What’s happening via JJ Duling
REO, Styx and Loverboy opened their “Live and Un-Zoomed” tour in Grand Rapids this week. The set lists included chestnuts from three extraordinary careers. We’ve got em all, plus selected videos of some of the performances. (Ultimate Classic Rock)
Up to 50% of women and 20% of men among the 3 billion people who experience migraines and cluster headaches during their lifetimes. The usual attention to diet, fitness and a good night’s sleep can minimize frequency. Experts recommend small, protein-rich meals scattered throughout the day to get a consistent amount of energy to the brain. Magnesium supplements and vitamin B2 can also be helpful. (Buzzfeed)
Ring video doorbells rates are going up. Subscribers were just notified of the 33% increase in cost for some tiers with promises of enhancements that aren’t ready yet. Don’t forget that the most basic Ring functionality is still free, but that does not include any video storage. Looking for alternatives? Here’s what Consumer Reports recommends. (The Verge)
Did you binge on Stranger Things over the weekend? Netflix released seven new episodes of the show’s much awaited fourth season and said that subscribers watched a record-setting 286 million hours, beating out Bridgerton as the networks most binged series. Two more episodes expected in July before the show wraps up with a fifth season. (AP)
Yesterday’s top Google searches included the NBA Finals, Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee, Thursday mornings 4.1 Bay Area Earthquake and the Tropical Storm Watch issued for South Florida. (Google)
Bevis and Butthead get another big screen opportunity in June. “Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe,” a new animated feature film starring the ’90s MTV characters, is set to premiere on Paramount+ June 23. (Variety)
Number one on Keener this week in:
(1964) Memphis, Johnny Rivers
(1965) Mr Tambourine Man, Byrds
(1966) Little Girl, Syndicate of Sound
(1967) Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, Frankie Valli
(1968) This Guy’s In Love With You, Herb Alpert
(1969) Get Back/Dont Let Me Down, Beatles
(1970) Ooh Child, Five Stairsteps
(1971) It’s Too Late, Carole King
Today in History:
1871 Jesse James & his gang robs Obocock Bank (Corydon Iowa), of $15,000
1888 Baseball poem “Casey at the Bat” 1st published by the San Francisco Examiner
1889 The Canadian Pacific Railway is completed from coast to coast
1946 1st bikini bathing suit displayed in Paris
1949 1st African American to graduate from US Naval Academy (Wesley Anthony Brown)
1949 Dragnet is 1st broadcast on radio (KFI in Los Angeles)
1959 1st US Air Force Academy graduation in Colorado Springs, Colorado
1964 Ringo Starr collapses from tonsillitis and pharyngitis
1967 Aretha Franklin‘s cover of the Otis Redding song “Respect” reaches #1
1969 Last episode of Star Trek airs on NBC (Turnabout Intruder)
1970 Ray Davies of The Kinks travels round trip NY-London to change 1 word in “Lola,” (Coca-Cola to Cherry Cola) because of BBC commercial reference ban
1972 “Hot Rod Lincoln” by Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen hits #9
1976 Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” goes gold
1985 “Larry King Live” debuts on CNN, airing each weeknight through December, 2010
1988 “Big” film directed by Penny Marshall, starring Tom Hanks premieres in US
1991 Thomas Hearns captures WBA light heavyweight title
1992 Joan Lunden ordered to pay her ex-husband $18,000 a month support
2001 TV drama “Six Feet Under” created by Alan Ball, starring Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall and Frances Conroy premieres on HBO
Rock and Roll Birthdays – Via DrRock.com:
1906 Josephine Baker / (Freda Josephine McDonald), Legendary chanson-singing dancer and actress of the 20s and 30s, one of the most successful African American entertainers of her time, left the demeaning U.S. vaudeville circuit for the open-minded Parisian cabaret scene, became a French citizen, a star and a voice against prejudice while performing exotic dances in risqué costumes (or none at all), starred in movies alongside Bob Hope, Fanny Brice and others, became an outspoken figure in the American Civil Rights movement of the 60s, died from a cerebral hemorrhage on 4/12/1975, age 68
1926 Allen Ginsburg / (Irwin Allen Ginsburg), Poet, leading figure in the Beat Generation of the 50s and frequent participant in various hippie events in the 60s, author of the epic poem “Howl,” longtime friend of Bob Dylan with whom he often collaborated with poetry set to music, died from liver cancer on 4/5/1997, age 70
1927 Boots Randolph / (Homer Randolph III), Tenor saxophonist and major contributor to the “Nashville Sound” of pop flavoring within country music in the 50s, 60s and 70s, as a solo artist scored 14 Billboard Top 200 albums and the Top 40 single “Yakety Sax” (#35, 1963), died following a brain hemorrhage a month after the release of his final studio album on 7/3/2007, age 80
1936 Eddie Willis, American guitar and sitar player (The Funk Brothers), born in Grenada, Mississippi (d. 2018)
1940 Charles Fizer, Tenor vocals for 50s/60s doo wop quartet The Olympics (“Western Movies,” #8, R&B #7, 1958), the band’s string of hits largely dried up after he was shot and killed by police during the Watts Riots in Los Angeles on 8/14/1965, age 25
1942 Curtis Mayfield, R&B/soul giant, singer, songwriter and composer, member of The Impressions, “It’s All Right” (#4, R&B #1, 1963), solo, “Freddie’s Dead” (#4, R&B #2, 1972), wrote dozens of R&B and pop hits for others, died on 12/26/1999 after years of steadily declining health following an on-stage accident in 1980, age 57
1943 Mike Dennis, Second tenor for doo wop a cappella harmony turned early garage-rock/dance craze The Dovells, “Bristol Stomp” (#2, 1961)
1946 Eddie Holman, Philly soul, pop and gospel tenor vocalist best known for “Hey There Lonely Girl” (#2, R&B #4, 1970), largely disappeared from the music business in the 80s, became an ordained Baptist minister and occasionally performed into the 00s
1946 Michael Clarke / (Michael Dick), Drummer for seminal country-rock The Byrds, “Mr. Tambourine Man” (#1, 1965), then Flying Burrito Bros. and light country rock Firefall, “You Are The Woman” (#9, 1976), died of liver failure on 12/19/1993, age 47
1947 Dave Alexander, Original bassist for influential proto-punk The Stooges, “I Wanna Be Your Dog” (1969), died from pulmonary edema on 2/10/1975, age 27
1947 Mickey Finn / (Michael Hearne), Percussion for proto-glam-rock T. Rex, “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” (#10, 1971), died from suspected liver and kidney failure on 1/11/2003, age 55
1950 “Denise” Williams / (June Deniece Chandler), Grammy-winning R&B/soul-funk singer and songwriter, worked as a backing singer with Stevie Wonder‘s group Wonderlove, then solo, “Let’s Hear It For The Boy” (#1, 1984)
1950 Suzi Quatro / (Susan Kay Quatrocchio), Bass guitarist, singer, songwriter, bandleader, iconoclastic if not well-known female rocker, “Stumblin’ In” (#4, 1979)
1952 Billy Powell, Keyboards for raunchy Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Sweet Home Alabama” (#8, 1974), died after suffering a heart attack on 6/28/2009, age 56
1954 Dan Hill, Canadian folk-pop singer/songwriter, “Sometimes When We Touch” (#3, 1978)
Other Notable Birthdays: Via OnThisDay.com
1808 Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America (1861-65), born in Fairview, Kentucky (d. 1889)
1865 George V, King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India (1910-36), born in Marlborough House, London, (d. 1936)
1910 Paulette Goddard [Marion Levy], American actress (Great Dictator), born in Whitestone Landing, Long Island (d. 1990)
1911 Ellen Corby [Hansen], American actress (The Waltons, Vertigo, Caged), born in Racine, Wisconsin (d. 1999)
1917 Leo Gorcey, American actor (Bowery Boys, Road to Zanzibar), born in NYC, New York (d. 1969)
1924 Colleen Dewhurst ‘Queen of Off-Broadway’ , Canadian actress (Anne of Green Gables), born in Montréal, Québec
1925 Tony Curtis [Bernard Schwartz], American actor (Some Like It Hot), born in Manhattan, New York (d. 2010)
1929 Chuck Barris, TV game show producer and host (Gong Show), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2017)
1936 Larry McMurtry, American Pulitzer Prize winning novelist (Lonesome Dove), and Academy Award-winning scriptwriter (Brokeback Mountain), born in Wichita Falls, Texas (d. 2021)
1947 John Dykstra, American special effects supervisor (Star Wars)
1951 Jill Biden, American first lady and educator, born in Hammonton, New Jersey
