The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread

[RJDiogenes]

Here's the Beach Boys version. Sorry Stevie, I think Carl trumps you vocally on this one.

I don't know about better, but it's pretty good. I like the little encore at the end.

[A good example of how quickly John and Yoko's Some Time in New York City album became dated--one of the songs was about freeing Angela Davis. The album came out a week after she was released.]

Mixed feelings in the Lennon household.

The Watergate burglars were caught after breaking into O'Brien's office again on June 17, 1972.

Auto correct messed up "bunglers" there.

Nick Ut took a photograph that became an iconic symbol of the horrors of war.

One of the most horrifying and haunting images of all time.

Bruce Springsteen received his big break as he was signed to a ten-record deal by CBS Records.

Then he was a new hire-- now he's The Boss. Actually, I think he was The Boss even then.

"Sealed with a Kiss," Bobby Vinton

Sounds like the 50s. Haven't been able to say that in a while.

"Too Young," Donny Osmond

This is sad. Very, very sad.

"Coconut," Harry Nilsson

Ah, a little coconut to cleanse the palate. I love this song.

"Where Is the Love," Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway

Never one of my favorites, but once an Oldies staple.

This one sounds to me like a mid-'80s song, like Bruce Hornsby or Mr. Mister or something.

Interesting. I didn't make an 80s connection, but I'm not very familiar with either of those artists.

They're trying to bend you, shape you...

That's it, he was auditioning for a solo gig on the show!

"Lookit me, Ed, lookit me!"

 

[The Old Mixer]

Mixed feelings in the Lennon household.

Yoko fires her numerologist.

Sounds like the 50s. Haven't been able to say that in a while.

I see no reason to break my "No Bobby Vinton" policy for this lukewarm cover.

This is sad. Very, very sad.

Die, Donny's childhood career, die!

Ah, a little coconut to cleanse the palate. I love this song.

My sister had the 45 of this...don't know where/how she would've gotten it, or if I was exposed to it while it was new, or a year or two later. We just thought it was weird and funny.

Never one of my favorites, but once an Oldies staple.

It's got a nice, smooth pre-disco sound.

In 50th Anniversary Viewing news, I've got those last two episodes of Emergency! season 1 scheduled to record next week! For next season, I also start recording M*A*S*H season 1.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

"Coconut," Harry Nilsson

Ah, a little coconut to cleanse the palate. I love this song.

My sister had the 45 of this...don't know where/how she would've gotten it, or if I was exposed to it while it was new, or a year or two later. We just thought it was weird and funny.

There are no chord changes in the song: an arpeggiated C7th accompanies the song.

From what I remember from the documentary - this was one of the songs that was only a title and a line scribbled on a piece of paper before the "Schmilsson" sessions started. (I can't remember what the line was, but in the documentary, Harry says the song is about "the cure being worse than the disease".)

Producer Richard Perry encouraged Harry to finish it and do it with multiple characters (the narrator, the sister, and the doctor).

Also, shortly before the sessions were to start, Harry was approached by the BBC about doing a concert/television special. Harry, from all accounts, had massive stage fright, which is why he didn't perform publicly, and said no.

After the "Schmilsson" sessions were completed, the BBC again approached Harry - this time with a counteroffer, he could perform in an empty TV studio, have complete artistic control, and veto power if he didn't like the finished product. Harry agreed and filmed a 30-minute special. 'Coconut' was one of the songs performed.

Harry Nilsson - Coconut (1971) - YouTube

That's Harry under all the gorilla suits. In the documentary the director said that they forgot to film the ending where the gorillas took off their masks to reveal Harry. The performance is an homage to Ernie Kovacs, who Harry was a fan of.

Ernie Kovacs - The Nairobi Trio "Solfeggio" - ABC Television Network Videotaped Version - YouTube

 

[RJDiogenes]

Yoko fires her numerologist.

Shoulda seen that coming.

Die, Donny's childhood career, die!

Kids should be in school!

My sister had the 45 of this...don't know where/how she would've gotten it, or if I was exposed to it while it was new, or a year or two later. We just thought it was weird and funny.

We had the album on 8-track. I don't remember any other part of it, but in my brain that particular song is linked to all my other favorites of that time period, like S&G, Peter, Paul, and Mary, and Superstar.

In 50th Anniversary Viewing news, I've got those last two episodes of Emergency! season 1 scheduled to record next week! For next season, I also start recording M*A*S*H season 1.

Ah, that should be interesting. It started out very differently from how it finished.

Also, shortly before the sessions were to start, Harry was approached by the BBC about doing a concert/television special. Harry, from all accounts, had massive stage fright, which is why he didn't perform publicly, and said no.

That's fascinating. I wonder how many talented musical artists are held back by the need to perform, especially these days.

That's Harry under all the gorilla suits.

That's a cute clip. Maybe if wore the gorilla suit on stage he could have overcome his stage fright.

In the documentary the director said that they forgot to film the ending where the gorillas took off their masks to reveal Harry.

There's a major oversight.

 

[The Old Mixer]

We had the album on 8-track. I don't remember any other part of it, but in my brain that particular song is linked to all my other favorites of that time period, like S&G, Peter, Paul, and Mary, and Superstar.

I think my sister, who was 5 going on 6 when the song came out, might have gotten the single from an older cousin.

Ah, that should be interesting. It started out very differently from how it finished.

Both Laugh-In (streaming on ShoutFactory and also back on Decades) and Love, American Style (which is in Decades' weekday streaming schedule in place of Ed Sullivan) are also both back on the table; and it looks like MTM's next season and the first season of Bob Newhart should be coming up on Decades sometime during the hiatus. I may have a busier 50th anniversary viewing season than ever coming up...the main thing missing that I'd been planning to have back again would be Mod Squad. I'll also be missing the odd episodes of The Brady Bunch and The Odd Couple that Paramount Plus doesn't stream. (Don't be surprised when we pick up with the Bradys' Hawaii vacation in Part 3!) TBB seems to have fallen out of MeTV's schedule because they'll be doing a block format on Sunday afternoons for the summer; TOC seems to not be in Decades' schedule at the moment.

Emergency! now comes to us courtesy of FETV via Frndly. FE’s program content largely overlaps with MeTV’s, but it doesn’t appear to be a Weigel affiliate. It is, however, headquartered in my birthplace, South Bend!

FETV also has Barney Miller.

Maybe if wore the gorilla suit on stage he could have overcome his stage fright.

That's what I was thinking!

 

[DarrenTR1970]

I've sometimes wondered when a musician adopts a stage persona if it's an attempt to overcome some form of shyness. I'm thinking of David Bowie with his Ziggy Stardust alter-ego, and possibly Vincent Damon Furnier aka Alice Cooper. I've seen interviews with Henry Winkler where he said being 'The Fonz' helped him overcome his embarrassment about being dyslexic.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Both Laugh-In (streaming on ShoutFactory and also back on Decades) and Love, American Style (which is in Decades' weekday streaming schedule in place of Ed Sullivan) are also both back on the table

That's cool. Apparently Season One of LAS is the only one that will ever be released on DVD.

it looks like MTM's next season and the first season of Bob Newhart should be coming up on Decades sometime during the hiatus.

Both are on Hulu, although I have no idea if they're missing episodes.

FETV also has Barney Miller.

Are you going to watch or review?

That's what I was thinking!

It would have been very cool.

I've sometimes wondered when a musician adopts a stage persona if it's an attempt to overcome some form of shyness. I'm thinking of David Bowie with his Ziggy Stardust alter-ego, and possibly Vincent Damon Furnier aka Alice Cooper. I've seen interviews with Henry Winkler where he said being 'The Fonz' helped him overcome his embarrassment about being dyslexic.

That's probably true. I'm told by a big fan of Jim Morrison that he used to sing with his back to the audience because of shyness. Also, there are the people who take acting classes to overcome shyness or singing classes to overcome speech impediments and end up doing it professionally.

 

[The Old Mixer]

_______

Really Big Anniversary Viewing

_______

The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 18, episode 28
Originally aired March 27, 1966

Performances listed on Metacritic:

• Debbie Reynolds sings "It's a Miracle" (from her movie "The Singing Nun")
• Cilla Black sings "Love's Just A Broken Heart"
• Ed Ames - "They Call the Wind Mariah"
• Woody Herman (bandleader-clarinetist) plays "Northwest Passage"
• Totie Fields (comedian) - stand-up routine about skiing, sings "Put On A Happy Face"
• Dick Capri (comedian) - stand-up routine about tough guys & street fighting
• Arthur Haynes (comedian) - plays a waiter in a comedy routine
• Kirk Douglas introduces scenes and outtakes from the film "Cast A Giant Shadow"
• Kirk Douglas' wife makes a cameo appearance
• Audience bows: Count Basie (band leader), Allen & Rossi (comedy team)

Surprisingly, the Sullivan YouTube account appears to have nothing from this episode--NEXT!

_______

The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 18, episode 29
Originally aired April 3, 1966

Performances listed on Metacritic:

• Eydie Gorme sings "How About Me" (Irving Berlin song) and "What Did I Have?"
• The Peanuts (singers Emi and Yumi Ito) - "Lover Come Back to Me"
• Robert Horton (actor) sings a medley of 'songs about girls'
• Dick Contino (accordian player) - plays a Spanish medley
• Archdiocesan Chorus of New York (boys and girls choir) sing "Soon I Will be Done"
• Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara (comedy team) - Computer Dating sketch
• Arthur Haynes (Brtish comedian) - Psychiatrist sketch

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​

• Sandy Baron (comedian) - 'Senior Awards Banquet' routine
• Circus Acts (on tape):
  • Ruperts Bears - bear does balancing act, bear drives a car & rides a bicycle
  • Kroplin's Chimps (trained chimps)
  • Cossacks (performing circus horse)
  • Adolf Althoff (animal act with tiger riding atop horse)

Still not much--one more roll...!

_______

The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 18, episode 30
Originally aired April 10, 1966

Performances listed on Metacritic:

• The Count Basie Orchestra performs "007-The Incredible World of James Bond"
• Diahann Carroll - "Yesterday" and "What the World Needs Now Is Love"
• The King Family sing a medley ("Where the Action Is," "Santa Catalina," "I Know A Place," "Where the Boys Are," "Easter Parade," "How Great You Art" and "The Way You Look Tonight")
• Richard Pryor (comedian) - routine about Japanese movies
• Alan King (comedian) - talks about breaking his leg & lawyers
• Eddie Albert (actor) - (scheduled to) read "The Creation" by James Weldon

[There's a clip of him reading this in April of 1968.]​

• Arden's (or Anden's) Poodles (trained animal act)
• On tape: scenes from the Kronos Circus including the Sembaks Elephants
• Audience bows: Stanley Dancer (jockey), Armen Abbatrillo (jockey), Paul Gallico (sports writer)

Well, I guess that's all we're getting for now...

_______

That's cool. Apparently Season One of LAS is the only one that will ever be released on DVD.

Not promising I'll add both back in, but they're there if I want to. Decades seems to be doing LAS roughly chronological (keeping in mind how the half-hour syndicated episodes sometimes have segments from different seasons spliced together), but I'm not sure how long it's going to take them to get up to Season 4.

Are you going to watch or review?

I was just bringing that up in relation to the recent discussion of the show's availability. If I were to watch it, it doesn't come up until '75.

I'm told by a big fan of Jim Morrison that he used to sing with his back to the audience because of shyness.

Yep.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

Circling back to the 'Mission: Impossible' tv movies for a minute . . .

I just watched an 'Incredible Hulk' retrospective on YouTube and it appears that the regime change that killed the 'M:I' movie at CBS is the same one that cancelled the 'Hulk' after almost five seasons as well as a slew of other programs.

The documentary says that the fifth season was to wrap up the story when the plug was pulled after seven episodes were completed and aired.

Edit to add.
Looks like WKRP was another victim of the regime change. Although to be perfectly honest, the way its fourth season ended with the station #6 in the market and Mama Carlson agreeing not to change the format works for me.

There's the possibility of running into the law of diminished returns with the staff trying to keep the station successful.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

Watching that Arthur Haynes clip makes me wonder how well 'Monty Python' would have gone over with the audience if they had appeared on Ed Sullivan.

Looking at airdates, 'Pythons' first two seasons had already aired on the BBC by the time Ed Sullivan went off the air in '71; so, if he had heard about them, I wonder if he would have invited them to perform, and what sketches would the Pythons chosen to present before the audience.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Surprisingly, the Sullivan YouTube account appears to have nothing from this episode--NEXT!

The most interesting segment would have been Kirk Douglas, and there may be Copyright issues with that one.

The Peanuts (singers Emi and Yumi Ito) - "Lover Come Back to Me"

I don't remember those characters. Friends of Violet maybe?

Arthur Haynes (Brtish comedian) - Psychiatrist sketch

That's pretty good and they've got quite an elaborate set there.

Circus Acts (on tape):

That would be cool to see. I wonder what it was like for the audience when they had remote acts like that.

Still not much--one more roll...!

I'm surprised they don't have Stiller & Meara, at least.

Eddie Albert (actor) - (scheduled to) read "The Creation" by James Weldon

So he wasn't there? I'll see if they have the later clip, because I'll bet it's a great reading.

Well, I guess that's all we're getting for now...

Diahann Carroll and Richard Pryor would be worth seeing, as well as those elephants.

Decades seems to be doing LAS roughly chronological (keeping in mind how the half-hour syndicated episodes sometimes have segments from different seasons spliced together)

I wonder if the original episodes were not kept intact when they spliced them up, and that's why they haven't been released.

I was just bringing that up in relation to the recent discussion of the show's availability. If I were to watch it, it doesn't come up until '75.

Oh, right, that timey-wimey stuff.

I just watched an 'Incredible Hulk' retrospective on YouTube and it appears that the regime change that killed the 'M:I' movie at CBS is the same one that cancelled the 'Hulk' after almost five seasons as well as a slew of other programs.

The documentary says that the fifth season was to wrap up the story when the plug was pulled after seven episodes were completed and aired.

That's interesting. There weren't a lot of actual finales in those day. I wonder what they would have done. It would have probably screwed up the sequel movies, but I don't think the world would miss the sequel movies.

Looks like WKRP was another victim of the regime change.

Sounds like the new regime was a bunch of jerks.

Watching that Arthur Haynes clip makes me wonder how well 'Monty Python' would have gone over with the audience if they had appeared on Ed Sullivan.

That's a good thought. I keep forgetting that the show was on the air that early.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

@RJDiogenes

Producer Kenneth Johnson and Bill Bixby had an agreement where, before filming was to start, they would sit down and talk about the upcoming season and if neither felt that their heart was in it, or they had taken the character/story as far as it could go, then the current season would be its last.

So, they both went into season five knowing that it was most likely going to be the last one.

I don't know if that means that the show would have had a proper finale or be left in such a way that it could be continued later.

I didn't realize how much Bill Bixby was suffering behind the scenes.

He took the job because he was in the middle of divorcing his wife and was sharing custody with their son.

He got a part for his ex-wife in the series to show his son that the two could still get along.

His son died in an accident during filming of the show and his ex-wife committed suicide six months later over grief.

 

[The Old Mixer]

That's pretty good and they've got quite an elaborate set there.

I have to question the validity of an overdose of sleeping pills as an aid to hypnosis.

Diahann Carroll and Richard Pryor would be worth seeing, as well as those elephants.

We saw a clip of the elephants from a circus-themed episode (filmed in Germany IIRC) that aired around the holidays. The date in the clip says it's from August 1966, which I assume to be a rerun date.

 

[RJDiogenes]

His son died in an accident during filming of the show and his ex-wife committed suicide six months later over grief.

I had forgotten about that. It's amazing that he was able to keep going after all that.

I have to question the validity of an overdose of sleeping pills as an aid to hypnosis.

I was thinking that. But there were several things in the skit that would have provoked outrage in today's world.

We saw a clip of the elephants from a circus-themed episode (filmed in Germany IIRC) that aired around the holidays. The date in the clip says it's from August 1966, which I assume to be a rerun date.

Okay, I remember that.

And that Eddie Albert clip from the later date is indeed available on YouTube.

 

[The Old Mixer]

55 Years Ago This Week

June 11 – A race riot started in Tampa, Florida after a white patrolman shot and killed a fleeing black youth, 19-year old Martin Chambers. The police said that Chambers and two other people had robbed Tampa Photo Supply, a camera store. An angry mob then set fire to white-owned stores on Central Avenue between Cass Street and Scott Street, burning down an entire city block. The unrest would be calmed down within three days by the recruiting of young African-Americans to a newly created "Youth Patrol".

June 12

• Venera 4 was launched toward Venus by the Soviet Union. On October 18, it would become the first space probe to enter another planet's atmosphere and successfully return data.
• On the final day of its 1966-1967 term, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Loving v. Virginia, declaring unanimously that Virginia Code §20-59, the criminal prohibition against interracial marriage, was unconstitutional. At that time, Virginia was one of 16 U.S. states that still outlawed miscegenation. "Under our Constitution," Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote, "the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State."

June 13

• U.S. Solicitor General Thurgood Marshall was nominated as the first African American justice of the United States Supreme Court. Marshall would be confirmed on August 30 by a 69 to 11 vote and would be seated on October 2.
• The Washington Senators defeated the Chicago White Sox, 6 to 5, in 22 innings in what was, up to that time, "the longest night game in baseball history", lasting 6 hours and 38 minutes. The game in Washington had started at 7:00 the previous evening.

June 14 – Two days after the Soviet launch of Venera 4, the United States launched Mariner 5 toward Venus at 2:01 in the morning from Cape Kennedy. Mariner 5 would reach Venus on October 19, one day after Venera 4 had landed there, and would pass within 4,094 kilometres (2,544 mi) of the planet during its closest approach at 1:34 p.m. Eastern time.

June 16 – The three day Monterey Pop Festival began in Monterey, California, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds. One historian opined that it "ushered in the era of the major music festival and helped launch the careers of several major rock artists." The musicians who performed on the first evening were The Association, Lou Rawls, Johnny Rivers, Eric Burdon & The Animals and Simon & Garfunkel. The non-profit Festival attracted 50,000 paid admissions and a crowd of 125,000 unpaid spectators, and grossed more than half a million dollars.

June 17

• The People's Republic of China successfully exploded its first hydrogen bomb. Only three other nations—the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom—had successfully tested a fusion bomb. China's achievement with a three megaton device came less than three years after they had first exploded an atomic bomb. As with the five fission bomb tests, the H-bomb was detonated at the Lop Nor dry lake bed in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The Chinese government said that its tests and weapons were "entirely of the purpose of defense, with the ultimate aim of abolishing nuclear weapons."
• Israeli Major General Chaim Herzog, the new administrator of territories captured from Jordan, began the process of making Palestinian Arabs leave their residences in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, either with eviction proceedings for renters, or payment to Palestinian residents who owned their dwellings. All of the persons made to leave were "asked to sign a document relinquishing their right of return". About 600 buildings in the quarter were expropriated by the Israeli government, and either torn down or renovated for use by Jewish residents.
• U.S. Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara commissioned a top secret study titled "History of U.S. Decision Making Process on Vietnam Policy", which would, in 1971, be leaked to the New York Times and published as The Pentagon Papers.

Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

1. "Groovin'," The Young Rascals
2. "Respect," Aretha Franklin
3. "She'd Rather Be with Me," The Turtles
4. "Release Me (and Let Me Love Again)," Engelbert Humperdinck
5. "Somebody to Love," Jefferson Airplane
6. "Little Bit o' Soul," The Music Explosion
7. "Windy," The Association
8. "All I Need," The Temptations
9. "I Got Rhythm," The Happenings
10. "Mirage," Tommy James & The Shondells
11. "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," Frankie Valli
12. "Sunday Will Never Be the Same," Spanky & Our Gang
13. "Come on Down to My Boat," Every Mother's Son
14. "7 Rooms of Gloom," Four Tops
15. "Let's Live for Today," The Grass Roots
16. "Him or Me, What's It Gonna Be?," Paul Revere & The Raiders
17. "Ding, Dong! The Witch Is Dead," The Fifth Estate
18. "New York Mining Disaster 1941 (Have You Seen My Wife, Mr. Jones)," Bee Gees
19. "Do It Again a Little Bit Slower," Jon & Robin & The In Crowd
20. "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)," Scott McKenzie
21. "Creeque Alley," The Mamas & The Papas
22. "Alfie," Dionne Warwick
23. "Here Comes My Baby," The Tremeloes
24. "The Tracks of My Tears," Johnny Rivers
25. "Six O'Clock," The Lovin' Spoonful
26. "Don't Sleep in the Subway," Petula Clark
27. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
28. "Here We Go Again," Ray Charles
29. "Tramp," Otis & Carla
30. "Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)," Janis Ian
31. "Up, Up and Away," The 5th Dimension
32. "When You're Young and in Love," The Marvelettes
33. "C'mon Marianne," The Four Seasons
34. "For Your Precious Love," Oscar Toney, Jr.
35. "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon," Neil Diamond

40. "The Happening," The Supremes
41. "On a Carousel," The Hollies
42. "The Oogum Boogum Song," Brenton Wood
43. "I Was Made to Love Her," Stevie Wonder
44. "Sweet Soul Music," Arthur Conley
45. "Friday on My Mind," The Easybeats
46. "Pay You Back with Interest," The Hollies
47. "Shake," Otis Redding

50. "Light My Fire," The Doors

53. "Make Me Yours," Bettye Swann
54. "Soul Finger," The Bar-Kays

62. "I Take It Back," Sandy Posey

71. "Step Out of Your Mind," The American Breed

73. "Carrie-Anne," The Hollies

76. "More Love," Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

81. "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," The Buckinghams

91. "Silence Is Golden," The Tremeloes

96. "Have You Seen Her Face," The Byrds

Leaving the chart:

• "Close Your Eyes," Peaches & Herb (12 weeks)
• "Don't You Care," The Buckinghams (14 weeks)
• "Happy Jack," The Who (9 weeks)
• "I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman," Whistling Jack Smith (7 weeks)
• "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat," Bob Dylan (4 weeks)
• "Release Me," Esther Phillips (16 weeks total; 2 weeks this run)
• "Shake a Tail Feather," James & Bobby Purify (9 weeks)
• "Somethin' Stupid," Frank & Nancy Sinatra (13 weeks)

Recent and new on the chart:

"Release Me," Esther Phillips

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(June 3; #93 US; originally charted in 1962, reaching #8 US, #1 R&B)

"More Love," Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

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(#23 US; #13 R&B)

"Silence Is Golden," The Tremeloes

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(#11 US; #1 UK)

"Carrie-Anne," The Hollies

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(#9 US; #3 UK)

"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," The Buckinghams

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(#5 US)


And new on the boob tube:

• The Ed Sullivan Show, Season 19, episode 38
• The Saint, "To Kill a Saint"

_______

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

_______

I was thinking that. But there were several things in the skit that would have provoked outrage in today's world.

Wait, are you accusing me of having modern sensibilities...?

 

[RJDiogenes]

Venera 4 was launched toward Venus by the Soviet Union. On October 18, it would become the first space probe to enter another planet's atmosphere and successfully return data.

Its message was, "Ouch, help!"

On the final day of its 1966-1967 term, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Loving v. Virginia, declaring unanimously that Virginia Code §20-59, the criminal prohibition against interracial marriage, was unconstitutional.

I remember reading about this in Look or Life magazine. The interesting thing here was that my Uncle Joe disapproved of "interracial" relationships (because of the hardships to the people involved, he said), but agreed that it should not be illegal.

Mariner 5 would reach Venus on October 19

And would tip its hat to its crispy colleague on the way by.

"Release Me," Esther Phillips

Not a very exciting version of a not very good song.

"More Love," Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

But this is a great version of a great song. The Kim Carnes cover is also great.

"Silence Is Golden," The Tremeloes

Good one. Sounds like the 50s.

"Carrie-Anne," The Hollies

Another good one.

"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," The Buckinghams

Nothing really wrong here, but my mind always kind of wanders off.

Wait, are you accusing me of having modern sensibilities...?

No, if you had modern sensibilities you'd be demanding it be banned from YouTube.

 

[The Old Mixer]

50 Years Ago This Week

June 11 – Deep Throat, perhaps the most famous pornographic film of all time, made its debut, at the World Theatre in Manhattan. Made for $25,000 the film returned more than $600,000,000 worldwide.

June 12

• American Airlines Flight 96 made an emergency landing after an improperly closed cargo door was blown off at 12,500 feet, shortly after the DC-10 took off from Detroit for a flight to Buffalo. Captain Bryce McCormick struggled with failing flight controls to land the jet, and the 67 people on board, at Cleveland.
• First release of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's double album Some Time in New York City in the USA. It is not released in the UK until 15 September.

June 13 – Captain Nikolay Grigoryevich Petrov, a GRU secret agent stationed at the Soviet Embassy in Indonesia, defected by surrendering to the American naval attache in Jakarta. Petrov, who had stolen the equivalent of $900 from his supervisor and then panicked, was given the call sign "Houdini" and relocated to the United States, where he supplied detailed information about GRU activities to the CIA. Against the advice of the agency, he returned to the U.S.S.R. in the late 1970s, and was never heard from again.

June 14–23 – Hurricane Agnes kills 117 on the U.S. East Coast.

June 14

• DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), a widely used and well-known pesticide, was banned in the United States by order of Environmental Protection Agency Director William D. Ruckelshaus, with all use to cease by the end of 1972.
• Japan Airlines Flight 471 crashed while attempting to land at New Delhi on a flight from Bangkok, killing 82 of the 87 people on board, and 4 on the ground.
• The first Popeyes fried chicken restaurant opens in the New Orleans suburb of Arabi, Louisiana.

June 15 – Ulrike Meinhof and Gerhard Müller of the Red Army Faction are arrested in a teacher's apartment in Langenhagen, West Germany.

June 15–18 – The first U.S. Libertarian Party National Convention is held in Denver, Colorado.

June 16

• The United States Federal Communications Commission issued its "Open Skies" decision, clearing the way for private companies to operate their own ground systems for use of orbiting communications satellites, so long as they obtained FCC approval, and complied with FCC rules, which included offering their transmissions to a wide range of customers. The decision opened the door for the first cable networks to offer their own programming to paying customers.
• The Stockholm Declaration was adopted unanimously by the 112 nations participating in the first international conference on the environment. The United Nations General Assembly later approved the declaration by its Resolution 2994, by a vote of 112–0 with ten abstentions.
• 108 die as two passenger trains hit the debris of a collapsed railway tunnel near Soissons, France.

June 17 – At around 2:30 in the morning, five men—James W. McCord Jr., Bernard Barker, Eugenio Martínez, Frank Sturgis and Virgilio González—were arrested at Democratic National Committee headquarters on the sixth floor of the Watergate Office Building in Washington, D.C., by city police. Sergeant Paul Leeper, and plainclothes officers John Barret and Carl Shollfer, had arrived after being called by security guard Frank Wills. The attempt by President Nixon to prevent the FBI from investigating the break-in would unravel his presidency.


Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

1. "The Candy Man," Sammy Davis, Jr. w/ The Mike Curb Congregation
2. "I'll Take You There," The Staple Singers
3. "Song Sung Blue," Neil Diamond
4. "Oh Girl," The Chi-Lites
5. "Nice to Be with You," Gallery
6. "Outa-Space," Billy Preston
7. "Troglodyte (Cave Man)," The Jimmy Castor Bunch
8. "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All," The 5th Dimension
9. "Sylvia's Mother," Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show
10. "Lean on Me," Bill Withers
11. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," Roberta Flack
12. "It's Going to Take Some Time," Carpenters
13. "Morning Has Broken," Cat Stevens
14. "Tumbling Dice," The Rolling Stones
15. "Diary," Bread
16. "I Saw the Light," Todd Rundgren
17. "Amazing Grace," The Pipes & Drums & Military Band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
18. "Walkin' in the Rain with the One I Love," Love Unlimited
19. "I Need You," America
20. "Rocket Man," Elton John
21. "Hot Rod Lincoln," Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen
22. "Look What You Done for Me," Al Green
23. "Too Late to Turn Back Now," Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
24. "Living in a House Divided," Cher
25. "Someday Never Comes," Creedence Clearwater Revival
26. "Daddy, Don't You Walk So Fast," Wayne Newton

28. "Taxi," Harry Chapin
29. "Isn't Life Strange," The Moody Blues

32. "Layla," Derek & The Dominos
33. "I Wanna Be Where You Are," Michael Jackson
34. "How Do You Do?," Mouth & MacNeal
35. "Too Young," Donny Osmond

39. "Little Bitty Pretty One," Jackson 5
40. "All The King's Horses," Aretha Franklin
41. "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right," Luther Ingram
42. "Conquistador," Procol Harum

44. "Day by Day," Godspell
45. "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)," Stevie Wonder
46. "Take It Easy," Eagles

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

50. "Old Man," Neil Young
51. "Slippin' into Darkness," War

53. "School's Out," Alice Cooper

57. "Where Is the Love," Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway

62. "The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.," Donna Fargo

67. "Coconut," Harry Nilsson
68. "Brandy," Looking Glass
69. "Sealed with a Kiss," Bobby Vinton

71. "Woman Is the N***** of the World," John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band w/ Elephant's Memory & The Invisible Strings

82. "Hold Your Head Up," Argent

85. "Mary Had a Little Lamb," Wings

88. "Alone Again (Naturally)," Gilbert O'Sullivan

96. "Beautiful Sunday," Daniel Boone

Leaving the chart:

• "An American Trilogy," Elvis Presley (6 weeks)
• "Betcha By Golly, Wow," The Stylistics (16 weeks)
• "I Gotcha," Joe Tex (21 weeks)

New on the chart:

"Mary Had a Little Lamb," Wings

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(#28 US; #29 AC; #9 UK)

"Hold Your Head Up," Argent

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(#5 US; #5 UK)

"Alone Again (Naturally)," Gilbert O'Sullivan

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(#1 US the weeks of July 29 through Aug. 19 and Sept. 2 and 9, 1972; #1 AC; #3 UK)

"Brandy," Looking Glass

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(#1 US the week of Aug. 26, 1972; #7 AC; #51 UK)

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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.

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Not a very exciting version of a not very good song.

Better than Engelbert. This song had versions by a few artists back in '54 that only scored on the country charts; Phillips's version was the first crossover hit.

But this is a great version of a great song. The Kim Carnes cover is also great.

Peak Smokey, totally gorgeous, and you have to wonder why it didn't do better in its time. The original probably got more retro-attention because of the success of the Kim Carnes cover.

Good one. Sounds like the 50s.

Or at least like a Four Seasons cover. The original was the B-side of "Rag Doll" in '64.

Another good one.

Nothing really wrong here, but my mind always kind of wanders off.

Both bona fide oldies radio staples.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

American Airlines Flight 96 made an emergency landing after an improperly closed cargo door was blown off at 12,500 feet, shortly after the DC-10 took off from Detroit for a flight to Buffalo. Captain Bryce McCormick struggled with failing flight controls to land the jet, and the 67 people on board, at Cleveland.

Thus beginning a long series of problems with the DC-10's cargo bay doors.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

"Mary Had a Little Lamb," Wings

Poor Denny Seiwell and Henry McCullough; asked to join Paul McCartney's new band and they got stuck recording this as their second single. Better stuff is around the corner though.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Deep Throat, perhaps the most famous pornographic film of all time, made its debut, at the World Theatre in Manhattan.

Speaking of Watergate.

Against the advice of the agency, he returned to the U.S.S.R. in the late 1970s, and was never heard from again.

"Nah, I'll be okay. Dosvidanya."

The attempt by President Nixon to prevent the FBI from investigating the break-in would unravel his presidency.

Those were the days.

"Mary Had a Little Lamb," Wings

Well. Cute.

"Hold Your Head Up," Argent

Ah, now this is a great 70s Rocker.

"Alone Again (Naturally)," Gilbert O'Sullivan

Good one. Now cheer up.

"Brandy," Looking Glass

Another good one. I remember thinking for a while that it was Neil Diamond. It suffered from severe overplaying back in the 80s.

Peak Smokey, totally gorgeous, and you have to wonder why it didn't do better in its time. The original probably got more retro-attention because of the success of the Kim Carnes cover.

Too ahead of its time, maybe? It's got a pretty unusual sound and quirky lyrics.