On This Date In Detroit

• Today in 1967, Detroit mourned the passing of Oscar Webber, chairman of the company his uncle, J.L. Hudson, founded in 1881. The 78 year old Webber was associated with Hudson’s for 64 years and was the youngest of 4 brothers to inherit control when the founder died in 1912
• Today in 1972, Detroit Board of Education President James A. Hathaway echoed Superintendent Charles J. Wolfe’s recommendation to keep the city’s schools closed until November after to millage proposals two fund operations failed at the ballot box. The move would violate a state requirement that schools operate for at least 180 days each year. The Board voted to try again at the polls, placing the same proposals on the August primary ballot.
• Today in 1977, nearly 47 million Americans who used the standard income tax deduction got a tax cut when when President Carter signed legislation into law. In all, Americans would receive 33.7 billion dollars in tax savings over the next 28 months.
• Today in 1979, a gas station in Weekapaug, RI was selling gas for a quarter. The catch? The quarter had to be a silver coin minted prior to 1965. The rare coinage was trading at a 500% premium in 1979, the equivalent of $1.25 per gallon.
• Today in 1982, Cable Television companies in 16 Detroit area communities took out a half page newspaper ad touting pay-tv first run programming as an alternative to “a dreary summer of network reruns.” The ad promoted the films Stripes and The Four Seasons, a Sugar Ray Leonard title fight and Richard Harris’s King Arthur in Camelot.
• Today in 1987, Radio Shack was touting its Tandy 3000HL desktop XT computer with floppy disk and compatibility with forthcoming OS-2 software for $1,299 dollars. That’s over $3,300 in today’s dollars.

What’s Hot on the Net: Via J.J. Duling:

Climate Change Might Be Stealing Your Sleep – Data from 68 countries shows that hotter nights mean less rest, according to a new study.

Chin liposuction soars among Gen Z: The New York Post says Gen Z 20-somethings are taking to TikTok to boast their procedures of having fat sucked, sliced and sculpted to chisel their ideal jawlines.The TikTok hashtag #chinlipo has nearly 60 million views as of Monday morning, with other young content creators ditching their double chins for good.

Behind the Meaning of the Song “Baba O’Riley” by The Who: “Teenage Wasteland” was the working title of the song in its nascent stages, according to the American Songwriter website. Composer Pete Townsend said the song was inspired by “the absolute desolation of teenagers at Woodstock, where audience members were strung out on acid and 20 people had brain damage. The irony was that some listeners took the song to be a teenage celebration.”

Leo Sayer Gets Back With New Album of Reinvented Beatles Songs: Sayer produced and performed all the instruments and vocals on the LP, a 19-track collection of songs composed by McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison, according to Rock Cellar Magazine.

More than 100 Paul McCartney fans said they spent $500 and missed ‘half the show‘ when the former Beatle performed in Winston-Salem due to parking and traffic issues.

The Rolling Stones song Keith Richards feels was “rushed.” In an interview with Rolling Stone in 1971, Richards revealed:” ‘Get Off of My Cloud’ was basically a response to people knocking on our door asking us for the follow-up to ‘Satisfaction

1775 John Hancock is unanimously elected President of the Continental Congress
1844 Samuel Morse taps out “What hath God wrought” in the world’s first telegraph message
1856 Pottawatomie Massacre: John Brown and abolitionist settlers kill five pro-slavery settlers in Franklin County, Kansas
1883 Brooklyn Bridge opened by President Arthur and NY Governor Cleveland
1915 Thomas Edison invents telescribe to record telephone conversations
1951 Racial segregation in Washington, D.C. restaurants ruled illegal
1958 United Press Association and International News Service merge to form United Press International
1959 1st house with built-in bomb shelter exhibited (Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania)
1976 1st commercial SST flight to North America (Concorde to Washington, D.C.)
1987 Golden Gate Bridge 50th anniversary: Over 800K people show up, 300K walk on bridge at same time, span temporarily flattens from weight (San Francisco, California)

Music released today:

1968: The Rolling Stones, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” [UK],[Single], “Child Of The Moon”
1968: Donovan, “Hurdy, Gurdy Man” [UK], The Hurdy Gurdy Man, “Teen Angel”
1973: Led Zeppelin, “Over The Hills And Far Away”, Houses Of The Holy, “Dancing Days”
1974: Elton John, “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” [UK],Caribou, “Sick City”
1976: The Beach Boys, “Rock And Roll Music”, 15 Big Ones, “T M Song”
1974: David Bowie, Diamond Dogs LP

Rock Birthdays: Via DrRock.com

1928: Max Bennett, Jazz and rock bass guitarist, session musician and bandleader, member of the acclaimed Wrecking Crew group of L.A. studio musicians, played on numerous albums by The Monkees, The Partridge Family, Frank Zappa and many others, co-founded the jazz-rock L.A. Express in the 70s and currently fronts Private Label
1938: Tommy Chong, Canadian-American comedian, TV and film actor, voice artist, director and one-half the groundbreaking stoner duo Cheech & Chong, “Santa Claus And His Old Lady” (#3, 1972), performed in various venues with and without his comedic partner through to their reunion in the 00s, became the oldest contestant to make the semi-finals on Dancing With The Stars in September 2014
1938: Prince Buster / (Cecil Bustamonte Campbell), One of the most important figures in the development of ska and rocksteady music in Jamaica and beyond, hugely influential reggae/ska perfumer, producer and solo artist over a nearly 40 year career, scored UK (“Al Capone,” UK #18, 1967) and US hits (“Ten Commandments Of Man,” #81, R&B #17, 1967), dropped out of the industry in the late 70s and recorded and performed only sporadically up to his death following a stroke on 9/8/2016, age 78.
1941: Bob Dylan / (Robert Allen Zimmerman), Vastly influential and popular folk-rock singer/songwriter and guitarist with 29 Top 20 albums and five Top 20 singles, including “Like A Rolling Stone” (#2, 1965)
1941: Tony Valentino / (Emilio Bellissimo), Co-founding member, vocals and guitar for garage/proto-punk The Standells, “Dirty Water” (#11, 1966), toured and performed with the band into the 80s, now an L.A.-area restaurateur
1942: Derek Quinn, Guitar and harmonica for British Invasion novelty/comedy pop-rock ‘n’ roll Freddie & The Dreamers, “I’m Telling You Now” (#1, 1965)
1944: Patti LaBelle (Patricia Holt) / (Patricia Holt), Soul diva and the “Queen of Rock and Soul”, first with R&B/gospel-doo wop The Blue Belles, “Down The Aisle (The Wedding Song)” (#37, R&B #14, 1963), then as frontwoman for LaBelle, “Lady Marmalade” (#1, 1975), then a long solo career, including a duet with Michael McDonald, “On My Own” (#1, 1986) and a comeback single “New Day” (Dance/Club #11, 2004)
1945: Dave Peacock, Bass and vocals for Brit pop-“rockney” duo Chas & Dave, “Gertcha” (UK #20, 1979)
1946: Steve Upton, Drummer (1970-1989) for Brit prog-rock Wishbone Ash, “Time Was” (1972)
1947: Albert Bouchard, Drummer, guitarist and songwriter for hard rock/pop metal Blue Öyster Cult, “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” (#12, 1976)
1947: Cynthia Plaster Caster / (Cynthia Dorothy Albritton), Rock groupie and self-proclaimed “visual artist” known for making plaster casts of male rock stars’ erect genitalia, including Jimi Hendrix and members of MC5, Television, The Kinks, various road managers and other rock stars, continued to promote her collections until her death from a stroke (cerebrovascular disease) on 4/21/2022, age 71.
1947: Waddy Wachtel / (Robert Wachtel), High-profile L.A. session musician, composer and record producer, worked in the studio and on tour with Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Keith Richards, James Taylor, Iggy Pop, Jackson Browne and many others, composed scores for multiple films, wrote or co-wrote dozens of songs and produced dozens of records by artists from Bryan Ferry to Warren Zevon
1955: Rosanne Cash, Country-pop singer/songwriter, “Seven Year Ache” (#22, Country #1, 1981), daughter of country music legend Johnny Cash
1956: Larry Blackmon, Leader, drummer, producer and principal songwriter for R&B/funk Cameo, “Word Up” (#6, 1986)
1960: Guy Fletcher, Multi-instrumentalist with prog rock Roxy Music, “Love Is The Drug” (#30, 1976), session work for Bryan Ferry, Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler and others
1962: Gene Anthony Ray, Actor, dancer and choreographer, played “Leroy’ in the movie and TV series Fame, danced on The Weather Girls‘ video of “It’s Raining Men,” died from a stroke related to HIV on 11/14/2003, age 41
1967: Heavy D / (Dwight Myers), Rapper, singer and MC for R&B/hip hop The Boyz, “Now That We Found Love” (#11, 1991), moved to reggae-rap fusion, died after collapsing outside his L.A. condo on 11/8/2011, age 44
1969: Rich Robinson, Guitarist for roots/raunch rock The Black Crowes, “Hard To Handle” (Mainstream Rock #1, 1991)
1969: Tommy Page, Twelve-album, one hit wonder dance-teen-pop singer, “I’ll Be Your Everything” (#1, 1990), producer
1976: Alessandro Cortini, Keyboards for industrial rock Nine Inch Nails, “The Day The World Went Away” (#17, 1999)

Other Notable Birthdays: Via OnThisDay.com

1819 Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom and Ireland (1837-1901), born in London (d. 1901)