Mel's Top Ten Mother's Day Songs...
Sunday is Mom's day which can be traced back to ancient Greece in honor of Rhea (not Perlman), just Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. In the U.S. Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the lyrics to the Battle Hymn of the Republic) as a day dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe would hold organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston every year. In 1907 Ana Jarvis of Philadelphia began a campaign to establish a national day of celebration and Grafton, West Virginia along with Philadelphia celebrated Mom the following year. Finally in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Mother's Day as a national holiday that was to be held each year on the second Sunday of May. And now my top ten Mother's Day Songs:
- 10) Mother-John Lennon (John pours his heart out to his mother. "Mama don't go. Daddy come home")...
- 09) Mama (not a dry eye in the house as you can just visualize the tears streaming down Connie Francis' face and she sings part of the song in Italian)...
- 08) Your Mother Should Know (this is a 'Mom always knows best' kinda song by the Beatles, not terribly serious but nice and they manage to keep it light)...
- 07) I'll Always Love My Mama (first of all, you gotta love any song that mentions 'my mama' and any song written by Gamble & Huff and McFadden & Whitehead has gotta be great and this song is)...
- 06) Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby/Mother's Little Helper (I put these 2 Rolling Stones song together. I mean this is typical Rolling Stones material. Why is your mother standing in the shadows any way ? and I guarantee you that 'Mother's Little Helper' is not little Mick Jagger)...
- 05) Your Mama Don't Dance (and your Daddy loves rock and roll) (just a great uptempo Loggins & Messina song)...
- 04) Mother and Child Reunion (one of my favorite Paul Simon songs which I hope he does on Saturday Night Live tomorrow night in honor of Mother's Day)...
- 03) Mother-in-Law (hey we can honor Mothers-in-Law too. Everything about this song is great starting with the name of the artist, Ernie K-Doe a.k.a. Ernie Kador Jr. and the lyrics are classic)...
- 02) Mama Told Me Not To Come (just great Randy Newman fun lyrics and Three Dog Night at the top of their game)...
And the #1 Mother's Day Song of all-time (appropriate tymp roll):
- 01) Mama Said (tell me one day that you haven't thought that your mother said you'd have days like this...go ahead, just one day. I didn't think so)...
May 12 Memories...
1926] Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators joins Cy Young as the only 400-game winners in baseball history with a win over the St. Louis Browns (take a good look at these 2 names because you'll never see another pitcher with 400 wins, never)...
1932] The body of the kidnapped son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh is found in a wooded area near Hopewell, NJ...
1948] The 1st televised game at Fenway Park is seen on WBZ-TV (not many details on this game but there were probably just a handful of people who saw it. Anyone in Boston have any knowledge of this that you'd like to share ?)...
1956] The Dodgers' Carl Erskine pitches a no-hitter against the cross-town Giants. The 2-0 shutout is Erskine's 2nd no-hitter...
1959] Liz Taylor says "I do", "I do", "I do" and "I do" for the 4th time. The victim ? Popular singer Eddie Fisher...
1960] Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley appear on the same TV special and perform the other's hit with Elvis singing "Witchcraft" and Ole Blue Eyes doing "Hound Dog" (just kidding). It was "Love Me Tender"...
1963] Bob Dylan is invited to appear on "The Ed Sullivan Show" but walks off when Ed won't allow him to sing "Talking John Birch Society Blues"...
1965] The Rolling Stones record "Satisfaction"...
1970] The Cubs "Mr. Baseball", Ernie Banks, becomes the 9th major leaguer to hit 500 (or more) career home runs...
1971] Mick Jagger and Bianca Perez-Mora rock down the aisle in St. Tropez (is it san-tropez or san-tropay ?)...
1972] In honor of Mick and Bianca's 1st anniversary, the Stones release "Exile on Main Street" (that's all they could afford ?)...
1974] The Boston Celtics beat Milwaukee in 7 games for another NBA title...
1977] "Hotel California" earns a gold record for the Eagles...
1983] Meatloaf files for bankruptcy (but "Meat" will recover nicely when his star shines in England)...
1984] Nelson Mandela sees his wife for the 1st time in 22 years (but Nelson forgets to bring flowers and she refuses to see him)...
1985] The New York Knicks win the rights to Patrick Ewing in a special NBA drawing (raise of hands for those that thought the drawing was fixed. I thought so)...
1990] Even though SNL producers vow to use a time delay for Andrew Dice Clay's appearance on an upcoming 'Saturday Night Live' show, Nora Dunn and Sinead O'Connor boycott the show in protest (to which Lorne Michaels says we'll miss you Nora and Sinead, uh, "who invited you" ?)...
1991] With Ted Williams in attendance, Lansdowne Street is renamed "Ted Williams Way" on the 50th anniversary of his great 1941 season (he was the last hitter to hit .400)...
1992] 4 suspects are arrested in the beating of trucker Reginald Denny at the start of the L.A. riots...
2001] Perry Como passes away at his home in Florida after a lengthy illness at 87 (one of the biggest singers of the 50's Perry was one of the nicest people I have ever met)...
2002] Dionne Warwick is arrested at Miami International Airport when baggage screeners find 11 marijuana joints inside her listick container (she's charged with possession of less than 5 grams of the stuff, signs an affidavit promising to appear in court, passes "Go", does not pick up $200 and is released anyway)...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]
"Happy Trails To You"...
Floyd Patterson who died at 71 of alzheimer's disease and prostate cancer. I met Floyd after watching one of Howard Cosell's TV shows in an ABC-TV studio many, many years ago. There were 2 things about him that surprised me. First of all he was a small man and secondly he was not only quiet, he was shy, the two probably going hand in hand. In 1952 when he won a gold medal at the Olympics, he won the middleweight title yet as soon as he turned pro he became a heavyweight. Even though he was a "light" heavyweight he would be the youngest boxer to win a heavyweight crown at 21 (Tyson would break that record later). Patterson was light for a heavyweight but he was as tough as they came, took on all-comers and was a fitting though underrated champ who deserved more praise. His classic trilogy of fights with Ingemar Johansson (in which he would win 2 of the 3 fights) started the use of the word trilogy to describe 3 events between opponents in sports according to noted boxing historian Bert Sugar. Happy Trails Floyd Patterson...
Happy Birthday To...
1925] Yogi Berra (the toughest interview I've ever done but a nice, nice, "regular" guy)...
1929] Burt Bacharach...
1936] Tom Snyder...
1937] George Carlin...
1948] Steve Winwood...
1961] Ving Rhames...
1962] Emilio Estevez...
[Today is the 132nd day of 2006 with 233 days remaining in the year and 17 days until Memorial Day]...
Saturday, May 13, 2006...
May 13 Memories...
1607] The English colony at Jamestown, VA. is settled (what's next ? New York, New England, the whole Northeast ?)...
1675] A Boston jury finds Mary Bliss Parsons of Northampton "not guilty" of witchcraft (with a middle name like "bliss", last name of "parsons" how could she be a witch ?)...
1846] The U.S. declares that a state of war exists against Mexico...
1880] Thomas Edison tests his experimental electric railway in Menlo Park, NJ...
1917] 3 peasant children near Fatima, Portugal report seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary...
1929] When the Indians beat the Yankees 4-3 in Cleveland, it was the 1st game that featured numbers on the backs of players for both teams...
1940] Winston Churchill tells the British House of Commons: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat" in his 1st speech as prime minister (so the group should have been named Blood, Toil, Tears & Sweat !)...
1958] VP Richard Nixon's limo is battered by rocks thrown by anti-U.S. demonstrators in Caracas, Venezuela...
1966] The Kinks record "Sunny Afternoon"...
1970] Badfinger begin recording "No Matter What"...
1970] The Beatles movie "Let It Be" premieres in New York...
1976] Led by Dr. J, the New York Nets win their 2nd ABA title with a thrilling come from behind (a 22-point deficit with 17 minutes left) victory over Denver at the Nassau Coliseum...
1977] Dolly Parton makes her New York City debut at the Bottom Line...
1977] Linda Ronstadt denies reports that she was offered $1 million to be photographed nude for a Hustler centerfold (but she doesn't deny it was for $999,999 or less)...
1981] Pope John II (who else can segue from a "nude" Linda Ronstadt to the Pope ?) is shot and seriously wounded in St. Peter's Square by Turkish assailant Mehmet Ali Agca (the Pope recovers nicely from the wound)...
1985] Bruce Springsteen and Julianne Phillips rock down the aisle (Happy Birthday Julianne but sadly, the couple will separate in 1989)...
1993] One day before his 40th birthday, George Brett becomes only the 6th player with 300 (or more) home runs and 3,000 hits (the historic ball is picked up by a fan on a veteran's hospital outing. The fan was blind)...
2000] The Mets release Ricky Henderson after he fails to hustle and turns a double into a single (he was also batting .219 with no home runs at the time)...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
Happy Birthday To...
1923] Bea Arthur...
1939] Harvey Keitel...
1950] Stevie Wonder...
1950] Bobby Valentine...
1961] Dennis Rodman (will he wear a wedding gown to celebrate ?)...
1962] Julianne Phillips...
1966] Darius (Hootie and the Blowfish) Rucker...
[Today is the 133rd day of 2006 with 232 days remaining in the year and 16 days until Memorial Day]
Sunday, May 14, 2006...
May 14 Memories...
1787] Delegates begin gathering in Philadelphia for a convention to draw up the U.S. Constitution...
1796] English physician Edward Jenner administers the 1st vaccination against smallpox to an 8-year old boy...
1804] The Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the Louisiana Territory leaves St. Louis...
1853] Gail Borden applies for a patent for condensed milk (and all along I thought we got the milk from Elsie the Cow)...
1874] In Cambridge, MA. Harvard defeats McGill University of Montreal 3-0 in what's recognized as the 1st rudimentary football game ever played...
1878] The name Vaseline is registered by Robert A. Chesebrough...
1897] "The Stars and Stripes Forever" by John Philip Sousa is performed for the 1st time for a George Washington statue unveiling...
1897] Guglielmo Marconi make the 1st communication by wireless telegraph...
1904] The first U.S. Olympics opens in St. Louis...
1942] The Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (the WAAC's, not a very complimentary name) is established...
1948] Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion proclaims the independent State of Israel as British rule in Palestine comes to an end...
1964] Jan and Dean begin recording "Little Old Lady From Pasadena"...
1967] Mickey Mantle becomes the 6th player to hit 500 home runs (he will finish his career with 536)...
1968] Paul McCartney and John Lennon are guests on "The Tonight Show" with Joe Garagiola sitting in for Johnny Carson...
1968] The Rascals record "People Got To Be Free"...
1970] Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young release "Ohio" 10 days after the fatal Kent State shootings...
1972] 41-year old Willie Mays makes a dramatic debut with the Mets, hitting a home run against his former team, the Giants in a 5-4 Met win...
1973] The U.S. launches Skylab I, our 1st manned space station...
1996] 31-year old Dwight Gooden pitches a no-hitter as a member of the Yankees in a 2-0 shutout of Seattle at Yankee Stadium (why couldn't he have pitched one for the Mets who at least would have one now ?)...
1997] A wild melee breaks out in the Knicks-Miami playoff game (a Heat win) as Knick coach Jeff Van Gundy grabs on to Alonzo Mourning's leg and mops up the sweat on the court after Mourning tries to get him off of his leg (producing one of the more embarassing sports photos of all-time)...
1998] Pop Icon Frank Sinatra dies at 82 following a heart attack...
1998] The final episode of "Seinfeld" airs after 9 years on NBC-TV (to me, this was one of the worst final episodes of all-time)...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
Happy Birthday To...
1925] Patrice Munsel...
1943] Cream bass player Jack Bruce...
1944] "Star Wars" guru George Lucas...
1952] Talking Head David Byrne...
1969] Cate Blanchett...
1983] "Joan of Arcadia's" Amber Tamblyn...
[Today is the 134th day of 2006 with 231 days remaining in the year and 15 days until Memorial Day]...
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