The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread

[RJDiogenes]

"Street Fighting Man," The Rolling Stones

Not their best, but enjoyable.

"Baby, Come Back," The Equals

Another Oldie I don't think I've ever heard before. Eddy Grant, though. Interesting.

"Fool for You," The Impressions

I'm not familiar with this one, either.

"Shape of Things to Come," Max Frost & The Troopers

This is pretty nice. Shame it's only two minutes long.

"Suzie Q," Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence! Also, my Sister's nickname.

"Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud (Part 1)," James Brown

A triumph of substance over form.

"My Special Angel," The Vogues

Yes, it sounds like the 50s.

"Fire," The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

Love it. I never saw the video or the artist before. It's like Gene Simmons and Alice Cooper had a time-traveling baby. There's a story seed.....

In my book, there's nothing wrong with a good adaptation that weeds out the flotsam and jetsom of decades of shoddy continuity. Comic fans should be used to having alternate continuity versions of characters.

It's not really an issue with decades of continuity, but I don't really want an adaptation to be a "What If" story either. Von Doom did not make the flight with the FF.

Great choices, but "Junior's Farm" is a surpise as your favorite in the McCartney catalog.

A bit quirky, admittedly.

Again, I was not questioning his authenticity during his initial breakout period, but his post army years in film (and music until 1968) where he was pretty much the equivalent of a mass produced toy hanging on a supermarket peg.

Yeah, the films were not a great decision, but still qualify as Americana in that 60s Drive-In movie kind of way.

Some black audiences felt that was trying to "even the scales" as not to offend certain members of the white audience. Personally, I believed it worked to show that Tibbs was not saintly and held his own set of prejudices--although nothing on the level of his white antagonists in Sparta.

Yes, it was very important to the character's and the film's credibility.

Of this film's list of character actors, one you forgot was Scott Wilson (Harvey Oberst). In addition to In the Heat of the Night, Wilson starred in the landmark true crime adaptation of the Capote novel In Cold Blood (Columbia, 1967) and gained endless numbers of fans in recent years thanks to the role of Hershel Green on three seasons of The Walking Dead--

Nice. I didn't make that connection.

I thought it was a good payoff after multiple beats of the local police jumping to conclusions to be proven wrong by Tibbs, which was making them look like straw men.

Exactly. And that's why I don't think you'd see it today. Contemporary politics is all about straw men.

ETA: Now they're showing commercials for the Start TV launch on my Decades channel. They also advise that you check "Where to Watch" on the Decades site to find out where Decades is going. Boston and New York both have listings for over the air providers "coming soon".

Apparently it's a digital sub-channel of local CBS affiliates, which I think means that it's always been over the air, so it's possible that it might just move to a different cable channel-- although that's probably just a pipe dream.

 

[The Old Mixer]

And I just saw it in IMAX at the Cinesphere theater located at Ontario Place last Friday here in Toronto.

I am envious....

Not their best, but enjoyable.

A rock classic, and banned in Chicago! (Maybe they should have been doing something about their mayor and police force instead.) Funny thing, it never occurred to me until I read it recently that the lyric "Summer's here and the time is right / For fighting in the street, boy" was riffing on "Dancing in the Street" by Martha & the Vandellas.

Another Oldie I don't think I've ever heard before. Eddy Grant, though. Interesting.

Now I wondered based on its chart performance why I did know this one from oldies radio. Possibly the Eddy Grant connection.

I'm not familiar with this one, either.

Yeah, I never had much exposure to most of the Impressions singles that I've gotten, but they've got a good sound.

This is pretty nice. Shame it's only two minutes long.

A fake band (all the rage in '68) from a film called Wild in the Streets (released May 29, 1968), which had a premise that was very sign o' the times but taken to a preposterous extreme--that of lowering the age for voting and for holding national office to 14. I understand it's something of a cult classic, but I'm not sure if I want to watch it badly enough to rent it. I'd likely check it out if it came on a channel that I get.

Creedence!

A noteworthy new arrival. This would be a case where the full-length version of the song was spread over both sides of the single.

A triumph of substance over form.

It does stand out a bit from his other singles of the era. A very sign o' the times message.

Yes, it sounds like the 50s.

Won't argue with this assessment at all...a cover of a song that was a #7 hit for Bobby Helms in 1957. Sounds terribly out of step with the times, but I guess some were pining for simpler days. I can generally get into whatever era I'm immersing myself in, so '50s music has its places, but this ain't what I'm looking for in the late '60s. (I have it nevertheless.)

Love it. I never saw the video or the artist before. It's like Gene Simmons and Alice Cooper had a time-traveling baby. There's a story seed.....

More likely no time travel, and the parentage went in the other direction. It's funny, because this is one that was strangely unfamiliar to me despite it being a rock/pop song that charted so high in its day. Oldies radio must not have liked him for some reason.

It's not really an issue with decades of continuity, but I don't really want an adaptation to be a "What If" story either. Von Doom did not make the flight with the FF.

I did specify a good adaptation...all superhero movies are not created equal. The MCU films generally do a better job of adapting the characters in a way that respects the classic material (e.g., the film that started the franchise, Iron Man).

 

[RJDiogenes]

A rock classic, and banned in Chicago! (Maybe they should have been doing something about their mayor and police force instead.) Funny thing, it never occurred to me until I read it recently that the lyric "Summer's here and the time is right / For fighting in the street, boy" was riffing on "Dancing in the Street" by Martha & the Vandellas.

I guess it is a classic, and I suppose I can see why it would freak out the squares in Chicago. It does riff on the Martha song (they did that a few times, as with Let It Bleed), and then Mick would cover the source material years later with David Bowie-- in the process, creating one of the worst music videos of all time.

A fake band (all the rage in '68) from a film called Wild in the Streets (released May 29, 1968), which had a premise that was very sign o' the times but taken to a preposterous extreme--that of lowering the age for voting and for holding national office to 14. I understand it's something of a cult classic, but I'm not sure if I want to watch it badly enough to rent it. I'd likely check it out if it came on a channel that I get.

Ah, interesting. I think I've heard of it, but it just never registered with me. I'll have to look more closely now-- it sounds similar to DC's Prez, which it likely inspired.

A noteworthy new arrival. This would be a case where the full-length version of the song was spread over both sides of the single.

Indeed. I don't think I even knew that there was an extended version.

Won't argue with this assessment at all...a cover of a song that was a #7 hit for Bobby Helms in 1957. Sounds terribly out of step with the times, but I guess some were pining for simpler days. I can generally get into whatever era I'm immersing myself in, so '50s music has its places, but this ain't what I'm looking for in the late '60s. (I have it nevertheless.)

It's interesting how people often look to the past as simpler. It eventually got to the point where people looked back on the 60s (and 70s and 80s.....) as simpler times, which kind of makes me laugh.

More likely no time travel, and the parentage went in the other direction. It's funny, because this is one that was strangely unfamiliar to me despite it being a rock/pop song that charted so high in its day. Oldies radio must not have liked him for some reason.

Indeed, I actually looked up his Wiki page later in the day and they mention both Kiss and Alice Cooper (along with some concept albums that bear looking into). You may be right about Oldies radio-- I like this song from childhood (it has junior high school associations for me) and have it in my MP3 folder, but I don't remember hearing on the radio for a long time.

I did specify a good adaptation...all superhero movies are not created equal. The MCU films generally do a better job of adapting the characters in a way that respects the classic material (e.g., the film that started the franchise, Iron Man).

Granted, the recent batch do seem to be more faithful for the most part, which is another thing that made Captain America enjoyable. But the look of them still turns me off-- I've probably said this before, but to me the perfect superhero show or movie would look like Batman 66, but be written by somebody like Kurt Busiek or Steve Englehart. That's for live action, of course. What I'd really like to see are animated movies that are actually derived from the art of the appropriate artist-- something along the lines of this wonderful movie.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Forgot to mention: Speaking of In The Heat Of The Night, the TV show is joining the MeTV lineup on Monday (I think-- I caught part of a commercial). Also, the Gil Gerard Buck Rogers series is joining the Sci-Fi Saturday schedule, but I think it will be on late night.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

"The Monkees Race Again"
Originally aired February 12, 1968

AKA the last full Monkees episode to be produced.

I believe this was also the last time (in production order) The Monkeemobile was used before the cameras. To this day, its still a great looking design. Dean Jeffries was every bit as talented as George Barris as a car customizer.

Alas, this one didn't have enough good gags ("Curse you, Red Baron!") to make up for the corny German stereotype stuff that permeates the episode.

The use of "Seig Heil!" group chant as a source of humor would never fly on most modern series. I'm surprised the show played around with that.

"The Monkees in Paris"
Originally aired February 19, 1968

One of the series' finest episodes, not only for the location footage (while the group was on tour) and a wealth of tracks from Pieces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones Ltd. LP.

I read that the wraparound segments of the Monkees shooting their show were the last material filmed for the series. They're done in the same sort of rough, documentary-ish quality as the Paris footage.

If you ever see the Blu-ray version, the wraparounds are sharp and do not look like degraded 16mm prints that were used in syndication.

Mike's "Don't Call on Me" and the brief sequence for it (9:02+) is rather nice.

Yes, it is.

New on the chart:
"Street Fighting Man," The Rolling Stones

Honestly, this is one of the last truly superb Rolling Stones songs.

"Suzie Q," Creedence Clearwater Revival

Just fantastic.

"Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud (Part 1)," James Brown

Great, ever-listenable and so important that year, and in the decade to come.

"Fire," The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

Well, its..crazy, but a fun, strange song produced by The Who's producer Kit Lambert.

 

[The Old Mixer]

It does riff on the Martha song (they did that a few times, as with Let It Bleed),

Where's the riff there?

Forgot to mention: Speaking of In The Heat Of The Night, the TV show is joining the MeTV lineup on Monday (I think-- I caught part of a commercial).

This has had that in their lineup, though I've never watched it. This doesn't appear to be Weigel, but there seems to be a lot of common shows popping up between This and the Weigel networks.

The use of "Seig Heil!" group chant as a source of humor would never fly on most modern series. I'm surprised the show played around with that.

There were a lot of war shows on at the time...including a certain very popular sitcom. People weren't as sensitive about it in those days as later generations would be.

Honestly, this is one of the last truly superb Rolling Stones songs.

They've got lots of good stuff coming at this point...much of it in the relatively near future.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Where's the riff there?

Never mind. I always assumed that they were satirizing "Let It Be," but the timing appears to be wrong. Weird.

This has had that in their lineup, though I've never watched it. This doesn't appear to be Weigel, but there seems to be a lot of common shows popping up between This and the Weigel networks.

I've never seen it, either, but it would be interesting to see Carroll O'Connor in that role. I'm also interested in seeing Buck Rogers, which I didn't bother with at the time, since I dismissed it as a second-rate rip off of a second-rate rip off (of something I didn't like to begin with). These days, though, it looks like it might be pretty good.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for 55 years ago this week:

1. "My Boyfriend's Back," The Angels
2. "Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh! (A Letter from Camp)," Allan Sherman
3. "If I Had A Hammer," Trini Lopez

5. "Candy Girl," The Four Seasons
6. "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave," Martha & The Vandellas
7. "Mockingbird," Inez & Charlie Foxx
8. "The Monkey Time," Major Lance
9. "Blowin' in the Wind," Peter, Paul & Mary
10. "Hey Girl," Freddie Scott
11. "Fingertips, Pt. 2," Little Stevie Wonder
12. "Surfer Girl," The Beach Boys
13. "Denise," Randy & The Rainbows
14. "Frankie and Johnny," Sam Cooke
15. "Then He Kissed Me," The Crystals

17. "More," Kai Winding & Orchestra
18. "Judy's Turn to Cry," Lesley Gore

21. "Mickey's Monkey," The Miracles
22. "Wonderful! Wonderful!," The Tymes
23. "Wipe Out," The Surfaris

25. "Green, Green," The New Christy Minstrels
26. "Wait 'Til My Bobby Gets Home," Darlene Love
27. "The Kind of Boy You Can't Forget," The Raindrops

29. "Sally Go 'Round the Roses," The Jaynetts
30. "Martian Hop," The Ran-Dells
31. "Cry Baby," Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters

33. "So Much in Love," The Tymes

35. "Hey There Lonely Boy," Ruby & The Romantics

38. "Little Deuce Coupe," The Beach Boys
39. "I (Who Have Nothing)," Ben E. King

41. "Twist It Up," Chubby Checker
42. "(You're the) Devil in Disguise," Elvis Presley

44. "Surf City," Jan & Dean
45. "A Walkin' Miracle," The Essex feat. Anita Humes
46. "Only in America," Jay & The Americans

55. "Be My Baby," The Ronettes
56. "Wham!," Lonnie Mack

58. "Just One Look," Doris Troy

66. "Busted," Ray Charles

77. "I Can't Stay Mad at You," Skeeter Davis

80. "Talk to Me," Sunny & The Sunglows

84. "I'll Take You Home," The Drifters

90. "Mean Woman Blues," Roy Orbison

93. "Honolulu Lulu," Jan & Dean


Leaving the chart:

• "Easier Said Than Done," The Essex
• "Memphis," Lonnie Mack

55 Years Ago Spotlight

While today is the traditional end of Summer, my calendar says otherwise, so here's one more song for the season:

"Honolulu Lulu," Jan & Dean

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(#11 US)

_______

Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for 51 years ago this week:

1. "Ode to Billie Joe," Bobbie Gentry
2. "Reflections," Diana Ross & The Supremes
3. "Come Back When You Grow Up," Bobby Vee & The Strangers
4. "Baby, I Love You," Aretha Franklin
5. "The Letter," The Box Tops
6. "All You Need Is Love," The Beatles
7. "You're My Everything," The Temptations
8. "Light My Fire," The Doors
9. "Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie," Jay & The Techniques
10. "San Franciscan Nights," Eric Burdon & The Animals
11. "Cold Sweat, Part 1," James Brown
12. "Words," The Monkees
13. "Pleasant Valley Sunday," The Monkees
14. "Brown Eyed Girl," Van Morrison
15. "Thank the Lord for the Night Time," Neil Diamond
16. "You Know What I Mean," The Turtles
17. "There Is a Mountain," Donovan
18. "Funky Broadway," Wilson Pickett
19. "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher," Jackie Wilson
20. "(I Wanna) Testify," The Parliaments
21. "Heroes and Villains," The Beach Boys
22. "I Was Made to Love Her," Stevie Wonder
23. "Silence Is Golden," The Tremeloes
24. "I Had a Dream," Paul Revere & The Raiders feat. Mark Lindsay
25. "Never My Love," The Association
26. "I Dig Rock and Roll Music," Peter, Paul & Mary
27. "Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)," The Mamas & The Papas
28. "Things I Should Have Said," The Grass Roots
29. "Gettin' Together," Tommy James & The Shondells

31. "Groovin'," Booker T. & The M.G.'s

33. "Gimme Little Sign," Brenton Wood
34. "A Girl Like You," The Young Rascals
35. "Fakin' It," Simon & Garfunkel
36. "Carrie-Anne," The Hollies
37. "To Love Somebody," Bee Gees

39. "Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone," Martha Reeves & The Vandellas

43. "I Make A Fool Of Myself," Frankie Valli
44. "A Whiter Shade of Pale," Procol Harum

46. "Hypnotized," Linda Jones
47. "Get on Up," The Esquires
48. "The Cat in the Window (The Bird in the Sky)," Petula Clark

51. "Knock on Wood," Otis & Carla

55. "Little Ole Man (Uptight, Everything's Alright)," Bill Cosby

61. "Expressway to Your Heart," The Soul Survivors

63. "Run, Run, Run," The Third Rail
64. "The Ballad of You & Me & Pooneil," Jefferson Airplane

68. "The Look of Love," Dusty Springfield

73. "Your Precious Love," Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
74. "To Sir with Love," Lulu
75. "Dandelion," The Rolling Stones

77. "Let Love Come Between Us," James & Bobby Purify

79. "Soul Man," Sam & Dave
80. "How Can I Be Sure," The Young Rascals

83. "Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)," The Buckinghams
84. "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," Tom Jones
85. "Get Together," The Youngbloods


Leaving the chart:

• "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," Frankie Valli
• "Let the Good Times Roll & Feel So Good," Bunny Sigler
• "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," The Buckinghams
• "My Mammy," The Happenings
• "Purple Haze," The Jimi Hendrix Experience

And that brings this bit of business full circle with the point when I started the 50 Years Ago This Week playlists last year. Next week I take the 51 Years Ago playlist out back and shoot it.

_______

Never mind. I always assumed that they were satirizing "Let It Be," but the timing appears to be wrong. Weird.

I always wondered about that myself. Now the song "Let It Be" was already in the can during the making of the Stones' album, and the Stones might have known of it, but the shelved album/film project was working under the title Get Back...so it seems unlikely that the Stones were satirizing a song that hadn't been released yet.

I'm also interested in seeing Buck Rogers, which I didn't bother with at the time, since I dismissed it as a second-rate rip off of a second-rate rip off (of something I didn't like to begin with). These days, though, it looks like it might be pretty good.

It's been a long time since I tried to watch it, but my recollection is that it was pretty cheesy, though I enjoyed it as a kid. With any luck, it can be enjoyed in a "so bad it's good" way, but I couldn't say.

 

[RJDiogenes]

"Honolulu Lulu," Jan & Dean

That was fun. It's amazing how many popular songs from the past I don't recognize, and seem to have also been forgotten by Oldies radio.

Next week I take the 51 Years Ago playlist out back and shoot it.

I always wondered about that myself. Now the song "Let It Be" was already in the can during the making of the Stones' album, and the Stones might have known of it, but the shelved album/film project was working under the title Get Back...so it seems unlikely that the Stones were satirizing a song that hadn't been released yet.

And the reverse timing is also wrong. I feel oddly cheated. It's now just a strange coincidence, unless they were both reacting to a third element that we're not aware of.

It's been a long time since I tried to watch it, but my recollection is that it was pretty cheesy, though I enjoyed it as a kid. With any luck, it can be enjoyed in a "so bad it's good" way, but I couldn't say.

I think it's going to be on the late-night part of the schedule, anyway, which makes me even less likely to catch it.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Didn't know it had a fan! Me, I'll be happy to simplify the weekly playlist listening to just 50 and 55 Years Ago.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

I've never seen it, either, but it would be interesting to see Carroll O'Connor in that role. I'm also interested in seeing Buck Rogers, which I didn't bother with at the time, since I dismissed it as a second-rate rip off of a second-rate rip off (of something I didn't like to begin with). These days, though, it looks like it might be pretty good.

Are you talking about Buck Rogers in the 25th Century?

I always wondered about that myself. Now the song "Let It Be" was already in the can during the making of the Stones' album, and the Stones might have known of it, but the shelved album/film project was working under the title Get Back...so it seems unlikely that the Stones were satirizing a song that hadn't been released yet.

So you're thinking its coincidence?

 

[Kerock]

So this morning, I stumbled across a "new" show on Antenna--a one-season wonder from the Sixties that I'd never heard of in my life: It's About Time, a Sherwood Schwartz production that apparently came on before Ed Sullivan in CBS's 1966-1967 Sunday night lineup. The show was about a pair of astronauts who traveled back in time and got stuck in a stereotypically inauthentic version of the stone age, with cavemen and dinosaurs living side-by-side. The cast included caveperson regulars Joe E. Ross (previously of Car 54, Where Are You?) and Imogene Coca. Cheesy as it was, it was also kind of cute and endearing...but I can definitely see why it got canned.

I remember this show, the song is running through my head even though I haven't seen it for many many years.
" It's about time, It's about Space.
It's about two men in a crazy place"

 

[RJDiogenes]

Didn't know it had a fan! Me, I'll be happy to simplify the weekly playlist listening to just 50 and 55 Years Ago.

I can't tell the 50s from the 60s, you think I can tell 50 years from 51 years?

Are you talking about Buck Rogers in the 25th Century?

The TV version of In The Heat Of The Night is also coming to MeTV. But now that you mention it....

"My name is Captain Buck Rogers and I've been frozen for 500 years."

"Looks like you partially thawed now and then...."

I remember this show, the song is running through my head even though I haven't seen it for many many years.
" It's about time, It's about Space.
It's about two men in a crazy place"

"The strangest place," actually. It's out on DVD now, finally.

 

[The Old Mixer]

So you're thinking its coincidence?

Lacking any insider accounts to the contrary, I'd say that it's a stretch to see it as deliberate. At the same time, I'm not ruling out a backstage connection...but it's odd that the Stones would do so public a parody of something that the general listening audience wasn't even familiar with yet...unless the idea was to "get it in first". In that scenario, they'd heard "Let It Be," they knew it was a likely future hit single, so they swiped a little of the Beatles' thunder proactively instead of reactively.

I am warming up to the idea even as it knocks around in my head, though. Because the Get Back project was in post-production hell, the Stones had a unique opportunity to get out ahead of something that the Beatles had in the works.

I remember this show, the song is running through my head even though I haven't seen it for many many years.

Alas, it hasn't been in Antenna's lineup for a while now.

I can't tell the 50s from the 60s, you think I can tell 50 years from 51 years?

This is true. But if I started doing more detailed "51 Years Ago This Week" posts, you'd be making lots of cracks about deja vu all over again. It's all there in last year's posts...well, mostly there...I added some things when I went back and re-explored the earlier charts at Top 30 level. It's time to boldly go forward into the past!

 

[RJDiogenes]

Excelsior-ish!

 

[The Old Mixer]

_______

50th Anniversary Catch-Up Viewing

_______

The Monkees
"Monkees Mind Their Manor"
Originally aired February 26, 1968

Davy inherits an English manor, but must first win a tournament against Sir Twiggley Toppen Middle Bottom (Bernard Fox) with lances, swords, and vocal cords.

Note: No laugh track. Directed by Peter Tork. Jack Good, who portrays Lance Kibbie the Sot, would later produce the 1969 TV special 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee.

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Back to formula, alas. I assume "Iranian Tango" is the song they're barely rehearsing in the opening.

The bedroom's briefly back in this one.

Davy breaks the fourth wall by identifying the customs agent as the show's property man. The other three are introduced at the manor as "Pisces, Aquarius, and Capricorn."

The Monkees try to raise money at a medieval fair, but the joust doesn't really happen and the sword contest is fencing, which isn't very medieval. It comes down to the singing contest, with "Greensleeves" being performed (17:29+) first by Fox's character, then Davy...the latter sounding very much like he had the unfair help of studio production.

Mike and Peter address the audience between the story and the unconnected ending song sequence for "Star Collector (21:03+).

_______

The Rat Patrol
"The Hickory Dickory Dock Raid"
Originally aired February 26, 1968

The Rat Patrol is assigned a mission to safeguard POWs being held at a German repair depot that will be targeted by bombers, but Moffitt becomes unreliable after he receives word that his kid brother was killed in England.

Another episode about the younger brother of a Patrol member, so soon? And the story hinges on Troy just remembering to give Moffitt his mail in the middle of a mission....

The stock footage of Allied bombers is in black & white...they didn't even try to tint it to make it look color.

The episode makes prominent use of the fort set at Vasquez Rocks.

Tully's in this one, but Dietrich isn't.

_______

The Monkees
"Some Like It Lukewarm"
Originally aired March 4, 1968

To enter and win a band contest hosted by radio DJ Jerry Blavat, David poses as a girl and falls in love with Daphne (Deana Martin), posing as a boy for her group who is also in the contest.

Note: No laugh track. Special guest appearance by Charlie Smalls, who appears with Davy in the end-of-episode tag segment.

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This is another video from the official Monkees account.

So now it's Davy turn to impersonate a woman. The female group with one of them impersonating a male, the Westminster Abbies, does a Chipmunk-speed version of "Last Train to Clarksville" (5:37+)...presumably the original sped up. This is followed by the first song that's supposed to be the Monkees, "The Door Into Summer" (7:46+). The MC's play-by-play during the song is pretty annoying.

After a Cinderella-ish romance beat between Davy and the Daphne, the guys and gals join forces for "She Hangs Out" (18:00+)...and again with the annoying play-by-play.

This episode might have been better if they'd actually given the girl group their own material, performed by a female singer. I don't think the rest of the group even got any lines. The tall girl was very striking to behold.

In the tag segment (20:51+), Charlie uses Ringo's drumming as an example while describing different rhythms.

_______

The Rat Patrol
"The Tug Of War Raid"
Originally aired March 4, 1968

Troy goes undercover to receive a locket of microfilm from a female French Resistance fighter, but both get captured by Dietrich. After Troy refuses to divulge the location of the locket, Dietrich sentences them both to hang.

They had me confused at the beginning of the episode, because the town where Troy has his rendezvous with the French Resistance fighter, Felecia, didn't look much like Northern Africa.

Filling in for Tully this episode is Bo Hopkins as Bo Randall. They use Fort Vasquez again, shot tightly from inside this time. There's an attempt at drama in Felecia's father being the local hangman.

Dietrich is in this one, but he starts the episode acting out of character, yelling very emotionally at Troy, not at all his usual calm and cool self. It's like they wrote the part assuming a substitute and only later found out that Gudegast was available.

_______

 

[RJDiogenes]

It comes down to the singing contest, with "Greensleeves" being performed (17:29+) first by Fox's character, then Davy...

Ah, I love Bernard Fox-- he's one of those classic character actors whose name I can never remember (like that guy in "Third From The Sun"), but he's always a pleasure to watch. I wonder if Davy or The Monkees ever recorded a full-length version of "Greensleeves."

the latter sounding very much like he had the unfair help of studio production.

Maybe he had Garage Band on his iPhone.

The stock footage of Allied bombers is in black & white...they didn't even try to tint it to make it look color.

Now that's just lazy.

So now it's Davy turn to impersonate a woman. The female group with one of them impersonating a male

Somebody's been nipping at the gender fluid.

This episode might have been better if they'd actually given the girl group their own material, performed by a female singer.

Or gotten a real girl group to guest star.

They had me confused at the beginning of the episode, because the town where Troy has his rendezvous with the French Resistance fighter, Felecia, didn't look much like Northern Africa.

It's the Village. It's all the Village.

 

[The Old Mixer]

_______

50 Years Ago This Week

September 11

• The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) is founded.
• French General René Cogny and 94 others die in an Air France Caravelle jetliner crash near Nice in the Mediterranean.

September 13

• Albania officially retreats from the Warsaw Pact upon the Soviet Union-led Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, having already ceased to participate actively in Pact activity since 1962.
• US Army Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware, WWII Medal of Honor recipient, is killed when his helicopter is shot down in Vietnam. He is posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
• Agreement for merger between the General Electric Company and English Electric, the largest industrial merger in the UK up to this date.

September 14 – Detroit Tiger Denny McLain becomes the first baseball pitcher to win 30 games in a season since 1934. He remains the last to accomplish the feat.

Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

1. "People Got to Be Free," The Rascals
2. "Harper Valley P.T.A.," Jeannie C. Riley
3. "Light My Fire," Jose Feliciano
4. "Born to Be Wild," Steppenwolf
5. "1, 2, 3, Red Light," 1910 Fruitgum Co.
6. "The House That Jack Built," Aretha Franklin
7. "You're All I Need to Get By," Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
8. "Hush," Deep Purple
9. "Hello, I Love You," The Doors
10. "Hey Jude," The Beatles
11. "The Fool on the Hill," Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66
12. "You Keep Me Hangin' On," The Vanilla Fudge
13. "Sunshine of Your Love," Cream
14. "I Say a Little Prayer," Aretha Franklin
15. "Turn Around, Look at Me," The Vogues
16. "I Can't Stop Dancing," Archie Bell & The Drells
17. "Slip Away," Clarence Carter
18. "Girl Watcher," The O'Kaysions
19. "Stay in My Corner," The Dells
20. "Do It Again," The Beach Boys
21. "Love Makes a Woman," Barbara Acklin
22. "Classical Gas," Mason Williams
23. "I've Gotta Get a Message to You," Bee Gees
24. "On the Road Again," Canned Heat
25. "Sealed with a Kiss," Gary Lewis & The Playboys
26. "Magic Bus," The Who
27. "Time Has Come Today," The Chambers Brothers
28. "The Eyes of a New York Woman," B.J. Thomas
29. "Tuesday Afternoon (Forever Afternoon)," The Moody Blues
30. "Soul-Limbo," Booker T. & The MG's
31. "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud (Part 1)," James Brown
32. "Please Return Your Love to Me," The Temptations

35. "Dream a Little Dream of Me," Mama Cass w/ The Mamas & The Papas

37. "Special Occasion," Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
38. "Revolution," The Beatles

41. "Little Green Apples," O.C. Smith

44. "The Snake," Al Wilson

50. "Stoned Soul Picnic," The 5th Dimension
51. "Journey to the Center of the Mind," The Amboy Dukes
52. "Midnight Confessions," The Grass Roots

56. "Piece of My Heart," Big Brother & The Holding Company
57. "My Special Angel," The Vogues
58. "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida," Iron Butterfly
59. "(The Lament of the Cherokee) Indian Reservation," Don Fardon
60. "Fire," The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

63. "Street Fighting Man," The Rolling Stones
64. "Hey, Western Union Man," Jerry Butler

66. "Baby, Come Back," The Equals

68. "Down on Me," Big Brother & The Holding Company

70. "The Weight," The Band

77. "Fool for You," The Impressions

84. "Shape of Things to Come," Max Frost & The Troopers

88. "Suzie Q," Creedence Clearwater Revival

90. "Light My Fire," The Doors

98. "Hold Me Tight," Johnny Nash

Leaving the chart:

• "Alice Long (You're Still My Favorite Girlfriend)," Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart (10 weeks)
• "Hurdy Gurdy Man," Donovan (12 weeks)
• "Pictures of Matchstick Men," The Status Quo (17 weeks)

New on the chart:

"Hold Me Tight," Johnny Nash

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(#5 US; #20 AC; #21 R&B; #5 UK)

"Hey Jude," The Beatles

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(#1 US the weeks of Sept. 28 through Nov. 23, 1968; #1 UK; #8 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time; #1 song on Billboard's 1968 Year-End Chart of Pop Singles; entering the Hot 100 at #10!)

"Revolution," The Beatles

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(B-side of "Hey Jude"; #12 US)

_______

This week's scheduled catch-up viewing:

• The Monkees, "The Monkees Blow Their Minds" (Mar. 11, 1968)
• The Rat Patrol, "The Never Say Die Raid" (Mar. 11, 1968)
• The Rat Patrol, "The Kill at Koorlea Raid" (Mar. 18, 1968; series finale)
• The Monkees, "The Frodis Caper" (Mar. 25, 1968; series finale)

_______

Or gotten a real girl group to guest star.

To be fair to the show, it's not like the '60s music landscape was littered with all-female bands (as opposed to vocal groups).

It's the Village. It's all the Village.

[Insert bars closing in front of Christopher George's face.]

 

[RJDiogenes]

"Hold Me Tight," Johnny Nash

This is a nice one that I would have placed about three or four years later. I like his kind of random dancers-- it's like he just grabbed a few people who were walking by on the street. "Hey, wanna make twenty bucks?"

"Hey Jude," The Beatles

This is beautiful, of course.

"Revolution," The Beatles

This is one of my all-time favorite Beatles songs, probably my very favorite. I've always liked how it was both a call to revolution and a resistance to extremism-- something else that's even more relevant today.

To be fair to the show, it's not like the '60s music landscape was littered with all-female bands (as opposed to vocal groups).

True enough. I wonder how hard it would have been to find one out in the bars and nightclubs of Hollywood, though, even then.

[Insert bars closing in front of Christopher George's face.]

Clang!

 

[The Old Mixer]

This is a nice one that I would have placed about three or four years later.

It seems that we are starting to get some early stirrings of reggae. Johnny Nash will pop back up on the radar in 1972 when he scores a #1 with "I Can See Clearly Now," along with another Top 20 hit...but he'd also enjoyed some modest success a decade earlier:

"A Very Special Love"

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(Charted Dec. 30, 1957; #23 US)

I like his kind of random dancers-- it's like he just grabbed a few people who were walking by on the street. "Hey, wanna make twenty bucks?"

I'd give 'em a little more credit than that. I doubt we could do better. I can't dance, you won't dance....

This is beautiful, of course.

Perhaps the Beatles' greatest achievement in the single format...the 7:11 epic that AM radio reportedly didn't dare cut short lest the stations incur the wrath of lit switchboards.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hey_Jude

"Hey Jude" was released in August 1968 as the first single from the Beatles' record label Apple Records. More than seven minutes in length, it was at the time the longest single ever to top the British charts. It also spent nine weeks at number one in the United States, the longest for any Beatles single. "Hey Jude" tied the "all-time" record, at the time, for the longest run at the top of the US charts. The single has sold approximately eight million copies and is frequently included on professional critics' lists of the greatest songs of all time. In 2013, Billboard named it the 10th "biggest" song of all time.

And it's the highest-ranking of 22 Beatles songs on the Rolling Stone list...though John's solo signature song "Imagine" ranks higher.

"Hey Jude" was inspired by young Julian Lennon, written to console him regarding the divorce of his parents. John alternately thought that it was about him and Yoko or that it was about Paul and Jane Asher, and famously insisted that Paul keep the line "the movement you need is on your shoulder"--Paul apologized for it as a filler lyric, but John opined that it was the best line in the song.

This is one of my all-time favorite Beatles songs, probably my very favorite. I've always liked how it was both a call to revolution and a resistance to extremism-- something else that's even more relevant today.

It's taken 30 years, but I think the stench of Nike tennis shoes has finally lifted from this classic. A very timely song, and a nice counterpoint to the Stones' then-current single in particular. I like how the version used in the promo video fuses in bits of business from the slower, acoustic "Revolution 1" that will appear on the White Album. Note that neither of these promos has the actual single audio, but I wasn't about to let two such classic videos, available in high quality on TheBeatlesVEVO, go to waste!

Clang!

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So H&I has made a significant seasonal change to its lineup. The Comic Book Heroes block is gone. They're now playing multiple episodes of The Incredible Hulk and The Greatest American Hero on Saturday morning, then moving on to other programming in the afternoon. Completely gone from their lineup, among other shows, are The Adventures of Superman, Batman, and Tarzan! No wonder Decades was paying so much attention to the latter show...Weigel was about to put it under. This marks a significant shift on H&I back toward '90s-era cop/detective shows, though the six-night-a-week All Star Trek block still seems to be working for them. Oddly, they also seem to have replaced their striking, colorful intro logos, which used tilted bits of footage from each show...

...with a more generic blue and white logo.