The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread

[RJDiogenes]

Nixon responded, "I'd rather use a nuclear bomb. Have you got that?" When Kissinger responded "That, I think, would just be too much...", Nixon said, "I just want you to think big, Henry, for Chrissake."

We really were lucky to have Kissinger.

"Suavecito," Malo

This dredges up vague memories, but it's not that compelling.

"Diary," Bread

This is a good one. Bread is in their prime.

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

Classic Carpenters.

"How Do You Do?," Mouth & MacNeal

This is a personal favorite of mine (which has a strange quantum entanglement in my brain with "Lay A Little Lovin' On Me" for unknown reasons). Mouth & MacNeal were actually a big favorite in their home country of The Netherlands, but were about a 1.5 hit wonder here.

"Tumbling Dice," The Rolling Stones

Classic Stones, although I don't know if it needs to be on the Greatest Songs list.

But will you be able to read it?

I was not able to read it.

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

In the first part of the song, it refers to her weight; in the second part, it refers to cash (so they started out as starving artists and when they became successful Mama Cass lagged behind). But it was her weight problems that contributed to her early death, so it just kind of makes me sigh when I hear it.

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

It does have that Raiders sound, but, man, those lyrics.

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

That's horrible. Those are pretty obvious warning signs.

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

Indeed. I'm always on the lookout for evidence that the PC cranks are just a loud minority, or at least not universal, so I'll enjoy taking a look at this. Thanks.

 

[The Old Mixer]

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

I don't recall his role on M:I offhand. I was thinking of him primarily as the first Mr. Freeze on Batman.

This dredges up vague memories, but it's not that compelling.

This was previously unknown to me and slipped under my radar when it entered the chart. I like it, though it seems to remind me of something else,,,maybe something by War.

This is a good one. Bread is in their prime.

Not as catchy or memorable as their prior hits.

Classic Carpenters.

Also relatively undistinguished.

This is a personal favorite of mine (which has a strange quantum entanglement in my brain with "Lay A Little Lovin' On Me" for unknown reasons). Mouth & MacNeal were actually a big favorite in their home country of The Netherlands, but were about a 1.5 hit wonder here.

This one is familiar from oldies radio, but seems to have slipped past me in my earlier playlist building for this era. If you'd pop quizzed me, I would have said it was ABBA. Add it to the growing list of ones I'm meaning to get but haven't actually bought yet.

Classic Stones, although I don't know if it needs to be on the Greatest Songs list.

Historically, Exile on Main St. tends to be the Stones' most highly regarded album, though it never made much of an impression on me with earlier casual listening. Hopefully I'll be getting to it in immersive retro context.

In the first part of the song, it refers to her weight; in the second part, it refers to cash (so they started out as starving artists and when they became successful Mama Cass lagged behind). But it was her weight problems that contributed to her early death, so it just kind of makes me sigh when I hear it.

So Cass wasn't making as much money...?

 

[DarrenTR1970]

Historically, Exile on Main St. tends to be the Stones' most highly regarded album, though it never made much of an impression on me with earlier casual listening. Hopefully I'll be getting to it in immersive retro context.

There's another forum I lurk on and one of the threads is titled "Albums where the sum of the parts are better than the individual songs", and the album that gets brought up the most is "Exile . . ."; which I tend to agree. Individually, none of the songs are classic Stones, however, when listened to in its entirety, there's a certain drug-induced lethargy/atmosphere that permeates the record that's inescapable.

 

[RJDiogenes]

This one is familiar from oldies radio, but seems to have slipped past me in my earlier playlist building for this era. If you'd pop quizzed me, I would have said it was ABBA. Add it to the growing list of ones I'm meaning to get but haven't actually bought yet.

They are kind of the ABBA of the Netherlands. I have their greatest hits album and they've got a few nifty numbers that never made it here.

So Cass wasn't making as much money...?

Yeah, somehow she got left behind, figuratively speaking, when everyone else was getting propelled to success. I don't know the exact story, but I think it had to do with her health problems. She died very young.

 

[The Old Mixer]

"Albums where the sum of the parts are better than the individual songs"

Sgt Pepper!

there's a certain drug-induced lethargy/atmosphere that permeates the record that's inescapable.

Which might be a turn-off for me. Same reason that I couldn't get into the Velvet Underground tracks that I sampled.

They are kind of the ABBA of the Netherlands. I have their greatest hits album and they've got a few nifty numbers that never made it here.

I should add that "How Do You Do?" is proving to be an intermittent earworm...

Yeah, somehow she got left behind, figuratively speaking, when everyone else was getting propelled to success. I don't know the exact story, but I think it had to do with her health problems. She died very young.

To me, this isn't tracking with how she's the one who goes on to some modest solo success. The simpler explanation for the line is that with success, the other members of the group were gaining weight, but Cass was already there.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I should add that "How Do You Do?" is proving to be an intermittent earworm...

For me, too, but in this case I don't mind.

To me, this isn't tracking with how she's the one who goes on to some modest solo success. The simpler explanation for the line is that with success, the other members of the group were gaining weight, but Cass was already there.

The Wiki page for the song agrees with the double-entendre, but how that scans with the group's history versus solo careers I have no idea.

 

[The Old Mixer]

55 Years Ago This Week

April 30

• Under federal law, daylight saving time went into effect throughout the United States for the first time, with the 1966 Uniform Time Act mandating that clocks be set ahead one hour at 2:00 in the morning on the last Sunday in April and then turned back one hour on the last Sunday in October. However, the law provided that any state could seek exemption from compliance by the United States Department of Transportation, and five of the 50 states chose to effectively change time zones rather than to change their clocks. The legislatures of Michigan and Hawaii voted to be exempt, and Alaska applied for a delay so that it could delineate its time zones. In Indiana and Kentucky, which shifted from the Eastern to Central time zones, the matter was complicated further because local governments were allowed the option to move their clocks forward if they chose, such as Dearborn County, Indiana, or Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.
• Moscow's 537 m tall TV tower is finished.

May 1

• With aspirations to become the fourth United States commercial television network (after NBC, CBS and ABC), the United Network began broadcasting on more than 100 independent stations at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time (8:00 p.m. Pacific Time) with its first and only program, The Las Vegas Show, a two-hour long weeknight variety show telecast in color. Comedian Bill Dana was the regular host, and his first guests were comedian Milton Berle, singer Abbe Lane, and the comedy team of Allen & Rossi. Lacking sufficient national sponsors and facing the enormous costs of using overland coaxial cables to relay the program to affiliates, the network would fold after 23 performances of The Las Vegas Show, with the last one ending at 1:00 in the morning Eastern time on June 1, after the May 31 program that featured singer Gilbert Price.
• Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu were married in a brief civil ceremony at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas.

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• GO Transit, Canada's first interregional public transit system, is established.

May 2

• Led by Huey P. Newton, a group of 40 members of the Black Panthers, armed with shotguns, rifles and pistols, forced their way into a session of the California House of Representatives at the state capitol building in Sacramento, as a protest against gun control. The California Assembly was debating passage of a bill that would forbid the carrying of a loaded firearm into any public place in the state. No violence took place, other than scuffling between some of the Panthers and the state police who responded to the incident. Sacramento city police stopped five cars that were bringing another 26 armed men join the 40 inside the capitol, and confiscated 15 weapons. As for the men in the capitol building, the police declined to make arrests because there was no violation of the law, and the weapons were returned to the group.
• The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup for the last time of the 20th century. To date, the Leafs have not returned to the Stanley Cup Finals. This resulted in long lasting depression and suicidal thoughts for many Maple Leafs fans. The game also marked the last for the National Hockey League as a six-team league, as six expansion teams would begin play in the fall.
• Harold Wilson announced in the House of Commons that the United Kingdom would apply for EEC membership. Four years earlier, in 1963, France's President Charles de Gaulle had vetoed the UK's attempt to join the EEC.

May 3 – The U.S. Marines captured the heavily fortified peaks of "Hill 881" near Khe Sanh, south of the demilitarized zone between North Vietnam and South Vietnam after a three-day battle between the 3rd brigade of the USMC 9th Infantry, and the 514th Viet Cong battalion. Ninety-six of the Marines were killed in the battle, and an estimated 181 Viet Cong died. During the 16-day fight in the Khe Sanh hills, 168 Americans and 824 Viet Cong were killed between April 24 and May 9.

May 4 – Lunar Orbiter 4 was launched by the United States from Cape Kennedy at 6:25 p.m. and would become, on May 4, the first probe to enter into a polar orbit around the Moon. In addition to getting the first pictures of the lunar south pole, the probe was also able to photograph 99% of the near side of the Moon.

May 6

• Four hundred students seize the administration building at Cheyney State College, now Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, the oldest institute for higher education for African Americans.
• Rioting broke out in Hong Kong that would ultimately see 51 people killed and more than 800 injured during a clash between police and 650 workers who had been fired from the Hong Kong Artificial Flower Works. A historian of the riots would later comment that "the sacking of the workers was the immediate trigger for Hong Kong's worst political violence that would claim 51 lives and prompt a huge social shake-up." The event that started the violence was when 150 workers blocked trucks attempting to ship out the day's production of goods at 4:00 in the afternoon. At 4:20, when non-striking workers attempted to load a truck, strikers rushed at foreman Hung Biu and scuffling broke out, followed half an hour later by the arrival of the police.
• The escalation of aerial bombardment in the Vietnam War reached a milestone with the flying of the 10,000th bombing sortie by a B-52. During the first 10,000 missions, 190,000 tons of bombs had been dropped on North Vietnam and on Viet Cong strongholds in South Vietnam.
• Dr. Zakir Hussain, the candidate of the ruling Congress Party, became the first Muslim to be elected President of India, defeating former Chief Justice of India K. Subba Rao.

Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

1. "Somethin' Stupid," Frank & Nancy Sinatra
2. "The Happening," The Supremes
3. "Sweet Soul Music," Arthur Conley
4. "A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You," The Monkees
5. "Happy Together," The Turtles
6. "I Think We're Alone Now," Tommy James & The Shondells
7. "Don't You Care," The Buckinghams
8. "Close Your Eyes," Peaches & Herb
9. "You Got What It Takes," The Dave Clark Five
10. "I'm a Man," The Spencer Davis Group
11. "Jimmy Mack," Martha & The Vandellas
12. "On a Carousel," The Hollies
13. "This Is My Song," Petula Clark
14. "Western Union," The Five Americans
15. "When I Was Young," Eric Burdon & The Animals
16. "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)," Aretha Franklin
17. "I Got Rhythm," The Happenings
18. "Friday on My Mind," The Easybeats
19. "Groovin'," The Young Rascals
20. "Release Me (and Let Me Love Again)," Engelbert Humperdinck
21. "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon," Neil Diamond

23. "At the Zoo," Simon & Garfunkel
24. "Bernadette," Four Tops
25. "Here Comes My Baby," The Tremeloes
26. "Respect," Aretha Franklin
27. "With This Ring," The Platters
28. "Get Me to the World on Time," The Electric Prunes
29. "Yellow Balloon," The Yellow Balloon
30. "My Back Pages," The Byrds
31. "Somebody to Love," Jefferson Airplane
32. "Dead End Street Monologue/Dead End Street," Lou Rawls
33. "Him or Me, What's It Gonna Be?," Paul Revere & The Raiders

35. "Sunshine Girl," The Parade

39. "Casino Royale," Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
40. "Mirage," Tommy James & The Shondells
41. "Shake a Tail Feather," James & Bobby Purify
42. "All I Need," The Temptations
43. "California Nights," Lesley Gore
44. "Creeque Alley," The Mamas & The Papas

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

50. "For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey What's That Sound)," Buffalo Springfield

51. "Happy Jack," The Who
52. "Dry Your Eyes," Brenda & The Tabulations

54. "I'll Try Anything," Dusty Springfield

57. "Too Many Fish in the Sea & Three Little Fishes," Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels

59. "When You're Young and in Love," The Marvelettes

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

66. "The Oogum Boogum Song," Brenton Wood

68. "Alfie," Dionne Warwick

79. "Tramp," Otis & Carla

85. "Come on Down to My Boat," Every Mother's Son
86. "Do It Again a Little Bit Slower," Jon & Robin & The In Crowd

Leaving the chart:

• "Beggin'," The Four Seasons (9 weeks)
• "Dedicated to the One I Love," The Mamas & The Papas (10 weeks)
• "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)," Harpers Bizarre (11 weeks)
• "Gonna Give Her All the Love I've Got," Jimmy Ruffin (7 weeks)
• "I've Been Lonely Too Long," The Young Rascals (14 weeks)
• "Penny Lane," The Beatles (10 weeks)
• "There's a Kind of Hush," Herman's Hermits (12 weeks)

Recent and new on the chart:

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

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(Apr. 29; #20 US; #8 AC; #5 UK)

"Six O'Clock," The Lovin' Spoonful

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(Apr. 29; #18 US)

"Do It Again a Little Bit Slower," Jon & Robin & The In Crowd

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(#18 US)

"Come on Down to My Boat," Every Mother's Son

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(#6 US)


And new on the boob tube:

• The Ed Sullivan Show, Season 19, episode 32
• The Rat Patrol, "The Delilah Raid" (season finale)
• The Invaders, "Wall of Crystal"
• Dragnet 1967, "The Big Kids"
• The Avengers, "Something Nasty in the Nursery"

_______

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

_______

The Wiki page for the song agrees with the double-entendre, but how that scans with the group's history versus solo careers I have no idea.

The reading of how they explained it that makes more sense to me is that in that change-up line, Cass is representing the group, and it's about the group not having broken out as early as contemporaries mentioned in the song (the Lovin' Spoonful, the Byrds, Barry McGuire).

 

[RJDiogenes]

I'll be back in the morning to read the latest post, but I just wanted to quickly stop by and mention that I found out today-- from my Mother, of all people-- that Neal Adams has died.

He was a little bit on the crazy side, but what a magnificent artist.

 

[The Old Mixer]

One of the definitive comic book artists...I came into comics in the era when everyone was doing him.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

Under federal law, daylight saving time went into effect throughout the United States for the first time, with the 1966 Uniform Time Act mandating that clocks be set ahead one hour at 2:00 in the morning on the last Sunday in April and then turned back one hour on the last Sunday in October. However, the law provided that any state could seek exemption from compliance by the United States Department of Transportation, and five of the 50 states chose to effectively change time zones rather than to change their clocks. The legislatures of Michigan and Hawaii voted to be exempt, and Alaska applied for a delay so that it could delineate its time zones. In Indiana and Kentucky, which shifted from the Eastern to Central time zones, the matter was complicated further because local governments were allowed the option to move their clocks forward if they chose, such as Dearborn County, Indiana, or Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.

And with that, you can firmly place the events of "Night of the Living Dead" to Sunday, April 28 to Monday, April 29, 1968.

The reason being that the first words spoken in the movie by Barbra are, "They ought to make the day the time changes the first day of summer." Johnny replies, "What?" And Barbra says, "Well, it's eight o'clock and it's still light."

I don't know it George Romero had that in mind as an explanation as to why it was light out when they shot the opening sequence in the cemetery in the fall of 1967, but he and John Russo must have been aware of it enough to have it in the script.

If one so desires, you can almost construct a loose chronology of the events of the "Night", "Dawn" and "Day" dead movies.

The first movie takes place around the last Sunday in April, due to the time change.

During the opening sequence in the newsroom in "Dawn", Doctor Foster says that the general populace hasn't listened (to the government) for "three weeks". That would put the opening sometime in mid-May.

Towards the end of the movie, a 12-month wall calendar is seen with approximately 5 months crossed off. So, Steven, Peter and Fran are in the Monroeville Mall from approximately mid-May to September. Which is in line with the progression of Fran's pregnancy. She's "three or four months" pregnant at the beginning of the movie, and almost ready to give birth the end (according to the novelization). The months and the year on the calendar aren't shown in close-up, but the mall sequences were filmed from late-November 1977 to early-January 1978; so, it might be a 1977 calendar.

In "Day" a calendar is seen at the beginning of the movie. It's reads, "October" and the 31st is crossed out. At the end of the movie, on the beach, Sarah pulls out a piece of paper with a crude calendar written on it, and crossed off the 3rd, meaning "November". Even discounting the fact that the opening is a dream, the fact that Sarah crosses off the 3rd, means "Day" must take place from approximately October 31 to November 3.

Therefore, even though there are 17 years between "Night" and "Day", the entire "Dead" trilogy spans approximately 8 months from late-April to early-November; with a possible overlap between "Dawn" and "Day".

I know that the original shooting script for "Day" specified that it had been five years since the outbreak began; personally, there's no way those people would have stayed in that bunker for five years without running out of fuel for the helicopter (if the aviation fuel hadn't already degraded) and supplies. Dialogue implies that they'd only recently lost contact with Washington D.C. Again, why would the government still be functioning five years into the zombie outbreak? no, a much shorter timespan is preferred.

P.S.

Yes, I know I have too much time on my hands to think about things like this.

 

[Nerys Myk]

"Do It Again a Little Bit Slower," Jon & Robin & The In Crowd

(#18 US)

Are we sure this isn't from a SNL sketch starring Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig?

 

[RJDiogenes]

Under federal law, daylight saving time went into effect throughout the United States for the first time

They should have set up DST like Social Security so that we could save all these daylight hours for our retirement.

May 1

Sometimes I look at random dates and wonder what profound, timeline-altering events took place and are yet known to but a handful.

To date, the Leafs have not returned to the Stanley Cup Finals. This resulted in long lasting depression and suicidal thoughts for many Maple Leafs fans.

I hope this was inserted by some mischievous joker.

In addition to getting the first pictures of the lunar south pole, the probe was also able to photograph 99% of the near side of the Moon.

The other 1%, not coincidentally, was where the alien base is located.

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

Whistle Rock never really took off as a genre.

"Six O'Clock," The Lovin' Spoonful

The first recorded case of DST Disorder (ICD-10 R41.9).

"Do It Again a Little Bit Slower," Jon & Robin & The In Crowd

Nice enough. I don't think I've heard it before, but parts of it sound familiar.

"Come on Down to My Boat," Every Mother's Son

This is a good one, and another one that never gets airtime anymore.

The reading of how they explained it that makes more sense to me is that in that change-up line, Cass is representing the group, and it's about the group not having broken out as early as contemporaries mentioned in the song (the Lovin' Spoonful, the Byrds, Barry McGuire).

Yeah, that makes sense.

One of the definitive comic book artists...I came into comics in the era when everyone was doing him.

He was really magnificent, and right out of the gate.

Therefore, even though there are 17 years between "Night" and "Day", the entire "Dead" trilogy spans approximately 8 months from late-April to early-November; with a possible overlap between "Dawn" and "Day".

Nice. That gap between the first two always kind of bugged me. That's a good job of bringing some continuity to it.

Yes, I know I have too much time on my hands to think about things like this.

Welcome to my world.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Are we sure this isn't from a SNL sketch starring Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig?

I think I Capped that reference...it's been a while.

They should have set up DST like Social Security so that we could save all these daylight hours for our retirement.

I like that idea...

Sometimes I look at random dates and wonder what profound, timeline-altering events took place and are yet known to but a handful.

Is this a reference to something I didn't Cap?

I hope this was inserted by some mischievous joker.

I must've skimmed past that! I checked, it's there on the Wiki page.

The other 1%, not coincidentally, was where the alien base is located.

Blue Area!

Whistle Rock never really took off as a genre.

If you even want to call this novelty number "rock". I don't see anything about it on the single's Wiki page, but I've always wondered if the title was referring to Batman...there's a certain similarity in the backing rhythm to the Batman theme.

The first recorded case of DST Disorder (ICD-10 R41.9).

Meep-mee-neepneep. The Spoonful are still enjoyable, but definitely past their classic streak at this point.

Nice enough. I don't think I've heard it before, but parts of it sound familiar.

I think it kinda reminds me of Nino Tempo & April Stevens.

This is a good one, and another one that never gets airtime anymore.

An enjoyable, evocative number. It still gets played on Sirius.

 

[gblews]

• Led by Huey P. Newton, a group of 40 members of the Black Panthers, armed with shotguns, rifles and pistols, forced their way into a session of the California House of Representatives at the state capitol building in Sacramento, as a protest against gun control. The California Assembly was debating passage of a bill that would forbid the carrying of a loaded firearm into any public place in the state. No violence took place, other than scuffling between some of the Panthers and the state police who responded to the incident. Sacramento city police stopped five cars that were bringing another 26 armed men join the 40 inside the capitol, and confiscated 15 weapons. As for the men in the capitol building, the police declined to make arrests because there was no violation of the law, and the weapons were returned to the group.

• The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup for the last time of the 20th century. To date, the Leafs have not returned to the Stanley Cup Finals. This resulted in long lasting depression and suicidal thoughts for many Maple Leafs fans. The game also marked the last for the National Hockey League as a six-team league, as six expansion team

Lord, the irony. In the mid 60’s, when Black men started showing up in public, armed and swearing to defend themselves and their community “by any means necessary, California legislature hurried up and passed gun control laws. My, how things have changed GeForce most of the nation.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Is this a reference to something I didn't Cap?

A reference to something you couldn't possibly Cap, actually. Another clue: Suddenly my age matches my birth year.

I must've skimmed past that! I checked, it's there on the Wiki page.

That's hilarious.

Blue Area!

Yeah! I wish I thought of that.

If you even want to call this novelty number "rock".

I don't. It was just the best way I could think of to phrase the joke.

Meep-mee-neepneep. The Spoonful are still enjoyable, but definitely past their classic streak at this point.

Unfortunately so. One of those bands that burned briefly.

An enjoyable, evocative number. It still gets played on Sirius.

That's good. I haven't heard it on the radio in a few years.

 

[The Old Mixer]

50 Years Ago This Week

April 30 – Arthur Godfrey ended his broadcasting career with the final show of his CBS Radio Network program, Arthur Godfrey Time, which had run since 1945.

May 1

• The North Vietnamese Army captured the South Vietnamese province and city of Quảng Trị.
• British commercial diver Robert Taylor vomited and drowned while SCUBA diving from the drill ship Britannia to conduct routine maintenance in the North Sea.

May 2

• A fire broke out at 11:40 a.m. at the Sunshine Silver Mine near Kellogg, Idaho 3,700 feet underground. Carbon monoxide was spread by the mine's fans and killed 91 miners. Another 82 were able to escape.
• U.S. Patent 3,659,915 was issued to Corning Glass, the first ever for fiber optic cable.

May 3 – Died: Les Harvey, 27, guitarist of Stone the Crows, fatally electrocuted before a crowd of 1,200 people, as he was preparing to perform at the Top Rank ballroom at Swansea University in Wales, UK. Reportedly, Harvey's hands were wet when he took hold of a microphone that was not properly grounded.

May 4 – The Paris Peace Talks were suspended indefinitely after the United States and South Vietnam pulled out because of "a lack of progress". When North Vietnam's negotiator Lê Đức Thọ refused to budge on negotiations, even after Henry Kissinger had suggested that the American President was a "madman", President Nixon told Kissinger, "The bastards have never been bombed like they're going to be bombed this time." With talks over, the Operation Linebacker bombing and mining campaign against North Vietnam began.

May 5

• Alitalia Flight 112 from Rome crashed into a mountain as it made its approach to Palermo, killing all 115 persons on board. The debris fell near the town of Carini.
• Eastern Airlines Flight 175 was hijacked by Frederick Hahneman shortly after takeoff from Allentown, Pennsylvania. On the same day, Western Airlines Flight 407, with 81 on board, was hijacked by Michael Lynn Hansen after takeoff from Salt Lake City. Hahneman released the 48 Eastern passengers and one stewardess in Washington, D.C. after collecting $303,000 ransom money and six parachutes, flew to New Orleans and back after being unhappy with the small denominations of the bills, then had the plane fly over Honduras, where he parachuted safely. Hansen forced the Western plane to fly to Cuba. Hahneman was captured days later by soldiers, while Hansen was extradited back to the United States in 1975.

Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

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

28. "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All," The 5th Dimension
29. "Taxi," Harry Chapin
30. "Jump into the Fire," Nilsson
31. "I Saw the Light," Todd Rundgren
32. "Roundabout," Yes

34. "Nice to Be with You," Gallery

36. "Walkin' in the Rain with the One I Love," Love Unlimited
37. "Sylvia's Mother," Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show

40. "Diary," Bread
41. "Taurus," Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band

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

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

49. "Do Your Thing," Isaac Hayes
50. "Legend in Your Own Time," Carly Simon

56. "Smilin'," Sly & The Family Stone
57. "Outa-Space," Billy Preston

59. "Old Man," Neil Young

67. "Song Sung Blue," Neil Diamond

70. "Changes," David Bowie
71. "Lean on Me," Bill Withers
72. "Someday Never Comes," Creedence Clearwater Revival
73. "Daddy, Don't You Walk So Fast," Wayne Newton

80. "Rocket Man," Elton John

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

97. "An American Trilogy," Elvis Presley

Leaving the chart:

• "Give Ireland Back to the Irish," Wings (8 weeks)
• "Mother and Child Reunion," Paul Simon (13 weeks)
• "Rock and Roll," Led Zeppelin (7 weeks)

Recent and new on the chart:

"Smilin'," Sly & The Family Stone

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(Apr. 22; #42 US; #21 R&B)

"Isn't Life Strange," The Moody Blues

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(Apr. 22; #29 US; #13 UK)

"Someday Never Comes," Creedence Clearwater Revival

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(#25 US)

"Rocket Man," Elton John

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(#6 US; #39 AC; #2 UK; #242 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time [2004])

"Song Sung Blue," Neil Diamond

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(#1 US the week of July 1, 1972; #1 AC; #14 UK)

_______

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

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A reference to something you couldn't possibly Cap, actually. Another clue: Suddenly my age matches my birth year.

Something that happened specifically on May 1, 1967? Something that happened on May 1 when you were 51? I dunno.

That's good. I haven't heard it on the radio in a few years.

In my FM market, the oldies stations pretty much did away with the '60s entirely several years ago. Dunno if that's changed, but I doubt it...even Sirius bumped back their '50s and '60s stations from 5 and 6 to channels in the 70s.

 

[RJDiogenes]

When North Vietnam's negotiator Lê Đức Thọ refused to budge on negotiations, even after Henry Kissinger had suggested that the American President was a "madman", President Nixon told Kissinger, "The bastards have never been bombed like they're going to be bombed this time."

"Mad?! You dare call me mad?!?"

Hahneman was captured days later by soldiers, while Hansen was extradited back to the United States in 1975.

They might want to consider putting that much effort into honest work.

"Smilin'," Sly & The Family Stone

Not much here besides that funky 70s sound.

"Isn't Life Strange," The Moody Blues

They're still in their prime, but this is kind of a weak entry. It kind of has a Bee Gees vibe, actually.

"Someday Never Comes," Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence. 'nuff said.

"Rocket Man," Elton John

This is great. Classic Elton.

"Song Sung Blue," Neil Diamond

One of his best.

Something that happened specifically on May 1, 1967? Something that happened on May 1 when you were 51? I dunno.

Nope. I was born in 61 and turned 61 on May 1st. It's like the riddle of the Sphinx.

In my FM market, the oldies stations pretty much did away with the '60s entirely several years ago. Dunno if that's changed, but I doubt it...even Sirius bumped back their '50s and '60s stations from 5 and 6 to channels in the 70s.

Same here. It's possible to hear something from the 60s on the Classic Rock station, but the general Oldies station is "80s, 90s, and more!" Which means an occasional treat from the 70s. The last time I looked at the Comcast music channels, there was still a 70s channel, but everything before that was lumped together.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

Same here. It's possible to hear something from the 60s on the Classic Rock station, but the general Oldies station is "80s, 90s, and more!" Which means an occasional treat from the 70s. The last time I looked at the Comcast music channels, there was still a 70s channel, but everything before that was lumped together.

My local "Classic Rock" station now almost exclusively plays music from the '90s, with a few '70s and '80s thrown into the mix; same as with the "Soft Rock" stations. The only station that plays music from the '60-'80s is an AM station with a crappy signal. When I get it, it's good, it plays some deep cuts. They've recently launched a sister station that plays "Classic Country". I remember the days when you would get Kenny Rodgers and Dolly Parton alongside Elton John and Fleetwood Mac. Now it's all a limited playlist; and since a lot of the radios are owned by iHeart, it's the same limited number of songs across the dial. There have been times when I've been flipping through the dial and the same damn song is playing on two or three stations.

 

[RJDiogenes]

My local "Classic Rock" station now almost exclusively plays music from the '90s, with a few '70s and '80s thrown into the mix;

That's pretty sad. We do get a decent amount of 70s and 80s, but more and more often I'm hearing Grunge.

The only station that plays music from the '60-'80s is an AM station with a crappy signal.

There's a small station down the Cape that I have on my presets that's like that. It's FM, but I get pretty bad reception near my house. I listen to it on Saturday mornings on my way to my Mother's house for the American Top 40 reruns. It's also the station that's currently hosting Lost 45s.

I remember the days when you would get Kenny Rodgers and Dolly Parton alongside Elton John and Fleetwood Mac.

That was Top 40 back in the day. There was some real diversity on the air until the end of the 70s or so.

 

[scotpens]

Whistle Rock never really took off as a genre.

If you even want to call this novelty number "rock". I don't see anything about it on the single's Wiki page, but I've always wondered if the title was referring to Batman...there's a certain similarity in the backing rhythm to the Batman theme.

A "batman" is a military officer's personal servant. Wiki link: Batman (military)