Keener 13

Highlights from today’s morning show include some back story on Radio City Music Hall, two pivotal dates in John Lennon’s timeline, the four women who played “Dolly” on Broadway (plus one on film), Sonny & Cher get a show, sprinting across Antarctica and the third longest running prime time soap opera in history debuts.

The iconic Radio City Music Hall opened on this date in 1932 in New York, home to the Rockettes & in the same complex as the NBC Studio 6-B where Jimmy Fallon‘s Tonight Show is taped. Johnny Carson started his long reign in that same studio.

Today in 1958, John Lennon meets future wife Cynthia Powell at the Liverpool College of Art. 22 years later to the day, just weeks after his death, Lennon’s “(Just Like) Starting Over” (Video) hits #1 in America.

Today in 1970 “Hello, Dolly!” closes at New York’s St James Theater after 2844 performances. Carol Channing originated the title role. Pearl Bailey, Bette Midler and Bernadette Peters have all made it their own since. Barbara Streisand starred in the 1969 film version.

Today in 1971 The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour gets a regular run on CBS after  serving as a summer replacement. It stays on the air for three years until their divorce got in the way. The duo would reunite in 1976 for a two year stint hosting the identically formatted The Sonny & Cher Show, proving “The Beat Goes On”.

Tonight in 1979 the wildly popular CBS show, “Dallas”, spins off another prime time soap opera: “Knots Landing“. It will become longest-running primetime drama on U.S. TV after Gunsmoke and Bonanza.

Missing Carrie Fisher today. Our favorite princess left us on this date in 2016. We lost her mom, Debbie Reynolds the next day. Carrie’s autobiographical “The Princess Diarist” is a great listen on Audible. She narrates the book herself, adding a dimension of authenticity and honesty that is at once candidly funny and heartbreaking. Debbie’s “Unsinkable” memoir is equally so.

The Stars above have burned a little brighter ever since.

In the News:

NYT: Sprinting across Antarctica, alone.
Bloomberg: Making sense of the stock market’s wild ride.
Weather Underground: Who gets blizzard conditions today?

Today’s Birthdays: Scotty Moore (Elvis’ Guitar Player), 1931, (Died 2016); Mike Pinder (Moody Blues), 1941; Mick Jones (Foreigner), 1944; Larry Byrom (Steppenwolf), 1948; David Knopfler (Dire Straits), 1952

This morning’s playlist video links:
Roll to Me – Del Amitri
It Don’t Come Easy – Ringo
Shake It Off – Tim Akers & The Smoking Section

The second in our series of inspirational quotes to fire you up for 2019 comes from master motivator, Jim Rohn: “If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”

As we say goodbye to 2018, lets look back 50 years to see what Chicago’s WLS dubbed “The Top 89 Hits of 1968”.

It was quite a year in Chicago. The Democratic Convention demonstrations gave the city and its long serving mayor, Richard Daily a black eye. Top-40 radio was at the zenith of its popularity across the country and the Windy City had two rockers that were constantly challenging one another for dominance: ABC owned WLS and WCFL, licensed to the Chicago Federation of Labor. Nothing like some hot competition to keep everyone at the top of their game.

And so it was on the charts in 1968. The Beatles had, arguably, their biggest hit record, the double sided Hey Jude & Revolution. Motown was still churning out the hits and R&B had gone mainstream. The Brits were well represented with the Four Lads, the Stones and the Bee Gees leading the charge. And a new genre, “Bubble Gum”, was starting to pop into the pop charts.

Here’s how WLS ranked the most popular tunes of the year as part of their final Hit Parade, published on December 23, 1968..

1.  HEY JUDE/REVOLUTION-The Beatles
2.  LOVE IS BLUE-Paul Mauriat
3.  HONEY-Bobby Goldsboro
4.  HARPER VALLEY PTA-Jeannie C. Riley
5.  THIS GUY’S IN LOVE WITH YOU-Herb Alpert
6.  YUMMY, YUMMY, YUMMY-Ohio Express
7.  THOSE WERE THE DAYS-Mary Hopkin
8.  HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE-Marvin Gaye
9.  FIRE-Crazy World Of Arthur Brown
10. JUMPIN’ JACK FLASH-Rolling Stones
11. GRAZIN’ IN THE GRASS-Hugh Masakela
12. VALLERI-The Monkees
13. LOVE CHILD-Supremes
14. MONY MONY-Tommy James & The Shondells
15. BEND ME, SHAPE ME-American Breed
16. LADY MADONNA-The Beatles
17. MRS. ROBINSON-Simon & Garfunkel
18. PEOPLE GOT TO BE FREE-Rascals
19. GREEN TAMBOURINE-Lemon Pipers
20. JUDY IN DISGUISE-John Fred & The Playboy Band
21. VALLEY OF THE DOLLS-Dionne Warwick
22. LITTLE GREEN APLES-O.C. Smith
23. WOMAN WOMAN-Gary Puckett & Union Gap
24. HELLO, I LOVE YOU-Doors
25. YOUNG GIRL-Gary Puckett & Union Gap
26. ABRAHAM, MARTIN & JOHN-Dion
27. TURN AROUND, LOOK AT ME-Vogues
28. SLIP AWAY-Clarence Carter
29. TIGHTEN UP-Archie Bell & The Drells
30. THE HORSE-Cliff Nobles & Co.
31. I WILL ALWAYS THINKABOUT YOU-New Colony Six
32. THE DOCK OF THE BAY-Otis Redding
33. 1-2-3 RED LIGHT-1910 Fruitgum Company
34. A BEAUTIFUL MORNING-Rascals
35. BORN TO BE WILD-Steppenwolf
36. THE GOOD, BAD & THE UGLY-Hugh Montenegro
37. SPOOKY-Classics IV
38. DO IT AGAIN-Beach Boys
39. I WONDER WHAT SHE’S DOING TONIGHT-Boyce & Hart
40. STONED SOUL PICNIC-5th Dimension
41. SINCE YOU’VE BEEN GONE-Aretha Franklin
42. HOLD ME TIGHT-Johnny Nash
43. LIGHT MY FIRE-Doors
44. OVER YOU-Gary Puckett & Union Gap
45. CHEWY CHEWY-Ohio Express
46. SEALED WITH A KISS-Gary Lewis
47. MacARTHUR PARK-Richard Harris
48. PICTURES OF MATCHSTICK MEN-Status Quo
49. I GOTTA GET A MESSAGE TO YOU-Bee Gees
50. CHAIN OF FOOLS-Aretha Franklin
51. LADY WILL POWER-Gary Puckett & Union Gap
52. MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS-Grass Roots
53. ANGEL OF THE MORNING-Merilee Rush
54. I LOVE YOU-People
55. SIMON SEZ-1910 Fruitgum Company
56. I WISH IT WOULD RAIN-Temptations
57. FOOL ON THE HILL-Sergio Mendez & Brazil 66
58. INDIAN LAKE-Cowsills
59. GOING OUT OF MY HEAD-Lettermen
60. THERE WAS A TIME-James Brown
61. ELEANOR-Turtles
62. I’M GONNA MAKE YOU LOVE ME-Supremes/Temptations
63. WHITE ROOM-Cream
64. FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE-Stevie Wonder
65. DIFFERENT DRUM-Stone Poneys
66. BONNIE & CLYDE-Georgie Fame
67. I’M A GIRL WATCHER-The O’Kaysions
68. LA LA MEANS I LOVE YOU-Delphonics
69. SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE-Cream
70. THERE IS-The Dells
71. REACH OUT OF THE DARKNESS-Friends & Lovers
72. MAGIC CARPET RIDE-Steppenwolf
73. JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE MIND-Amboy Dukes
74. I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER-Aretha Franklin
75. CLASSICAL GAS-Mason Williams
76. CINNAMON-Derek
77. I SECOND THAT EMOTION-Smokey Robinson/Miracles
78. SPECIAL ANGEL-Vogues
79. DANCE TO THE MUSIC-Sly & The Family Stone
80. CRY LIKE A BABY-Box Tops
81. HOW DID WE EVER GET THIS WAY-Andy Kim
82. SUMMERTIME BLUES-Blue Cheer
83. YOU KEEP ME HANGIN’ ON-Vanilla Fudge
84. WHO’S MAKING LOVE-Johnny Taylor
85. JUST DROPPED IN (TO SEE…)-First Edition
86. THE UNICORN-Irish Rovers
87. DOWN AT LULU’S-Ohio Express
88. COWBOYS TO GIRLS-Intruders
89. I NEED LOVE-Third Booth

What are your favorite Christmas tunes? When my wife was putting together her list on Amazon Prime Unlimited, we got to talking about our  all time Christmas faves. Casey Kasem recorded an All Time Christmas Countdown for his American Top 40 program in 1971. It’s vastly different than the latest Billboard iteration. Let’s look at them both.

BTW.. The top selling single of all time is still Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas”.

Here’s Billboard Magazine’s Take:
Look and Listen to the entire list

1 ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU-Mariah Carey
2 IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR-Andy Williams
3 JINGLE BELL ROCK-Bobby Helms
4 ROCKIN’ AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE-Brenda Lee
5 A HOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS-Burl Ives
6 Nat King Cole – THE CHRISTMAS SONG-Nat King Cole
7 RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER-Gene Autry
8 LAST CHRISTMAS-Wham!
9 LET IT SNOW-Dean Martin
10 HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS-Gene Autry
11 SLEIGH RIDE-The Ronettes
12 FELIZ NAVIDAD-Jose Feliciano
13 (THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE) HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS-Perry Como
14 WHITE CHRISTMAS-Bing Crosby
15 IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK LIKE CHRISTMAS-Perry Como
16 BLUE CHRISTMAS-Elvis Presley
17 IT’S COLD OUTSIDE-Dean Martin Baby
18 IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS-Michael Buble
19 WONDERFUL CHRISTMASTIME-Paul McCartney
20 UNDERNEATH THE CHRISTMAS TREE-Kelly Clarkson

American Top 40 All Time Christmas Countdown December 25, 1971
01. WHITE CHRISTMAS-Bing Crosby
02. RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER-Gene Autry
03. LITTLE DRUMMER BOY-Harry Simeone Chorale
04. THE CHRISTMAS SONG-Nat King Cole
05. JINGLE BELL ROCK-Bobby Helms
06. SILVER BELLS-Margaret Whiting & Jimmy Wakely
07. WINTER WONDERLAND-Ray Conniff Orchestra & Chorus
08. SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN-Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters
09. BLUE CHRISTMAS-Elvis Presley
10. THE CHIPMUNK SONG-Chipmunks
11. JINGLE BELLS-Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters
12. FROSTY THE SNOWMAN-Gene Autry
13. SLEIGH RIDE-Leroy Anderson
14. HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS-Gene Autry
15. I SAW MOMMY KISSING SANTA CLAUS-Jimmy Boyd
16. PLEASE COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS-Charles Brown
17. ROCKIN’ AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE-Brenda Lee
18. NUTTIN’ FOR CHRISTMAS-Ricky Zahnd
19. YOU’RE ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS-Frankie Laine* (Not played on countdown)
20. I’LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS-Bing Crosby
21. ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS MY TWO FRONT TEETH-Spike Jones
22. MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY-Charles Brown
23. CHRISTMAS IN KILARNEY-Bing Crosby
24. HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS-Perry Como
25. IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS-Chipmunks
26. I YUST GO NUTS AT CHRISTMAS-Yogi Yorgesson
27. SANTA BABY-Eartha Kitt
28. MARY’S BOY CHILD-Harry Belafonte
29. CHRISTMAS DRAGNET-Stan Freberg
30. PRETTY PAPER-Roy Orbison
31. SNOOPY’S CHRISTMAS-Royal Guardsmen* (Not played on countdown)
32. LITTLE SAINT NICK-Beach Boys
33. BABY’S FIRST CHRISTMAS-Connie Francis
34. SANTO NATALE-David Whitfield
35. SANTA & THE SATELLITE-Dickie Goodman
36. LITTLE ALTAR BOY-Andy Williams
37. THE HAPPY REINDEER-Dancer, Prancer & Nervous
38. SANTA CLAUS IS WATCHING YOU-Ray Stevens
39. MERRY CHRISTMAS POLKA-Andrews Sisters* (Not played on countdown)
40. IF EVERY DAY WAS LIKE CHRISTMAS-Elvis Presley

Here’s Bing singing “White Christmas” in the 1954 film of the same name.

One of the most underrated talents of the 70s was Rupert Holmes. He first came to my attention when I got a hold of his 1974 album “Widescreen”, a collection of musical stories that had great lyrics and even better music. That one never got traction and it wasn’t until this week in 1979 that he had his only number one with “Escape – The Pina Colada Song“.

What is less known is that he was the driving force behind the band The Bouys. Holmes convinced Scepter Records to give them a one-single contract. The label refused to promote the band, so Holmes tried to think of an angle that would get them some viral publicity. He landed on writing a tune that would get The Bouys “banned” from airplay, thus generating major buzz. He wrote a tune that hinted at cannibalism and that did the trick, ultimately getting The Bouys’ one hit, “Timothy” on the charts. It peaked at #17 in February of 1970.

Two perennial questions for James Bond fans: Who is your favorite Bond and what is your favorite Bond movie? On December 22, 1964, the third film in the long running series, “Goldfinger,” starring Sean Connery, Shirley Eaton, Gert Fröbe, and Honor Blackman, had its North American premiere in New York City.

Some Bond trivia: Gert Fröbe’s English was so bad that British voice actor, Michael Collins, was hired to loop it. That’s also Collins voice you hear speaking the lines of Tiger Tanaka, the head of the Japanese Secret Service in “You Only Live Twice”.

For me, there is still no bond like Sean. Daniel Craig is evolving into second place on my list. What’s the most underrated Bond flick? To my taste “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”, starring one time Bond, George Lazenby and former Avenger, Dianna Rigg doesn’t get enough love. One wonders how it would rate in the series had Sean Connery hung around?

On December 21st, 1985, Bruce Springsteen‘s album, “Born in the USA” passed Michael Jackson‘s “Thriller” to become the second-longest lasting album in the Billboard Top 10. It remained there for 79 weeks, a tenure surpassed only by the original Broadway cast album of “The Sound of Music” at 109 weeks.

What LP holds the distinction of the longest ever run on the the Billboard album charts? Pink Floyd‘s “Dark Side of the Moon”. It was in circulation for 939 weeks, just over 18 years.

Born In the USA – Live

This week’s edition of “Remembering a Forgotten Star” features prolific actress Irene Hervey, who died on December 20, 1998. She was born Beulah Irene Herwick on  July 11, 1909. Under the stage name Irene Hervey, she was a ubiquitous face on screen, appearing in more than fifty films and numerous television series over a career spanning five decades.

Among her film credits:  The Stranger’s Return (1933), with Lionel Barrymore, The Count of Monte Cristo (1934),  Destry Rides Again (1939) opposite Jimmy Stewart and Marlene Dietrich,  The House of Fear (1939), and the musical The Boys from Syracuse (1940), in which she starred with her then-husband, Allan Jones.

Who was Allan Jones? If you’ve seen A Night at the Opera, you know him as the good-guy tenor managed by Chico Marx, and romancing Kitty Carlisle.

Hervey became a horror queen in the late 40s and 50s, appearing in  Night Monster (1942) opposite Bela Lugosi, Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948), and A Cry in the Night (1956).

She made a seamless transition to television appearing in dozens of programs, including Perry Mason, Honey West, and My Three Sons, where she earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Single Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role. Later in her career, she had minor roles in the Goldie Hawn vehicle Cactus Flower (1969) and Clint Eastwood‘s  Play Misty for Me (1971).

She continued to work on television through the 70s, guesting on Dr. Kildare, The Twilight Zone, Burke’s Law, Ironside, The Mod Squad and Charlie’s Angels. Her last appearance was in the Animal House TV spin off, Delta House in 1979.

She was married to Jones from 1936 to 1957, giving birth to two children, one of whom was singer Jack Jones.

Irene Hervey lived to age 89 and although not a household name, she’s one of those familiar faces you see on MeTV and say, “Hey, don’t I know that woman?”

Via Wikipedia

On December 19, 1957, he original Broadway production of Meredith Willson’s musical “The Music Man,” starring Robert Preston, Barbara Cook as Marian, Eddie Hodges as Winthrop, Pert Kelton as Mrs. Paroo, Iggie Wolfington as Marcellus Washburn and David Burns as Mayor Shinn, opened at New York’s Majestic Theatre for 1,375 performances.

Where was Shirley Jones? She didn’t appear on the scene until the film was made in 1962. The Broadway role was performed by Barbara Cook . It was Cook’s third appearance on the Great White Way, previously starring in Plain and Fancy (1955), Candide (1956). Her her “vocal agility, wide range, warm sound, and emotive interpretations” were renown, taking on a darker tone as the years passed. She continued to be considered one of the leading interpreters of song well into her 80s. Via Wikipedia.

The young actor, Eddie Hodges, also made his Broadway debut in The Music Man in the role of Winthrop, made famous on screen by Ronnie Howard. A bit of trivia. If you’ve seen the film The Right Stuff, the Hodges character is seen competing with as  Ed Harris as John Glenn on the game show Name That Tune. This is a true event that happened on October 4, 1957, the day the Russians launched Sputnik 1.

Watch the dance sequence in the Steven Spielberg film 1941 closely and you’ll see Iggie Wolfington as the talent agent, “Myron Mishkin”.

On December 18, 1972, Australian Singer, Helen Reddy struck gold with her liberation anthem, “I Am Woman“. The tune was written by Reddy in collaboration with singer/songwriter Ray Burton.

Here’s how she came up with the idea:

“I couldn’t find any songs that said what I thought being woman was about. I thought about all these strong women in my family who had gotten through the Depression and world wars and drunken, abusive husbands. But there was nothing in music that reflected that.

“The only songs were ‘I Feel Pretty’ or that dreadful song ‘Born A Woman’. (The 1966 hit by Sandy Posey had observed that if you’re born a woman “you’re born to be stepped on, lied to, cheated on and treated like dirt. I’m glad it happened that way”.) These are not exactly empowering lyrics. I certainly never thought of myself as a songwriter, but it came down to having to do it.” Via WikiPedia.

Born October 25 1941, Helen Reddy placed 15 singles in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Six made the Top 10 and three reached No. 1. She appeared in the Disney film “Pete’s Dragon” and was one of the all star cast in the movie “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”.

From this week in 1964 at WKNR, in Detroit. It was definitely the cold and flu season as evidenced by the Vicks Cough Drop ad on the back of the guide.

Data courtesy Keener13.com.

WKNR, DETROIT, MI
Survey for week ending Thursday December 17, 1964

TW  TITLE                          ARTIST                  LW
 1. Love Potion Number Nine        Searchers                2
 2. I Feel Fine/She's a Women      Beatles                  1
 3. Paper Tiger                    Sue Thompson             5
 4. I Still Love You               Bobbi Martin            10
 5. That Shall Not Steal           Dick & Deedee            3
 6. Name Game                      Shirley Ellis           27
 7. One More Time                  Ray Charles Singers      7
 8. Shabby Little Hut              Reflections             19
 9. The Wedding                    Julie Rogers             6
10. Have You Looked into Your 
    Heart                          Jerry Vale              20
11. Oh No Not My Baby              Maxine Brown             8
12. You've Lost That Lovin Feeling Righteous Brothers      21
13. Since I Dont Have You          Chuck Jackson           18
14. Dear Heart/Emily               Andy Williams / Jack 
                                   Jones                   12
15. Come See About Me              Supremes                 4
16. My Love Forgive Me             Robert Goulet           14
17. Roses are Red                  You Know Whos           13
18. Leader of the Laundromat       Detergents              11
19. Promised Land                  Chuck Berry             25
20. Can You Jerk Like Me           Contours                23
21. Downtown                       Petula Clark            --
22. I'll Be There                  Gerry & The Pacemakers  26
23. Amen                           Impressions / Sisters   24
24. My Buddy Seat                  Hondells                28
25. Give Him a Great Big Kiss      Shangri-Las             --
26. Wild One                       Martha & The Vandellas  29
27. Across the Street              Ray Peterson            31
28. Running Scared                 Sunset Strings          30
29. Let's Lock the Door            Jay & The Americans     --
30. The In Crowd                   Dobie Gray              --
31. Keep Searchin                  Del Shannon             --


(Key Song of the Week)

All Day & All The Night - Kinks

This week’s forgotten classic. A one hit wonder from Julie Rogers called “The Wedding”. The British sensation had two more top 40 UK hits with “Like a Child” (UK No. 20, US No. 67) and “Hawaiian Wedding Song” (UK No. 31), both in 1965. She also recorded a demo of “You Only Live Twice”, which appeared on the 1992 limited edition version of the album, The Best of Bond…James Bond. The song’s writers, composer John Barry (composer) and lyricist Leslie Bricusse, later wrote a completely different title song of the same name and it was Nancy Sinatra’s subsequent recording of this that was used in the film. Via Wikipedia