The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread

The Old Mixer · Mar 16, 2020

gblews said:
Those songs are Paul at his most self indulgent and schmaltzy, IMO.

You must not have listened to his solo albums...

RJDiogenes · Mar 16, 2020

The Old Mixer said:
This episode has a particularly noteworthy guest star: Connors's former co-star and TV son Johnny Crawford as Deputy Sheriff Clay Holden.

That's cool.

The main search result I was getting for this was the episode itself; it resembles, but doesn't quite match, a couple lines of a hymn called "Once to Every Man and Nation" by James Russell Lowell.

Which would make sense for a half-remembered poem from his youth, since it was about twenty-five years old at that time.

Garrett tries to turn the townsfolk against Jason by making sure they know who he is

Because an arsonist is bad, but a yeller belly is worse. :rommie:

This was another episode with a strong theme of bravery vs. cowardice.

Including the townspeople trying to band together against the bad hombres.

"The Return of Wrongway Feldman"

Good old Wrongway.

Feldman only found the island against accidentally, but is looking to escape from modern civlization. He notably emphasizes to Gilligan, "This is your home!"

Which kind of predicts the plot of the first reunion movie.

But in the coda the castaways improbably get a note in a bottle from Feldman, who tells of how he didn't find Honolulu, but ended up on another island that was more of a paradise for him, with hula girls tending to his every need.

And he was never seen nor heard from again.

Are you referring to how some ascribe a religious interpretation to it, though Paul actually wrote it about a dream he had in which his mother (who was named Mary, and died when he was 14) consoled him about everything that was going on at the time (namely the tensions in the the group that led to their break-up)?

Actually, I didn't even know about the dream. I was referring to the Virgin Mary versus Mary Jane interpretations.

That's an interesting subject. The writer, Burton Cummings, said that it was just about how he preferred girls from the band's home turf, Canada. But band member Randy Bachman thought that it was an anti-Vietnam War song, which was apparently a common interpretation at the time...and certainly supported by the line "I don't need your war machines". There's even a bit in the linked Wiki section about how the band played at the White House in 1970 but were asked not to play "American Woman" because the song was deemed to be anti-American.

The "war machine" and "ghetto scene" lines seem awkwardly tacked on, like a Millennial* trying to sound woke by tossing around buzz words he doesn't understand. Without those, I'd interpret it as the band being put off by assertive or liberated women. I can see writing a song about liking girls from home, but even if that was the inspiration they're still writing about disliking girls who are not from home-- which, come to think of it, also predicts the current Zeitgeist. I can't come up with any positive interpretation of the lyrics.

* :beer:

However you want to interpret what the song is saying, it's just a great classic rocker. That has to be one of the all-time classic guitar riffs.

This is definitely true. I wonder if people enjoy this song in the same way that they enjoy "Cocaine." They just hear "American Woman" and everything else is just "blah blah blah," like in that Gary Larson cartoon. :rommie:

Another enjoyable oldies radio classic, but it's no "American Woman," lyrically or musically. Notable here is that the "New Mother Nature" section wasn't included in the single version of the song, but was part of the album version and the version that I bought from a compilation album.

I think I've always heard the album version, or at least mostly. My favorite is "Share The Land," anyway.

The Old Mixer · Mar 16, 2020

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50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 1)

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Mission: Impossible
"The Crane"
Originally aired March 8, 1970

Wiki said:
Jim and his team rescue a prisoner and hide him at a conspicuous location right under his captors's noses. Then they use the rescue to topple the military junta that rules the nation.

The miniature reel-to-reel tape in the back room of an art shop said:
Good morning, Mr. Phelps. This is a man known only as Constantine [Eric Mason]. He's the leader of the People's Republican Army, the guerrilla force which is fighting the brutal, dictatorial military junta that overthrew the Republic of Logosia five years ago. This junta is headed by General of the Army Yuri Kozani [Carl Betz]. Second in command is Colonel Alex Strabo [Felice Orlandi], chief of the elite National Security Force. Several days ago, the struggle against the military junta was dealt a heavy blow with the capture of Constantine. He is to be brought into the capitol of Logosia within 24 hours for execution.

Your mission, Jim, if you choose to accept it, is to prevent the execution of Constantine and pave the way for his guerrilla forces to smash the military junta and restore Logosia's democratic government. As always, should you or any of your IM Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim.

Jim could use some earbuds, or some honkin' big-ass headphones if that's what's available. He's listening to his secret instructions right on the other side of a curtain from a shop full of customers.

There's a male guest agent named Clay (Ralph Ventura), who's not given an onscreen credit when his picture is shown during the portfoilo scene; Jim also pulls out a flyer for the Globe Repertory Company.

General Kozani is saved from Constantine Supporter Jim by Uniformed Willy and his TV Fu Knockout Chop; but not before Jim puts the idea in the general and Strobo's heads of Constantine potentially making a deal to join the junta. Meanwhile, Barney and Paris work on a road crew--which presumably otherwise consists of repertory company performers--setting stuff up...including a fake attack on the armored car carrying Constantine. Paris uses a suction cup gun demonstrated in the briefing to gas the inside of the car and blow his way in. The IMF has to hide Constantine in a sealed-off area of a city (reminding me very much of the premise of "Submarine"), so Constantine gets knocked out real good by an additional drug and raised in a bucket suspended from a crane.

The local police pursue Paris and Barney through some underground tunnels, apparently as a diversion; eventually P & B resurface, hop in Clay's car, and redress themselves as military officers. In his warehouse digs and using the ubiquitous IMF phone suitcase, Willy intercepts a call from the general and eventually puts him through to Paris impersonating Strabo; Fake Strabo wants to arrange a meeting between the general and Constantine, whom he says has been in contact with him. A lower-ranking underling of the general goes to the address where the meeting is supposed to take place, snoops around, avoids getting blown up by a rigged door, then descends through the doorway to the basement to find a printing press with a plate for a propaganda poster proclaiming Strabo and Constantine as allies in overthrowing Kozani.

While the search continues, Real Strabo notices and starts to take an interest in the crane bucket when he gets a call from Paris impersonating Constantine, attempting to negotiate a deal for his being let go, which involves a meeting in a public square. Elsewhere, Kozani tries to persuade Guerrilla Jim to tell him where Constantine is, and agrees to being taken to a meeting with him.

Back at the square, Paris disguised as a go-between who's pretending to be blind makes contact with Strabo, who has the square surrounded with extremely obvious snipers. Making it known that he has a gun in his pocket, Paris makes Strabo drive with him to a manhole cover away from the square where Strabo climbs down, is knocked out by Willie via a drugged needle, and is taken into Constantine's fake office, where Paris disguises him as Constantine. When Strabo awakens, he's shown that Clay is holding a shotgun on him from behind a panel in the wall that Paris then conceals with a two-way mirror, as a means of persuading Strabo to play along and remain silent. Jim brings in Kozani, who proceeds to talk smack about Strabo to the person whom he thinks is Constantine. Before leaving the two of them alone together, Jim presses a button that opens a drawer of the desk that Not Constantine is sitting at, revealing a pistol. They fooled me with what happened next--Strabo turned and fired into the mirror, though Clay was no longer on the other side; but then, after unmasking himself and getting in some words of his own, Strabo does exactly what we've come to expect. Blam, blam, Mission: Accomplished.

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Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Season 3, episode 25
Originally aired March 9, 1970

The Wiki list of guest appearances said:
Milton Berle, Jimmy Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Billy Barnes, Edgar Bergen, Mickey Rooney, Nancy Sinatra, Jill St. John, Andy Williams, Agatha Grunt

The cocktail party, with Milton Berle:

Dan and Dick are throwing Tyrone a bachelor party...and Milton Berle is the emcee:

General Bull Wright gets the Tasteful Lady's Seal of Approval:

Ernestine calls an obscene phone caller:

The news song is valkyrie themed.

Officer Berle and the Farkels.

New talent Jimmy Caesar sings "By the Time I Get to Phoenix". He also does "My Way" in another segment.

The Joke Wall, with Milton Berle:

There was a bit at the end with Berle in a German uniform in Wolfgang's bush, but I couldn't find it.

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"They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?"
Originally aired March 12, 1970

Wiki said:
Ann sees her neighbor Ruthie kissing another man.

After seeing a low-budget film that's made $10 million, Ann, Donald, and Jerry decide to try making one themselves. Bernie Kopell's sporting a mustache and big sideburns now; Donald references having been in college five years ago; and Ann's wearing past-the-knee boots. Meanwhile Ann starts to get indications that Ruth's engaging in suspicious activity that she's keeping from Jerry.

Jerry's projector is like the type we used to use at school. When Donald plays some footage of Ann that he shot of her washing the windows, Ann spots Ruthie in a window of the next building kissing another man. Of course, Ann gets all worked up about it and wants to get involved, while Donald is hesitant to.

We learn the truth in a cut to the Baumans' apartment...Ruth's pregnant. Cut then to Ann and Donald getting the news. It turns out that Ruth was looking at an apartment in the next building and the hug and kiss were just her reaction to getting it.

"Oh, Donald" count: 12
"Oh, Jerry" count: 2
"Oh, Ruthie" count: 2

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RJDiogenes said:
That's cool.

I've read that Connors and Crawford remained lifelong friends after The Rifleman.

Which would make sense for a half-remembered poem from his youth, since it was about twenty-five years old at that time.

He played it like he was quoting it precisely, though.

Which kind of predicts the plot of the first reunion movie.

And could be seen as an implicit theme of the series.

And he was never seen nor heard from again.

But was referenced in one of those reunion movies, as I recall.

Mary Jane interpretation

Never heard of that one. Paul rarely has such a detailed explanation of how a song came to him. When he does have one, that's the only explanation that counts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_It_Be_(Beatles_song)#Origins

Wiki said:
McCartney said he had the idea of "Let It Be" after he had a dream about his mother during the tense period surrounding the sessions for The Beatles ("the White Album") in 1968. When rehearsing the song with the Beatles in January 1969, McCartney occasionally sang "Brother Malcolm", a reference to the Beatles' assistant Mal Evans, in place of the "Mother Mary" lyric. According to McCartney, the song's reference to "Mother Mary" was not biblical. The phrase has at times been used as a reference to the Virgin Mary. Nevertheless, McCartney explained that his mother – who died of cancer when he was fourteen – was the inspiration for the "Mother Mary" lyric. He later said: "It was great to visit with her again. I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing 'Let It Be'." He also said in a later interview about the dream that his mother had told him, "It will be all right, just let it be." When asked if the song referred to the Virgin Mary, McCartney has typically answered the question by saying that listeners can interpret the song however they like.

Though I guess he's giving everyone an out there.

RJDiogenes said:
The "war machine" and "ghetto scene" lines seem awkwardly tacked on, like a Millennial* trying to sound woke by tossing around buzz words he doesn't understand. Without those, I'd interpret it as the band being put off by assertive or liberated women. I can see writing a song about liking girls from home, but even if that was the inspiration they're still writing about disliking girls who are not from home-- which, come to think of it, also predicts the current Zeitgeist. I can't come up with any positive interpretation of the lyrics.

First and foremost, I'd keep in mind that the song was written as an improvisation during a live show, so the lyrics probably don't bear a lot of scrutiny. But keeping in mind that it's a non-(US) American perspective, there is room to go with an interpretation of the titular "American woman" representing America in general...something that maybe seems sexy and alluring at a glance, but has a nasty side that includes carpet-bombing Vietnam and racial violence within its own borders. Whether or not such an interpretation was intended, I'd say that's a valid criticism of the US in that period.

*

This is definitely true. I wonder if people enjoy this song in the same way that they enjoy "Cocaine." They just hear "American Woman" and everything else is just "blah blah blah," like in that Gary Larson cartoon.

The amount of attention I pay to lyrics is dependent on how easy they are to understand in the first place.

I think I've always heard the album version, or at least mostly.

I can't recall if "New Mother Nature" was included in the version I'd typically heard on oldies radio or not.

RJDiogenes · Mar 17, 2020

The Old Mixer said:
Jim could use some earbuds, or some honkin' big-ass headphones if that's what's available. He's listening to his secret instructions right on the other side of a curtain from a shop full of customers.

The entire art shop self destructs after he leaves. There can be no witnesses!

There's a male guest agent

What the hell good is that? Where's Lee Meriwether?

eventually P & B resurface

Too bad Jim wasn't with them, then they could be PB & J. Haha. I'm here all week.

but then, after unmasking himself and getting in some words of his own, Strabo does exactly what we've come to expect. Blam, blam, Mission: Accomplished.

Suicide Bullet should get onscreen credit during the portfolio scene.

The news song is valkyrie themed.

That sounds interesting.

"They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?"

The title is a reference to the film They Shoot Horses, Don't They?.

We learn the truth in a cut to the Baumans' apartment...Ruth's pregnant. Cut then to Ann and Donald getting the news. It turns out that Ruth was looking at an apartment in the next building and the hug and kiss were just her reaction to getting it.

But the father is not Jerry, it's the landlord-- who is a space alien in the process of impregnating all the women in the building with human-alien hybrids which will aid his planet in the conquest of the Earth. When they turn 18, so plenty of time to deal with that.

I've read that Connors and Crawford remained lifelong friends after The Rifleman.

Good for them. It's nice to hear about a child star who didn't go to ruin.

He played it like he was quoting it precisely, though.

Weird. It's not like copyright was an issue. :rommie:

And could be seen as an implicit theme of the series.

Indeed!

But was referenced in one of those reunion movies, as I recall.

Cool. I don't remember that.

Never heard of that one. Paul rarely has such a detailed explanation of how a song came to him. When he does have one, that's the only explanation that counts.

That's interesting, and there's certainly no reason to doubt him. When I was a kid, the conventional wisdom was that The Beatles were trying to sound nice and religious, but "everybody knows" what the song is really about. :rommie:

First and foremost, I'd keep in mind that the song was written as an improvisation during a live show, so the lyrics probably don't bear a lot of scrutiny.

A very good point.

But keeping in mind that it's a non-(US) American perspective, there is room to go with an interpretation of the titular "American woman" representing America in general...something that maybe seems sexy and alluring at a glance, but has a nasty side that includes carpet-bombing Vietnam and racial violence within its own borders. Whether or not such an interpretation was intended, I'd say that's a valid criticism of the US in that period.

Certainly, and the topic of a lot of music. But here they seem to be blaming the very type of person who would be protesting all that. Definitely does not stand up to scrutiny.

The amount of attention I pay to lyrics is dependent on how easy they are to understand in the first place.

Well, you know me. :rommie:

The Old Mixer · Mar 17, 2020

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50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 2)

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Ironside
"Little Jerry Jessup"
Originally aired March 12, 1970

Wiki said:
Ironside bends the rules to help a boy whose mother was murdered and whose father is in jail.

Last week DeForest Kelley got second guest billing. This week top billing goes to...

Guest Star
WILLIAM
SHATNER

The Shat's playing Marty Jessup, the father of the title character (Mitch Vogel, who'll go on in the fall to play the regular role of Jamie Cartwright on Bonanza). 13-year-old Jerry was an earwitness to his mother's murder, which sent the boy into shock...and Marty is in prison. Ironside is the one who talked him into giving himself up.

Some say impersonations of Shatner's acting mannerisms have been exaggerated; but once again, as on 12OCH, here he really stands out from the usual guest stars for his extreme overacting, right from his first scene. I was actually getting vibes that he was complicit in the murder from how much he was overdoing the grief at learning that his wife had been killed, but that was just Shat trying to do sincere.

When Jerry's well enough, the Chief arranges for him to stay at the Ironsidecave, though Jerry is resentful of the Chief for his role in sending his father to prison. Ironside determines that it was a burglary and something was taken that had been hidden under floorboards in the bedroom closet, but that Mrs. Jessup talked to the intruder prior to being killed. Meanwhile, Mark tries to bond with Jerry over basketball and not actually being a cop.

The Chief also arranges for Marty to get out on furlough so he can spend some time with Jerry. With Marty's help, the Chief zeroes in on one of his former confederates, Al Carter, as a likely suspect who had once hid out for a bit in the Jessups' apartment. Marty also convinces his son to describe what he heard, and Ironside deduces that Carter retrieved both his gun and the loot; and that something that Fran Jessup said, followed by her reaching for the phone, is what caused Carter to shoot her.

Ironside and Marty visit Lydia Zorin (second-billed Special Guest Star Nancy Malone), an old ladyfriend of Carter's, who claims not to have seen him, but we learn that she's not only hiding him out, but drove the car the night of the murder; that Carter (Michael Bell) shot Fran because it looked like she was planning to turn him him in; and that he believes that Marty will do anything to get back at him now.

Marty uses an opportunity to make a phone call to his son to instead call the ladyfriend or wife of another former confederate to get her to leave him a car to use. The Chief lets Marty take Jerry for a little playground time (which is where he arranged for the car to be left) and ice cream with only Mark to watch them, against police/penal regulations. On the playground's basketball court, Mark intuits that Marty's planning to take off, takes him aside, and tries to talk him out of it, emphasizing that he's only got a year left to serve.

Meanwhile, the Chief has had men keeping eyes on Lydia and her car. They finally see Carter leaving her place and, when he finds that he's surrounded, he makes a run for it; when he fires some shots at his pursuers, Ed takes him down. There's an artful juxtaposition of scenes that has this happening simultaneously with Jerry--echoing something that Mark told him earlier--talking his father out of running. Mark promises to say nothing to the Chief and the trio leave the playground for that ice cream.

In the final scene, Marty and Jerry discover that Jerry's foster parents will be the Jessups' neighbors, the Mendareses (who earlier had been witnesses of some details of the murder, including identifying the getaway car); Marty says his goodbyes and leaves to return to prison; and the Chief asks Mark how he talked Marty out of running--confirming my suspicion that he knew what Marty was up to all along. It turns out that he had a couple more sets of eyes on the trio at the playground.

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The Brady Bunch
"The Grass Is Always Greener"
Originally aired March 13, 1970

Wiki said:
Carol and Mike switch roles to see who is better at the other's household chores. Just as Carol tries teaching baseball to her sons, only to give new meaning to the word incompetence, Mike tries to help Marcia with her cooking project in order to earn a Girl Scouts cooking badge, only to be the victim of several accidents in the kitchen.

Note: During the filming of this episode, Robert Reed took issue with Sherwood Schwartz's direction to slip on an egg.

They're actually switching who spends time helping which set of kids, as Carol thought Mike had it easy getting to play baseball with the boys. Both do some book-reading about their new duties, then the rest of the first half is dedicated to Carol's hard day on the Bradys' backyard baseball diamond, which seems much smaller than regulation. The second half focuses on Mike's mishaps in the kitchen, as the other girls and Alice watch. After it's all over, the sore and exhausted parents admit to one another that the other's job wasn't as easy as it looked...punctuated by the way-too-obvious cliche...

Carol said:
Well, I guess we both learned a lesson.

In the coda, the entire family enjoys the dinner that Marcia made in spite of the circumstances. The episode ends with a gag of Alice saying goodnight to Mike and Carol each time she goes back to the dining room to grab another plate, as the couple are taking that long to make their way upstairs.

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Hogan's Heroes
"The Merry Widow"
Originally aired March 13, 1970

Wiki said:
To deliver information on deactivating landmines to London, Hogan concocts the legend of the merry widow and sends Klink to woo the most tantalizing woman in Germany (Marj Dusay).

The prisoners have intel about a new type of land mine that's been slowing the Allied advance, but are having a temporary issue with the usual tunnel (think it was flooded), so they have to build a new one. Schultz falls through the ground into the new tunnel and catches LeBeau in it, while Klink is watching. Klink, of course, thinks that it's just a futile escape attempt. They arrange with the underground for a very attractive agent (Dusay) to meet with Klink, who'll unwittingly take the intel to her. They feed some info about her role, Countess Marlene, to Schultz so he can support the ruse with Klink. The Countess's M.O. includes sending Klink flowers and a message as an overture. A tailoring job by LeBeau to prep Klink for his rendezvous gets the intel in Klink's jacket. During the date, the Countess spills something on Klink's jacket so she has an opportunity to take the info out while cleaning it. But back at the camp, a newly captured prisoner brings Hogan new intel indicating that the microfilm in the jacket shows an out-of-date version of the mine, which will be a danger to troops trying to deactivate them. Now they have to try to stop the bad intel from being handed off and get the Allies a scale model of the mine.

Hogan gets a call out to Marlene via Kinch's switchboard, so she has to kick Klink out abruptly to make room for the new plan...which is to send Schultz over with the model hidden in a potted plant of Klink's. But Klink returns to her place, sees the plant, discovers Schultz there, and takes his plant back to the stalag before Marlene has a chance to retrieve the model. So Hogan has to have her come to the stalag, and persuades Klink to see her again by suggesting that he use it as an opportunity to make her sorry. Klink just falls for her again, and matters are complicated by Schultz coming by and spotting her in Klink's window, but she manages to escape out the window with the plant to be driven away.

In the coda, Klink is still looking for where his "Püppchen" is hiding, but when Hogan comes by, pretends like he got his revenge on her.

Disss-missed!

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Adam-12
"Log 104: The Bomb"
Originally aired March 14, 1970

Wiki said:
Malloy and Reed take cases ranging from street racers to robbers to a bomb threat to an attempt to commit suicide.

The episode opens with Reed and Malloy responding to a report of a theft at Amalgamated Products. Plant supervisor Phil Watters (Frank Maxwell) thinks he has the culprit, shipping clerk Elmo Constant (Roy Engel), in his office. Security guard Ed Bowler (Barry Cahill) comes in and declares that Pete got him kicked out of the police department--they seem to be hitting the "old grudges against Malloy" theme pretty heavily lately. The officers dismiss the charge against Constant for lack of evidence. Outside, Constant tries to warn Reed that Malloy won't have his back. Back on patrol, Malloy explains that Constant was discharged for use of excessive force.

The officers spot a man (Lewis Charles) carrying two grocery bags full of items. He claims to be moving, but upon further questioning his story doesn't hold up. Another man, Blanch (Guy Wilkerson), runs up in an undershirt, pajama bottoms, and bare feet claiming that Herring stole the items from him, and is wearing his shoes. Then a woman runs up from a taco stand across the street and accuses Blanch of having stolen money from her, which was supposedly while Herring was robbing him (though that doesn't explain how Herring got Blanch's shoes).

On patrol again, the officers hear the noise of revving engines, make a call, and get a response from another unit in the vicinity who also hear them. They spot the hot rodders who are responsible for the noise getting ready to take off while an elderly woman who's hard of hearing is backing out of a driveway in front of them. The officers swoop in with siren blaring to stop the elderly woman, but one of the hot rods flips over while skidding to a stop. Its driver is killed, and the surviving driver angrily blames the old woman.

The station gets a call from Bowler about an suspected bomb having been found in the plant, which Reed and Malloy are sent to investigate. Malloy seems skeptical that the suspicious package he points them to is actually a bomb, but he advises Watters to clear the plant as a precaution and calls in the bomb squad. Once on the scene, one of the two-man squad unit uses a listening device to determine that there's no timing mechanism. He then pokes a hole in the box through which they inspect the contents with a pen light, seeing several sticks of dynamite but no chemical detonator. They send Reed and Malloy to look for a potential remote triggering device while they roll in a gadget that serves as shield with a couple of rods sticking out of it via which they move the package a bit to determine that won't detonate it, then carefully carry it out into the parking lot and cut a larger hole through which they clip its wires. While Reed and Malloy are searching for the detonator, Bowler points them to Constant's locker, which has a lunch pail with a TV remote in it. The bomb squad officers use an electronic meter to determine that it is the triggering mechanism.

Constant says that he was paid to place the package by an employee named Baker, whom Bowler says left feeling ill that afternoon. The officers go to Baker's home and talk to his sister, who indicates that he's a widower and quit his job that afternoon, disgruntled about having worked too many years without a promotion. She directs them to the garage, which they find closed but with the noise of an engine running inside. Breaking in through a window, they find Baker unconscious in a car from a suicide attempt.

In the coda, we learn that Constant was deemed innocent but quit his job, and that Baker will live.

I was surprised that the Bowler angle didn't really go anywhere. The way he was acting, I was sure he'd turn out to be behind the bomb threat.

_______

RJDiogenes said:
The entire art shop self destructs after he leaves. There can be no witnesses!

That, or he just leaves guns out for everybody...

Good for them. It's nice to hear about a child star who didn't go to ruin.

Crawford was recently leading a dance orchestra and a few years back had been doing spots for The Rifleman on MeTV:
Looking at his Wiki page, he's more recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

When I was searching for the video above, one of the results was for a gofundme campaign for him.

Cool. I don't remember that.

I think it was the one where they discovered a military plane on the island...wanna say that was the second one. They were wondering who it belonged to and one of them--think it was Howell--said that he didn't care if it was Wrongway Feldman!

But here they seem to be blaming the very type of person who would be protesting all that.

Not necessarily. They weren't all hippie chicks.

Speaking of hippie chicks...coming back to this bit of business from January...

The Old Mixer said:
The news song is hippie- and/or Hair-themed; the first lines are a spoof on "Age of Aquarius". Going further ahead than usual, one of the News of the Future items is from 2070!

Found it!

TREK_GOD_1 · Mar 17, 2020

The Old Mixer said:
The Mod Squad
"A Time for Remembering"
Originally aired March 3, 1970

Strong coda to the pilot, and it shows just how far the members of the Squad have come since those head-butting days, and how they are a family. By this time in the series, the showrunners and cast had successfully built and sold the family connection--just how close they were to each other. Its rare for series of this period to get that emotional beat just right, and believable, as other series might say characters are close, but its not really felt..

Bridge over Troubled Water
Simon & Garfunkel
Released January 26, 1970
Chart debut: February 14, 1970
Chart peak: #1, March 7 through May 9, 1970
Billboard's best performing album of 1970

In a period (early 1970s) overloaded with legendary albums, it says much about how overwhelmingly successful this one had been, leaving much of the "competition" in the dust. To do that on a final album made it a powerful punctuation mark of the acts who survived the 1960s.

"American Woman," The Guess Who
(#1 US the weeks of May 9 through 23 as double A-side w/ "No Sugar Tonight"; #19 UK)

"No Sugar Tonight," The Guess Who
(#1 US as double A-side w/ "American Woman")

Arguably Canada's greatest rock/pop music export, The Guess Who made an unforgettable mark on early 70s music, with such a unique sound. Although immensely popular with young people, their sound was richer and more mature than some of their contemporaries, almost their own sub-genre sound.

RJDiogenes · Mar 18, 2020

The Old Mixer said:
Guest Star
WILLIAM
SHATNER

With any luck, we'll get Nichelle Nichols next.

Some say impersonations of Shatner's acting mannerisms have been exaggerated; but once again, as on 12OCH, here he really stands out from the usual guest stars for his extreme overacting, right from his first scene. I was actually getting vibes that he was complicit in the murder from how much he was overdoing the grief at learning that his wife had been killed, but that was just Shat trying to do sincere.

I think Captain Kirk kind of went to his head. :rommie:

and the Chief asks Mark how he talked Marty out of running--confirming my suspicion that he knew what Marty was up to all along.

Nothing gets by the Chief.

After it's all over, the sore and exhausted parents admit to one another that the other's job wasn't as easy as it looked...

Yes, both genders have their role to play in the family and society. Thanks, Brady Bunch. :rommie:

They arrange with the underground for a very attractive agent (Dusay) to meet with Klink

Newkirk was unavailable?

Security guard Ed Bowler (Barry Cahill) comes in and declares that Pete got him kicked out of the police department--they seem to be hitting the "old grudges against Malloy" theme pretty heavily lately.

He's made a lot of enemies in his tireless fight against crime.

I was surprised that the Bowler angle didn't really go anywhere. The way he was acting, I was sure he'd turn out to be behind the bomb threat.

He's been watching too much Shatner.

That, or he just leaves guns out for everybody...

Crawford was recently leading a dance orchestra and a few years back had been doing spots for The Rifleman on MeTV:

Oh, yeah, I remember that. He also made personal appearances. I know someone who met him in an Old West town or something one time.

Looking at his Wiki page, he's more recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. When I was searching for the video above, one of the results was for a gofundme campaign for him.

Yikes. I'll have to look into that. How sad that he is hard up for money in his old age after all he's done.

I think it was the one where they discovered a military plane on the island...wanna say that was the second one. They were wondering who it belonged to and one of them--think it was Howell--said that he didn't care if it was Wrongway Feldman!

I've seen them all, but I realize I don't remember much except for the first one. I think I probably only have the first one on DVD. I'll have to check.

Not necessarily. They weren't all hippie chicks.

I suppose. They really should have been more clear. :rommie:

Speaking of hippie chicks...coming back to this bit of business from January...

Heh. Tony Curtis gave his real name. :rommie:

The Old Mixer · Mar 18, 2020

50th Anniversary Album Spotlight

Morrison Hotel
The Doors
Released February 9, 1970
Chart debut: March 7, 1970
Chart peak: #4, March 21, 1970

Wiki said:
Morrison Hotel is the fifth studio album by American rock band the Doors, released February 9, 1970 by Elektra Records. Following the use of brass and string arrangements recommended by producer Paul A. Rothchild on their previous album, The Soft Parade, the band returned to their original blues-rock style and was largely seen as a return to form for the band. The Doors entered Elektra Sound Recorders in Los Angeles in November 1969 to record the album which is divided into two separately titled sides; "Hard Rock Cafe" and "Morrison Hotel". The group included session bassists Lonnie Mack and Ray Neapolitan on the album's songs.

This has long been my favorite post-1967 Doors album. To my ear, it moves their sound forward in a much better way for the band than the creative misstep that was The Soft Parade.

Some background on where things were at with the Doors when they recorded the album...

Wiki said:
On March 1, 1969, Jim Morrison performed while intoxicated and allegedly exposed himself in front of a crowd of nearly 12,000 at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Coconut Grove, Florida, for which he was charged with indecent exposure on April 4. The incident negatively reflected on the band's publicity, sparking a "March for Decency" at the Miami Orange Bowl.

Consequently, twenty-five dates on the band's next tour were cancelled, and their records were blacklisted from radio airplay, resulting in the band abandoning the rest of their potential tour, costing what Densmore characterized as "a million dollars in gigs." Nevertheless, the band gradually regained momentum by playing eighteen concerts in twelve cities throughout the rest of the year, including the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival and their only appearances in Las Vegas and Mexico City. In July, the Doors released their fourth album, The Soft Parade, a heavily orchestrated affair that augmented the band's sound with horns and strings. Following the Miami incident, Morrison traded in his stage leathers for more conventional attire, grew a beard and gained weight as he attempted to live down his "Lizard King" image; however, his worsening alcoholism often undermined his efforts.

In November, around the same time that the band started recording Morrison Hotel with producer Paul A. Rothchild, a drunken Morrison caused such a disturbance on a flight to Phoenix, Arizona to see a Rolling Stones concert that he was charged with a new skyjacking law that carried up to a $10,000 fine and a ten-year prison sentence.

UnlikeThe Soft Parade, all of the songwriting credits on this album are either Morrison; Morrison, Krieger; or Jim Morrison, music by the Doors; there don't seem to be any Robby Krieger solo compositions.

The first side of the album, "Hard Rock Cafe," opens with the raunchy, rockin' "Roadhouse Blues," which couldn't be a more powerful declaration of the band's turn away from the approach taken on the preceding album:
The song didn't do too well as a single in its day (charts Apr. 11, 1970, as double A-side w/ "You Make Me Real"; #50 US), but has become a well-known classic rocker.

"Waiting for the Sun" is one of two songs that was recorded substantially earlier than the rest of the album...in this case, in 1968 during the sessions for the album of the same name:
I particularly enjoy this one, it's got a great, trippy but hard-driving Doors vibe to it.

Jim said:
This is the strangest life I've ever known.

"You Make Me Real," which was an early Morrison composition dating back to 1966, is enjoyable but perhaps too-conventional single material (charts Apr. 11, 1970, as double A-side w/ "Roadhouse Blues"; #50 US):

"Peace Frog," OTOH, is pure, classic Morrison. Note the references to "blood in the streets, the town of Chicago," and to Jim's childhood trauma at seeing badly injured Native Americans on the side of the road after an accident:
This segues direction into the gentler, more ethereal "Blue Sunday".

The first side closes with the upbeat but doomsaying "Ship of Fools," which features a particularly sign-o-the-timesy couplet: "People walkin' on the Moon / Smog gonna get you pretty soon".

Side two, "Morrison Hotel," may not be as strong as "Hard Rock Cafe," but it's still quite enjoyable. It opens with "Land Ho!," a likeably upbeat number that I wanted to say was inspired by Jim's actual grandfather, but looking in a couple of likely places, I couldn't find anything to that effect.

Things get a little smoother and trippier with the next song, "The Spy". That and the following rocker of a story song, "Queen of the Highway," are said to have been inspired by Jim's relationship with Pamela Courson.

The penultimate song on the album is the ethereal "Indian Summer"...it's not very long, but you can start to get lost in what's there:
This is the other one that was recorded on a substantially earlier date...in this case, way back in 1966, during the sessions for their first album.

The albums closes with "Maggie M'Gill," which was based on an improvisational jam that Jim and Ray Manzarek did in a live show that had gone so wrong that Robby and John Densmore had left the stage in frustration. When they were looking for one more track for the album, John asked if they remembered it, and...

Wiki said:
Upon its release, Morrison Hotel was seen by many as a comeback for the Doors following the critical failure of The Soft Parade. Although the accompanying "You Make Me Real" / "Roadhouse Blues" single only peaked at No. 50 in May 1970 despite strong FM radio play of the latter song, the album was immediately certified gold by RIAA in February 1970 (the band's fifth consecutive album certification, a record among American hard rock bands of the era) before reaching No. 4 on the Billboard album chart in March during a 27-week stay. Additionally, it became the band's highest-charting studio album in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at No. 12.

Dave Marsh, the editor of Creem magazine, called the album "the most horrifying rock and roll I have ever heard. When they're good, they're simply unbeatable. I know this is the best record I've listened to ... so far", while Rock Magazine called it "without any doubt their ballsiest (and best) album to date". Circus praised it as "possibly the best album yet from the Doors" and "good, hard, evil rock ... and one of the best albums released this decade".

During this period, the de facto blacklisting continued to persist in more socially conservative markets, particularly the Deep South; consequently, the band's 1970 American tour itinerary was largely confined to the Northeast, West Coast and more progressive Midwestern cities amid ongoing (albeit more sporadic) cancellations, including planned concerts in Salt Lake City and at the Jesuit-operated Fairfield University.

_______

TREK_GOD_1 said:
Strong coda to the pilot, and it shows just how far the members of the Squad have come since those head-butting days, and how they are a family. By this time in the series, the showrunners and cast had successfully built and sold the family connection--just how close they were to each other. Its rare for series of this period to get that emotional beat just right, and believable, as other series might say characters are close, but its not really felt..

Perhaps they had, but if so, they needn't have beat us over the head with it so much in the clip show. Less is more.

RJDiogenes said:
With any luck, we'll get Nichelle Nichols next.

Looks like she did precious little in the way of TV/movies between TOS and the TOS films, other than voicing TAS. No Ironside.

I think Captain Kirk kind of went to his head.

I think he was already like that...and born to play Kirk.

Nothing gets by the Chief.

That, and you could tell he was feigning his lack of concern about letting regulations go and not openly having somebody tail them (when Ed offered to do it). "No, let them go, they'll be fine" = The Chief is up to something.

POLICE BAFFLED BY MASS SUICIDE AT ART SHOP

You're barking up the wrong tree looking for supernatural angles on That Girl... :shifty:

I've seen them all, but I realize I don't remember much except for the first one.

The Harlem Globetrotters playing against robots must ring a bell.

TREK_GOD_1 · Mar 18, 2020

The Old Mixer said:
50th Anniversary Album Spotlight

Morrison Hotel
The Doors
Released February 9, 1970

To my ear, it moves their sound forward in a much better way for the band than the creative misstep that was The Soft Parade.

The Soft Parade was no creative misstep, since its jewel in the crown "Touch Me" was and has always been considered one of their greatest songs and illustrated how much they progressed as a group with such an arrangement. A standout of that decade.

The first side of the album, "Hard Rock Cafe," opens with the raunchy, rockin' "Roadhouse Blues,"

Its easy to see why it was not a big winner in its day, as it was not only a long / well used style in its black American origins, but so many UK groups peppered their records with songs that took the same insprirational path, so to ears used to that kind of song, it may have been seen as average or more of the same.

The Harlem Globetrotters playing against robots must ring a bell.

The next episode of Picard?

The Old Mixer · Mar 19, 2020

TREK_GOD_1 said:
The Soft Parade was no creative misstep

Perhaps not to somebody who wasn't otherwise into the band.

The next episode of Picard?

I take it you're not watching?

RJDiogenes · Mar 19, 2020

The Old Mixer said:
Morrison Hotel
The Doors

At last!

Some background on where things were at with the Doors when they recorded the album...

Granted, there are good reasons to love Jim Morrison.

The song didn't do too well as a single in its day (charts Apr. 11, 1970, as double A-side w/ "You Make Me Real"; #50 US), but has become a well-known classic rocker.

Yes, this is certainly a comfortable radio staple.

"Peace Frog," OTOH, is pure, classic Morrison. Note the references to "blood in the streets, the town of Chicago," and to Jim's childhood trauma at seeing badly injured Native Americans on the side of the road after an accident:

I once had a "Peace Frog" tee shirt. Guess who gave it to me? :rommie:

The albums closes with "Maggie M'Gill," which was based on an improvisational jam that Jim and Ray Manzarek did in a live show that had gone so wrong that Robby and John Densmore had left the stage in frustration.

Now that's something I'd like to see. :rommie:

Looks like she did precious little in the way of TV/movies between TOS and the TOS films, other than voicing TAS. No Ironside.

Practically nothing. I once bought a VHS tape of a really bad Blaxploitation movie because she was in it. It was not a good experience.

I think he was already like that...and born to play Kirk.

Now there's musical inspiration: "Born to play Kii-iii-ii-irk!" :rommie:

POLICE BAFFLED BY MASS SUICIDE AT ART SHOP

You're barking up the wrong tree looking for supernatural angles on That Girl...

Maybe I should expand my efforts. There's really nothing that couldn't be improved by a little supernatural or sci-fi.

The Harlem Globetrotters playing against robots must ring a bell.

Globetrotters, yes-- robots, no. I'll have to check into DVDs. I've got the complete series, so I should have all the movies, too.

TREK_GOD_1 said:
The next episode of Picard?

Meadowlark Lemon meets Beautiful Flower? :rommie:

The Old Mixer · Mar 19, 2020

RJDiogenes said:
At last!

He lies! He is not of the Body!

Granted, there are good reasons to love Jim Morrison.

From what I've read and heard, the live shows could get pretty awful when Jim was out of it.

I once had a "Peace Frog" tee shirt. Guess who gave it to me?

Me want one!

And that's actually a good transition into something I'd meant to include. The cover photo for the album was taken at an actual hotel with that name, including the signage in the window shown in the album shot. The band couldn't get permission from the owner to shoot the cover there, so they did it on the sly...as you can tell, the photographer was out in the street. Decades later on a vacation, the ex and I came across an art shop in La Jolla, CA, called Morrison Hotel, which used the same signage as its logo. It seems that the original Morrison Hotel was no longer in business and didn't have a copyright on it. Looking up their site, it seems that there's more than one gallery, and it was founded by the album cover's photographer. Anyway, I bought a black T-shirt there with just the logo/signage on it, which was a favorite for years. I still have it, but it's seen better days.

TREK_GOD_1 · Mar 19, 2020

RJDiogenes said:
Practically nothing. I once bought a VHS tape of a really bad Blaxploitation movie because she was in it. It was not a good experience.

I hope you don't mean the 1974 Isaac Hayes film, Truck Turner, which co-starred Yaphet Kotto? Not only was that one of the more solidly plotted of the "Blaxploitation" sub-genre (at times, playing like a darker version of 1970s detective TV shows), and for Nichelle Nichols, it was her greatest / most memorable performance outside of TOS. She had to have some ability to break away from the image of Uhura to portray the incredibly foul-mouthed, violent madam Dorinda.

The film had a number of well-known character actors, including Alan Weeks, who had a minor role in The French Connection (the suspect chased through the alleys by Hackman and Scheider's characters) and a prominent role in the too-comedic-to-work Jim Kelly vehicle, Black Belt Jones (1974).

RJDiogenes · Mar 20, 2020

The Old Mixer said:
He lies! He is not of the Body!

From what I've read and heard, the live shows could get pretty awful when Jim was out of it.

Yeah, but he inspired a "March For Decency," so it's worth it. :rommie:

Me want one!

It was pretty nice. She was trying to get me to like The Doors by exploiting my love of peace and frogs. :rommie:

I'm sure there must be some out there still.

Anyway, I bought a black T-shirt there with just the logo/signage on it, which was a favorite for years. I still have it, but it's seen better days.

My Peace Frog shirt is long gone by now. Currently I'm wearing my Walking Dead "We Are All Infected" tee shirt, because I like whistling past graveyards.

TREK_GOD_1 said:
I hope you don't mean the 1974 Isaac Hayes film, Truck Turner, which co-starred Yaphet Kotto?

That's the one. I really don't remember a thing about it at this point, except that I was disappointed. Perhaps I'd feel differently forty years later if it's as good as you say.

The Old Mixer · Mar 20, 2020

55 Years Ago This Week

Wiki said:
March 21

Ranger program: NASA launches Ranger 9, which is the last in a series of unmanned lunar space probes.

Martin Luther King, Jr. and others lead 3,200 civil rights activists in the third march from Selma, Alabama, to the capitol in Montgomery.

March 22 – Nicolae Ceaușescu becomes the first secretary of the Romanian Communist Party, after the sudden death of previous leader Gheorghe Gheorghiu Dej on March 19 that year.

Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Day by Day said:
March 22 – The Beatles leave Austria and fly back to London Airport, arriving in the early evening.

Wiki said:
March 23

Events of March 23, 1965: Large student demonstration in Morocco, joined by discontented masses, meets with violent police and military repression.

Gemini 3: NASA launches the United States' first 2-person crew (Gus Grissom, John Young) into Earth orbit.

The first issue of The Vigilant is published from Khartoum.

Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Day by Day said:
March 24 – Shooting of Help! resumes, this time at Twickenham Film Studios, and continues there until 30 April.

Wiki said:
March 25 – Martin Luther King, Jr. and 25,000 civil rights activists successfully end the 4-day march from Selma, Alabama, to the capitol in Montgomery.

Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

1. "Stop! In the Name of Love," The Supremes
2. "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat," Herman's Hermits
3. "The Birds and the Bees," Jewel Akens
4. "Eight Days a Week," The Beatles

6. "Ferry Cross the Mersey," Gerry & The Pacemakers
7. "Shotgun," Jr. Walker & The All Stars
8. "Goldfinger," Shirley Bassey
9. "My Girl," The Temptations
10. "This Diamond Ring," Gary Lewis & The Playboys

12. "Nowhere to Run," Martha & The Vandellas
13. "Little Things," Bobby Goldsboro
14. "People Get Ready," The Impressions

16. "Do You Wanna Dance?," The Beach Boys
17. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," The Animals
18. "Come Home," The Dave Clark Five
19. "Hurt So Bad," Little Anthony & The Imperials
20. "I'm Telling You Now," Freddie & The Dreamers
21. "Yeh, Yeh," Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames

23. "Do the Clam," Elvis Presley

25. "If I Loved You," Chad & Jeremy
26. "Tired of Waiting for You," The Kinks
27. "Go Now!," The Moody Blues
28. "The Jolly Green Giant," The Kingsmen

30. "Stranger in Town," Del Shannon

32. "Goodnight," Roy Orbison

34. "Ask the Lonely," Four Tops

36. "Downtown," Petula Clark
37. "When I'm Gone," Brenda Holloway

39. "Come and Stay with Me," Marianne Faithfull
40. "Game of Love," Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders
41. "Midnight Special," Johnny Rivers
42. "The Clapping Song (Clap Pat Clap Slap)," Shirley Ellis
43. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," The Righteous Brothers
44. "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party," The Beatles
45. "Got to Get You off My Mind," Solomon Burke

50. "I Know a Place," Petula Clark

55. "Land of 1000 Dances," Cannibal & The Headhunters

57. "I'll Be Doggone," Marvin Gaye

63. "Bumble Bee," The Searchers

68. 4 by the Beatles [EP], The Beatles

72. "Goldfinger," John Barry & His Orchestra

74. "Baby the Rain Must Fall," Glenn Yarbrough

79. "The Last Time," The Rolling Stones

83. "Ooo Baby Baby," Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
84. "I'll Never Find Another You," The Seekers

89. "We're Gonna Make It," Little Milton

98. "I Do Love You," Billy Stewart
99. "I Can't Explain," The Who

Leaving the chart:

"The Boy from New York City," The Ad Libs (10 weeks)
"I Go to Pieces," Peter & Gordon (11 weeks)
"Laugh, Laugh," The Beau Brummels (12 weeks)
"Shake," Sam Cooke (11 weeks)
"Tell Her No," The Zombies (11 weeks)

Recent and new on the chart:

"Goldfinger," John Barry & His Orchestra
(Mar. 13; #72 US; #15 AC)

"I Can't Explain," The Who
(#93 US; #8 UK; #371 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time)

"Ooo Baby Baby," Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
(#16 US; #4 R&B; #262 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time)

"The Last Time," The Rolling Stones
(#9 US; #1 UK)

"I'll Never Find Another You," The Seekers
(#4 US; #2 AC; #1 UK)

And new on the boob tube:

The Ed Sullivan Show, Season 17, episode 25, featuring Gary Lewis & the Playboys, Connie Francis, Claus Becker, Woody Herman & His Orchestra, Tony Bennett, and Jean Carroll
Branded, "The Mission" (part two)
12 O'Clock High, "Mutiny at Ten Thousand Feet"
Gilligan's Island, "Music Hath Charm"

_______

RJDiogenes said:
Yeah, but he inspired a "March For Decency," so it's worth it.

One of us! One of us!

My Peace Frog shirt is long gone by now. Currently I'm wearing my Walking Dead "We Are All Infected" tee shirt, because I like whistling past graveyards.

I got a chuckle when Chris Carter played this on Beakfast with the Beatles today, as a follow-up to commenting on the virus. (Coming our way in 50th Anniversaryland late this year.)

gblews · Mar 21, 2020

98. "I Do Love You” Billy Stewart

Billy was one of my favorite singers from the 60’s. He had that distinctive stuttering singing style that he brought to any song he did whether it was pop, r&b, or show tunes.

The Old Mixer said:
"I Can't Explain," The Who

Great song that holds up quite well today. Great video as well. It looks like a modern retro. Was the band ever really this young?

The Old Mixer said:
Ooo Baby Baby," Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

If there ever is a Mt. Rushmore of begging songs, Ohh Baby Baby would be on it. From what I’v read, the song started out as a vamp the group would do in their live shows. But it was so popular, Smokey fleshed it out into complete song

The Old Mixer said:
"The Last Time," The Rolling Stones

Great early tune by Mick and Keith.

The Old Mixer said:
"I'll Never Find Another You," The Seekers

I used to really like this silly song. Nice melody and harmony.

RJDiogenes · Mar 21, 2020

The Old Mixer said:
"Goldfinger," John Barry & His Orchestra

I see Shirley Bassey's name, but.... :shrug:

"I Can't Explain," The Who

Classic Who.

"Ooo Baby Baby," Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

Classic Smokey.

"The Last Time," The Rolling Stones

Classic Stones. I love the effortless, conversational lyrics.

"I'll Never Find Another You," The Seekers

This is a really nice one.

One of us! One of us!

I got a chuckle when Chris Carter played this on Beakfast with the Beatles today, as a follow-up to commenting on the virus. (Coming our way in 50th Anniversaryland late this year.)

There are worse things than isolation, that's for sure. :rommie:

The Old Mixer · Mar 21, 2020

50 Years Ago This Week

Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Day by Day said:
March 22 – The French magazine L'Express carries an interview with John, in which he reveals that the Beatles smoked marijuana in the toilets at Buckingham Palace before their MBE investure on 26 October 1965.
March 27 – First UK release of Ringo's LP Sentimental Journey.

Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

1. "Bridge over Troubled Water," Simon & Garfunkel
2. "Let It Be," The Beatles
3. "Instant Karma (We All Shine On)," John Ono Lennon
4. "The Rapper," The Jaggerz
5. "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)," Edison Lighthouse
6. "ABC," The Jackson 5
7. "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," The Hollies
8. "Spirit in the Sky," Norman Greenbaum
9. "Give Me Just a Little More Time," Chairmen of the Board
10. "Come and Get It," Badfinger
11. "House of the Rising Sun," Frijid Pink
12. "Easy Come, Easy Go," Bobby Sherman
13. "Ma Belle Amie," The Tee Set
14. "Rainy Night in Georgia" / "Rubberneckin'", Brook Benton
15. "Celebrate," Three Dog Night
16. "Kentucky Rain," Elvis Presley
17. "Evil Ways," Santana
18. "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)," The Delfonics
19. "Call Me" / "Son of a Preacher Man", Aretha Franklin
20. "Travelin' Band" / "Who'll Stop the Rain", Creedence Clearwater Revival
21. "Gotta Hold On to This Feeling," Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
22. "Up the Ladder to the Roof," The Supremes
23. "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)," Sly & The Family Stone
24. "Psychedelic Shack," The Temptations
25. "The Bells," The Originals
26. "Something's Burning," Kenny Rogers & The First Edition
27. "Hey There Lonely Girl," Eddie Holman
28. "All I Have to Do Is Dream," Bobbie Gentry & Glen Campbell
29. "Love or Let Me Be Lonely," The Friends of Distinction
30. "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," B. J. Thomas
31. "Do the Funky Chicken," Rufus Thomas

33. "Shilo," Neil Diamond
34. "American Woman" / "No Sugar Tonight", The Guess Who

38. "Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool for You Baby)," Lulu

41. "You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You)," Gladys Knight & The Pips

44. "The Thrill Is Gone," B.B. King

47. "Turn Back the Hands of Time," Tyrone Davis

51. "Reflections of My Life," The Marmalade

57. "Oh Well, Pt. 1," Fleetwood Mac
58. "Rag Mama Rag," The Band

61. "Get Ready," Rare Earth

66. "Add Some Music to Your Day," The Beach Boys

68. "Woodstock," Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

70. "Little Green Bag," George Baker Selection
71. "For the Love of Him," Bobbi Martin

74. "Everybody's Out of Town," B. J. Thomas
75. "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)," Led Zeppelin

93. "Hitchin' a Ride," Vanity Fare

98. "Vehicle," The Ides of March

100. "Which Way You Goin' Billy?," The Poppy Family (feat. Susan Jacks)

Leaving the chart:

"Arizona," Mark Lindsay (16 weeks)
"I Want You Back," The Jackson 5 (19 weeks)
"Never Had a Dream Come True," Stevie Wonder (7 weeks)
"No Time," The Guess Who (14 weeks)

New on the chart:

"Everybody's Out of Town," B. J. Thomas
(#26 US; #3 AC)

"Woodstock," Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
(#11 US)

"Which Way You Goin' Billy?," The Poppy Family (feat. Susan Jacks)
(#2 US; #6 AC; #7 UK)

"Vehicle," The Ides of March
(#2 US; #31 UK)

And new on the boob tube:

The Ed Sullivan Show, Season 22, episode 25, featuring Liberace, Liza Minnelli, Rudy Schweitzer, and Rod McKuen
Mission: Impossible, "The Choice"
That Girl, "All's Well That Ends" (season finale)
Ironside, "Good Will Tour"
Hogan's Heroes, "Klink's Escape" (season finale)
Adam-12, "Log 114: The Hero"

_______

I see that we've lost Kenny Rogers.

gblews said:
Billy was one of my favorite singers from the 60’s. He had that distinctive stuttering singing style that he brought to any song he did whether it was pop, r&b, or show tunes.

I'd been saving that one to post later, but as we have room here...

"I Do Love You," Billy Stewart
(charted Mar. 27, 1965; #26 US; #6 R&B)

RJDiogenes said:
I see Shirley Bassey's name, but....

Yeah, right there under John Barry's...

RJDiogenes said:
Classic Who.

gblews said:
Great song that holds up quite well today. Great video as well. It looks like a modern retro.

It does look like a mash-up of different footage. The Who are now in the house, though they won't really break out in the States for a couple of years.

RJDiogenes said:
Classic Smokey.

gblews said:
If there ever is a Mt. Rushmore of begging songs, Ohh Baby Baby would be on it. From what I’v read, the song started out as a vamp the group would do in their live shows. But it was so popular, Smokey fleshed it out into complete song

This is one of those cases where it's surprising to find that the song didn't even make it into the Top 10 of the Hot 100 in the day...it's such an all-time classic.

gblews said:
Great early tune by Mick and Keith.

RJDiogenes said:
Classic Stones. I love the effortless, conversational lyrics.

This may be the last time that the Stones put out a single before the one that finally gives us...that certain something that's been lacking...

gblews said:
I used to really like this silly song. Nice melody and harmony.

RJDiogenes said:
This is a really nice one.

A nice piece of folk pop...one might even classify it as early sunshine pop.

And tomorrow marks the debut of folk rock in 55th Anniversaryland, as Mr. Zimmerman releases his first partly electric album, Bringing It All Back Home (coming soonish to an album spotlight near us).

RJDiogenes said:
There are worse things than isolation, that's for sure.

I was self-isolating and social distancing before it was trendy...

RJDiogenes · Mar 22, 2020

The Old Mixer said:
"Everybody's Out of Town," B. J. Thomas

I'm not sure if I've heard this one before or not.

"Woodstock," Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Oh, how I love this song.

"Which Way You Goin' Billy?," The Poppy Family (feat. Susan Jacks)

This is pleasant enough. Note the featured singer-- she is married to Terry Jacks.

"Vehicle," The Ides of March

Oh, yeah!

I see that we've lost Kenny Rogers.

Yeah, it's sad, even though he was not my favorite singer. I always feel especially bad for people who die during a crisis or disaster. What a way to leave the world.

"I Do Love You," Billy Stewart

Sweet.

Yeah, right there under John Barry's...

Who?

This is one of those cases where it's surprising to find that the song didn't even make it into the Top 10 of the Hot 100 in the day...it's such an all-time classic.

Yeah, some songs need time to grow. I wonder if that can still happen, the way that music is delivered to people now.

This may be the last time that the Stones put out a single before the one that finally gives us...that certain something that's been lacking...

Satiation?

A nice piece of folk pop...one might even classify it as early sunshine pop.

Indeed.

And tomorrow marks the debut of folk rock in 55th Anniversaryland, as Mr. Zimmerman releases his first partly electric album, Bringing It All Back Home (coming soonish to an album spotlight near us).

Brace yourself....

I was self-isolating and social distancing before it was trendy...

Somebody asked me how I was handling self quarantine. I said I've been getting out a little bit more than usual.

The Old Mixer · Mar 22, 2020

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55th Anniversary Viewing

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The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 17, episode 24
Originally aired March 14, 1965
As represented in The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show

I'd neglected to include this in the list of shows for this week when I first posted it, though I've since added it.

Ed said:
The world's popping(?) young recording star, Petula Clark...

The Best of edit starts with Petula performing her recent breakout chart-topper, "Downtown":

Ed said:
Well, my little chickadees, here she is, Petula Clark!

This Best of installment from mixed dates closes with Petula plugging her fresh new single, "I Know a Place". Her stage business in this performance seems a little less forced and awkward than in "Downtown" (which wasn't shown in full in the clip above).

Also in the original episode according to tv.com:

Music:
--Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem - "Wild Colonial Boy."
--Steve Rossi - "I'll Set My Love to Music"
--Jimmy Roselli - "Femina" & "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby"
--Dorothy Donegan (pianist) - "The Man I Love"
--New York City Police Department's Emerald Society Pipe Band

Comedy:
--Nancy Walker & Bert Lahr (comedians) - pantomime sketch about an unhappy couple.
--Allen & Rossi (comedy team)

Also appearing:
--Pat O'Brien (actor) - recites John Locke's "Exiles Return."
--The Olympiades (acrobats, body builders painted gold)

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Branded
"The Mission" (part one)
Originally aired March 14, 1965

Xfinity said:
The president wants to meet with McCord while he is in Washington to offer him a mission that could avert a war with Mexico.

This three-parter was shot in color, and uses the Season 2 opening titles with the snazzier logo:

Old flame Laurette Lansing (Kamala Devi) is checking into a hotel when she finds Jason beating up a man and tossing him down the stairs for calling him a coward. We learn that she believes in Jason's innocence, and that he'd be willing to marry her if not for his situation, which he feels that he can't share with her. She's come specifically to bring him back to Washington, where she says that her father, a senator, needs Jason to advise some of his colleagues.

Back East at Stately Lansing Manor, Senator Lansing (Macdonald Carey) is also happy to see Jason, and also favors him one day marrying his daughter. He wants Jason to attend a social gathering of influential types that he's hosting. It occurred to me that maybe Jason might more easily lose himself and get away from his reputation in a more urban locale, but the episode covers that when Jason sees a newspaper headline that reads "Coward of Bitter Creek Sneaks Home".

Jason pays a visit to an old general played by John Carradine, with whom he is clearly very familiar. The general presses Jason for more details about Bitter Creek, and Jason pretty much lays it out for him and the audience, while giving us one additional detail that made Jason look guilty: although he doesn't remember it, the farmer who was tending to Jason after the incident, miles away, testified that Jason walked to his farm and seemed perfectly rational at the time. The old general is also a longtime colleague of General Reed, and knows that he was losing his faculties toward the end. The old general's identity isn't specified here, but the credits on IMDb say that his surname is McCord.

At the party, the old general brings over a Colonel Snow (Jon Lormer), who's said to be the only officer at Jason's court martial who voted for his innocence. In a back room, Senator Lansing and a couple of colleagues discuss with Jason the possibility of "renegotiating" General Reed's treaty with the Apaches to allow for white settlement of Apache territory, which Jason doesn't favor. They also know that Reed was senile, and threaten to subpoena Jason to get the truth about Bitter Creek from him under oath, but he stands firm on his position and walks out.

Outside the house, Jason is attacked by three men who are better dressed than Jason's usual assailants, but a coach drives up and two men jump out to lend him a hand. They turn out to be Secret Service, and take Jason to a certain office on Pennsylvania Avenue, where Colonel Snow introduces Jason to President Grant (William Bryant). It seems that Snow has some sort of plan that Grant has reluctantly agreed to, for which Snow thinks Jason is the right man. The episode ends with the president posing an intriguing question to Jason: "You've already been marked as a coward...how would you like to be branded a traitor as well?"

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12 O'Clock High
"The Threat"
Originally aired March 19, 1965

Xfinity said:
Nazi broadcaster Axis Sally warns Savage that he will soon meet with a fatal mishap; guests Burt Metcalfe, Harold Gould.

https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/the-classic-retro-pop-culture-thread.278375/page-68#post-12235185

The Old Mixer said:
This episode gives us a "Drumhead" scenario...paranoia abounds of everyone involved in various coincidental mishaps surrounding Savage, including one involving a nurse whose family were recent German immigrants, and who had a personal reason to hold a grudge against the general.

Contrary to the episode, there was no Friday, June 13, during American involvement in the war. There had been one in 1941.

Just as I suspected, the saboteur is the civilian barber who was conspicuously played up in the teaser, and whose actor, Laurence Naismith, was the only guest included in the main credits. They tease us with his straight razor at the unsuspecting Savage's throat, but he makes his move on Saturday the 14th at 13:00 in compartment 13 of a train bound for a fishing excursion with the general. There's a good ol' fashioned Bond-style fight in the train compartment...guess who winds up getting off the train early?

To clarify, as I recall, Axis Sally's ominous warning about something happening to Savage involved the significance of the number 13, so everyone was assuming that something was planned to happen on Friday the 13th.

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Gilligan's Island
"The Matchmaker"
Originally aired March 20, 1965

Wiki said:
Mrs. Howell plays matchmaker to Gilligan and Mary Ann, which ironically leads to a separation between the Howells.

Mrs. Howell is fretting over missing out on the social season when she sees Gilligan carrying Mary Ann outside because of an injury and decides to hook them up. After working on each of them some, the Howells have the two of them over for dinner. But when the Howells remember details of the night that Thurston proposed to Lovey differently, it escalates into a marital fight. The next thing you know, they're moving into the huts of the other castaways--which makes clear that they're grouped into at least three huts at this point. Their fighting proves contagious as the other castaways take sides in their arguments. To restore peace to the island, the Skipper hatches a plan to recreate the night of the proposal for the Howells, which includes the Professor as maître d', Mary Ann as a cocktail waitress, the Skipper as the chef, Ginger as a torch singer, and Gilligan as their serving waiter...which of course results in some klutzery. But the plan is a success, with the Howells back together in the coda and Lovey setting her eyes on hooking up the Professor and Ginger.

Now Mr. Howell has a solid gold camera and camera stand, which he brought with him on the cruise...in addition to the more ordinary-looking camera that we just saw.

Mary Ann said:
The Professor and I have nothing in common.

Other than being the only members of "The Rest," you mean?

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RJDiogenes said:
I'm not sure if I've heard this one before or not.

So what did you think? I think...it's a pretty damn lame follow-up to "Raindrops". I got it only out of consistency.

Oh, how I love this song.

It's hard to tell when you're being sincere so soon after the Doors.

This groovy-ass song, written by Joni Mitchell, heralds the release of the film on March 26. As anticipated, I can't see covering that again since I basically did it in commemoration of the festival itself. And stuff like this and Let It Be and the Beatles' break-up is what makes 1970 feel like the de facto last year of the '60s.

This is pleasant enough. Note the featured singer-- she is married to Terry Jacks.

Yep, he was in the band and wrote this song. This was a borderline purchase for me because it's such lightweight fluff. Guess now I've more or less committed myself to getting "Seasons in the Sun" when it comes up... :crazy:

Oh, yeah!

Yeah, it's sad, even though he was not my favorite singer. I always feel especially bad for people who die during a crisis or disaster. What a way to leave the world.

He's said to have died of natural causes, so I assume it wasn't because of the virus. Just a coincidence.

Sweet.

Sounds decent, hasn't really grown on me yet.

Who?

He's only like the John Williams of the Bond films. I never went as far as getting the film soundtracks, but used its low charting as an excuse to buy this track as I thought it was a pretty cool instrumental piece.

Yeah, some songs need time to grow.

Or to age, like fine wine. An apt metaphor for this piece of smooth, Smokey goodness.

Satiation?

Let's all be quiet now, because Keith needs his beauty sleep if he's ever gonna come up with that riff...

Brace yourself....

Somebody asked me how I was handling self quarantine. I said I've been getting out a little bit more than usual.

Me, I'm freakin' loving working from home! My main issue now is being paranoid about having to go out to get groceries.

The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread

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