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The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread

"Woman's Got Soul," The Impressions
Never heard this one before. It's okay.

"Do the Freddie," Freddie & The Dreamers
Freddie's got his own thing going. :rommie:

"Queen of the House," Jody Miller
Oh, my. :rommie: Joke or serious? It's Country, so probably serious.

"Crying in the Chapel," Elvis Presley
Not my favorite Elvis, but okay.

"Ticket to Ride," The Beatles
Now we're talking. :mallory:

Stiff as he is, it's pretty cool to see Jack Lord cruising to the rescue.
Not a hair out of place. :D
 
50 Years Ago This Week

Wiki said:
April 21 – The Principality of Hutt River "secedes" from Australia (it remains unrecognised by Australia and other nations).
April 22 – The first Earth Day is celebrated in the U.S.
Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Day by Day said:
April 23 – John and Yoko fly from London Airport to Los Angeles for a four-month course of primal therapy under Dr Arthur Janov.
Wiki said:
April 24 – China's first satellite (Dong Fang Hong 1) is launched into orbit using a Long March-1 Rocket (CZ-1).



Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:
1. "ABC," The Jackson 5
2. "Let It Be," The Beatles
3. "Spirit in the Sky," Norman Greenbaum
4. "Instant Karma (We All Shine On)," John Ono Lennon
5. "American Woman" / "No Sugar Tonight", The Guess Who
6. "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)," Edison Lighthouse
7. "Come and Get It," Badfinger
8. "Love or Let Me Be Lonely," The Friends of Distinction
9. "Bridge over Troubled Water," Simon & Garfunkel
10. "Turn Back the Hands of Time," Tyrone Davis
11. "Up the Ladder to the Roof," The Supremes
12. "Something's Burning," Kenny Rogers & The First Edition
13. "Easy Come, Easy Go," Bobby Sherman
14. "Reflections of My Life," The Marmalade
15. "House of the Rising Sun," Frijid Pink
16. "Woodstock," Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
17. "The Bells," The Originals
18. "For the Love of Him," Bobbi Martin
19. "Vehicle," The Ides of March
20. "Long Lonesome Highway," Michael Parks
21. "Everything Is Beautiful," Ray Stevens
22. "You're the One, Part 2," Little Sister

24. "Shilo," Neil Diamond
25. "The Rapper," The Jaggerz
26. "Everybody's Out of Town," B. J. Thomas
27. "Cecilia," Simon & Garfunkel
28. "You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You)," Gladys Knight & The Pips
29. "Celebrate," Three Dog Night
30. "Give Me Just a Little More Time," Chairmen of the Board
31. "What Is Truth," Johnny Cash
32. "Get Ready," Rare Earth
33. "Love on a Two-Way Street," The Moments
34. "Little Green Bag," George Baker Selection

36. "Gotta Hold On to This Feeling," Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
37. "Call Me" / "Son of a Preacher Man", Aretha Franklin
38. "Which Way You Goin' Billy?," The Poppy Family (feat. Susan Jacks)
39. "Come Running," Van Morrison
40. "Make Me Smile," Chicago
41. "Come Saturday Morning," The Sandpipers
42. "Do the Funky Chicken," Rufus Thomas

46. "The Letter," Joe Cocker w/ Leon Russell & The Shelter People

48. "Up Around the Bend" / "Run Through the Jungle", Creedence Clearwater Revival
49. "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)," Diana Ross


53. "Hitchin' a Ride," Vanity Fare
54. "Viva Tirado, Part I," El Chicano
55. "You Make Me Real" / "Roadhouse Blues", The Doors
56. "Puppet Man," The 5th Dimension

63. "Love Land," Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band

78. "The Seeker," The Who
79. "United We Stand," The Brotherhood of Man

87. "My Baby Loves Lovin'," White Plains

89. "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)," Melanie

93. "Band of Gold," Freda Payne

99. "It's All in the Game," Four Tops


Leaving the chart:
  • "All I Have to Do Is Dream," Bobbie Gentry & Glen Campbell (10 weeks)
  • "Evil Ways," Santana (13 weeks)
  • "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," The Hollies (18 weeks)
  • "Rainy Night in Georgia" / "Rubberneckin'", Brook Benton (15 weeks)

New on the chart:

"It's All in the Game," Four Tops
(#24 US; #39 AC; #6 R&B; #5 UK)

"Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)," Diana Ross
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(#20 US; #18 AC; #7 R&B)

"Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)," Melanie
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(#6 US)

"Up Around the Bend," Creedence Clearwater Revival
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(#4 US as double A-side w/ "Run Through the Jungle"; #3 UK)

"Run Through the Jungle," Creedence Clearwater Revival
(#4 US as double A-side w/ "Up Around the Bend")

"Band of Gold," Freda Payne
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(#3 US; #20 R&B; #1 UK; #391 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time)


And new on the boob tube:
  • The Ed Sullivan Show, Season 22, episode 29, featuring Bill Medley and Sammy King
  • Get Smart, "What's It All About, Algie?"

_______

Never heard this one before. It's okay.
It's all right, have a good time, 'cause it's all right, woah, it's all right.

Freddie's got his own thing going. :rommie:
It's his moment and he's milking it. Knowing what's just around the corner, I'm thinking of Freddie as being perhaps the last gasp of the British Invasion era before we move solidly into the distinctive era that serves as the bridge to psychedelia.

Oh, my. :rommie: Joke or serious? It's Country, so probably serious.
Little of both. This was a wry answer song to Roger Miller's then-recent hit "King of the Road" (charted Jan. 30, 1965; #4 US; #1 AC; #1 Country; #1 UK):
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So Jody (no relation) was contrasting the vagabond, responsibility-free male lifestyle glorified in that song with the reality of the sort of woman that man might have been leaving behind...which was certainly a legitimate POV in the era. Also, Wiki tells us that "Miller won the Grammy award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for the song in 1966." The reason I have the Jody Miller song and not the original that it was spoofing is that the answer song was on a '60s lost hits collection that I bought for other things, so I decided to include it despite the awkwardness.

Not my favorite Elvis, but okay.
A little religious, but he's in good, classic vocal form here.

Now we're talking. :mallory:
And now we enter the Help! era release-wise, even though Capitol has yet to release much of the Beatles for Sale material in the States. This was never one of my favorite Beatles hit singles...not that there's anything wrong with it, but nothing about it really grabbed me, either.

Not a hair out of place. :D
Damned if you ain't right...
H501.jpg
 
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It's okay, but made me want to hear the original.

"Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)," Diana Ross
Who needs the Supremes? She is the Supreme.

"Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)," Melanie
I love this, but I don't remember it being so long. :rommie:

"Up Around the Bend," Creedence Clearwater Revival
Classic CCR with a particularly iconic intro. Amusing misheard lyrics story: There's a line that says, "You can ponder perpetual motion," which my Brother heard as "Gods of Perpetual Motion," which he later applied to a superhero team he created. :rommie:

"Run Through the Jungle," Creedence Clearwater Revival
More classic CCR.

"Band of Gold," Freda Payne
Another great song.

Little of both. This was a wry answer song to Roger Miller's then-recent hit "King of the Road"
Oh, yeah, I know "King of the Road" very well, but I wasn't sure if this was a straight-faced rewrite or in the spirit of MAD magazine. And I'm not sure if "King of the Road" was supposed to glorify being a hobo so much as put some bittersweet spin on it. At least that's how I always took it.

A little religious, but he's in good, classic vocal form here.
He did like religious stuff.

Damned if you ain't right...
:D
 
_______

55th Anniversary Viewing

_______

Branded
"Very Few Heroes"
Originally aired April 11, 1965
Xfinity said:
A young woman claims McCord left her brother to die in the war.

The first chorus is back, and I think they added extra drumbeats to to the intro as well. This episode also has a card showing its title, which I hadn't seen in earlier episodes.

The young woman is Christina Adams (Kathryn Hays), who comes off as tomboyish and practices quick-drawing on a newspaper picture of Jason that she has nailed to a tree. But her lawyer, Jordan Payne (Tom Drake), needs Jason's testimony about how her brother Clark died to meet the conditions of a loan so Chris can keep her land. Mr. Teal (Bing Russell), who's trying to get the land, has made a case that Clark, who was known for reckless behavior, joined the Army to get himself killed.

Everyone reacts when Jason states his name in court. But Chris is affected in a different way, and clearly softens her attitude toward Jason, when he testifies to how Clark died heroically trying to save a man, and also gets in some comments about Teal's treatment of her as part of his testimony. As Jason expected, Teal's lawyer, Alan Winters (William Cort), tries to use Jason's reputation for cowardice to shoot holes in Jason's credibility, but the judge (jay Jostyn) reigns him in. Privately, McCord shares with Chris that he was the man whom Clark died defending.

Jason helps Chris to find a letter Clark had been writing before he died, which was hidden among his effects, that sheds light on his change of character before he died. While she's looking for it, Teal brings a posse to the Adams ranch to tar and feather Jason. Jason makes a good show of fighting them off, but they eventually overpower him with numbers. Then Chris comes out and puts a stop to it with a shotgun, and reads the letter to everyone, which causes Teal to back off.

As Jason's leaving, Chris tears the newspaper page off her tree and tosses it away in front of him. I always roll my eyes when I see newspapers in Westerns with headshot photos in them. Pretty sure that wasn't SOP in those days. You'd be more likely to see an illustration.

_______

12 O'Clock High
"V for Vendetta"
Originally aired April 16, 1965
Xfinity said:
A deskbound, envious general (Lin McCarthy) accuses Savage of bombing a target because of a vendetta; guest Gary Lockwood.


https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/the-classic-retro-pop-culture-thread.278375/page-71#post-12260116
It's hard to take the episode seriously when Ken Berry from F Troop is playing one of the officers.

Anyway, the general in question gets himself killed by being the first and only to bail out while flying a mission with Savage, which casts suspicions of foul play on Savage's part. Lockwood's character, Gus Denver, whose issues with having lost an entire crew from his previous appearance on the show I only vaguely remember at this point, begins to doubt Savage and threatens to testify against him. It all kind of conveniently ties together over the fact that Savage was in hot water with the dead general because he's been continually aborting planned missions to hit German fighter manufacturing in Mannheim, which was the location of Denver's previous incident. In the end, Savage helps Denver get through another incident that echoes his prior one, and Denver doesn't point the finger at Savage when he goes before the board/committee/whatever.

I found this one to be a bit messy/contrived. Not one of the stronger installments. It's another episode formula that the show tends to lean on...Savage in hot water with his superiors over how he's carrying out his missions, but proving that he's right in the end.

_______

Gilligan's Island
"Three to Get Ready"
Originally aired April 17, 1965
Wiki said:
Gilligan finds a lucky stone, "The Eye of the Idol", that entitles him to three wishes before the end of the day.

Gilligan's digging a pit trap when he finds the stone, which the Skipper recognizes. The Professor dismisses it as worthless, but when Gilligan wishes for a gallon of ice cream, one quickly bobs up (chocolate) on the shore of the lagoon. Everyone tries to influence how he uses his second wish, including Howell trying to get him to wish for a pile of gold.

Gilligan insults Ginger when he says that if he wished himself to become a movie star, his pick for a leading lady would be Lassie. Howell tricks the Eye from Gilligan by having him stand on his head to do "yogi," but finds that the Eye only works for Gilligan. Under pressure from the others, Gilligan accidentally wishes for another gallon of vanilla ice cream as an example. Now they have to keep his mouth shut until it's time for him to wish them off the island.

The castaways get all packed up except for the Professor, who remains skeptical. But Gilligan finds that he's lost the Eye somewhere along the way while he was doing routine chores. The castaways have to retrace his movements, and the Professor and Ginger manage to find it. After another scare that he's lost it, and the castaways managing to persuade the Professor to play along when they don't want to leave without him, Gilligan finally wishes that they were "off this island"...and the piece of shore that they're standing on breaks off and floats into the lagoon.

In the coda, Gilligan pretends to toss the Eye away, and the others...including the Professor...go looking for it, hoping to get their own wishes. It occurs to me that if it really worked that way, he should toss it away.

Skipper hits Gilligan with his hat in this one.

_______

50th Anniversary Viewing

_______

Adam-12
"Log 44: Attempted Bribe"
Originally aired April 18, 1970
Wiki said:
The son of a rich businessman is arrested by Malloy and Reed for driving while under the influence and his father tries to "influence" the officers' testimony. An elderly man is arrested after he confesses to killing his wife.

Reed and Malloy are returning to the station when a Mr. Erickson (Del Moore) approaches Reed in the parking area to make him a proposition concerning Reed being scheduled to testify against his son for a drunk driving offense. In the break room, Erickson claims he's not offering a bribe and wants to see his son get what's coming to him, but offers Reed a high-paying job in his manufacturing firm.

Back at the Longhorn, the officers find that Erickson was asking Duke about Reed. An old man named Mr. Thomas (Peter Brocco) comes in and calmly tells the officers that he strangled his wife, Irene, in a hotel room. Accompanied by other officers, they go to the room. Thomas soberly and wistfully talks about how she'd been sick and asked him to do it so she could die with dignity. Following this incident, Reed and Malloy are called to Erickson's factory on the premise of a theft having been committed. During the visit, he propositions both of them.

On the court date, Reed and Malloy, dressed in civilian suits, meet up with a lawyer, Tom Stark (John Lasell). Duke asks Stark about Thomas's prospects, and Malloy points out that if he gets life in prison, at his age he'll be out in no time. Outside the courthouse, Erickson and his son, Bill (David Westberg) chat with the out-of-uniform officers. Inside, under questioning, it comes out that this was the first sobriety test that Reed conducted solo. It's also made explicit that he's still on probation, and has been on the force for less than a year. Reed testifies to how he determined that Erickson might be under the influence and how he conducted the test. Outside, Erickson, clearly displeased with how things went down, withdraws his job offers and tells the officers that he's not through with them.

The officers are back at the station and in uniform when Lt. Moore gets a phone call from a drunk Bill Erickson, who's threatening to commit suicide and wanting to talk to Reed or Malloy. Reed gets on the phone with him while Malloy heads out in the car to the vicinity from which he's determined that Bill's calling. He spots Bill in a phone booth and borrows a random bystander's coat so he can approach without being spotted. Malloy bursts into the booth, grabs Bill, and wrests a cyanide capsule from his hand.

Back at the station, after another encounter with the indignant Mr. Erickson, Reed observes how an egomaniac like him goes free, while the kindly, gentle Mr. Thomas is in jail.

_______

It's okay, but made me want to hear the original.
Alluding to the 1958 single by Tommy Edwards, I assume. This definitely isn't the Four Tops at their peak.

Who needs the Supremes? She is the Supreme.
Seems too soon to make that declaration in 50th Anniversaryland...the Supremes' first hit without her did substantially better than this one.

I love this, but I don't remember it being so long. :rommie:
I assume this isn't the single edit, but it's the version I have. Written about Melanie Safka's experience performing at Woodstock, this is another of those leftover bits of '60s business that makes 1970 feel like the de facto last year of the decade to me.

Classic CCR with a particularly iconic intro.
More classic CCR.
Both alright, but not among their stronger and more memorable hits.

Another great song.
I was surprised that the original recording didn't seem to be available from official sources on YouTube. I was able to get it on iTunes a few years back, though.

Oh, yeah, I know "King of the Road" very well, but I wasn't sure if this was a straight-faced rewrite or in the spirit of MAD magazine. And I'm not sure if "King of the Road" was supposed to glorify being a hobo so much as put some bittersweet spin on it. At least that's how I always took it.
I couldn't tell from your reaction to the song. Yeah, I may have oversold what "King of the Road" was going for, but I think that was the gist of the response..."While you're daydreaming about being a responsibility-free drifter, I've got a house and kids to take care of!"
 
But her lawyer, Jordan Payne (Tom Drake), needs Jason's testimony about how her brother Clark died to meet the conditions of a loan so Chris can keep her land.
Some sort of insurance thing?

Then Chris comes out and puts a stop to it with a shotgun, and reads the letter to everyone, which causes Teal to back off.
Another angle on the theme of cowardice versus courage.

As Jason's leaving, Chris tears the newspaper page off her tree and tosses it away in front of him. I always roll my eyes when I see newspapers in Westerns with headshot photos in them.
And it always looks like a Hollywood publicity photo.

Gilligan's digging a pit trap
For what? Or... who?

when Gilligan wishes for a gallon of ice cream, one quickly bobs up (chocolate) on the shore of the lagoon.
The other forty million gallons went to the bottom of the sea in the cargo ship, along with its crew. These Monkey's Paw things never work out.

Everyone tries to influence how he uses his second wish, including Howell trying to get him to wish for a pile of gold.
Howell's fortune must have been made by Thurston Howell the 1st and 2nd, because he really doesn't think things through. :rommie:

Gilligan finally wishes that they were "off this island"...and the piece of shore that they're standing on breaks off and floats into the lagoon.
I think they got off easy. :rommie:

It occurs to me that if it really worked that way, he should toss it away.
it's just a paperweight as long as he keeps it.

Skipper hits Gilligan with his hat in this one.
This can't be the first time. :rommie:

In the break room, Erickson claims he's not offering a bribe and wants to see his son get what's coming to him, but offers Reed a high-paying job in his manufacturing firm.
There was nothing wrong with that conversation. It was a perfect conversation.

Thomas soberly and wistfully talks about how she'd been sick and asked him to do it so she could die with dignity.
Now there's a heavy theme to drop into an episode. Also, they probably could have thought of a better method than strangling, which is really not very dignified.

Back at the station, after another encounter with the indignant Mr. Erickson, Reed observes how an egomaniac like him goes free, while the kindly, gentle Mr. Thomas is in jail.
It might have been better if he got his wish like Mrs Thomas did. :rommie:

Alluding to the 1958 single by Tommy Edwards, I assume. This definitely isn't the Four Tops at their peak.
Yeah, exactly.

Seems too soon to make that declaration in 50th Anniversaryland...the Supremes' first hit without her did substantially better than this one.
Well, I'm not saying that the Ross-less Supremes were bad, but this is the better of the two songs (and I liked "Up The Ladder").

Written about Melanie Safka's experience performing at Woodstock, this is another of those leftover bits of '60s business that makes 1970 feel like the de facto last year of the decade to me.
The decades definitely blur.

Both alright, but not among their stronger and more memorable hits.
Really? I would consider "Up Around The Bend" one of their more memorable songs.

I couldn't tell from your reaction to the song. Yeah, I may have oversold what "King of the Road" was going for, but I think that was the gist of the response..."While you're daydreaming about being a responsibility-free drifter, I've got a house and kids to take care of!"
Definitely not very Women's Libby.
 
55th Anniversary Album Spotlight

The Beach Boys Today!
The Beach Boys
Released March 8, 1965
Chart debut: March 27, 1965
Chart peak: #4, May 1, 1965
#270 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Wiki said:
The Beach Boys Today! is the eighth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on March 8, 1965. The album signaled a departure from their previous records with its orchestral approach, intimate subject matter, and abandonment of themes related to surfing, cars, or superficial love. It peaked at number four on US record charts during a 50-week chart stay and was preceded by the top 10 singles "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)" and "Dance, Dance, Dance", along with "Do You Wanna Dance?" which reached number 12. When issued in the UK one year later, Today! peaked at number six.
The album was produced, arranged, and largely written by Brian Wilson with additional lyrics by Mike Love. Shortly before recording began, the group completed their album All Summer Long (1964), intended to be their final statement on beach-themed music. In December 1964, Brian Wilson had a nervous breakdown while on a flight, and resigned from touring with the group to focus solely on writing and producing. He began using marijuana, which he later said had profound effects on his musical conceptions.
The Beatles are also using marijuana at this point, and Dylan introduced them to it, so...synergy among the greatest musical influences of the era.

The album opens with contemporaneous hit single "Do You Wanna Dance?" (charted Feb. 27, 1965; #12 US), a song that was originally a #5 US, #2 R&B, for Bobby Freeman in 1958. Wiki tells me that the Beach Boys' version was their highest charting song to feature Dennis Wilson on lead vocals. Note that this is the first of only two covers on the album...a factor that I'm sure had the Beatles' attention.

Next is "Good to My Baby," a generally nice-sounding, upbeat number with rich vocals lead by Brian Wilson and Mike Love.

A particularly striking original album track is "Don't Hurt My Little Sister" (lead vocal Mike Love and Brian Wilson), which has an intresting story behind it, according to the song's Wiki page:
"Don't Hurt My Little Sister" was written about Brian Wilson's relation with the three Rovell sisters, Diane, Marilyn, and Barbara. He had become close with them, and eventually married Marilyn, but also held feelings for her sisters. Brian Wilson later stated that he thought that the Rovell sisters' parents "assumed I liked Diane best, since she and I still spent the most time together talking. Deep down I still harbored feelings for cute little Barbara, though I continually reminded myself she was too young." Brian Wilson's songwriting co-writer Gary Usher said, "When Brian moved out of his apartment and began living at the Rovells' house, he fell madly in love with Barbara, Marilyn and Diane's younger sister. I was over there many times, and I could see this scene happening and Brian becoming so frustrated because there was nothing he could do about it."


One of the album's two previously released singles, "When I Grow Up (to Be a Man)" (charted Sept. 5, 1964; #9 US; #27 UK; lead vocal Mike Love and Brian Wilson) is generally considered to be a sign of the group's move toward more sophisticated song material. Certainly it's contemplative, but I also find the subject matter to be arguably more juvenile than the surf and cars schtick.
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Next up is that previously touched upon original version of a classic, contemporaneous single, "Help Me, Ronda" (note that the name is spelled differently than on the single), featuring lead vocal by Al Jardine:
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According to Wiki, the song "was originally considered an album cut, but radio stations began to play it, which inspired Brian to rework its arrangement for a single release."

The first side closes with the album's other previously released single, "Dance, Dance, Dance" (charted Nov. 7, 1964; #8 US; #24 UK; lead vocal Mike Love and Brian Wilson):
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According to Wiki, this song "marks Carl Wilson's first recognised writing contribution to a Beach Boys single, his contribution being the song's primary guitar riff and solo."

Wiki said:
Today! established the Beach Boys as album artists rather than just a singles band. Side one features an uptempo sound that contrasts side two, which consists mostly of ballads. Author Scott Schinder referred to its "suite-like structure" as an early example of the rock album format being used to make a cohesive artistic statement.


Side two opens with "Please Let Me Wonder" (B-side of "Do You Wanna Dance?"; charted Mar. 6, 1965; #52 US; lead vocal Brian Wilson and Mike Love), which Wiki says "was claimed to be the first song Wilson had written under the influence of marijuana." It certainly has a rich vocal sound.
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Wiki said:
Brian's recent introduction to marijuana, which he used as a stress reliever, greatly influenced the album's writing, as he later stated: "Pot made the music grow in my head."


"I'm So Young" (lead vocal Brian Wilson) is the other cover on the album, familiar to us from having been done by the Ronettes on their album.

"Kiss Me, Baby," the B-side of the "Help Me, Rhonda" single (lead vocal Brian Wilson and Mike Love), is described by Wiki as containing "an expanded instrumental palette of three guitars, two basses, two pianos, two saxophones, and percussion, English horn and French horn."

Wiki describes "She Knows Me Too Well" (B-side of "When I Grow Up (to Be a Man)"; charted Sept. 12, 1964; #101 US; lead vocal Brian Wilson) as being "about a man who is engrossed and obsessed in his own jealousy and insecurity"...and as "one of the first songs that Brian wrote while under the influence of marijuana". Also, "Brian considered the song a tribute to Burt Bacharach."
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Some regard this album to be the conceptual predecessor of Pet Sounds, though there was an album between the two in the States, and this is one of the songs that's held up as an example. Indeed, to my ear it's a much stronger song that the one that it served as a B-side to.

The final song on the album is "In the Back of My Mind" (lead vocal Dennis Wilson)...but the album closes with "Bull Session with the 'Big Daddy,'" an interview segment that tends to give me a craving for fast food...

Overall, this album makes for a pretty good listen despite being home to a few of the group's less standout singles.

An odd point of intereset in the Wiki article:
According to Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, in early 1965, Wilson phoned the couple to congratulate them on their new song "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'", as Weil quotes Wilson: "Your song is the greatest record ever. I was ready to quit the music business, but this has inspired me to write again. I want to write with you guys."

Another point of interest:
The recording process typically involved recording an instrumental on two tracks of 3-track tape with one remaining track left for the first vocal overdub. This tape was then dubbed down to a second tape for an additional layer of vocal overdubs.
The Beatles used the same technique, sacrificing some fidelity to get more tracks for overdubbing.

_______

Some sort of insurance thing?
She owned the land free and clear if he died of natural causes.

This can't be the first time. :rommie:
First time that I noticed, and I've been looking for it.

There was nothing wrong with that conversation. It was a perfect conversation.
I'm sure this must be a reference to something...

Definitely not very Women's Libby.
Libbers weren't the norm in this era.
 
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One of the album's two previously released singles, "When I Grow Up (to Be a Man)" (charted Sept. 5, 1964; #9 US; #27 UK; lead vocal Mike Love and Brian Wilson) is generally considered to be a sign of the group's move toward more sophisticated song material. Certainly it's contemplative, but I also find the subject matter to be arguably more juvenile than the surf and cars schtick.
Yeah, the surfing stuff is what it is, but this is a self-conscious look at adulthood from the viewpoint of a child. It kind of draws attention to itself.

Overall, this album makes for a pretty good listen despite being home to a few of the group's less standout singles.
I think "Help Me, Rhonda" is the main contribution here.

I'm sure this must be a reference to something...
It's a reference to a perfect phone. There was nothing wrong with that phone call. It was the most perfect phone call in the history of phone calls.

Libbers weren't the norm in this era.
Ah, right, that's 55-years-ago territory. This non-linear storytelling, man....
 
_______

50th Anniversary Catch-Up Viewing

_______

Hawaii Five-O
"Strangers in Our Own Land"
Originally aired October 3, 1968
Wiki said:
An official's death involves strange clues, including a woman with a camera and a man with a briefcase. Simon Oakland and Milton Selzer Guest star.

Land Commissioner Nathan Manu (Lord Kaulili) is killed by an explosion in his airport taxi after somebody hands him a briefcase that isn't his. A bystander named Grace Willis (Jeanne Bates) gets a shot of the alleged culprit with her home movie camera. Manu was making an impromptu return to Hawaii from San Diego because he had to meet with the Governor on an urgent matter, which narrows down the suspects to those who would have known of this trip.

When McGarrett questions Manu's wife (Anne Barton), she introduces him to Nate's best friend, Benny Kalua (Oakland), and Benny's daughter, Leilani (Mary Liana Petranek). When they're alone, Kalua tells McGarrett that whoever killed Nate should get a medal, proceeding to explain his displeasure with how Nate became a proponent of development in Hawaii. Shortly after this conversation, Dano calls Steve on his car phone saying that a man named Lester Willoughby (Selzer) has confessed to the murder.

Willoughby claims to be an enforcer who was contracted by the mainland mob over a gambling debt, and says that he was the one who handed the package to Manu. Steve and Dano question him about false details, tripping up his story. When McGarrett orders that he be taken to the psychiatric ward, Willoughby breaks down, admitting that he's just a lonely bookkeeper who was desperate for attention.

Chin Ho gets a make on the existing suspect, Tommy Kapali, and McGarrett goes to his mother's (Hilo Hattie) house and questions her. McGarrett learns that he was in the Army and that Mrs. Kapali has reason to believe that he's gotten in trouble. She says that he'd been sick in the head, then got a construction job with a Mr. Milner. McGarrett proceeds to the construction site and learns he was fired for being a troublemaker, then goes downtown to speak to Milner (Paul Kent). He learns that Kapali, who had been part of a bomb disposal unit in Vietnam and was discharged on a Section 8, was against development. McGarrett and some uniformed officers force their way in to Kapali's current residence to find that he's has hung himself.

McGarrett subsequently finds that dynamite is missing from the construction site, but thinks that it's all too pat and smells like a set-up. Reviewing the film of Kapali, he notices the time is wrong on a clock in the background, which confirms that Kapali was a patsy. Attempts to track down "Grace Willis" reveal that was using an alias. Then Leilani Kalua comes to McGarrett's office proclaiming that Tommy couldn't have done it, revealing that she was his girlfriend. McGarrett confronts Kalua about this, as he'd previously claimed not to know Tommy. He also learns that Manu was in San Diego because he had cancer.

The teams tracks down "Grace Willis" through a print, identifying her as an Ann Wilson. Dano goes to her place and finds her being strangled, resulting in a chase and shootout. Wilson tells him that Benny Kalua is behind it all and is planning to kill Milner. The team gets to the construction site as Kalua is trying to kill Milner with a bulldozer. After McGarrett wings him, he deliberately drives the bulldozer into the explosives shed.

Now this one was very info-heavy, and felt more like an Ironside plot. And the scene with Milton Selzer just seemed like filler that was irrelevant to the story. I find it particularly odd that he got second billing for it.

_______

Dragnet 1969
"Community Relations (DR-10)"
Originally aired October 3, 1968
Xfinity said:
Friday and Gannon assist an officer faced with a near-riot situation.

Sgt. Joe Friday said:
This is the city: Los Angeles, California. The outdoors play a big part in our lives. It's boating weather almost twelve months a year, and people have really taken to the sport. The ocean provides the playground. In 1962, the city began building the Marina del Rey. It already has berths for 6,000 boats. There a five yacht clubs, seven restaurants, two motels, and a hotel. If you wanna live by your boat...there are numerous apartment complexes on the water with convenient shopping. There are also facilities for the day sailor. On weekends, you can see hundreds of power and sailboats of all sizes moving through the manmade inlet. It's a good, healthy way to enjoy life. Some people like living dangerously. When they hurt others, I go to work. I carry a badge.
Another intro on an overly specific topic that has nothing whatsoever to do with the episode.

Monday, July 15 (1968!): Friday and Gannon, working the day watch out of Community Relations Division as recruiting officers, are attending a graduates union meeting, hoping to interest high school grads in a law enforcement career. Back at the office, Lt. Henry (Rafer Johnson) stresses the need to recruit more minorities. To that end the detectives enlist uniformed officer Dave Evans (Don Marshall) to answer questions at the next week's meeting following Friday's customary infodump speech. Evans gets several questions from potential African American recruits, including one troublesome heckler, Alec Harper (Bill Elliott). A few days later, the detectives visit one of the potential recruits at his current job at a car wash, and learn that he's no longer interested because he heard that Evans quit the department.

Friday and Gannon visit Evans at his home, and find several windows boarded up. They learn that this isn't the first time that neighborhood kids have thrown rocks in his windows. He's fed up with being considered an Uncle Tom by his own people and unappreciated by white citizens as well. The detectives are afraid that they've lost several potential recruits who were willing to follow Dave's lead when they respond to a call to assist an officer. At a flower shop, they find Officer Evans breaking up a fight between Alec Harper and a young white man. The mixed crowd of onlookers is pretty riled up in its low-budget way, but Friday decides to hold back and give Evans the opportunity to handle the situation. A young black woman speaks up and explains how Harper picked the fight because she said hi to the young white man, who's seeing her best friend. This helps Evans to take control and defuse the situation, which he does with humor and grace. Two store proprietors, the white owner of the flower shop and the black owner of an adjacent business, express their (a little too on-the-nose) mutual appreciation of how Evans handled the situation, making a point of taking his badge number, and Friday underscores that this was the motivation that Evans was looking for to stay on the force.

The Announcer said:
During the remainder of that summer, several members of the East L.A. Graduates Union took the Police Department's Applicants Examinations....90 percent of the applicants passed the examinations and went on to the police academy. They are now serving as officers of the Los Angeles Police Department.
The "mugshot" shows four uniformed officers of diverse ethnicity.

One of the potential recruits at the graduates union meeting, being quiet but very noticeable in front, is none other than an uncredited O.J. Simpson! When Friday was enlisting Evans to attend the meeting, he told him that every kid he set straight was one he might not have to put cuffs on later. Guess that didn't work out too well...! :eek: And yeah, most of the potential recruits didn't look like they were fresh out of high school.

The radio dispatcher is now Shaaron Claridge from Adam-12. It looked like they used the Adam-12 locker room set as well.

_______

I think "Help Me, Rhonda" is the main contribution here.
But this version is "Help Me, Ronda," despite how the YouTube clip is named.

Any opinion about the album tracks that I highlighted by including embedded clips of them?

It's a reference to a perfect phone. There was nothing wrong with that phone call. It was the most perfect phone call in the history of phone calls.
:shrug:
 
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When they're alone, Kalua tells McGarrett that whoever killed Nate should get a medal
With friends like that.....

When McGarrett orders that he be taken to the psychiatric ward, Willoughby breaks down, admitting that he's just a lonely bookkeeper who was desperate for attention.
Most people just go streaking or something.

Now this one was very info-heavy, and felt more like an Ironside plot.
Yeah, a lot going on here. Sounds like Simon Oakland got pissed off about his best friend being pro-development (kind of neat that it ties into Hawaii's new statehood), so he blew him up in a cab, probably along with the driver, found a female accomplice (or hired her) to fake some evidence, framed his daughter's boyfriend for the crime, then killed him and made it look like suicide, then hired someone to kill his female accomplice (I'm not sure who was strangling her), then tried to kill his daughter's boyfriend's former employer, presumably because he could identify him or something, and then commited suicide himself. Island paradise, indeed!

And the scene with Milton Selzer just seemed like filler that was irrelevant to the story. I find it particularly odd that he got second billing for it.
Good agent? Red herring?

Another intro on an overly specific topic that has nothing whatsoever to do with the episode.
They were working the day watch out of the City of Los Angeles Tourism Division. Actually, it's not impossible that this stuff is product placement.

Back at the office, Lt. Henry (Rafer Johnson) stresses the need to recruit more minorities.
A continuing theme. The importance of something like this on a show that appealed to older people with traditional values, versus younger-leaning shows like Room 222, can't be underestimated.

officer Dave Evans (Don Marshall)
Of Star Trek fame.

Friday and Gannon visit Evans at his home, and find several windows boarded up. They learn that this isn't the first time that neighborhood kids have thrown rocks in his windows. He's fed up with being considered an Uncle Tom by his own people and unappreciated by white citizens as well.
And he's not afraid to show both sides of the issue.

A young black woman speaks up and explains how Harper picked the fight because she said hi to the young white man, who's seeing her best friend. This helps Evans to take control and defuse the situation, which he does with humor and grace. Two store proprietors, the white owner of the flower shop and the black owner of an adjacent business, express their (a little too on-the-nose) mutual appreciation of how Evans handled the situation, making a point of taking his badge number, and Friday underscores that this was the motivation that Evans was looking for to stay on the force.
Lots of stuff going on in that scene, including an implied "interracial" romance. Very nice. I also like that the guy used humor to defuse the situation-- definitely not a Friday clone. :rommie:

The "mugshot" shows four uniformed officers of diverse ethnicity.
Again, showing this as a positive step on a show like Dragnet really helped to normalize the idea of an integrated society for people whose everyday life was far away from that sort of thing.

One of the potential recruits at the graduates union meeting, being quiet but very noticeable in front, is none other than an uncredited O.J. Simpson! When Friday was enlisting Evans to attend the meeting, he told him that every kid he set straight was one he might not have to put cuffs on later. Guess that didn't work out too well...! :eek:
I guess he was one of the 10% who didn't make it. :rommie:

But this version is "Help Me, Ronda," despite how the YouTube clip is named.
I like it better with the H.

Any opinion about the album tracks that I highlighted by including embedded clips of them?
Well, "Dance, Dance, Dance" definitely has that classic Beach Boys sound, but it's far from their strongest material. "Please Let Me Wonder" and "She Knows Me Too Well" are kind of generic-- I don't know that I'd even recognize them as the Beach Boys.

Aw, c'mon. The one thing, out of so many possibilities, that got President The Donald impeached. :rommie:
 
Red herring?
The situation didn't even play out long enough to be a red herring. It was one scene and done. They got a commercial break teaser out of it.

"Please Let Me Wonder" and "She Knows Me Too Well" are kind of generic-- I don't know that I'd even recognize them as the Beach Boys.
Really? I thought these were a big step forward for this era, toward Pet Sounds...the #2 album on the Rolling Stone list, that inspired the #1 album on the list. I can hear the pot in these songs.

Aw, c'mon. The one thing, out of so many possibilities, that got President The Donald impeached. :rommie:
I thought you were doing Trump, but I wasn't even connecting it. In 50th Anniversaryland, Trump is just some millionaire punk...

From Green Lantern #77, cover date June 1970:
GL77.jpg
STAR TREK LIVES!
 
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The situation didn't even play out long enough to be a red herring. It was one scene and done. They got a commercial break teaser out of it.
Friend of the producer who needed work? :rommie:

Really? I thought these were a big step forward for this era, toward Pet Sounds...the #2 album on the Rolling Stone list, that inspired the #1 album on the list. I can hear the pot in these songs.
Okay, I'd guess that they were Beach Boys' songs, but the sound and lyrics do not engage me.

I thought you were doing Trump, but I wasn't even connecting it. In 50th Anniversaryland, Trump is just some millionaire punk...
Yeah, I probably shouldn't pollute the timeline. :rommie:

From Green Lantern #77, cover date June 1970:
View attachment 14827
STAR TREK LIVES!
If you punch somebody and they make a "spock" sound, it's time to call an ambulance. :rommie:

I miss The Fall Guy and the cartoonUlysses 31. A loooong time ago.
I never watched Fall Guy much, but I loved Lee Majors. Kind of reminds me of Uncle Joe.
 
55 Years Ago This Week

Wiki said:
April 25 – Teenage sniper Michael Clark kills 3 and wounds others shooting at cars from a hilltop along Highway 101 just south of Orcutt, California. Sixteen-year-old Clark kills himself as police rush the hilltop.
April 26 – Rede Globo, the 3rd largest TV broadcaster of the world, is founded, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
April 28
  • U.S. troops occupy the Dominican Republic.
  • Vietnam War: Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies announces that the country will substantially increase its number of troops in South Vietnam, supposedly at the request of the Saigon government (it is later revealed that Menzies had asked the leadership in Saigon to send the request at the behest of the Americans).
April 29 – Australia announces that it is sending an infantry battalion to support the South Vietnam government.

May 1
  • Bob Askin replaces Jack Renshaw as Premier of New South Wales.
  • The Battle of Dong-Yin occurs as a conflict between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China.
  • Liverpool wins the FA Cup Final, beating Leeds Utd 2–1.



Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:
1. "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter," Herman's Hermits
2. "Game of Love," Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders
3. "I Know a Place," Petula Clark
4. "I'm Telling You Now," Freddie & The Dreamers
5. "I'll Never Find Another You," The Seekers
6. "Tired of Waiting for You," The Kinks
7. "Count Me In," Gary Lewis & The Playboys
8. "Silhouettes," Herman's Hermits
9. "The Last Time," The Rolling Stones
10. "Stop! In the Name of Love," The Supremes
11. "The Clapping Song (Clap Pat Clap Slap)," Shirley Ellis

13. "Go Now!," The Moody Blues
14. "I'll Be Doggone," Marvin Gaye

16. "Shotgun," Jr. Walker & The All Stars
17. "Just Once in My Life," The Righteous Brothers
18. "Ticket to Ride," The Beatles
19. "Ooo Baby Baby," Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
20. "It's Growing," The Temptations
21. "Baby the Rain Must Fall," Glenn Yarbrough
22. "Got to Get You off My Mind," Solomon Burke
23. "Nowhere to Run," Martha & The Vandellas
24. "Wooly Bully," Sam the Sham & The Pharoahs
25. "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat," Herman's Hermits
26. "It's Gonna Be Alright," Gerry & The Pacemakers

28. "It's Not Unusual," Tom Jones
29. "Bumble Bee," The Searchers
30. "Land of 1000 Dances," Cannibal & The Headhunters
31. "I Do Love You," Billy Stewart
32. "She's About a Mover," Sir Douglas Quintet
33. "Woman's Got Soul," The Impressions
34. "We're Gonna Make It," Little Milton
35. "Help Me, Rhonda," The Beach Boys

39. "Iko Iko," The Dixie Cups

43. "Reelin' and Rockin'," The Dave Clark Five
44. "Subterranean Homesick Blues," Bob Dylan

46. "When I'm Gone," Brenda Holloway
47. "True Love Ways," Peter & Gordon
48. "Just a Little," The Beau Brummels

51. "Crying in the Chapel," Elvis Presley

63. "Do the Freddie," Freddie & The Dreamers

66. "You Were Made for Me," Freddie & The Dreamers
67. "Queen of the House," Jody Miller
68. "Back in My Arms Again," The Supremes

71. "Yes It Is," The Beatles
72. "Nothing Can Stop Me," Gene Chandler

96. "Concrete and Clay," Unit Four plus Two


Leaving the chart:
  • "The Birds and the Bees," Jewel Akens (14 weeks)
  • "Come and Stay with Me," Marianne Faithfull (9 weeks)
  • "Eight Days a Week," The Beatles (10 weeks)
  • "Goldfinger," Shirley Bassey (13 weeks)

Recent and new on the chart:

"It's Gonna Be Alright," Gerry & The Pacemakers
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(Apr. 10; #23 US; #24 UK in 1964)

"Reelin' and Rockin'," The Dave Clark Five
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(Apr. 17; #23 US; #24 UK)

"Yes It Is," The Beatles
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(B-side of "Ticket to Ride"; #46 US)

"You Were Made for Me," Freddie & The Dreamers
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(#21 US; #3 UK in 1963)

"Back in My Arms Again," The Supremes
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(#1 US the week of June 12, 1965; #1 R&B; #40 UK)


And new on the boob tube:
  • Branded, "That the Brave Endure"
  • 12 O'Clock High, "P.O.W. – Part 2"
  • Gilligan's Island, "Diogenes, Won't You Please Go Home?"

_______

Yeah, I probably shouldn't pollute the timeline. :rommie:
Definitely not in this case!

I never watched Fall Guy much, but I loved Lee Majors. Kind of reminds me of Uncle Joe.
So are you a Six Million Dollar Fan, then?
 
"It's Gonna Be Alright," Gerry & The Pacemakers
Good sound, catchy lyrics.

"Reelin' and Rockin'," The Dave Clark Five
A perfectly named song. And I can get away with saying it sounds like the 50s.

"Yes It Is," The Beatles
Not on their list of classics, but it's got that unique Beatles sound-- the poetry, and the elegance of stylized verses that flow like natural speech.

"You Were Made for Me," Freddie & The Dreamers
Apparently these guys were bigger than I thought. :rommie: I'm not sure if they're a novelty, a pastiche, or naively sincere, but they remind me of drive-in movies and drive-in burger joints, so they're good.

"Back in My Arms Again," The Supremes
Classic.

So are you a Six Million Dollar Fan, then?
Oh, indeed. I watched faithfully throughout its run. I liked it best at the beginning and toward the end. Lee Majors also had a memorable role on Ash vs. Evil Dead not too long ago.
 
50 Years Ago This Week

Wiki said:
April 26 – The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is founded.
April 29 – The U.S. invades Cambodia to hunt out the Viet Cong; widespread, large antiwar protests occur in the U.S.

May 1
  • Demonstrations against the trial of the New Haven Nine, Bobby Seale, and Ericka Huggins draw 12,000.
  • President Richard Nixon orders U.S. forces to cross into neutral Cambodia, threatening to widen the Vietnam War, sparking protests across the United States and leading to the Kent State shootings.
  • Colorado State College changes its name to the University of Northern Colorado.



Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:
1. "ABC," The Jackson 5
2. "Let It Be," The Beatles
3. "Spirit in the Sky," Norman Greenbaum
4. "American Woman" / "No Sugar Tonight", The Guess Who
5. "Instant Karma (We All Shine On)," John Ono Lennon
6. "Love or Let Me Be Lonely," The Friends of Distinction
7. "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)," Edison Lighthouse
8. "Come and Get It," Badfinger
9. "Vehicle," The Ides of March
10. "Turn Back the Hands of Time," Tyrone Davis
11. "Something's Burning," Kenny Rogers & The First Edition
12. "Up the Ladder to the Roof," The Supremes
13. "Reflections of My Life," The Marmalade
14. "Bridge over Troubled Water," Simon & Garfunkel
15. "Woodstock," Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
16. "Everything Is Beautiful," Ray Stevens
17. "For the Love of Him," Bobbi Martin
18. "Easy Come, Easy Go," Bobby Sherman
19. "Cecilia," Simon & Garfunkel
20. "Love on a Two-Way Street," The Moments
21. "The Bells," The Originals
22. "You're the One, Part 2," Little Sister

24. "Get Ready," Rare Earth
25. "You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You)," Gladys Knight & The Pips
26. "Everybody's Out of Town," B. J. Thomas
27. "House of the Rising Sun," Frijid Pink
28. "What Is Truth," Johnny Cash
29. "Little Green Bag," George Baker Selection
30. "Up Around the Bend" / "Run Through the Jungle", Creedence Clearwater Revival
31. "Long Lonesome Highway," Michael Parks
32. "Which Way You Goin' Billy?," The Poppy Family (feat. Susan Jacks)
33. "Shilo," Neil Diamond

35. "Make Me Smile," Chicago
36. "Viva Tirado, Part I," El Chicano
37. "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)," Diana Ross
38. "Puppet Man," The 5th Dimension
39. "Come Running," Van Morrison
40. "Come Saturday Morning," The Sandpipers
41. "The Letter," Joe Cocker w/ Leon Russell & The Shelter People

46. "Hitchin' a Ride," Vanity Fare

49. "Daughter of Darkness," Tom Jones
50. "You Make Me Real" / "Roadhouse Blues", The Doors

56. "Love Land," Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band

60. "United We Stand," The Brotherhood of Man

62. "My Baby Loves Lovin'," White Plains
63. "The Seeker," The Who

66. "O-o-h Child" / "Dear Prudence", The Five Stairsteps
67. "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)," Melanie
68. "Soolaimón (African Trilogy II)," Neil Diamond

74. "Band of Gold," Freda Payne

76. "Sugar, Sugar" / "Cole, Cooke & Redding", Wilson Pickett

81. "It's All in the Game," Four Tops

88. "Mississippi Queen," Mountain

94. "Question," The Moody Blues


Leaving the chart:
  • "Call Me" / "Son of a Preacher Man", Aretha Franklin (12 weeks)
  • "Celebrate," Three Dog Night (9 weeks)
  • "Do the Funky Chicken," Rufus Thomas (12 weeks)
  • "Give Me Just a Little More Time," Chairmen of the Board (15 weeks)
  • "Gotta Hold On to This Feeling," Jr. Walker & The All-Stars (10 weeks)
  • "The Rapper," The Jaggerz (13 weeks)

Re-entering the chart:
  • "Mississippi Queen," Mountain

New on the chart:

"Soolaimón (African Trilogy II)," Neil Diamond
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(#30 US; #5 AC)

"Sugar, Sugar," Wilson Pickett
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(#25 US; #4 R&B)

"Cole, Cooke & Redding," Wilson Pickett
(#91 US, though it shows up as a double A-side with "Sugar, Sugar" on Billboard's site; #11 R&B)

"Question," The Moody Blues
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(#21 US; #2 UK)

"Daughter of Darkness," Tom Jones
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(#13 US; #1 AC; #5 UK)

"O-o-h Child," The Five Stairsteps
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(#8 US as double A-side w/ "Dear Prudence"; #14 R&B; #392 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time)

"Dear Prudence," The Five Stairsteps
(#8 US as double A-side w/ "O-o-h Child"; #49 R&B)


And new on the boob tube:
  • Get Smart, "Hello, Columbus – Goodbye, America"

_______

Good sound, catchy lyrics.
This one would have sounded better in 1964, when it was released in the UK.

A perfectly named song. And I can get away with saying it sounds like the 50s.
Between these two entries, the latest by Freddie, and yes, even an underwhelming Beatles B-side, it's starting to tangibly feel like the British Invasion is getting long in the tooth.

Not on their list of classics, but it's got that unique Beatles sound-- the poetry, and the elegance of stylized verses that flow like natural speech.
This one, which is basically a "This Boy" redux, has traditionally held a place on my short list of least-liked Beatles songs. It's a bit too much of a snoozer to my ear.

Apparently these guys were bigger than I thought. :rommie: I'm not sure if they're a novelty, a pastiche, or naively sincere, but they remind me of drive-in movies and drive-in burger joints, so they're good.
I'd mentioned this before, but my impression of the act is that they were exploiting the Invasion.

The Supremes win this week's post, hands down.

Oh, indeed. I watched faithfully throughout its run. I liked it best at the beginning and toward the end. Lee Majors also had a memorable role on Ash vs. Evil Dead not too long ago.
I was into it as a kid, though I didn't watch it through its entire run, and have never made a point of revisiting it. If it remains available on TV, perhaps I'll include it in the 50th anniversary viewing when it comes up.

So...nothing about your visit to Gilligan's Island?
 
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"Soolaimón (African Trilogy II)," Neil Diamond
I forgot about this one. I do like early Neil Diamond.

"Sugar, Sugar," Wilson Pickett
Well, this is an interesting spin. Not bad, I guess.

Well, okay. I never thought about rewriting "Abraham, Martin, and John" with other people. :rommie:

"Question," The Moody Blues
Here we go. A gorgeous song from a great band.

"Daughter of Darkness," Tom Jones
Oh, my. Sit down, Tom. Catch your breath.

"O-o-h Child," The Five Stairsteps
This is a lovely song.

"Dear Prudence," The Five Stairsteps
Not a bad cover.

I was into it as a kid, though I didn't watch it through its entire run, and have never made a point of revisiting it. If it remains available on TV, perhaps I'll include it in the 50th anniversary viewing when it comes up.
I've got a couple of episodes recorded to watch with my Mother on Saturday mornings, but we haven't gotten to them yet. In my memory, there were three distinct phases to the show. The original 90-minute episodes that rotated with some other shows that I don't remember, in "mystery movie" fashion-- in these, Steve was kind of a James Bond sort of character. Then, as a weekly show, it became more of a mainstream adventure series. Then, toward the end, it started getting into weird stuff, like aliens and Big Foot, and other cyborgs, and a bionic dog, and so forth. That's the stuff I really liked. :rommie:

So...nothing about your visit to Gilligan's Island?
I noticed that. :rommie: It seems unlikely that they actually mentioned the name or concept on the show itself, and we never knew titles. I've had a fascination with Diogenes and that image of searching for an honest man with a symbolic lantern for as long as I can remember, but with no memory at all of where I first encountered it-- this was probably not it.
 
_______

55th Anniversary Viewing

_______

Branded
"One Way Out"
Originally aired April 18, 1965
Xfinity said:
A religious fanatic tracks down McCord to avenge his eldest son's death.

Jason rides into the seemingly deserted town of New Canaan, billed on its sign as the "fastest growing town in the West". Hearing a church bell and a man beginning a sermon, Jason finds the man (John Dehner) alone in the cobwebbed church. His name is Joshua Murdock, and we learn that he sent for McCord on the premise of having a job offer...but it turns out to be a trap, when Murdock's two sons, Malachi and Micah (Jim Davis and Paul Brent), keep Jason from leaving as Joshua continues to preach. Jason catches one of the suns unawares and gets into a fistfight with both, but ultimately loses.

Jason regains consciousness to find that his horse is gone. He learns that Murdock isn't actually a preacher, but rather was a founder of the town, which didn't work out; and that he lost his eldest son, Obadiah, at Bitter Creek. Joshua plans to recreate the battle, to which end he's holding prisoner an Apache chief named Grey Eagle (Iron Eyes Cody), who'd signed an agreement with General Reed, as well as younger Apache brothers named Red Arm (X Brands) and Blue Hawk (Eddie Little Sky), who fought at Bitter Creek. Grey Eagle is being held to ensure everyone's cooperation, and the recreated battle will pit Jason's saber against Red Arm and Blue Hawk's knives.

The next day, during the "battle," Blue Hawk finds Jason but offers to team up with him. Blue Hawk creates a diversion, getting himself shot, while Jason goes back to the jail to get Grey Eagle out, knocking out the brother who's minding the store with the pommel of a hurled saber. Jason grabs the man's gun, shoots it out with the other brother, and finds his horse. In the stable, Jason is trying to talk Murdock Sr. into letting go of the past when the other son sneaks in, is stabbed by Red Arm, and a shot meant for Jason takes out Joshua.

As Jason and the surviving Apaches are leaving, they agree that they'd all like to put Bitter Creek behind them. Jason takes the opportunity to ask Red Arm if he knows how Jason found himself so far from the site of the battle, but he doesn't.

This one was kind of meh...reminded me of too many plots from The Rifleman involving former Confederate soldiers wanting to settle scores with Lucas McCain.

_______

12 O'Clock High
"P.O.W.: Part One"
Originally aired April 23, 1965
IMDb said:
Gen. Savage becomes a POW in a Nazi camp after being shot down, and the commander there wants to use him to break the other prisoner[s'] will to escape.


https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/the-classic-retro-pop-culture-thread.278375/page-105#post-12477471
[...] guesting Alf Kjellin, in his first of two roles on the series as somebody who did some bad things a long time ago. In this case, he's the colonel who has Savage in the clink. Colonel Richter has made it his mission to do away with his camp's old motto, "Everybody escapes from Stalag Luft 12."

To that end, the colonel lets some of the prisoners try to escape via a tunnel, only to have them mowed down on the other end, as part of an attempt to break the other prisoners' morale. He also tries to undermine Savage's leadership of the prisoners by making a show of giving Savage conspicuously good treatment. But that doesn't deter Savage from successfully leading an escape that plays out through Part Two...one that involves taking advantage of Richter's favors, as well as a scheduled bombing raid that Savage knew about.

For once, they go out of their way to set up that the Crashed Bomber of the Week isn't the Piccadilly Lily.

There's a nice feel-good moment in Part One when the prisoners break into cheers at the sight of a flight of B-17s passing overhead.

There's a bit of pathos in Richter being honorable enough that he shoots an SS commander who plans to have Savage executed...yet ultimately ends up being shot by Savage himself in a climactic firefight during the last stage of the escape.

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Gilligan's Island
"Forget Me Not"
Originally aired April 24, 1965
Wiki said:
The Skipper has amnesia and the Professor resorts to hypnosis to cure him. However, trouble ensues as he keeps missing the moment of memory at which the Skipper should be.

Gilligan and the Skipper are building a platform for a fire to signal some Navy ships that will be passing near the island when Gilligan accidentally causes the Skipper to take a tumble, which results in the Skipper losing his memory. Only the Skipper knows how to signal the ships, so the castaways have to hasten his memory's return. To that end, Mr. Howell sneaks into the sailors' hut at night to hit the Skipper on the head with a coconut, but doesn't know that they've switched hammocks, so Gilligan is on the bottom and receives the blow. Mrs. Howell then goes in to do the job right, but doesn't know that they woke up and switched hammocks back, so Gilligan gets hit again. The next day, the Professor tries hypnosis, first taking Skipper way back to childhood, then forwarding him to the war, which causes him to see the other castaways as yellowface caricatures of Japanese soldiers and flee into the jungle.

The Skipper, who's somehow gotten ahold of a rifle with a bayonet, takes Ginger and Mary Ann prisoner while they're trying to finish the fire platform. He subsequently catches the Howells under similar circumstances, and then the Professor and Gilligan when they're trying to free the others. While the castaways are in their bamboo cell, the ships pass by so close that Gilligan can see them clearly in a hand telescope. When the Skipper tries to break up an altercation between Gilligan and Howell, Gilligan offhandedly hits him over the head with the telescope and the Skipper gets his memory back. But by the time the castaways get to the platform, the ships are long gone...and Gilligan falls off, losing his memory.

  • The characters' actual names never comes up when the other castaways are trying to remind the Skipper who he is and who they are.
  • The Professor brought a medical book on the cruise.
  • In this episode, the Skipper says that he was part of an infantry unit...!
  • During the initial phase of his amnesia, the less inhibited Skipper makes moves on Ginger.

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50th Anniversary Viewing

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The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 22, episode 29
Originally aired April 19, 1970
As represented in The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show

Ed said:
Recording star Bill Medley!
tv.com identifies the now-bearded Righteous Brother's performance as "Peace Medley"...what Best of shows is identified onscreen as "Peace Brother Peace" and "The Lord's Prayer". The former was a charting solo single for Medley in late 1968 (#48); the latter may just be his own musical arrangement of the prayer. I couldn't find a clip of the performance, but here's the studio version of "Peace Brother Peace":
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Ed said:
Ventriloquist Sammy King!
Sammy starts out trying to play Spanish guitar, but is interrupted by his "pet," concealed in what appears to be a covered cage. When Sammy brings him out, his pet reveals that he's a "Cuban parrot" whose first of several names is Francisco. Francisco questions Sammy about his own ethnic heritage, which is Jewish American. Sammy puts Francisco back in the cage and tries to resume playing his guitar, but the parrot continues his commentary. The puppet did a pretty good job of drawing attention away from the ventriloquist's mouth.

While not included in Best of, tv.com informs me that this video was shown as well:
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Also in the original episode according to tv.com:
Music:
--Peter Nero (pianist) - medley of songs from "Hair."
--Jan Peerce (operatic tenor) - performs a medley of Passover songs.
--The Kessler Twins (singers-dancers Alice & Ellen Kessler) - "Mas Que Nada."
--Gerri Granger sings "At The Crossroads" and "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?"
--Osipov Balalaike Orchestra - Russian folk tunes played on traditional instruments.
Comedy:
--Norm Crosby (comedian) - explains the tradition of Passover.

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Get Smart
"What's It All About, Algie?"
Originally aired April 24, 1970
Wiki said:
Max poses as a gardener to infiltrate a nursery that is selling plants with hidden surveillance bugs to key people in Washington. The nursery's owner, Algie DeGrasse, starts to suspect that Max is actually from CONTROL and plans to feed him to his newest acquisition: a giant man-eating plant. A spoof of Alfie. John van Dreelen guest stars as KAOS Agent Algie DeGrasse.

I've never seen Alfie, but I assume that it didn't involve a man-eating plant.

In the teaser, Max uses a blowtorch on fence that's already on when he takes it out of his briefcase, and stays on when he puts it back. The plant is obviously somebody in a costume using his arms grab the victims.

Max, 99, and Larabee have an Italian dinner in the Chief's office. When Max starts to open a bottle of wine, the Chief promptly leaves the office, then comes back in and wipes up his seat.

DeGrasse (John Van Dreelen) has grass in his office, which he trims with an old push mower. While working at the nursery, Max uses a hose phone to stay in contact with the Chief, who has a matching one on his side.

99 is there when DeGrasse confronts Max, having found out who he is from a KAOS file. A pursuit in the greenhouse ensues, but Max blows fertilizer into DeGrass's face with a fan, causing him to back into the huggy guy in the tree outfit.

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I forgot about this one. I do like early Neil Diamond.
I'd never heard this one before in my life, even though I already owned it, on a collection that I bought for Diamond's better-known singles.

Well, this is an interesting spin. Not bad, I guess.
An admirable attempt to soul up some bubblegum, but it fails to bring anything to the song.

Well, okay. I never thought about rewriting "Abraham, Martin, and John" with other people. :rommie:
The more interesting of the two sides, I'd say.

Here we go. A gorgeous song from a great band.
Interestingly eclectic.

Oh, my. Sit down, Tom. Catch your breath.
Ol' Tom putting my hobgoblin to the test again.

This is a lovely song.
An oldies radio classic and the champion of this week's post!

Not a bad cover.
I am really getting soft in the area of Beatles covers, because I like this one. It's pleasant to hear White Album material getting some love at this point.

I've got a couple of episodes recorded to watch with my Mother on Saturday mornings, but we haven't gotten to them yet. In my memory, there were three distinct phases to the show. The original 90-minute episodes that rotated with some other shows that I don't remember, in "mystery movie" fashion-- in these, Steve was kind of a James Bond sort of character. Then, as a weekly show, it became more of a mainstream adventure series. Then, toward the end, it started getting into weird stuff, like aliens and Big Foot, and other cyborgs, and a bionic dog, and so forth. That's the stuff I really liked. :rommie:
I was afraid of Bigfoot when the episodes aired, and yet owned the action figure...

I noticed that. :rommie: It seems unlikely that they actually mentioned the name or concept on the show itself, and we never knew titles. I've had a fascination with Diogenes and that image of searching for an honest man with a symbolic lantern for as long as I can remember, but with no memory at all of where I first encountered it-- this was probably not it.
It'll be interesting to see or figure out how the title fits with the episode.
 
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Jason rides into the seemingly deserted town of New Canaan, billed on its sign as the "fastest growing town in the West".
He waits expectantly for Rod Serling's voice....

Grey Eagle... Red Arm... Blue Hawk...
A colorful cast of characters.

knocking out the brother who's minding the store with the pommel of a hurled saber.
Ooooh, does it return to his hand by itself? :D

Jason grabs the man's gun, shoots it out with the other brother, and finds his horse.
This makes me wonder if he always has the same horse-- his own version of Silver or Tornado.

As Jason and the surviving Apaches are leaving, they agree that they'd all like to put Bitter Creek behind them.
Step one: Change the name to Happy Brook.

This one was kind of meh...reminded me of too many plots from The Rifleman involving former Confederate soldiers wanting to settle scores with Lucas McCain.
I like the musings on heroism more than the idea that everyone west of the Pecos knew somebody who died at Bitter Creek and wants a piece of Jason. I did like how he and the Indians teamed up in this one, though.

To that end, Mr. Howell sneaks into the sailors' hut at night to hit the Skipper on the head with a coconut, but doesn't know that they've switched hammocks, so Gilligan is on the bottom and receives the blow. Mrs. Howell then goes in to do the job right, but doesn't know that they woke up and switched hammocks back, so Gilligan gets hit again.
Mary Ann and Ginger didn't get their turns? :rommie:

The Professor brought a medical book on the cruise.
I think he brought a library as extensive as Ginger's wardrobe and Thurston's pharmacy.

In this episode, the Skipper says that he was part of an infantry unit...!
He really got around.

During the initial phase of his amnesia, the less inhibited Skipper makes moves on Ginger.
Ah, the young Skipper, with a girl in every port. :mallory:

I couldn't find a clip of the performance, but here's the studio version of "Peace Brother Peace":
Powerful voice-- the song is nice, but kind of by the numbers.

The puppet did a pretty good job of drawing attention away from the ventriloquist's mouth.
I'm not fussy about that. I just like puppets and ventriloquists.

I've never seen Alfie, but I assume that it didn't involve a man-eating plant.
That would be "What's It All About, Audrey?" :rommie:

The plant is obviously somebody in a costume using his arms grab the victims.
I'm not fussy about that, either. In fact, I kinda like it. :rommie:

An admirable attempt to soul up some bubblegum, but it fails to bring anything to the song.
Nothing wrong with a little bubblegum.

An oldies radio classic and the champion of this week's post!
I think it's got some serious competition from "Question," though. Moody Blues are pretty amazing.

I was afraid of Bigfoot when the episodes aired, and yet owned the action figure...
Best way to overcome your fear. :D

It'll be interesting to see or figure out how the title fits with the episode.
Indeed. It will be great if the Professor actually talks about him.
 
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50th Anniversary Catch-Up Viewing

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Hawaii Five-O
"Tiger by the Tail"
Originally aired October 10, 1968
Wiki said:
A publicity stunt by a rock singer (Sal Mineo) to stage his own kidnapping backfires when ransom is offered. Harold J. Stone and Sam Melville guest star.

Mineo's cool factor for having been Plato in Rebel Without a Cause helps make up for the lameass song that his character here, Bobby George, is singing in a disco-balled club in the opening of the episode. Two female fans are approaching him for autographs after the show when a couple of stocking-masked bandits abduct him. From a ditzy girlfriend named Carol waiting at his pad (Heidi Vaughn), McGarrett learns that George's father is hotel magnate D.J. Georgiade, which is later announced on the news...as watched by Bobby and his faux kidnappers, Jerry (Sam Melville) and Allen (Ion Berger), who are all excited about the publicity this will generate.

McGarrett meets Georgiade (Harold J. Stone) at the airport, and against McGarrett's strong objections, Georgiade makes a statement to the press in which he offers a reward for information. Meanwhile, Carol finds a ransom tape recorded by Bobby, which the team proceeds to have thoroughly investigated. McGarrett's suspicions seem to arise when he learns that George himself is a regular buyer of the type of tape used. Meanwhile, against the further advice of the attorney general, who completely vouches for McGarrett, Georgiade makes a statement on TV in which he offers anything for the return of his son. Bobby wants to end the charade early when he sees how concerned his estranged old man is...but Jerry gets the idea in his head that they could make as much as a half million bucks from Bobby, and convinces Allen to go along. When Bobby sees that they're serious, he makes a break for it, but they chase him down and subdue him.

The investigation of the tape further turns up that it was recorded on Bobby's own machine, which convinces McGarrett that it's all a hoax. He shares the news with Georgiade, but makes clear that he intends to continue the investigation, as it's still a criminal conspiracy to commit extortion, wasting loads of taxpayer money and manpower. But then Mr. G gets a new tape that convinces them all that the game has become real...and Mr. G is shaken to hear from his own son that his reward offer was responsible. The team runs down some acquaintances of Bobby's, and McGarrett learns of Jerry and Allen, who've supposedly taken a trip to L.A., from their girlfriends. Meanwhile, back at the hideout, Bobby is now trussed up, and when Allen starts fretting about holes in their plan because Bobby can finger them, Jerry makes clear that they have to kill him, and there's no backing out because they'll be serving time for sure if Bobby talks.

Cross-examining audio clues on the tape--when a certain song was played on the radio and what prop plane might have been flying overhead at the time--gives the team a district to focus on. Having deduced that the kidnappers have been using buses to run their errands, they have to lure them back out, so they have Mr. G use his ransom agreement broadcast to claim the last tape was defective and that he needs a new one. Jerry smells a trap but goes through with it, and thus stake-out officers grab Allen on his bus and get him to talk. McGarrett and company bust into the hideout as Jerry's trying to force Bobby to take some sleeping pills, and, as he turns to face them with a gun in his hand, Jerry gets taken down. The episode ends with Bobby under arrest but hugging his father.

As the show's mojo goes, this one was more like it.

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Dragnet 1969
"Management Services (DR-11)"
Originally aired October 10, 1968
Xfinity said:
Friday and Gannon work in the LAPD's Emergency Control Center following the assassination of Martin Luther King.

Sgt. Joe Friday said:
This is the city: Los Angeles, California. It has recently become the leading art center in the West. The Los Angeles County Art Museum: $20 million worth of concrete and steel...it's the largest museum built in the United States since 1941. La Cienega Boulevard is lined with private galleries representing every price in art. Some for the public...others require an appointment. But the pride of Los Angeles is the Watts Towers, built by Sam Rodia. It took him over thirty-three years. The towers are constructed of concrete, broken glass, and chips of stone. Sam Rodia was an Italian immigrant who wanted to do something for the United States because, as he said, "There are nice people in this country." Mostly they are nice, but not always. Sometimes they can get mean. When they do, I go to work. I carry a badge.
And that one was not just off-topic, but totally contrary to the message of the episode.

Thursday, April 4, 1968: Friday and Gannon have been working the day watch out of Management Services Division when they're called in following the news of Dr. King's assassination. The detectives are assigned to the ECC, a command post for monitoring and coordinating actions during a disaster or other unusual crisis. Friday serves as executive officer to Captain Brown, while Gannon works a phone for Public Relations. Their primary concern of the officers manning the center is sorting out rumors from facts, including for the benefit of outside parties like a local TV station, who calls them for confirmation about a rumored riot before reporting it. (It turns out to be a baseball team returning from practice.) The uniformed and plainclothes officers stay duty-ready for days, sleeping in a cot room in the basement. Two young uniformed officers are expectant fathers, eager for news from their wives.

Despite the false alarms being reported, things remain surprisingly normal in L.A. compared to the reports coming in from other cities. The situation climaxes on Sunday, when they receive multiple bomb threats for the Coliseum, where a memorial service is being held. Ultimately nothing happens, the city in general is reported to be well under control, and the ECC team is disbanded. Friday muses that people in Los Angeles didn't want a riot because they were too busy honoring a friend.

Sgt. Joe Friday said:
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was buried on Monday, April the 8th, 1968. Los Angeles was quiet. On the day of the funeral, and for several days after, rioting continued in a number of US cities. Los Angeles was quiet.


This was an unusually timely installment, dealing with an actual, well-known recent event. Note that the previous season ended in late March 1968, just before the assassination, so this was about the earliest we could have expected such an episode.

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Ooooh, does it return to his hand by itself? :D
Not that I noticed...

This makes me wonder if he always has the same horse-- his own version of Silver or Tornado.
Can't recall that they've ever given a name.

Ah, the young Skipper, with a
vampire
in every port. :mallory:


Re: Sullivan...maybe you're not amazed by what should have been Paul's first solo single...?

I think it's got some serious competition from "Question," though. Moody Blues are pretty amazing.
As stone-cold classic singles go, "Question" isn't playing in the same league as an "O-o-h Child".

Best way to overcome your fear. :D
Think that was pretty much how it went down...but the show and the figures all went by the wayside when Star Wars came along. There was a poignant childhood moment a few years later when I learned that my Mom had given away my Six Million Dollar Man toys, which had been sitting neglected in a bag on a shelf all that time.

Indeed. It will be great if the Professor actually talks about him.
The Wiki description says that it's about the castaways recounting their run-in with the Japanese soldier differently from one another in their diaries. Is the soldier our Diogenes...?
 
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