From our ongoing list of things that turn 50 this year:
Happy 50th birthday, “Yellow Submarine“. The groundbreaking Beatle film of the same name premiered on July 17, 1968. This piece from Rolling Stone reminds us that, “The adventures of John, Paul, George and Ringo stands as a pop-art animated masterpiece – and a new rerelease reminds us of why it still feels ahead of its time.”
The anniversary was celebrated with a limited theatrical re-release of the film, a project that the Beatles were initially less then enthused about doing. They owed one more picture to United Artists but didn’t want a reprise of “Help”. Ever the problem solver, manager Brian Epstein suggested a feature length cartoon. Inspired by listening to the yet to be released “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” LP, the creative team of animators and writers, including future “Love Story” penman Erich Segal, found their muse.
As Rolling Stone’s David Fear puts it, “It doesn’t matter whether it’s been decades or merely days since you’ve seen it last. It’s still a hell of a lot weirder than you remember it being.”
52 years ago this month Niles, Michigan’s Tommy James earned his first national number one with “Hanky Panky“. Originally written by written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich for their group, The Raindrops, The Shondells cover, recorded two years later launched Tommy’s star. But it didn’t happen overnight. Recorded at radio station WNIL and released on a regional label, Hanky Panky had a brief, regional prime, before Pittsburgh DJ, “Mad Mike” Metrovich, resurrected it a year later to growing acclaim. The then unemployed Tommy James took the single to New York, pitching it to Roulette Records. With the label’s national clout, Hanky Panky was on it’s way to the top of the charts.
The term “Supergroup” was coined that same month in 1966, when Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker teamed up to form Cream. Their two biggest Keener hits were “Sunshine of Your Love” and “White Room“. And they hold the distinction of being the first band to earn a platinum selling double-album, “Wheels of Fire“. Cream’s star burned brightly and briefly. They dissolved in the spring of 1968, with each individual going on to further success, Baker and Clapton collaborating to form Blind Faith along with Steve Winwood and Rick Grech, Clapton adding magic to Delaney & Bonnie and Friends and Derek and the Dominoes, and Bruce enjoying a fruitful solo career.
Want your own replica of the original TV Batmobile? Mark Racop and his company, Fiberglass Freaks, can make you one. The ode to the George Barris design starts at $99K with tricked out versions topping out at a quarter million. Barris’ original was built on a one-off Ford Lincoln Futura chassis with Ford Galaxie parts contributing to two replicas, built for show and one for the drag racing circuit. As Wikipedia notes, Tim Burton‘s live-action films Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992) presented a different version of the Batmobile, which reflected those films’ Art Deco version of Gotham City, both of which were designed by Anton Furst. It was long, low and sleek, and was built on a Chevrolet Impala chassis. We’re partial to the original.
Keener #1s for the week ending June 22 include:
(1964) Where Did Our Love Go, Supremes
(1965) Nobody Knows What’s Going On, Chiffons
(1966) The Pied Piper, Crispian St. Peters
(1967) I Wanna Testify, Parliaments
(1968) Classical Gas, Mason Williams
(1969) In The Year 2525, Zager & Evans
(1970) Close to You, Carpenters
(1971) Smiling Faces Sometimes, Undisputed Truth
And this week’s deep dive into the WKNR Music Guide comes from the week of July 22, 1970, featuring radio legend Pat St. John on the cover. How many of these Keener hits do you remember?
And finally, here’s a “live” rendition of this week’s number one from 1970. The Temps performing “Ball of Confusion”.
