3-year Caesar's Palace deal he signed in 2004...

Winner of far too many Grammy and other music awards that we don't have space to list, Elton continues to write and record original songs for himself as well as Broadway musical and movie scores and soundtracks. Elton was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994...

A couple of things you may not know about Elton: Born Reginald Dwight, he chose the name "Elton" from his band's sax player, Elton Dean and "John" came from touring with Long "John" Baldry...

When Elton John debuted at the Troubador he was introduced by Neil Diamond and sitting in the audience was Leon Russell...


Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

This Rose stinks...

On this date in 1989 it was "three strikes and you're out" for Pete Rose. Baseball Commissioner Bart Garmatti banned permanently, the player who owns the career record for most hits (4,256) in baseball history, 16 years ago today...

Although the 5-page document signed by both parties included no formal findings, Giamatti considered Rose's acceptance of the ban to be a no-contest plea to charges of gambling on major league games. Indeed there was evidence of Pete Rose's signature on betting slips found during the extensive investigation of the alleged charges...

For years Pete Rose never admitted betting on baseball but all that changed with the publishing of his book, "My Prison Without Bars". In the book Rose describes a 2002 meeting with the current Commisoner of Baseball Bud Selig in which Rose was asked if he had bet on baseball. This was his answer, "Yes sir, I did bet on baseball but I never bet against my own team and I never made any bets from the clubhouse."...

While Rose continues to seek reinstatement because he admitted wrong doing, he is still ineligilble for either reinstatement into baseball or gaining entrance to the Hall of Fame, and he should continue to be denied both in my opinion...

The exhaustive investigation took its toll on Bart Giamatti, who at 51 would die of a sudden heart attack just 8 days after banning Rose...

More August 24 Memories...

1961) Joe Dowell takes an Elvis song from "G.I. Blues" to the top of the charts as "Wooden Heart" goes to #1...

1964) The Beatles release "Matchbox/Slow Down."...

1967) Beatles' manager Brian Epstein dies of an overdose at 32...

1968) The Who's Keith Moon drives a Lincoln into a Holiday Inn swimming pool (what's wrong with that ?)...

1973) John Adams starts beating his drum in the rightfield stands at Cleveland Stadium. He's still doing it at Jacobs Field between sections 182 & 183 in the last row according to Indians fan, Bob Kwest...

1973) "Brother Louie" by Stories is #1...

1978) On the cover of Rolling Stone: Bruce Springsteen...

1979) The Cars play before half a million in Central Park...

1979) Over 60,000 NFL fans choose the old Patriots logo over the new one (why didn't the Patriots do a poll before changing it ?)...

1981) Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life for the murder of John Lennon...

1989) Pete Rose is banned from baseball (feature story)...

1990) A Nevada judge rules that Judas Priest was not responsible for the suicides of 2 teens...

1995) Windows 95 goes on sale...

Happy Birthday to...

1934) Kenny (R2D2) Baker...

1938) Mason Williams...

1942) Chi-Lites' Marshall Thompson...

1949) Joe ("Murphy Brown") Regalbuto...

1952) Denver coach Mike Shanahan...

1956) Long Island's Gerry Cooney...

1960) Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr...

1962) Craig ("The Late Late Show") Kilborn...

1965) Knick nemesis Reggie Miller...

1973) "Retired" comedian Dave Chappelle...

Commentary...

Two things come to mind about Pete Rose. Jeff Mazzei of WCBS-FM can verify the first one which happened at Yankee Stadium shortly after Paul Giamatti's unexpected heart attack. There was a moment of silence announced by public address announcer Bob Shepard just prior to the singing of the national anthem. You could hear a pin drop for several seconds before a booming voice from section one in the upper deck proclaimed "Pete Rose is a murderer." While this stretch was so wildly amusing the crowd stood in a stunned silence...

The second thing that comes to mind is nephew Jim Gray's aggressive questioning of Rose during a live interview in 1999 in which he asked the banned superstar if he would ever admit betting on baseball. Jim was insistent on getting an answer from Rose and he was raked over the coals for it. Although he didn't ask for any defense from me, he got it anyway in those conversations I had with those that took Jim to task for "badgering" Rose. In time we've learned that Jim was right on the money with his line of questioning...

While we'll probably never know for sure whether or not Rose bet against the Reds as manager, the doubt will always remain that there was a possibility that he did. He should never be considered for reinstatement or admittance to the Hall of Fame in my view...


Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

All things must pass...

The Beatles said goodbye to New York with their final appearance on this night in 1966. Shea Stadium was the site for a less than sold-out performance that would fall 11,000 short of a sell-out...

This would be the 7th performance in The Apple, most of any city the Beatles would play in during their 3 tours of America. If you're keeping score, there were 2 shows at Carnegie Hall, 2 appearances at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium and a date at the Paramount Theater, all in 1964. 1965 brought the Beatles to a sold-out Shea and their final performance back at the home of the Mets on this date in 1966...

The Beatles would gross an attendance of over 141,000 in New York City during their 7 shows. On August 23, 1966 they were 6 days shy of their final U.S. appearance...

More August 23 Memories...

1962) John Lennon marries Cynthia Powell in Liverpool...

1962) Little Eva tops the charts with "The Loco-Motion"...

1972) "Brandy" by Looking Glass is #1...

1974) John Lennon reports seeing a UFO in New York City (yeah but did the UFO see John ?)...

1979) Soviet dancer Alexander Godunov defects while the Bolshoi Ballet is on tour in New York City...

1982) Gaylord Perry is tossed from a game for throwing a "spitter"...

1993) The LAPD confirms that Michael Jackson is the subject of a criminal investigation...

2000) 51 million viewers tune in for the "Survivor" finale as Richard Hatch walks away with a cool million...

2001) California Congressman Gary Condit tells Connie Chung he had nothing to do with Chandra Levy's disappearance...

2002) New York publicist Lizzie Grubman pleads quilty to mowing down 16 people outside a Hamptons nightclub...

2003) Former Boston priest John Geoghan, convicted child molester is snuffed out by a fellow prisoner...

Happy Birthday to...

1930) Vera Miles...

1932) Satirist Mark Russell...

1934) Sonny Jurgensen...

1934) Barbara ("I Dream of Jeannie") Eden...

1938) Ronnie Cox...

1948) Baseball's first designated hitter, Ron Blomberg...

1949) Shelley Long...

1949) Rick Springfield...

1970) Comedian Jay Mohr...

1970) River Phoenix...

1978) Kobe Bryant...

Commentary...

As time goes by, the 3 pop icons who spanned generations, each with their own particular brand, personality, talent and charisma, that seem to surface are 1) Frank Sinatra, 2) Elvis Presley and 3) The Beatles...

If you talk to people who were lucky enough to have seen any one of those 3 acts they will tell you in no uncertain terms how special each were and how they tower over any other performers before or since...

Any other performer you might mention as being the best you've ever seen, wasn't unless their names were 1) Frank Sinatra, 2) Elvis Presley or 3) The Beatles...


Monday, August 22, 2005

Monday, August 22, 2005

The 1st of 5 in a row...

The Supremes were on tour with Dick Clark's "Caravan of Stars" when they got the news on this day in 1964. It was the day they were all alone at the top of the charts with "Where Did Our Love Go"...

Motown's first supergroup would soon discover that there were more chart toppers to come, 4 more consecutive number ones: "Baby Love", "Come See About Me", "Stop ! In The Name Of Love" and "Back In My Arms Again". All written and produced by the legendary songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland. Before they were through, the Supremes would score with 33 Top 40 hits, 23 Top 10's and 12 Number Ones...

Lamont Dozier summed up The Supremes success with this quote: "The Supremes came together because everybody had the right elements, the right seasonings and the right flavors to make it happen."

More August 22 Memories...

1956) Elvis Presley begins work on his first movie, "The Reno Brothers" which is re-titled, "Love Me Tender"...

1964) Martha & The Vandellas release "Dancing In The Streets"...

1964) The #1 selling LP on this date ? Not The Beatles, Four Seasons or Motown. "The Chipmunks Sing The Beatles" was selling 25,000 copies a day...

1964) The Supremes top the charts for the first time (feature story)...

1965) Giant pitcher Juan Marichal hits Dodger catcher John Roseboro in the head with a bat during an on-field fight...

1966) Cynthia Lennon sues John for divorce...

1969) The Beatles film a short for "The Long And Winding Road"...

1970) MCA Records signs Elton John...

1973) Henry Kissinger is named Secretary of State...

1984) The last VW Rabbit rolls off the assembly line...

1989) Black Panther Huey P. Newton is shot fatally...

1989) Nolan Ryan becomes the first major league pitcher to strike out 5,000 batters...

1998) In the midst of pursuing Roger Maris's home run record, Mark McGwire admits using an unauthorized substance. McGwire will wind up with 70 home runs...

Happy Birthday to...

1920) Science fiction writer Ray Bradbury...

1934) Retired general Norman Schwarzkopf...

1939) Baseball Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski...

1940) Valerie Harper...

1945) Steve ("60 Minutes") Kroft...

1945) Ron (Archie's lead singer) Dante...

1947) Cindy ("Laverne and Shirley") Williams...

1963) Tori Amos...

Commentary...

The Supremes weren't the first "girl" group but they set the standard for all female groups to follow. Not only could they sing, they were pretty, fashionable and most of all had great stage presence. They always looked and sounded great and would quickly become one of the best live acts in show business...

Credit Berry Gordy, Jr. for signing Motown's first superact, as well as Holland-Dozier-Holland for their superior writing and producing skills. That legendary team wrote and produced almost all of the group's early hits, including their 5 consecutive chart toppers in 1964-65...

The history of Motown was forged by such great acts as Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, Temptations, Martha and The Vandellas, Stevie Wonder, Mary Wells and on and on. None were bigger than The Supremes...


Friday, August 12, 2005

Fri-Sunday, August 12-21, 2005

A 10-pack to go...

With the Cape beckoning on Sunday, a rather ambitious 10-day blogathon is coming your way that will cover all the major events, factoids, birthdays and commentary you can probably stand. May I suggest that with so much packed into one blog that you make daily visits, much like you would in reading a page from your daily desk calendar each day. Now to the headlines for August 12th...

Pinstripe team-mates enter The Hall, so too do a pair of Dodgers...The Green get more green...we hear a Beatle apology, witness a Vietnam farewell and a Fleetwood Mac hello. Baseball strikes out. Louganis takes a dive and a Patriot is paralyzed. It all happened on August 12th through the years...

August 12 Memories...

1877) Thomas Edison invents the phonograph and makes the first sound recording...

1966) John Lennon apologizes for his remark about Jesus and The Beatles...

1967) Fleetwood Mac make their stage debut in England...

1969) The Boston Celtics are sold for $6 million, the highest price ever paid for a basketball team at the time...

1972) The last American combat ground troops leave Vietnam...

1974) Yankees' Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford enter Baseball's Hall of Fame...

1978) Patriot receiver Darryl Stingley is paralyzed from the chest down in a pre-season game...

1984) Diver Greg Louganis wins his second gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics in 10-meter platform competition...

1984) Dodgers' Don Drysdale and Pee Wee Reese enter Baseball's Hall of Fame...

1992) The North American Free Trade Agreement is signed by the U.S., Canada and Mexico...

1994) Major League baseball players go on strike. As a result the World Series will be wiped out for the first time in 90 years...

2001) Mel Phillips and Diane Brady say, "I do"...

Happy Birthday to...

1926) John Derek...

1927) Dolly Parton discoverer Porter Wagoner...

1929) Buck Owens...

1939) George Hamilton...

1949) Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler...

1959) Suzanne Vega...

1965) Peter ("Six Feet Under") Krause...

1971) Pete Sampras...

Saturday, August 13, 2005

The word "Taxi" pops into our vocabulary...The Mick goes down swinging...An airplane takes off...a Supreme release and a tragic injury, all top the news on this date through the years...now to the headlines...

August 13 Memories...

1907) The first taxicab hits the streets of Manhattan...

1965) The Jefferson Airplane make their stage debut in San Francisco...

1966) The Supremes release "You Can't Hurry Love"...

1990) Singer Curtis Mayfield is paralyzed after a light rack falls on him at a concert in Brooklyn...

1995) Mickey Mantle succumbs to cancer at 63...

Happy Birthday to...

1926) Fidel Castro...

1929) Pat ("One Day At A Time") Harrington...

1930) Don Ho...

1934) L'il Abner...

1942) Bambi...

1944) Kevin Tighe...

1949) Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke...

1951) Dan Fogelberg...

1958) Scott Hamilton...

1959) Danny Bonaduce...

Commentary...

A pall fell over Yankee Stadium the day after Mickey Mantle lost his heroic battle with cancer. There was little joy at "The House That Ruth Built" that day as the setting was somber even when fans waited for their favorite Yankee to enter the Stadium for batting practice. I don't remember who the Yankees played or what the outcome of the game was, I do remember how quite Yankee Stadium was that day...

Mantle often joked about his wild, booze filled days and the women in his life but he was also proud of being the longest surviving male in his family. No male had made it over the age of 50. And he made his final days count. He started an organ donation foundation and talked about saving lives until his was taken. Mickey Mantle died a hero...

Sunday, August 14, 2005

August 14th through the years: The McCoys hang on...Rod Stewart flips for Maggie...A Beatle loses a catalogue, a peanut farmer gets the call, #44 retires and what, another blackout ? Now to the headlines...

1935) FDR signs the Social Security Act into law creating unemployment insurance and pension plans for those over 65...

1953) The whiffle ball is invented...

1965) The McCoys release "Hang On Sloopy"...

1971) Rod Stewart release "Reason To Believe"/"Maggie May"...

1973) Bombing in Cambodia ends...

1976) "Rock 'N Me" is released by The Steve Miller Band...

1980) The Democratic National Convention in New York City nominates Jimmy Carter for president...

1985) Michael Jackson outbids Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono for the ATV Music Publishing catalogue containing the rights to more than 250 songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Total price: $47.5 million...

1992) Wayne Newton files for bankruptcy...

1992) Platters' lead singer Tony Williams dies at 64...

1993) The Yankees retire Reggie Jackson's #44 uniform at "Reggie Jackson Day"...

1994) International terrorist "Carlos The Jackal" is captured...

1995) The Citadel accepts their first female cadet...

1996) The Republican National Convention nominates Bob Dole for president...

1997) Timothy McVeigh is sentenced to death for the Oklahoma City bombing...

2003) A huge blackout hits the northeast, 50 million lose power

Happy Birthday to...

1926) Buddy Greco...

1926) Alice Ghostley...

1930) Earl Weaver...

1940) Dash Crofts...

1941) David Crosby...

1945) Steve Martin...

1946) Larry (Sly and the Family Stone) Graham...

1946) Susan St. James...

1947) Danielle Steel...

1950) "Far Side" cartoonist Gary Larson...

1959) Magic Johnson...

1968) Halle Berry...

1968) "JAG" star Catherine Bell...

1975) Patriot Mike Vrabel...

Monday, August 15, 2005

The two major events on August 15th revolve around music...

On this date in 1965 The Beatles set a record for having the largest single crowd at a concert. Shea Stadium swelled to 56,000. Consider the fact that promoter Sid Bernstein didn't spend a cent to promote it and that will give you some idea of how big the Beatles were in 1965...The Beatles only played 12 songs at that concert and this magical musical event was summed up by John Lennon and George Harrison with the following quotes, Lennon: "It was ridiculous. I heard one jet taking off and I thought it was one of our amplifiers blowing up. We couldn't hear ourselves sing." Harrison: "When you're competing with 56,000 people, it's ridiculous. We were not quite sure if anybody could even see us, let alone hear us."...

On the same August 15th, in 1969, Richie Havens kicked off 3 days of music, mud and love at Woodstock. Other acts appearing were Crosby, Stills & Nash, Janis Joplin, Sly & the family Stone, Joe Cocker, Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Blood, Sweat & Tears but there were more, 24 acts in all. The 3-day concert would draw 400,000 people...

1939) "The Wizard of Oz" premieres in Hollywood...

1948) CBS-TV inaugurates the first nightly news broadcast with anchorman Douglas Edwards...

1965) The Beatles pack Shea Stadium (feature story)...

1969) The Woodstock Music and Art Fair begins in Bethel, New York (feature story)...

1971) President Nixon announces a 90-day freeze on wages, rents and prices...

1990) Cancer sufferer, Giant pitcher Dave Dravecky breaks his arm while throwing a pitch in a televised game...

1991) Paul Simon plays a free concert in Central Park before 750,000...

Happy Birthday to...

1923) Rose Marie...

1925) Mike ("Mannix") Connors...

1925) Jazz great Oscar Peterson...

1925) The Drifters' Bill Pinckney...

1935) Vernon Jordan...

1944) Linda Ellerbee...

1950) Princess Anne...

1964) Debi Mazar...

1972) Ben Affleck...

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

August 16th was the day we lost both a King and a Bambino...

On this date in 1948 Babe Ruth lost his battle with throat cancer at 53. This legendary, bigger-than-life "Sultan of Swat" was reduced to a shrunken frame that was painful to watch. It wasn't long after he was given his day at Yankee Stadium that he would fade from the scene forever, his legend forever following the mention of his name. The magnitude of his death was so huge that his body would lie in state at Yankee Stadium as people circled the Stadium to get one more look at the Mighty Babe Ruth...

On the same date in 1977, Elvis Presley died at the age of 42 in Memphis. Like Babe Ruth's passing, this too was a monumental loss. "The King" who like Frank Sinatra and The Beatles, can be mentioned in the same breath as the biggest icons of his generation, was gone forever but his legend would grow and never stop growing. It would grow into a major industry. Today Elvis is bigger in death than he ever was in life. Elvis Presley's official cause of death was "a coronary arrhythmia"...

More August 16 Memories...

1948) The Babe is gone (feature story)...

1954) Sports Illustrated publishes its first issue...

1962) Ringo Starr replaces Pete Best as Beatles drummer...

1966) The Monkees release their first single, "Last Train To Clarksville"...

1977) The King checks out (feature story)...

1983) Paul Simon and Carrie Fisher tie the knot...

1985) Madonna and Sean Penn are married in Malibu...

1988) George Bush taps Dan Quayle as running mate...

2000) The Democratic National Convention names Al Gore to run for president...

2003) Despot, Idi Amin dies in exile, at 80...

Happy Birthday to...

1925) Fess Parker...

1928) Ann Blyth...

1930) Robert Culp...

1930) Frank Gifford...

1930) Tennis great Tony Trabert...

1932) Eydie Gorme...

1933) Julie Newmar...

1946) Lesley Ann Warren...

1953) Kathie Lee Gifford...

1953) J.T. Taylor (Kool and the Gang)...

1954) "Titanic" director James Cameron...

1958) Madonna...

1958) Angela Bassett...

1959) Laura ("ER") Innes...

1960) Timothy Hutton...

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

We had our first and only, to-date, baseball fatality on this date way back in 1920...

Ray Chapman of the Indians was hit in the head by a Carl Mays (Yankees) fastball on August 16th and he would succumb to that beaning the following day, August 17, 1920. Although there was some bitterness against Mays among the Cleveland players, Indian manager Tris Speaker was quoted as saying: "It is the duty of all of us, of all the players, not only for the good of the game, but also out of respect to the poor fellow who was killed, to suppress all bitter feeling." Let's just hope we never see anything like this in our time...

More August 17 Memories...

1920) Ray Chapman (feature story)...

1964) The Kinks release "You Really Got Me"...

1968) Deep Purple's "Hush" is released...

1969) Woodstock comes to an end after 3 days...

1969) The Jets beat the Giants in their first pre-season meeting...

1969) Hurricane Camille sweeps through Mississippi and Louisiana killing 256...

1973) The Temptations' Paul Williams is a suicide victim...

1987) Rudolph Hess, also commits suicide...

1998) President Bill Clinton finally admits to an improper relationship with Monica Lewinsky...

Happy Birthday to...

1921) Maureen O'Hara...

1943) Robert DeNiro...

1952) Guillermo Vilas...

1960) Sean Penn...

1969) Donnie Wahlberg...

1970) Jim Courier...

1971) Yankee catcher Jorge Posada...

Thursday, August 18, 2005...

August 18th through the years...A star shines...we bid farewell to a King...a bird flies the coop and a wall is completed...Now let's get to the headlines...

1937) The first FM construction permit is issued in Boston...

1955) Hurricane Diane kills 400 in the U.S...

1961) Construction of the Berlin Wall is completed...

1962) Ringo Starr makes his first appearance as Beatle drummer at The Cavern Club...

1962) Peter, Paul and Mary release "If I Had A Hammer"...

1963) James Meredith becomes the first black to graduate from the University of Mississippi...

1967) WCBS goes all-news...

1967) The Red Sox' Tony Conigliaro is beaned by the Angels' Jack Hamilton at Fenway Park...

1973) The Doobie Brothers' "China Grove" is released...

1977) Funeral services for Elvis Presley are held at Graceland...

1989) Bucky Dent replaces Dallas Green as Yankee manager...

1992) Larry Bird announces his retirement from the Celtics after 13 years...

1996) A record 6,654 tap their brains out at Macy's Tap-o-mania in front of Macy's 34th Street...

Happy Birthday to...

1917) Former secretary of defense Casper Weinberger...

1920) Shelley Winters...

1927) Rosalynn Carter...

1933) Roman Polanski...

1937) Robert Redford...

1939) Singer Johnny Preston...

1940) Frankie Avalon...

1941) Matt Snell...

1943) Martin Mull...

1943) LaBelle's Sarah Dash...

1945) LaBelle's Nona Hendryx...

1952) Patrick Swayze...

1957) Dennis Leary...

1969) Edward Norton...

1969) Christian Slater...

1970) Malcolm-Jamal ("The Cosby Show") Warner...

Commentary...

August 18th was a bad day for Boston sports with the horrific beaning of "Tony C" in 1967 and the retirement of "Larry Legend" in 1992...

Tony Conigliaro was a true star in the making with all the talent you could ever ask for in a baseball player, he had power, he could hit for average and he was a good fielder. All of that ended when he was beaned on this date in 1967. The pictures of Tony with a closed, black eye were frightening to look at the next day in the Boston papers. He was lucky not to have died from those injuries. He would survive but he would never recapture the skills that made him one of baseball's rising superstars. Tony not only had good looks but he could sing, releasing a single in 1967 that we played on WRKO. He would often visit the station, drawing gasps from the female employees who were instantly smitten by Tony within a few minutes of meeting him. While 1967 would become "The Impossible Dream" year for the Red Sox, Tony suffered on the sidelines, unable to contribute to the team that would make it into the World Series...

1992 brought an end to the career of one of the best players to ever wear a Boston Celtic uniform with the announcement of Larry Bird's retirement. The superstar from French Lick, Indiana played his college basketball at Indiana State and along with Magic Johnson, would enter the NBA as true superstars. I'll never forget the time I saw Larry come back from one of his back injuries that made him miss several games, only to down three-point shots like he was warming up. It was a game in Oakland and Larry scored 40 points in helping the Celtics beat the Golden State Warriors...

Boston lost a budding superstar and a legend on a bad day for Beantown on August 18th...

Friday, August 19, 2005...

It was on this date that The Beatles began their first U.S. tour at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. The tour would cover 26 cities and draw a total of 481,000. It was also on this date that we said goodbye to 2 TV series, "Charlie's Angels" and "Cheers"...

Here are the headlines for August 19th through the years...

1964) "Beatlemania" arrives in the U.S. as The Beatles open their first tour of America...

1972) John Denver hosts the first "Midnight Special"...

1973) Rita Coolidge and Kris Kristofferson walk down the aisle...

1976) President Gerald Ford wins the Republican presidential nomination...

1977) Groucho Marx tells his last joke...

1979) "My Sharona" by The Knack goes to #1 where it will stay for 42 days...

1981) The final episode of "Charlie's Angels" airs...

1984) Ronald Reagan is nominated by the Republicans for president...

1993) "Cheers" ends its 11-year run...

1993) Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin tie the knot...

1993) Mattel and Fisher Price merge...

2004) Google goes public, ending the day at $100 a share...

Happy Birthday to...

1939) Cream drummer Ginger Baker...

1940) Johnny Nash...

1940) Jill St. John...

1942) Actor/senator Fred Thompson...

1943) Billy J. Kramer...

1946) Bill Clinton...

1948) Tipper Gore...

1948) Gerald McRaney...

1953) Mary Matalin...

1956) Adam Arkin...

1960) Former Met Ron Darling...

1963) John Stamos...

1965) Kyra Sedgwick...

1966) Lee Ann Womack...

1969) Matthew Perry...

Saturday, August 20, 2005...

Through the years on August 20...There's turmoil in the Bronx...Bo prooves he knows Diddley...Tiger picks up a hat trick and Rocky gets within a heartbeat....Now the headlines...

1955) Bo Diddley debuts at the Apollo Theater...

1966) The Temptations release "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep"...

1973) The Rolling Stones release "Angie"...

1974) Nelson Rockefeller becomes Vice President...

1989) Jose and Kitty Menendez are fatally shot by sons Lyle and Erik...

1990) George Steinbrenner steps down as Yankee owner. Gene Michael is named VP/GM...

1992) The Republicans renominate President Bush and VP Quayle...

2000) Tiger Woods wins his 3rd consecutive major PGA title...

Happy Birthday to...

1931) Don King...

1942) Isaac Hayes...

1944) Graig Nettles...

1946) Connie Chung...

1947) Chicago's Jim Pankow...

1948) Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant...

1953) Peter Horton...

1954) Al Roker...

1956) Joan Allen...

Sunday, August 21, 2005...

Through the years on August 21st...Sting gets stung...we say "aloha" to Hawaii Five-Oh...Linda says hello to Broadway and the "Scud Stud" is assigned to the unemployment line...Here are the headlines...

1959) Hawaii becomes our 50th State...

1965) Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction" is released...

1980) Linda Ronstadt debuts on Broadway in "The Pirates of Penzance"...

1983) "La Cage aux Folles" opens on Broadway...

1992) NBC fires "Scud Stud" Arthur Kent after he refuses assignment to Croatia...

1992) Sting and Trudi Styler tie the knot...

Happy Birthday to...

1932) Melvin Van Peebles...

1938) Kenny Rogers...

1939) Clarence ("Mod Squad") Williams III...

1944) Jackie DeShannon...

1945) Patty McCormack...

1951) Harry Smith...

1956) Kim Cattrall...

1974) "Long Island Lolita" Amy Fisher...

Off to the Cape. See ya with a fresh blog on August 22...


Thursday, August 11, 2005

Thursday, August 11, 2005

"You say hello and I say goodbye"...

The Beatles said hello to America when they toured in 1964, they would say goodbye in 1966. Arriving at O'Hare Airport in Chicago on August 11, 1966, The Beatles were set to launch a 14-city farewell tour that would take them from Chicago to San Francisco...

At a Chicago press conference on the 12th, John Lennon would start festivities by apologizing for his statements about The Beatles being more popular than Jesus and then it was on to the International Amphitheater in the Windy City for 2 shows before a total of 26,000 fans...

Some 385,000 screaming Beatle fanatics in all would witness The Fab Four's final U.S. tour which would end at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on August 29th...

More August 11 Memories...

1951) The first major league baseball game is televised in living color as the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Boston Braves 8-1...

1956) "Don't Be Cruel" by Elvis Presley is released...

1962) The Beach Boys release "Surfin' Safari"...

1962) "Green Onions" is released by Booker T. and the MG's...

1964) Dean Martin tops the charts with "Everybody Loves Somebody"...

1965) 34 are killed, more than 1,000 injured in rioting in Watts...

1966) The Beatles arrive for their last U.S. tour (feature story)...

1969) Diana Ross invites a few hundred guests to a Beverly Hills club to see Motown's newest act, The Jackson 5...

1972) Elvis and Priscilla Presley file for divorce...

1973) "Free Ride" is released by The Edgar Winter Group...

1974) Paper Lace tops the charts with "The Night Chicago Died"...

1981) Diana Ross and Lionel Richie take "Endless Love" to the top of the charts where it will stay for 9 weeks...

1984) Ronald Reagan jokes, "today we have signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."...

1984) Carl Lewis duplicates Jesse Owen's feat of winning 4 Olympic gold medals in track...

1992) The Mall of America, the largest shopping mall in the U.S. opens in Bloomington, Minnesota...

1995) President Clinton bans all U.S. nuclear tests...

1998) BP buys Amoco for $49 billion...

2002) U.S. Airways files for bankruptcy...

Happy Birthday to...

1925) Former TV talk show host Mike Douglas...

1928) Arlene Dahl...

1933) TV evangelist Rev. Jerry Falwell...

1941) Elizabeth Holtzman...

1943) Record company owner/producer Kenny Gamble...

1949) Eric Carmen...

1950) Apple Computers co-founder Steve Wozniak...

1953) Hulk Hogan...

1955) Singer Joe Jackson...

1967) "Fear Factor" host Joe Rogan who will celebrate with a birthday cake made of fresh maggots, cow eyes, pig livers and a topping of week-old hog bile...

Commentary...

We're just a few days away from the 40th anniversary of The Beatles triumphant concert at Shea Stadium in 1965, part of the second of 3 U.S. tours which began in 1964. While 385,000 fans would witness their last tour in 1966 it's interesting to note that when The Beatles returned to Shea Stadium in 1966 they did not sell out, falling about 10,000 short. Don't know why but I find it interesting...

Now for you number fanatics, here's the total U.S. attendance for all 3 tours: 1,220,000. In comparing cities where the Beatles had previously toured I also noticed that the only city with fewer people either the next or final time around was New York City. The Beatles picked bigger venues with each tour and consequently drew more and made more money...

The only exception was New York City. Go figure...


Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

"I am the Son of Sam"...

That being said, postal employee David Berkowitz, the self-proclaimed "Son of Sam" was arrested in Yonkers, New York on this date in 1977. Responsible for six random slayings and seven woundings, Berkowitz meekly surrendered to police...

The summer of '77 brought us your typical New York City heatwave along with the beginning of the bottled water craze, roller disco, mopeds, health foods and Farah Fawcett posters. People were outraged when coffee prices surged to a quarter a cup from 15 cents. The music was benign with Andy Gibb topping the charts with "I Just Want To Be Your Everything". What wasn't benign was the crime wave. The 70's was a jittery time for most New Yorkers and "The Son of Sam's" killing spree created self-imposed curfews by worried parents. The NYPD would also impose curfews in areas where David Berkowitz had already struck. New Yorkers breathed a sigh of relief with his capture on August 10, 1977...

David Berkowitz is now serving six consecutive terms of 25 years to life in state prison...

More August 10 Memories...

1945) Following their second nuclear bombing, Japan announces they will surrender to the U.S...

1948) Channel 7 in New York signs on as WJZ-TV. It will become WABC-TV in 1953...

1948) "Candid Microphone" which becomes "Candid Camera" one year later, debuts on WJZ-TV...

1966) "Summer in the City" tops the charts for The Lovin' Spoonful...

1968) The Who release "Magic Bus"...

1969) The LaBianca's are found murdered by the Charles Manson Family...

1977) The Son of Sam is captured (feature story)...

1984) Mary Decker trips on the heel of Zola Budd in the Olympics with an outsider winning the race and a gold medal...

1986) Madonna is #1 with "Papa Don't Preach"...

1986) Billy Martin Day is held at Yankee Stadium, his #1 uniform is retired...

1993) Ruth Bader Ginsburg is sworn in as the second female Supreme Court justice...

1994) President Bill Clinton claims presidential immunity in the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Paula Jones...

1995) Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols are charged with 11 counts in the Oklahoma City bombing...

Happy Birthday to...

1922) Al (Four Aces) Alberts...

1923) Rhonda Fleming...

1928) Singer and sausage king Jimmy Dean...

1928) Eddie Fisher...

1943) Ronnie Spector...

1947) Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson...

1959) Rosanna Arquette...

1960) Antonio Banderas...

1967) Riddick Bowe...

1972) Angie Harmon...

Commentary...

What I remember most about 1977 and the 70's in general was the instability of the times. Having returned to New York from Boston in '72 I had come from the high of seeing anti-war demonstrations begin, waver and finally die to an unsettling and jittery New York City. That feeling was highlighted by the rampage of "The Son of Sam". Crime was a problem and we needed a Rudy Giuliani who was cutting his legal teeth at a law firm in the 70's...

The capture of David Berkowitz may have been the catalyst we needed to stop the crime and turn this city around. Things only got better from that day on...


Monday, August 8, 2005

Monday, August 8, 2005

The Olympics sell out...

On this date in 1992, the Olympics reached the point of no-return when the 'Dream Team' completed a successful mission to bring back gold to the U.S. but at what price ?

Commercialism had started rearing it's ugly head filled with dollar signs as early as 1968 with corporate logos being displayed on uniforms but it wasn't until Peter Ueberroth initiated corporate sponsorships in 1984 that the floodgates opened in earnest, capped by the NBA team that captured a gold medal for basketball in 1992...

To no one's surprise, America's Dream Team led by Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and John Stockton crushed the Tony Kukoc led Croatians to win the gold on August 8th, 1992...

Perhaps the New York Times said it best labelling the Dream Team, "a boorish pack of prima donnas."

My take on the commercial sell-out of the Olympics follows in my commentary at the end of this blog...

More August 8 Memories...

1963) The Kingsmen release "Louie, Louie"...

1966) Surgeon Michael DeBakey installs the first artificial heart...

1968) Richard Nixon and Spiro T. Agnew are chosen for running mates at the Republican National Convention...

1969) The Beatles shoot the cover photo for the "Abbey Road" LP...

1970) The Yankees retire Casey Stengel's #37 uniform number...

1970) CCR's "Looking Out My Back Door" is released...

1976) The Chicago White Sox suit up in shorts...

1986) David Crosby is released from prison after serving a sentence for drug and weapons possession...

1987) U2 top the charts with "With Or Without You"...

1988) The renovated Central Park Zoo reopens after 4 years...

1988) A high of 88 degrees is reached on 8/8/88 in New York City...

1988) After 74 years of day baseball, the Cubs try to play their first night game at Wrigley Field but rain halts action...

1998) The Rolling Stones rock Russia in a driving rain...

Happy Birthday to...

1923) Esther Williams...

1937) Dustin Hoffman...

1938) Connie Stevens...

1944) Smokey the Bear...

1949) Keith Carradine...

1949) Stylistics' lead singer Airrion Love...

1952) Howard Stern sidekick Robin Quivers...

1958) Deborah Norville...

1961) U2's The Edge a.k.a. Dave Evans...

1968) Patricia Arquette...

Commentary...

Don't get me wrong, I'm as patriotic as the next guy when it comes to America winning as much bling as possible in every Olympics we play but how do we justify using professional players to get it done ?

The original Olympics rewarded the victors with a crown of wild olives but most importantly was contested by guess what ? Amateurs. Whoa, what a concept ! If your argument is that every other country uses professionals, here's my answer to that...

In the future, any country using a professional athlete is disqualified from competition, period, end of story. If we can only find a handful of countries willing to conform to these standards, that's okay. Don't think there will be enough countries to compete ? Cancel the Olympics until we reach a point in this 'win at all costs' sports world to get back to the original intent of the Olympics which is competition featuring international athletic contests using amateur contestants...


Thursday, August 4, 2005

Thurs-Sun, August 4-7, 2005

Hot 100 debuts...

Billboard Magazine introduced the Hot 100 on this date in 1958. Tom Noonan who now heads the CBS Records Alumni Association, copyrighted that title and that of "Bubbling Under The Hot 100" for Billboard. "Prior to 1958 we had separate top 30 rankings for sales, radio airplay and juke box play. We just combined the three elements and came up with the Hot 100 chart."

Tom also adds, "airplay was very important in the beginning of a record and accounted for about 100% of the bottom (60-100) part of the chart, sales would start to show in the middle and would take over for the top third of the chart, juke box play was eventually phased out entirely."

Tom tells us why the Hot 100 was created, "we wanted to more accurately reflect the marketplace in addition to be of more service to dealers, one-stops, etc."

The first #1 hit on the Hot 100 was "Poor Little Fool" by Ricky Nelson...

More August 4 Memories...

1957) The Everly Brothers do "Wake Up Little Suzie" and "Bye Bye Love" live on the Ed Sullivan Show...

1958) The Hot 100 is born (feature story)...

1964) The bodies of 3 missing civil rights workers are found buried in Mississippi...

1974) Paul Simon releases "Love Me Like A Rock"...

1974) Robert Flack tops the charts with "Feel Like Makin' Love"...

1982) Joel Youngblood becomes the first major leaguer to get a hit for 2 different teams in the same day, doing it for the Mets, getting traded and doing it for Montreal...

1983) Yankee outfielder Dave Winfield throws a ball during warm-ups and accidentally kills a seagull on the field in Toronto, he is arrested by police...

1984) Carl Lewis captures a gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics...

1985) Tom Seaver, pitching for the White Sox wins his 300th game against the Yankees on Phil Rizzuto Day (Holy Cow !)...On the same day, Rod Carew gets his 3,000th hit, different game...

1987) The "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack is released...

1987) The FCC rescinds the Fairness Doctrine requiring balanced reporting on controversial issues and political campaigns...

Happy Birthday to...

1920) Helen Thomas, the senior White House press conference reporter...

1944) Actor-comedian Richard Belzer...

1949) Ex-Jet, Redskins running back John Riggins...

1955) Billy Bob Thornton...

1961) Michael ("Gelman") Gelman, "Live with Regis and Kelly" producer...

1962) Roger ("The Rocket") Clemens...

1971) Racing driver Jeff Gordon...

Commentary (will appear at the end of blog)...

Friday, August 5, 2005

Dick Clark became a household name on this date in 1957 when "American Bandstand" was picked up by the ABC-TV network...Dick took over the local show in Philadelphia, replacing the scandalized Bob Horn in 1952...

August 5th also brought us the tragic death of Marilyn Monroe who was discovered in her Los Angeles home. Death was ruled a probable suicide from an overdose of sleeping pills but 43 years later, controversy remains as to what or possibly, who, took the life of the 36-year old bombshell...

More August 5 Memories...

1957) American Bandstand hits the network (feature story)...

1960) Detroit and Cleveland swap managers, a major league first with Jimmy Dykes traded for Joe Gordon...

1962) Marilyn Monroe found dead (feature story)...

1964) Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft walk down the aisle...

1966) Beatles release "Revolver" LP...

1966) John Lennon makes "Beatles are more popular than Jesus" pronouncement...

1967) Bobby Gentry releases "Ode to Billy Joe"...

1972) Moody Blues release "Nights in White Satin"...

1975) Stevie Wonder signs a $13 million contract with Motown, largest in recording industry...

1976) NBC-TV airs "The Beach Boys: It's O.K.", a 15-year anniversary special...

1979) The Giants' Willie Mays enters Baseball's Hall of Fame...

1980) The Osmonds split up...

1983) David Crosby is sentenced to 8 years for drug and weapons possession...

1985) The establishment of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is announced...

1992) Toto's Jeff Porcaro dies of cardiac arrest at 38...

1999) Robert Downey, Jr. is sentenced to 3 years for missing scheduled drug tests...

Happy Birthday to...

1930) Astronaut Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon...

1935) John Saxon...

1946) Loni Anderson...

1946) Songwriter Jimmy Webb...

1947) Rick Derringer...

1953) Samantha ("Emotion") Sang...

1956) Maureen ("Brady Bunch") McCormick...

1962) Patrick Ewing...

1966) Jonathan Silverman...

Saturday, August 6, 2005...

Having gone "network" 7 years earlier, in 1957, "American Bandstand" was probably the singlemost influence in starting careers in the 50's and 60's and when Chubby Checker performed "The Twist", although a lip-synch, on this date in 1960, the biggest dance in the land was born as was the career of the man who introduced it to national TV...It happened on August 6, 1960...

More August 6 Memories...

1921) KDKA in Pittsburgh, broadcasts the first baseball game on radio...

1960) Chubby Checker introduces "The Twist" (feature story)...

1965) LBJ signs the Voting Rights Act giving everyone the right to vote...

1970) Janis Joplin, Paul Simon, Steppenwolf and Johnny Winters perform in an anti-war festival at Shea Stadium...

1973) Stevie Wonder is seriously injured in a car accident, slips into a four-day coma...

1981) A 7-week baseball strike ends, season is split into 2 halves...

1989) The Red Sox retire Carl Yastrzemski's #8 uniform number at Fenway Park...

1991) Harry Reasoner leaves us at 68...

1998) Monica Lewinsky spends 8 1/2 hours testifying before a grand jury on her relationship with President Bill Clinton...

Happy Birthday to...

1938) Peter ("Bob Newhart") Bonerz...

1965) David ("The Admiral") Robinson...

1970) Writer-director M.Night Shyamalan ("The Village", "The Sixth Sense")...

1972) Spice Girl Geri Halliwell...

1976) Soleil Moon ("Punky Brewster") Frye...

Sunday, August 7, 2005

Through the years...

On this date, we put a shield over the desert, enshrined New York heroes, welcomed a new Fleetwood Mac member, listened to the Turtles do Dylan and witnessed the first Jewish person being selected for a national office...

Now to the headlines...

1965) The Turtles release their version of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe"...

1970) Christine McVie joins Fleetwood Mac...

1974) Yogi Berra and Sandy Koufax enter Baseball's Hall of Fame...

1974) French stuntman Philippe Petit walks a tightrope between the World Trade Centers twin towers...

1974) Peter Wolf (J.Geils Band) and Faye Dunaway tie the knot...

1990) Desert Storm begins in Saudi Arabia...

1999) The Giants' Lawrence Taylor enters the Football Hall of Fame...

1999) Wade Boggs becomes the only player in major league history to homer for his 3,000th hit...

2000) Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore selects Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman to be the first Jewish vice-presidential candidate on a major party ticket...

2002) Former ImClone chief executive Samuel Waksal is indicted...

2003) Arnold Schwarzenegger announces his candidacy for governor of California...

Happy Birthday to...

1926) Stan Freberg...

1929) Don ("perfect game") Larsen...

1942) Garrison Keillor...

1942) B.J. Thomas...

1955) Wayne (Seinfeld's "Newman") Knight...

1960) David Duchovny...

1975) Charlize Theron...

Commentary...

I'd like to thank Tom Noonan for supplying the information on the formation of Billboard's Hot 100. Tommy was there at the beginning and now works tirelessly to keep the CBS Records family in touch, rekindling friendships and great memories for those of us who were lucky enough to work for the best record company in the business...

The anniversary of "American Bandstand" being carried by the network in 1957 gives me another opportunity to mention how lucky I was to not only meet Dick Clark but work for him at United Stations Radio Network. I recall working in the ABC mailroom at the time that "Bandstand" went "network". While no one outside Philadelphia was familiar with the show, there was a great deal of excitement and anticipation about what we were about to see. The announcement by the network started out as a press release distributed to the mailroom and then the world. We would soon find out why the network decided to carry this show...


Wednesday, August 3, 2005

Wednesday, August 3, 2005

America's perfect 10...

She would become known as "an Olympian for the ages", this adorable, diminutive 16-year old from Fairmont, West Virginia. On August 3rd, 1984, Mary Lou Retton would become the first American gymnast, male or female, to win a gold medal...

With a bum, arthritic knee operated on just two months earlier, Mary Lou approached the vault needing a perfect 10 to win Olympic gold. "I was thinking, 'stick, stick'. I like the added pressure, it makes me fight harder." "Stick it" means landing after a flip as if you had a foot-long spike on the sole of each foot. One backward somersault in a laid-out position with a full 360 degree twist later, Mary Lou became an American treasure to be envied by every teenage girl in the land and an authentic folk heroine. Mary Lou Retton had her perfect 10 and made Olympic history...

More August 3 Memories...

1949) The NBA is formed...

1956) Bedloe's Island becomes Liberty Island...

1963) The Beatles make their final appearance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool...

1963) "Surfer Girl" by the Beach Boys is released...

1963) Allan Sherman releases "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadda."

1965) Herman's Hermits top the charts with "I'm Henry VIII, I Am."

1966) Comedian Lenny Bruce OD's at the age of 40...

1966) The Rolling Stones record "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby."

1971) Paul McCartney announces the formation of "Wings."

1975) The Bee Gees are #1 with "Jive Talkin'."

1975) The Louisiana Superdome is dedicated...

1981) U.S. traffic controllers walk out. President Reagan says "see ya."

1984) Mary Lou Retton scores a perfect 10 at Los Angeles Olympics (feature story)...

1988) Steve Winwood is #1 with "Roll With It."

1997) Garth Brooks performs a free concert in Central Park for HBO...

2004) The Statue of Liberty re-opens to the public for the first time since 911...

Happy Birthday to...

1921) Broadway composer Richard Adler...

1924) Author Leon Uris...

1924) The Jordanaires' Gordon Stoker...

1926) Tony Bennett...

1940) Martin Sheen...

1941) Beverly (Shirelles) Lee...

1941) Martha Stewart...

1950) Movie director John Landis...

1951) Hockey Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne...

1951) Jay ("Dennis the Menace") North...

1977) Tom Brady...

Commentary...

Mary Lou Retton became an overnight sensation with her perfect 10 at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She would grace the cover of every major magazine in America, get her picture on a box of Wheeties, charm TV audiences with her appearances and become America's Sweetheart...

No steroid scandals, no controversy, no arrogance. Mary Lou Retton was a perfect 10. How refreshing...