The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread

The Old Mixer · Apr 18, 2022

Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, the first giant pandas in the United States, arrived at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., as a gift from the People's Republic of China. The two pandas attracted millions of visitors during their lifetimes. Ling-Ling lived until 1992 and her mate survived until 1999.
For the first time since the Vietnam War had started, Haiphong, the largest port in North Vietnam, was bombed by American forces. The wave of B-52 runs began at dawn in retaliation for the North's invasion of South Vietnam.
Apollo 16 was launched at 12:54 pm EST.

April 17 – The first Boston Marathon in which women are officially allowed to compete.

April 18 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono attend deportation hearings at the US Immigration and Naturalization Office in New York.

April 19

Four American warships were attacked by three MiG-17 jets from North Vietnam. The destroyers USS Higbee and Lloyd Thomas, the guided missile frigate USS Sterett, and the light cruiser USS Oklahoma City were attacked, with the Higbee having a gun mount destroyed by a 250 kg bomb, and four sailors wounded.
The first organized storm chasing took place when a team, led by Rodger Brown of the National Severe Storms Laboratory, drove toward a mesocyclone near Davis, Oklahoma, to collect data. The Tornado Intercept Project was created by the NSSL and the University of Oklahoma.

April 20 – American presidential adviser Henry Kissinger arrived in Moscow on a secret mission to meet with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko. Kissinger's remained until Monday, and his visit was not announced until the day after his return.

April 21

American astronauts John W. Young and Charles Duke became the ninth and tenth persons to walk on the Moon, after the lunar module Orion had landed as part of the Apollo 16 mission. The mission was the only one to the lunar highlands, near the Descartes crater.
Sweden passed the world's first law officially recognizing change of gender, with the amendment, effective July 1, of civil registration rules to accommodate change of birth registrations for individuals who had undergone, or applied to have, sex change surgery.

[Now with third-person Moon buggy!]

April 22

Sylvia Cook and John Fairfax finish rowing across the Pacific.
John and Yoko address the crowd gathered at the National Peace Rally in New York City.

Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

1. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," Roberta Flack
2. "Rockin' Robin," Michael Jackson
3. "I Gotcha," Joe Tex
4. "A Horse with No Name," America
5. "In the Rain," The Dramatics
6. "Betcha By Golly, Wow," The Stylistics
7. "Day Dreaming," Aretha Franklin
8. "Heart of Gold," Neil Young
9. "A Cowboy's Work Is Never Done," Sonny & Cher
10. "Doctor My Eyes," Jackson Browne
11. "Puppy Love," Donny Osmond
12. "Look What You Done for Me," Al Green
13. "Roundabout," Yes
14. "The Family of Man," Three Dog Night
15. "Baby Blue," Badfinger
16. "Vincent" / "Castles in the Air", Don McLean
17. "Mother and Child Reunion," Paul Simon
18. "Taurus," Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band
19. "Back Off Boogaloo," Ringo Starr
20. "Oh Girl," The Chi-Lites

22. "Jungle Fever," The Chakachas
23. "I'll Take You There," The Staple Singers
24. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," Robert John

26. "Slippin' into Darkness," War
27. "Morning Has Broken," Cat Stevens
28. "Jump into the Fire," Nilsson

30. "Give Ireland Back to the Irish," Wings
31. "Hot Rod Lincoln," Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen
32. "Rock and Roll Lullaby," B. J. Thomas
33. "The Candy Man," Sammy Davis, Jr. w/ The Mike Curb Congregation

36. "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard," Paul Simon

38. "Taxi," Harry Chapin
39. "Do Your Thing," Isaac Hayes
40. "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All," The 5th Dimension

42. "Nice to Be with You," Gallery

46. "The Way of Love," Cher
47. "Rock and Roll," Led Zeppelin
48. "Take a Look Around," The Temptations

51. "Without You," Nilsson
52. "Walkin' in the Rain with the One I Love," Love Unlimited
53. "Sylvia's Mother," Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show
54. "Everything I Own," Bread
55. "I Saw the Light," Todd Rundgren

57. "Legend in Your Own Time," Carly Simon
58. "Down by the Lazy River," The Osmonds

62. "Little Bitty Pretty One," Jackson 5

77. "Changes," David Bowie

79. "Smilin'," Sly & The Family Stone

81. "Diary," Bread

83. "Lean on Me," Bill Withers

89. "Isn't Life Strange," The Moody Blues
90. "Outa-Space," Billy Preston

100. "Daddy, Don't You Walk So Fast," Wayne Newton

Leaving the chart:

"Tiny Dancer," Elton John (7 weeks)

New on the chart:

"Little Bitty Pretty One," Jackson 5
(#13 US; #8 R&B)

"Daddy, Don't You Walk So Fast," Wayne Newton
(#4 US; #3 AC; #55 Country)

"Outa-Space," Billy Preston
(#2 US; #23 AC; #1 R&B; #44 UK)

"Lean on Me," Bill Withers
(#1 US the weeks of July 8 through 22, 1972; #4 AC; #1 R&B; #18 UK; #205 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time [2004])

_______

Timeline entries are quoted from the Wiki pages for the month or year and Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Day by Day, with minor editing as needed.

_______

RJDiogenes said:
Here's another one that used to get significant airplay. Catchy, and obviously an influence on the "Fuck You" guy.

I love "The Oogum Boogum Song," and have no idea who the "Fuck You" guy is.

Pleasant and nostalgic.

Personally nostalgic, or reminds you of an earlier era of music? Not terribly catchy.

Classic 60s philosophical treatise.

It sets a groovy mood.

Sounds like he don't give a damn 'bout his bad reputation.

I think the Mods are more like, "I've got a secret and you can't know it--nyah, nyah nyah, nyah, nyah!"

DarrenTR1970 said:
I was going to wait for The Old Mixer to finish his review of the seventh season of ‘Mission: Impossible” before posting my thoughts about the proposed eighth season; however, since he seems to have stopped reviewing after the sixth, I’d thought I go ahead and post them now.

It's 50th Anniversary Viewing...Season 7 doesn't start until September.

This time his target would be ‘The Secretary’.

That sounds interesting...though of course, the Secretary's name wasn't even being dropped in the tapes as of Season 6.

RJDiogenes · Apr 18, 2022

DarrenTR1970 said:
most intriguingly, a story that would have brought back hitman Eddie Lorca (played by Robert Conrad), presumed dead at the end of the fifth season episode, ‘The Killer.’ This time his target would be ‘The Secretary’.

That's very interesting. It would be cool if the Secretary was actually the Voice. The show never really developed any mythology. They seem to be basically privateers, but there was never any info about how they were founded or organized or anything-- as far as I know.

The Old Mixer said:
American presidential adviser Henry Kissinger arrived in Moscow on a secret mission to meet with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko.

I wonder what Kissinger would have done with the Vladimir.

The mission was the only one to the lunar highlands, near the Descartes crater.

There can be only one.

[Now with third-person Moon buggy!]

Man, I love watching that buggy. :rommie:

"Little Bitty Pretty One," Jackson 5

Not one of their classics.

"Daddy, Don't You Walk So Fast," Wayne Newton

Yes, I like this. Yes, it's corny. Yes, I'm a soft touch. Go ahead and and laugh. :rommie:

"Outa-Space," Billy Preston

Not too bad for one of those songless song things.

"Lean on Me," Bill Withers

And here we have a Stone-Cold Classic indeed.

I love "The Oogum Boogum Song," and have no idea who the "Fuck You" guy is.

Sorry, I thought everybody knew this one:

:rommie:

Personally nostalgic, or reminds you of an earlier era of music? Not terribly catchy.

It reminds me of an earlier era.

I think the Mods are more like, "I've got a secret and you can't know it--nyah, nyah nyah, nyah, nyah!"

These kids today back then.

The Old Mixer · Apr 18, 2022

RJDiogenes said:
It would be cool if the Secretary was actually the Voice.

That would be kind of silly--you'd think Jim would know. I assume that the Voice is somebody working under the Secretary. The Undersecretary...?

The show never really developed any mythology. They seem to be basically privateers, but there was never any info about how they were founded or organized or anything-- as far as I know.

I seem to recall reading some relatively detailed info about the postwar origins of the IMF and Briggs's role in its creation in a Wiki, but I don't know where that info would have come from.

Man, I love watching that buggy.

There wasn't enough of it, though...

Not one of their classics.

I was initially surprised that I didn't already have this one, but apparently it was because in my earlier chronological playlist building, I'd generally avoided covers of songs that I had more definitive versions of. In this case, I had the 1957 hit version by Thurston Harris, and another Top 40 version by Clyde McPhatter from 1962.

Yes, I like this. Yes, it's corny. Yes, I'm a soft touch. Go ahead and and laugh.

This one is somewhat familiar, probably from in-the-era exposure, and given who the artist is, I was surprised to find that it wasn't completely horrible. Not gonna get it, though.

Not too bad for one of those songless song things.

A few years after his work on Let It Be, Billy finally starts seeing some good chart action. Decent bit of early '70s funk.

And here we have a Stone-Cold Classic indeed.

Get out yer Bics, it's an anthem.

Sorry, I thought everybody knew this one:

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

It's locked behind a sign-in, so I still don't.

DarrenTR1970 · Apr 18, 2022

@The Old Mixer @RJDiogenes

Unfortunately, due to the time difference, I won't be able to post until later tonight; however, the M:I book has information about the origins of 'Briggs Squad' and why they do what they do and who funds them. I post a breakdown later.

RJDiogenes · Apr 19, 2022

The Old Mixer said:
That would be kind of silly--you'd think Jim would know. I assume that the Voice is somebody working under the Secretary. The Undersecretary...?

Not necessarily. I don't think we know which "Secretary" he's referring to, do we? State? Defense? Or maybe even a shadow cabinet position. Or Secretary-General of the UN? And what do they mean by "disavow knowledge?" To the public, or Congress, or the President? We know so little. Until Darren gets back, anyway. :rommie:

There wasn't enough of it, though...

Never enough.

I was initially surprised that I didn't already have this one, but apparently it was because in my earlier chronological playlist building, I'd generally avoided covers of songs that I had more definitive versions of. In this case, I had the 1957 hit version by Thurston Harris, and another Top 40 version by Clyde McPhatter from 1962.

I didn't even know it was a cover.

This one is somewhat familiar, probably from in-the-era exposure, and given who the artist is, I was surprised to find that it wasn't completely horrible. Not gonna get it, though.

It's locked behind a sign-in, so I still don't.

Oh, for Pete's sake. Well, it should be easy enough to find-- the artist is CeeLo Green and the song is "Fuck You." Or you can settle for this family-friendly version, but I recommend finding the original (and the video) for the full effect. :rommie:

DarrenTR1970 said:
Unfortunately, due to the time difference, I won't be able to post until later tonight; however, the M:I book has information about the origins of 'Briggs Squad' and why they do what they do and who funds them. I post a breakdown later.

Looking forward to that. There must have been a series bible that went into it all.

DarrenTR1970 · Apr 19, 2022

@RJDiogenes

You would think so, but Bruce Geller never wrote one.

As far as he was concerned, so you needed to know about the IMF was in the dossier scene.

(Throughout the book the people interviewed say that Bruce was a lot like the characters on M:I, cold and emotionally distant - strong emotions were anathema to him, to the point where he would have an almost visceral reaction to having his characters written with humor. He would never praise or react to anyone's work; however he was loyal to a fault, willing to give the shirt off his back at a moments notice.)

The backgrounds about the IMF and the characters were confined to the two drafts/outlines he wrote prior to submitting the script he presented to the heads of Desilu studio.

RJDiogenes · Apr 20, 2022

DarrenTR1970 said:
As far as he was concerned, so you needed to know about the IMF was in the dossier scene.

And he wasn't wrong-- it worked perfectly fine that way. But then there's people like us who have to know everything that's going on, and if they don't tell us we'll make it up. :rommie:

The Old Mixer · Apr 22, 2022

_______

Solid Catch-Up Viewing

_______

The Mod Squad
"Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot!"
Originally aired March 31, 1970

Wiki said:
Posing as production personnel at a movie studio, the Squad probes a series of mishaps and a twenty-year-old murder.

Director Warren Loring (Frank Converse) is shooting a movie about an unsolved murder case from New Year's Eve 1948 when a sabotaged railing causes one of the actors to be injured. Thinking that the film might be upsetting the real murderer, Loring goes to Greer, who assigns the Mods. It turns out that the script for the film was given to Loring by an anonymous writer, and that the ending is still to be provided. Greer explains the series of Lipstick Murders that this case was an outlier of. At the studio as Julie's shooting a scene, a mysterious figure cuts a rope, causing a light fixture to fall from the rafters, but Warren and Julie are saved by an acrobatic dive from Linc's stunt double.

Meanwhile, the first of the two missing scenes has arrived and been distributed before anyone has a chance to review it. It involves a new character--the young daughter of the victim, who witnessed the killer carrying her mother's body. It's telegraphed to the audience that Ellie Myers (Linda Marsh), the uptight script supervisor whom Pete's been trying to get friendly with, is the little girl grown up. While the girl's scene is being worked on, Warren's father, Harry (Edward Asner), the head of the studio, storms in and puts a temporary halt to shooting, having been brought in by the studio's chief attorney, John Stiles (Paul Stewart), who fears a lawsuit by whoever's revealed to be the murderer. After a discussion in which Warren stands up to his father, Harry capitulates.

Greer speculates that the girl may have grown up to write the script, and takes an interest in Ellie. Julie speculates that the light fixture was meant for Ellie, who'd been standing under it until the last moment. Meanwhile, Pete's been making inroads with getting under Ellie's guard and is assigned to watch her. But while Pete's talking to Greer on the radio outside her place, Ellie's silently confronted by the mystery killer inside and shot with a silenced pistol after declaring that she was right about the killer's identity. As Pete goes back in, we see Stiles walking out another door.

At the scene, Greer finds that the last pages have been torn out of Ellie's master script. Based on having seen the copies that were distributed, Linc deduces that there must be a complete carbon copy of the script somewhere. Pete finds the final pages in an envelope in Ellie's jacket, which she'd left in his car. Greer and the Mods figure that the whole movie script business was an attempt to draw the killer out, and Warren decides to finish the job, because the play's the thing yada yada yada. He has Stiles and his father summoned to a darkened set where he has Julie read the girl's part from a supposedly hypothetical script that he'd written himself. When the finger is pointed at Stiles, Julie is dismissed and Warren has a discussion with Stiles while Harry sits silently. As I figured would happen by this point based on his presence and lack of reaction, Harry is prompted to confess to his son that he was the one who was seeing Ellie's mother and accidentally killed her that New Year's Eve, while Stiles was just his clean-up man who took the body home and tried to make it look like the latest in the Lipstick series. Warren is distraught at having unintentionally snared his own father...unable to let the matter go if he wanted to, as demonstrated when Linc turns on the lights to reveal Greer, some uniformed officers, and a cameraman up in the rafters.

In the coda, Greer and Mods are walking out of a private screening of the finished film, which Warren intends to destroy. In a private conversation with Julie, Warren admits that he's not sure if he'd have turned his father in, had everyone not been watching. Greer and the Mods then do their walk-off on a backlot set that's actually supposed to be a backlot set in the story.

Norman Alden appears as Russ Barry, the studio's head of publicity.

_______

The Mod Squad
"The Loser"
Originally aired April 7, 1970
Season finale

Wiki said:
The Squad investigates a hit-and-run accident involving a stolen car when the suspect pleads his innocence.

While out for a stroll at night, a young man named Brad Johnson (soon-to-be heartthrob David Cassidy) hops in a parked car to try to stop it from rolling downhill, but is quickly intercepted by cops while trying to get it under control and arrested. Greer visits Brad in the hoosegow, where we learn that Brad has a juvie history--but is now old enough to be tried as an adult--and Greer has a history with Brad's family. The owner of the car, Claire Traygis (already-been-on-Trek-twice Diana Muldaur) comes to the station to claim the car, and it turns out that it was involved in a hit-and-run.

Pete's trying to make a pizza at Linc's pad, which Linc, who'd prefer going to a pizza parlor, ruefully describes as "the first eight-dollar pizza in history". Greer drops in requesting bourbon and using the phone to check on the hit-and-run victim, a woman in her 60s. Greer shares with the Mods how Brad's father, Ben, was a fellow cop and friend, who went on the take and Greer was involved in his IA trial, soon after which Ben died and Brad went JD. With the intent of finding out if Traygis was responsible for the hit-and-run and then reported the car stolen, the Mods go to work at the campaign office of her boss, judicial candidate George Williamson (recent substitute Artie Charles Aidman), whom they meet, along with campaign chairman Russ Hayman (former time-tossed astronaut Frank Aletter). Posing as a reporter, Linc tries to get Brad's story. Traygis receives a call from a man who was a witness when Brad was hopping in the car (Milton Selzer), and is now trying to blackmail her about the hit and run. The man arranges a rendezvous in which he reveals that he saw who abandoned the car, while Pete watches from a distance, unable to hear the exchange.

Linc talks to Brad--now on bail put up by an anonymous party assumed by his mother, Louise (future "only one who's allowed to call him Arthur" Marion Ross), to be Greer--up on the roof of his mom's cafe, where he's feeding his Pigeon Family. Linc probes for more details about the mystery witness and persuades Brad not to go on the run. Back at campaign HQ, Williamson learns of the hit and run and it turns out that he'd been driving the car that night. While he doesn't recall hitting anyone and would like to come clean, Traygis and Hayman have been covering for him for fear that this could blow the election. Looking for the mystery bailer--whose action is believed to have been meant to encourage Brad to run, and thus implicate himself--Pete and Julie work after hours trying to find a typewriter with a bad J, but are unsuccessful. Later Julie takes a call from the mystery witness while pretending to be Traygis, and shows up for another rendezvous sporting a disguise meant to fool him from a distance, so Pete can jump down from some scaffolding to nab him.

Greer interrogates the man, Alfred Weaver, who plays ignorant. Meanwhile, the hit-and-run victim has died, and Williamson insists on coming forward. He and Traygis go to Greer's office, where he asks her about Weaver. Greer then leaves his office so Pete and Linc can eavesdrop on a conversation between Williamson and Traygis via open intercom. It turns out that she honestly thought Williamson did it and was covering for him. Greer brings Weaver in, and when Traygis recognizes him, Greer presses him for more info. Meanwhile, Linc pays another visit to the Johnson shop and finds that Brad's having a meeting on the roof with Hayman, who's trying to give him more money to get him to run. A rooftop-to-rooftop chase ensues and Linc nabs Hayman.

Hayman confesses at Greer's office, which includes clumsily expositing that he used his typewriter at home. Williamson gives him a little righteous lecture. Outside police HQ, Williamson and Traygis run into the assembled Mods, who play coy about their role in the affair, then do their walk-up to Pete's car.

_______

RJDiogenes · Apr 23, 2022

The Old Mixer said:
Warren Loring (Frank Converse)

Popular, but generic, character actor.

an unsolved murder case from New Year's Eve 1948

Hm. That's not very Mod.

It turns out that the script for the film was given to Loring by an anonymous writer

"Hey, look, a partial script. I know what we're gonna do today, Ferb!"

At the studio as Julie's shooting a scene, a mysterious figure cuts a rope, causing a light fixture to fall from the rafters

After all the light fixtures and sandbags that have fallen from rafters, you'd think that someone would implement safety measures.

Warren's father, Harry (Edward Asner)

Lou!

After a discussion in which Warren stands up to his father, Harry capitulates.

He's got spunk.

Greer speculates that the girl may have grown up to write the script, and takes an interest in Ellie.

"Say, Ellie, did you write that script?"

Ellie's silently confronted by the mystery killer inside and shot with a silenced pistol after declaring that she was right about the killer's identity.

Was there any reason that she didn't go to the police-- or directly to Greer, as so many people seem to do?

Linc deduces that there must be a complete carbon copy of the script somewhere.

A backup in the carbon cloud.

because the play's the thing yada yada yada.

"The play's the thing in which we'll catch the conscience of the king." I forget where I heard that.

As I figured would happen by this point based on his presence and lack of reaction, Harry is prompted to confess to his son that he was the one who was seeing Ellie's mother and accidentally killed her that New Year's Eve, while Stiles was just his clean-up man who took the body home and tried to make it look like the latest in the Lipstick series.

But Stiles, I presume, really killed Ellie to cover up this quarter-century-old accident, so now they're both off to the hoosegow.

Warren is distraught at having unintentionally snared his own father...

But not that his father killed someone and covered it up?

In the coda, Greer and Mods are walking out of a private screening of the finished film, which Warren intends to destroy.

Well, it's not that bad. :rommie:

It's actually a good mystery with a nice resolution, but it's just too sloppy in the details. Mainly the idea that this anonymous partial movie would be made, but also weird little things like Stiles having a silenced gun.

While out for a stroll at night, a young man named Brad Johnson (soon-to-be heartthrob David Cassidy) hops in a parked car to try to stop it from rolling downhill, but is quickly intercepted by cops while trying to get it under control and arrested.

This would be so much cooler if it was a Partridge Family episode.

"the first eight-dollar pizza in history".

But not the last. Oh, no, not the last.

Greer drops in requesting bourbon

"Sorry. I've got some pot, though."

Greer shares with the Mods how Brad's father, Ben, was a fellow cop and friend, who went on the take and Greer was involved in his IA trial, soon after which Ben died and Brad went JD.

How did Ben die?

Russ Hayman (former time-tossed astronaut Frank Aletter)

He turns up with surprising frequency in our Saturday-morning shows.

up on the roof of his mom's cafe, where he's feeding his Pigeon Family.

So Brad has matured into a harmless dude who communes with the pigeons.

While he doesn't recall hitting anyone and would like to come clean

Seems like something like that would stick in your mind. Was he drunk or something?

so Pete can jump down from some scaffolding to nab him.

There's a lot of rafters and scaffolding on this show.

A rooftop-to-rooftop chase ensues and Linc nabs Hayman.

I hope he got to do it himself for a change.

Hayman confesses at Greer's office

But would he have confessed if Williamson was charged?

Williamson gives him a little righteous lecture.

They've both earned it. :rommie:

Outside police HQ, Williamson and Traygis run into the assembled Mods

I wonder if Traygis will face any charges for trying to cover up for Williamson, even though he didn't do it.

DarrenTR1970 · Apr 23, 2022

@RJDiogenes

David Geller wrote two drafts for what would become “Mission: Impossible”

In the first draft, “Briggs’ Squad” was described as thus . . .

“. . . Formerly a Special Forces group that performed wartime missions”, “often incredibly hazardous and totally without reward because the government of the United States must disavow any knowledge of these particular activities. Once, in a country in a crisis, the group of men . . . were pulled together to do a job. It was the first job of five years work under the leadership of Lt. Col. David Briggs, for what had come to be known, unofficially, to the few men who knew of its existence, as “Briggs’ Squad”.

The team consisted of Albert Ney, a wheeler-dealer “who never owns anything longer than it takes to turn over a profit”; Jack Smith, who “does not know what a woman means by the word “No,” never – not once in his life – ever having heard it”; Barney Collier (Greg Morris), “expert at ballistics, demolition, submarine vessels,” possessor of a “graduate degree in bioelectric chemical engineering, permutative mathematics, microphysics”, and “a cheating 21 dealer and compulsive gambler”; Willy “The Arm” Armitage (Peter Lupus), “ugly, ill-educated, inept,” “possibly the strongest man in the world”, and “a woman-beating strip joint bouncer”; “Little” Terry Targo (Wally Cox), a mild-mannered martial arts expert, “three time felony offender,” and professional hit man; and Martin Land (Martin Landau), “a master of disguise, quick change, a superb pickpocket, fluent in fifteen languages, able to hold his breath for six or seven minutes,” and, above all a master magician and thief.

Their leader is David (later Dan) Briggs (Steven Hill), who explains his team, “I once led them, and, for better or for worse, I turned them into what they are . . . In each case I have made them unfit to live like normal human beings. Call it because of a death wish, a compulsion, a streak of larceny, competitive instinct, a desire for adventure, or just the lure for life, one way or another, each of them seems destined to end up in the electric chair or serving a long term in prison – unless – unless I, the responsible party, can channel all this that I have made . . . I am a PhD in analytical psychology and highly paid as a behavioral analyst. All this means is that I am an expert in human being, i.e., one of the world’s greatest guessers.”

The mission as described in the first draft of “Briggs’ Squad” would have the squad use a WWII Japanese midget submarine to board a yacht, surrounded by three destroyers, containing the stolen wealth of the Indies and steal it back for the country.

This story and the characters Albert Ney and Jack Smith were dropped when Geller wrote the second draft, which would become the script and pilot episode of “Mission: Impossible”.

To replace Albert Ney and Jack Smith, Geller created Cinnamon (Barbara Bain), “an absolutely stunning woman in her twenties” who is “a total waste of a woman. Hooked on alcohol and narcotics.”

Geller added, “This group of men may attempt anything. Briggs’ Squad may have to be given a semiofficial status (unknown to any of them but Briggs) by which they are performing their services for the United States government without any official aegis and with Briggs’ full awareness that if they are caught they will have to take the full rap as the government will not acknowledge any awareness of their existence.”

They are, “a private group, not a government group. It always works on the right side. It takes on delicate assignments for the government or anyone. Such as if the CIA doesn’t want to be directly involved in a case . . . Sometimes, because of circumstances, the FBI, New York police, or California sheriffs can’t enter into a situation – then they hire this group . . .”

The show was designed to only have three regular characters: Briggs, Cinnamon, and Barney. “Some missions require skills they don’t have,” said Geller, “so they go outside, and that’s when a guest star comes in.” A variety of “guest spies” . . . would be used when necessary. Some would even be killed in action to generate suspense.

By the time the pilot went to series, Willy had been added to the cast as regular and Martin Land was rechristened “Rollin Hand”, appearing as a “Special Guest Star” because Martin Landau did not want to be tied down to a series, as he felt it would hurt his movie career. Of course, he would be brought back throughout the first season as Steven Hill acted up and was eventually suspended from the series.

At the start of the second season, Steven Hill was replaced by Peter Graves as Jim Phelps, who “graduated from college, served in the Korean war, then on to a career with Pan Am Airways.” One day Jim came home to his New York apartment and found a message on his record player.

And that there, is the genesis of “Mission: Impossible” and its cast.

P.S.

It was incredibly difficult to condense a chapter down to a couple of pages.

The Old Mixer · Apr 23, 2022

55 Years Ago This Week

[This is where things start getting deja vu-ish...]

April 23

A group of young leftist radicals are expelled from the Nicaraguan Socialist Party (PSN). This group goes on to found the Socialist Workers Party (POS).
James Earl Ray, a 39-year old convict serving a 20-year sentence for armed robbery, escaped from the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City. He would later tell interrogators that other inmates helped him conceal himself inside a four-foot by four-foot container that was used to deliver loaves of bread to prisons in the area, then helped load him onto a truck. Forty-nine weeks later, on April 4, 1968, Ray committed the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, and would finally be recaptured on June 10 of that year at Heathrow Airport in London.
The Soviet Union announced the launch of Air Force Colonel Vladimir Komarov on "a powerful new carrier rocket" as Soyuz 1 was sent into orbit at 3:35 a.m. local time from Baikonur on what was to be a 72-hour mission. In a separate announcement, the Soviet news agency Tass suggested that it would soon send up a second spacecraft that would link to Soyuz 1, and that the pilots would trade places. Soyuz 2 would have been launched the next day with Valery Bykovsky, Yevgeny Khrunov and Aleksei Yeliseyev, but Soyuz 1 began experiencing problems soon after launch.

April 24

Vladimir Komarov became the first Soviet cosmonaut to die, and the first person to be killed during a spaceflight, when the parachute of his space capsule Soyuz 1 failed during re-entry. The capsule crashed at 8:24 a.m. local time, 40 miles (64 km) east of the city of Orsk, and rescuers found that "the base of the spacecraft had been completely burned through" and that Komarov's remains had been burned into a "blackened lump measuring 30 x 80 cm". His launch the day before had been complicated by a drain of battery power caused by the failure of a solar panel to deploy, and he had made 18 orbits at a lower altitude than planned. On his last three circuits of the Earth, as the orbit was decaying due to friction, he was having difficulty controlling the vehicle before he made his emergency re-entry. In the investigation that followed, it was found that the parachute design for the Soyuz capsules had been faulty and that the manufacture and testing had been poor, resulting in "the chilling conclusion that had Soyuz 2 been launched, that crew would also have perished on its return."
The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the San Francisco Warriors, 125–122, in game six of the NBA Championship series, to win the title. Playing at home, San Francisco had a 12-point lead in the third quarter. In the final 15 seconds, when Philadelphia had a 123–122 lead, the Warriors' Rick Barry (who made 44 points in the game) missed a shot that would have put his team ahead.
A total lunar eclipse took place.
Died: Frank Overton, 49, American actor

April 25 – The U.S. Senate voted unanimously (88 to 0) to ratify the 79-nation Outer Space Treaty prohibiting weapons in outer space.

April 26 – U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Michael J. Estocin, 35, was shot down over North Vietnam while leading his second airstrike in six days from the USS Ticonderoga, with a mission to destroy North Vietnamese thermal power plants at Haiphong and the surface-to-air missile sites defending the plants. On his first mission, Estocin took out three of the missile sites before his A-4 Skyhawk plane was damaged by an SA-2 Guideline missile. Despite the damage, he took out another missile site before gliding back to the Ticonderoga. On his final mission, Estocin's A-4 was struck by another missile and he fired his own missiles before plunging to the ground. Estocin would be promoted posthumously to the rank of captain, and would be awarded the Medal of Honor in 1978 for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 20 and 26 April 1967".

April 27

Construction of Moscow's Ostankino Tower, at 540 metres (1,770 ft) the tallest free-standing structure in the world up to that time, was completed with the placement of the last antenna on the television transmitter.
Expo 67, described as "the largest, costliest, gaudiest world's fair in history" was dedicated in Montreal as a World's Fair to coincide with the celebration of the centennial of the 1867 founding of the Canadian Confederation. Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson ignited the Expo Flame in the Place des Nations to inaugurate "The Universal and International Exhibition of 1967", which would run until October 27.

April 28

World heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali refused to take the oath of induction into the United States Army after reporting as scheduled to an induction center in Houston, Texas. Ali stood in line with 11 other inductees, underwent a physical examination, blood tests and x-rays, but refused to step forward when his name was called by Army Lt. Steven Dunkley. He then told Navy Lt. C. P. Hartman that he understood the penalties, and said that his refusal was based on his religious beliefs. Ali was stripped of his boxing title on the same day by the World Boxing Association, and would not be allowed to fight for the title again until 1970. On June 20, Ali would be convicted of draft evasion, fined $10,000 and sentenced to five years in prison, but the conviction would be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 28, 1967.
U.S. Army Corporal Dennis Brown returned to his home in Hinckley, Ohio, five days after his parents had mistakenly been told that he had been killed in action in Vietnam. Corporal Hinckley took his girlfriend to a high school senior prom, then returned to duty at the end of May.
Expo 67 opened to the public, with over 310,000 people attending on the first day. The very first visitor, as noted by Expo officials, was an American, Al Carter of Chicago. Carter, a jazz drummer, had been waiting at the main gate since 10:00 the previous morning.
Aircraft manufacturers McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft Company merged to form McDonnell Douglas. The company would be bought out by Boeing three decades later.

April 29

U.S. President Lyndon Johnson announced that he would ask Congress for $198 million toward financing the development of the 1.14 billion dollar SST, the proposed supersonic transport airplane that would be capable of flying at 1,800 mph and carrying 300 passengers.
Fidel Castro announced that all intellectual property belonged to the world's people and that Cuba intended to translate and publish technical literature without compensation. "We proclaim publicly that we consider all intellectual products patrimony to which all humanity has a right," Castro said in a televised speech.
Izvestia became the first daily newspaper in the Soviet Union to publish a comic strip. "Ivan Ivanich", which appeared on Saturdays, was described in a UPI dispatch as "a pipe-puffing engineer with a Dagwood haircut" who "uses heavyhanded humor to point up shortcomings in Soviet services".

Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

1. "Somethin' Stupid," Frank & Nancy Sinatra
2. "A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You," The Monkees
3. "Happy Together," The Turtles
4. "Sweet Soul Music," Arthur Conley
5. "I Think We're Alone Now," Tommy James & The Shondells
6. "Western Union," The Five Americans
7. "This Is My Song," Petula Clark
8. "The Happening," The Supremes
9. "Bernadette," Four Tops
10. "Jimmy Mack," Martha & The Vandellas
11. "Don't You Care," The Buckinghams
12. "You Got What It Takes," The Dave Clark Five
13. "I'm a Man," The Spencer Davis Group
14. "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)," Aretha Franklin

16. "At the Zoo," Simon & Garfunkel
17. "On a Carousel," The Hollies
18. "Close Your Eyes," Peaches & Herb
19. "With This Ring," The Platters
20. "Dedicated to the One I Love," The Mamas & The Papas
21. "When I Was Young," Eric Burdon & The Animals
22. "Dry Your Eyes," Brenda & The Tabulations
23. "Friday on My Mind," The Easybeats
24. "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)," Harpers Bizarre
25. "Penny Lane," The Beatles
26. "There's a Kind of Hush," Herman's Hermits
27. "For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey What's That Sound)," Buffalo Springfield
28. "Get Me to the World on Time," The Electric Prunes
29. "I Got Rhythm," The Happenings
30. "Beggin'," The Four Seasons
31. "My Back Pages," The Byrds

33. "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon," Neil Diamond

35. "California Nights," Lesley Gore
36. "Release Me (And Let Me Love Again)," Engelbert Humperdinck
37. "Yellow Balloon," The Yellow Balloon

39. "Casino Royale," Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
40. "I'll Try Anything," Dusty Springfield

42. "Dead End Street Monologue/Dead End Street," Lou Rawls
43. "Here Comes My Baby," The Tremeloes
44. "Somebody to Love," Jefferson Airplane
45. "I've Been Lonely Too Long," The Young Rascals
46. "Gonna Give Her All the Love I've Got," Jimmy Ruffin

49. "Groovin'," The Young Rascals
50. "Respect," Aretha Franklin
51. "Shake a Tail Feather," James & Bobby Purify

56. "Sunshine Girl," The Parade

64. "I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman," Whistling Jack Smith
65. "Him or Me, What's It Gonna Be?," Paul Revere & The Raiders

68. "Happy Jack," The Who
69. "Mirage," Tommy James & The Shondells
70. "Alfie," Dionne Warwick
71. "When You're Young and in Love," The Marvelettes

76. "Too Many Fish in the Sea & Three Little Fishes," Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels
77. "The Oogum Boogum Song," Brenton Wood

81. "All I Need," The Temptations

83. "Creeque Alley," The Mamas & The Papas

90. "Six O'Clock," The Lovin' Spoonful

Leaving the chart:

"The Girl I Knew Somewhere," The Monkees (5 weeks)
"The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage," Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (10 weeks)
"Strawberry Fields Forever," The Beatles (9 weeks)

New on the chart:

"Mirage," Tommy James & The Shondells
(#10 US)

"All I Need," The Temptations
(#8 US; #2 R&B; #60 UK)

"Creeque Alley," The Mamas & The Papas
(#5 US; #9 UK)

"Him or Me, What's It Gonna Be?," Paul Revere & The Raiders
(#5 US)

"Respect," Aretha Franklin
(#1 US the weeks of June 3 and 10, 1967; #1 R&B; #10 UK; #5 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time [2004]; #1 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time [2021])

And new on the boob tube:

The Ed Sullivan Show, Season 19, episode 31
The Monkees, "Monkees on Tour" (season finale)
The Rat Patrol, "The Fire and Brimstone Raid"
Dragnet 1967, "The Big Gun"
The Avengers, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Station"

_______

Timeline entries are quoted from the Wiki pages for the month or year.

_______

RJDiogenes said:
Popular, but generic, character actor.

He seemed familiar, but I couldn't place him from anything specific. He was pretty good in this.

Was there any reason that she didn't go to the police-- or directly to Greer, as so many people seem to do?

She didn't have any evidence and apparently wasn't 100% sure of what she saw, so she wanted to draw the killer out with the play.

But not that his father killed someone and covered it up?

That, too, I'm sure.

but also weird little things like Stiles having a silenced gun.

Because it's soooo hard to get a gun in America...

This would be so much cooler if it was a Partridge Family episode.

David was actually displaying some pretty good dramatic chops.

"Sorry. I've got some pot, though."

"And Fritos?"

How did Ben die?

I wanna say a drunk driving crash...that or suicide, I'm not 100% sure now.

Seems like something like that would stick in your mind. Was he drunk or something?

Overworked, tired, and preoccupied, I think.

I hope he got to do it himself for a change.

There was leaping from rooftop to rooftop, so I'm sure that wasn't all Williams.

DarrenTR1970 said:
Peter Graves as Jim Phelps, who “graduated from college, served in the Korean war, then on to a career with Pan Am Airways.”

Perfect!

DarrenTR1970 · Apr 24, 2022

The Old Mixer said:
Perfect!

I thought about it, but it was low hanging fruit.

64. "I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman," Whistling Jack Smith

Whistling Jack Smith - I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman (1967) - YouTube

I have vague memories of this one. Maybe something we listened to in elementary school.

gblews · Apr 24, 2022

The Old Mixer said:
Aretha Franklin
(#1 US the weeks of June 3 and 10, 1967; #1 R&B; #10 UK; #5 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time [2004]; #1 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time [2021])

And Aretha was No. 1 on Rolling Stone’s excellent 100 Greatest Singers of the Rock Era. Now THAT is respect.

RJDiogenes · Apr 24, 2022

DarrenTR1970 said:
“Little” Terry Targo (Wally Cox)

I'm kind of sorry he didn't make the final cut.

Martin Land (Martin Landau)

Now there's an oddity. :rommie:

They are, “a private group, not a government group. It always works on the right side. It takes on delicate assignments for the government or anyone. Such as if the CIA doesn’t want to be directly involved in a case . . . Sometimes, because of circumstances, the FBI, New York police, or California sheriffs can’t enter into a situation – then they hire this group . . .”

So basically privateers, as I thought. Interesting that the "conventional law enforcement" angle was actually built in from the start.

One day Jim came home to his New York apartment and found a message on his record player.

I love this. Was it just in the character bio, or did it happen on the show?

It was incredibly difficult to condense a chapter down to a couple of pages.

We appreciate the effort a lot. What really struck me is how dark the characters were as originally conceived-- kind of a suicide squad more than what we actually got.

The Old Mixer said:
He would later tell interrogators that other inmates helped him conceal himself inside a four-foot by four-foot container that was used to deliver loaves of bread to prisons in the area, then helped load him onto a truck.

I wonder what those guys thought about the consequences of their actions.

Vladimir Komarov became the first Soviet cosmonaut to die

And what a horrible way to go, the poor guy. And he pretty much knew that it was coming.

In the investigation that followed, it was found that the parachute design for the Soyuz capsules had been faulty and that the manufacture and testing had been poor

That legendary Soviet quality control.

On June 20, Ali would be convicted of draft evasion, fined $10,000 and sentenced to five years in prison

And this is why he was the greatest.

Izvestia became the first daily newspaper in the Soviet Union to publish a comic strip. "Ivan Ivanich", which appeared on Saturdays, was described in a UPI dispatch as "a pipe-puffing engineer with a Dagwood haircut" who "uses heavyhanded humor to point up shortcomings in Soviet services".

Okay, I've got to track that down. :rommie:

"Mirage," Tommy James & The Shondells

Not their most memorable hit, but it's got that nice Shondells sound.

"All I Need," The Temptations

Not their most memorable hit, but it's got that nice Temptations sound.

"Creeque Alley," The Mamas & The Papas

This is a good one, upbeat and self effacing, but the line about Mama Cass getting fat is kind of sad in retrospect.

"Him or Me, What's It Gonna Be?," Paul Revere & The Raiders

They have AIs that can write stuff like this now. :rommie:

"Respect," Aretha Franklin

And a Stone-Cold Classic.

He seemed familiar, but I couldn't place him from anything specific. He was pretty good in this.

That about sums him up, which is not a bad thing.

Because it's soooo hard to get a gun in America...

I mean just the way it was played with the silencer, implying that it was a professional hit or something-- at least that's how I took it.

"And Fritos?"

"Mph, thish pizzsha ish mucsh better than it looksh."

I wanna say a drunk driving crash...that or suicide, I'm not 100% sure now.

Yeah, I was thinking suicide.

Perfect!

I love that movie. :rommie:

Sometime in the last few months, I stumbled on an article that explained to Millennials how to watch Airplane! without being offended. As far as I could tell, it was a sincere attempt at frowny-faced journalism and not a parody. :rommie:

DarrenTR1970 · Apr 24, 2022

RJDiogenes said:
I love this. Was it just in the character bio, or did it happen on the show?

This was the backstory that Bruce Geller, Producer Joseph Gantman and Peter Graves came up with shortly after Graves was hired for the role of Jim Phelps.

Bit of trivia - Gary Morton (Lucy's then-husband) wanted Stuart Whitman, who wasn't interested to replace Steven Hill. Also asked was John Forsythe; again, who wasn't interested.

RJDiogenes said:
Now there's an oddity.

Landau's story is an interesting one. After deciding to become an actor in 1951, Landau, along with two thousand other applicants, auditioned for New York's 'Actors Studio' (Yes, of 'Inside The Actors Studio with James Lipton'). Landau was one of only three who were accepted that year. In 1956, Landau landed a role in the Broadway play, 'The Middle of the Night', which toured the US and closed in L.A. It was in L.A. that Landau met director Monte Hellman (who would go on to direct the movie 'Two-Lane Blacktop' staring singer-songwriter James Taylor, and Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson. I would highly recommend that if you haven't seen it, watch it. It's James and Dennis' only movie roles and, if he so wanted to pursue a career, James would have made an interesting character actor.) Anyway, Monte asked Landau to teach an acting workshop. Landau agreed, as long as he got to choose the actors with whom he wanted to work with. Landau chose Warren Oates, Robert Blake and his then-wife Sondra (who appears in the pilot), Harry Dean Stanton, Jack Nicholson, and Bruce Geller. It was after this class that Geller decided to quit acting and pursue writing. When creating 'Briggs' Squad', later 'Mission: Impossible', Martin Landau was Geller's first and only choice for Martin Land (Rollin Hand).

Nerys Myk · Apr 24, 2022

DarrenTR1970 said:
@RJDiogenes

David Geller wrote two drafts for what would become “Mission: Impossible”

In the first draft, “Briggs’ Squad” was described as thus . . .

“. . . Formerly a Special Forces group that performed wartime missions”, “often incredibly hazardous and totally without reward because the government of the United States must disavow any knowledge of these particular activities. Once, in a country in a crisis, the group of men . . . were pulled together to do a job. It was the first job of five years work under the leadership of Lt. Col. David Briggs, for what had come to be known, unofficially, to the few men who knew of its existence, as “Briggs’ Squad”.

The team consisted of Albert Ney, a wheeler-dealer “who never owns anything longer than it takes to turn over a profit”; Jack Smith, who “does not know what a woman means by the word “No,” never – not once in his life – ever having heard it”; Barney Collier (Greg Morris), “expert at ballistics, demolition, submarine vessels,” possessor of a “graduate degree in bioelectric chemical engineering, permutative mathematics, microphysics”, and “a cheating 21 dealer and compulsive gambler”; Willy “The Arm” Armitage (Peter Lupus), “ugly, ill-educated, inept,” “possibly the strongest man in the world”, and “a woman-beating strip joint bouncer”; “Little” Terry Targo (Wally Cox), a mild-mannered martial arts expert, “three time felony offender,” and professional hit man; and Martin Land (Martin Landau), “a master of disguise, quick change, a superb pickpocket, fluent in fifteen languages, able to hold his breath for six or seven minutes,” and, above all a master magician and thief.

Their leader is David (later Dan) Briggs (Steven Hill), who explains his team, “I once led them, and, for better or for worse, I turned them into what they are . . . In each case I have made them unfit to live like normal human beings. Call it because of a death wish, a compulsion, a streak of larceny, competitive instinct, a desire for adventure, or just the lure for life, one way or another, each of them seems destined to end up in the electric chair or serving a long term in prison – unless – unless I, the responsible party, can channel all this that I have made . . . I am a PhD in analytical psychology and highly paid as a behavioral analyst. All this means is that I am an expert in human being, i.e., one of the world’s greatest guessers.”

The mission as described in the first draft of “Briggs’ Squad” would have the squad use a WWII Japanese midget submarine to board a yacht, surrounded by three destroyers, containing the stolen wealth of the Indies and steal it back for the country.

This story and the characters Albert Ney and Jack Smith were dropped when Geller wrote the second draft, which would become the script and pilot episode of “Mission: Impossible”.

To replace Albert Ney and Jack Smith, Geller created Cinnamon (Barbara Bain), “an absolutely stunning woman in her twenties” who is “a total waste of a woman. Hooked on alcohol and narcotics.”

Geller added, “This group of men may attempt anything. Briggs’ Squad may have to be given a semiofficial status (unknown to any of them but Briggs) by which they are performing their services for the United States government without any official aegis and with Briggs’ full awareness that if they are caught they will have to take the full rap as the government will not acknowledge any awareness of their existence.”

They are, “a private group, not a government group. It always works on the right side. It takes on delicate assignments for the government or anyone. Such as if the CIA doesn’t want to be directly involved in a case . . . Sometimes, because of circumstances, the FBI, New York police, or California sheriffs can’t enter into a situation – then they hire this group . . .”

The show was designed to only have three regular characters: Briggs, Cinnamon, and Barney. “Some missions require skills they don’t have,” said Geller, “so they go outside, and that’s when a guest star comes in.” A variety of “guest spies” . . . would be used when necessary. Some would even be killed in action to generate suspense.

By the time the pilot went to series, Willy had been added to the cast as regular and Martin Land was rechristened “Rollin Hand”, appearing as a “Special Guest Star” because Martin Landau did not want to be tied down to a series, as he felt it would hurt his movie career. Of course, he would be brought back throughout the first season as Steven Hill acted up and was eventually suspended from the series.

At the start of the second season, Steven Hill was replaced by Peter Graves as Jim Phelps, who “graduated from college, served in the Korean war, then on to a career with Pan Am Airways.” One day Jim came home to his New York apartment and found a message on his record player.

And that there, is the genesis of “Mission: Impossible” and its cast.

P.S.

It was incredibly difficult to condense a chapter down to a couple of pages.

Some of those characters are pretty dark.

RJDiogenes · Apr 25, 2022

DarrenTR1970 said:
This was the backstory that Bruce Geller, Producer Joseph Gantman and Peter Graves came up with shortly after Graves was hired for the role of Jim Phelps.

Nice. I'd love to actually see that first story, but it's too late now.

Bit of trivia - Gary Morton (Lucy's then-husband) wanted Stuart Whitman, who wasn't interested to replace Steven Hill. Also asked was John Forsythe; again, who wasn't interested.

It's always interesting to think about the possibilities of alternate castings. Either of those guys would have been good in the role, but I think Graves was the right choice. He was a new and unique face in the pantheon of the TV Universe.

When creating 'Briggs' Squad', later 'Mission: Impossible', Martin Landau was Geller's first and only choice for Martin Land (Rollin Hand).

That's a fascinating story, and Landau deserves that recognition. Talk about a unique face in the pantheon of the TV Universe. He has an incredible presence on screen.

The Old Mixer · Apr 25, 2022

50 Years Ago This Week

April 25

Photographs that developed "right before your eyes" were introduced when Edwin H. Land of the Polaroid Corporation demonstrated the SX-70 film and camera.
Ralph Baer was issued U.S. Patent No. 3,659,285 for "A Television Gaming Apparatus and Method", which he had perfected on May 7, 1967, making possible the home videogame industry.
Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger secretly discussed strategy in attacking North Vietnam. After Kissinger estimated that taking out dikes would "drown about 200,000 people", Nixon responded, "I'd rather use a nuclear bomb. Have you got that?" When Kissinger responded "That, I think, would just be too much...", Nixon said, "I just want you to think big, Henry, for Chrissake." The tape of the conversation was released years later.
Died: George Sanders, 65, British actor, committed suicide

April 26 – The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar enters service with Eastern Airlines.

April 27

The Burundian Genocide against the Hutu begins; more than 500,000 Hutus die.
A no-confidence vote against German Chancellor Willy Brandt fails under obscure circumstances.
Edmund S. Muskie, the early favorite for the 1972 Democratic Party nomination for President, announced that he was dropping out of the race.
Alene B. Duerk was named as the first female admiral in the history of the United States Navy.
New York City mayor John Lindsay appeals to the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization that John Lennon and Yoko Ono's deportation orders be dropped, adding his opinion that they are being deported not because of their 1968 drug conviction but because the couple "speak out with strong and critical voices on the major issues of the day".

April 29 – The fourth anniversary of the Broadway musical Hair is celebrated with a free concert at a Central Park bandshell, followed by dinner at the Four Seasons. There, 13 Black Panther protesters and the show's co-author, Jim Rado, are arrested for disturbing the peace and for using marijuana.

Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

1. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," Roberta Flack
2. "Rockin' Robin," Michael Jackson
3. "I Gotcha," Joe Tex
4. "Betcha By Golly, Wow," The Stylistics
5. "A Horse with No Name," America
6. "Day Dreaming," Aretha Franklin
7. "In the Rain," The Dramatics
8. "A Cowboy's Work Is Never Done," Sonny & Cher
9. "Doctor My Eyes," Jackson Browne
10. "Look What You Done for Me," Al Green
11. "Back Off Boogaloo," Ringo Starr
12. "The Family of Man," Three Dog Night
13. "Vincent" / "Castles in the Air", Don McLean
14. "Baby Blue," Badfinger
15. "Puppy Love," Donny Osmond
16. "Oh Girl," The Chi-Lites
17. "Heart of Gold," Neil Young
18. "I'll Take You There," The Staple Singers
19. "Suavecito," Malo
20. "Hot Rod Lincoln," Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen
21. "Morning Has Broken," Cat Stevens
22. "Slippin' into Darkness," War
23. "Taurus," Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band

25. "Roundabout," Yes
26. "Mother and Child Reunion," Paul Simon
27. "Jump into the Fire," Nilsson
28. "The Candy Man," Sammy Davis, Jr. w/ The Mike Curb Congregation

30. "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard," Paul Simon
31. "Taxi," Harry Chapin
32. "Little Bitty Pretty One," Jackson 5

34. "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All," The 5th Dimension
35. "Give Ireland Back to the Irish," Wings

37. "Nice to Be with You," Gallery

41. "Walkin' in the Rain with the One I Love," Love Unlimited

44. "Sylvia's Mother," Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show
45. "Do Your Thing," Isaac Hayes
46. "I Saw the Light," Todd Rundgren

50. "Tumbling Dice," The Rolling Stones
51. "Diary," Bread
52. "Legend in Your Own Time," Carly Simon
53. "Rock and Roll," Led Zeppelin

60. "Isn't Life Strange," The Moody Blues

64. "Smilin'," Sly & The Family Stone
65. "Outa-Space," Billy Preston

72. "Changes," David Bowie

75. "Lean on Me," Bill Withers

77. "Old Man," Neil Young

79. "It's Going to Take Some Time," Carpenters

88. "Daddy, Don't You Walk So Fast," Wayne Newton

97. "How Do You Do?," Mouth & MacNeal

Leaving the chart:

"Down by the Lazy River," The Osmonds (14 weeks)
"Everything I Own," Bread (13 weeks)
"Jungle Fever," The Chakachas (15 weeks)
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight," Robert John (17 weeks)
"Rock and Roll Lullaby," B. J. Thomas (11 weeks)
"Take a Look Around," The Temptations (8 weeks)
"The Way of Love," Cher (13 weeks)
"Without You," Nilsson (19 weeks)

Recent and new on the chart:

"Suavecito," Malo
(Mar. 4; #18 US; #8 AC)

"Diary," Bread
(Apr. 22; #15 US; #3 AC)

"It's Going to Take Some Time," Carpenters
(#12 US; #2 AC)

"How Do You Do?," Mouth & MacNeal
(#8 US; #37 AC)

"Tumbling Dice," The Rolling Stones
(#7 US; #5 UK; #424 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time [2004])

_______

Timeline entries are quoted from the Wiki pages for the month or year and Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Day by Day, with minor editing as needed.

_______

RJDiogenes said:
Okay, I've got to track that down.

But will you be able to read it?

Not their most memorable hit, but it's got that nice Shondells sound.

Yeah.

Not their most memorable hit, but it's got that nice Temptations sound.

This one isn't bad, but makes a bit less of an impression.

This is a good one, upbeat and self effacing, but the line about Mama Cass getting fat is kind of sad in retrospect.

A playful oldies radio classic chock full of references to the group's early days. Are you referring to when they switch the line to "everybody's getting fat except Mama Cass"? If so, I always heard that morbidly, too, though it's completely anachronistic...and makes me wonder what the original intent of the lyric was.

They have AIs that can write stuff like this now.

That's a little harsh, and it's got that Raiders sound.

And a Stone-Cold Classic.

The Queen of Soul fully arrives.

"Mph, thish pizzsha ish mucsh better than it looksh."

Pete didn't get past flipping the dough (accidentally poking holes in it with his fingers).

I love that movie. Sometime in the last few months, I stumbled on an article that explained to Millennials how to watch Airplane! without being offended. As far as I could tell, it was a sincere attempt at frowny-faced journalism and not a parody.

Yeesh...

DarrenTR1970 · Apr 26, 2022

The Old Mixer said:
Died: George Sanders, 65, British actor, committed suicide

George Sanders had appeared the previous year in the "Mission: Impossible" episode "The Merchant". This is what the cast had to say about him. "I remember him being a very depressed, sad man," says Leonard Nimoy. "He sat quietly by himself, did not interact with anybody." Says Peter Graves, "It was sad, because this was near the end." Greg Morris agrees, "Of all the guest stars we had, he was probably the biggest shock. The man was a shell." Actor Tony Giorgio recalls Sanders cutting up his script and placing his lines in the palm of his hand.

RJDiogenes said:
I love that movie. Sometime in the last few months, I stumbled on an article that explained to Millennials how to watch Airplane! without being offended. As far as I could tell, it was a sincere attempt at frowny-faced journalism and not a parody.

AIRPLANE! 1980 * first time watching * reaction & commentary * Millennial Movie Monday - YouTube

Airplane (1980) First Time Film Club - First Time Watching/Movie Reaction **EDITED VERSION** - YouTube

I've watched a handful of Millennial first timers who watch "Airplane!" and believe me, they're not offended by the humor in the movie. Even those where English is a second language have no problems understanding the jokes. Sometimes people just need to lighten up.

DarrenTR1970 · Apr 26, 2022

The Old Mixer said:
"Tumbling Dice," The Rolling Stones

I remember reading a story somewhere that when Linda Ronstadt covered this song, she couldn't understand what Mick Jagger was singing, so she made up some new lyrics. Mick said that they were actually better than what he was singing about.

The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread

Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim.

Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion

Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim.

Commodore

Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion

Commodore

Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion

Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim.

Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion

Commodore

Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim.

Commodore

Vice Admiral

Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion

Commodore

Sgt Pepper

Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion

Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim.

Commodore

Commodore

We value your privacy