What’s Happening:
Tickets for the Ford Field Lions watch party sold out on Monday in less than 12 hours. StubHub still has tix. You can check out the entire Ford Field seating chart here.
See Father of the Bride is on stage at Meadowbrook tonight at 6pm. Details at Ticketmaster.com
Check out Dinosaur World Live at The Fisher Theater 3011 W Grand Blvd, Detroit – Today at 3pm. Details and video at DinosaurWorldLive.com
Winterfest on Bell Isle Nature Center happens today from 11am till 4pm. Admission is free with details at detroitzoo.org
Get that heart rate up at Skates and Salads today at 5:30 at the Campus Martius Rink followed by healthy eats at 7Greens Salads. Details at AllEvents.
Congrats to new Michigan Football head coach Sherrone Moore. Jim Harbaugh’s successor already has six wins to his credit.
You say it – Keener plays it:
We’re playing faves from this week in 1968 all day on Keener13.com. What are yours? Pick em and we’ll play em. Kick the request box.
“I was a pre-teen AM rock enthusiast living in West Bloomfield, MI and couldn’t get enough of “The Motown Sound” and Stax, which pleased my parents as they liked R&B, but then came that second wave of British invasion. That included Cream and Small Faces from the above list. I STILL can’t get enough all that, which is now ‘classic rock’.” – Adrienne Daley – West Bloomfield.
“I remember Spookey. Great Tune.” – Bob Naismith – Flint.
“The year of the Tiger!” – Christine Hibbard – Livonia
Born Today:
1885 – Jerome Kern: Prolific theater, film, and music composer with over 700 songs. Notable works include “Ol’ Man River” and “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.” Died at 60 on 11/11/1945.
1919 – David Seville (Ross Bagdasarian): Armenian-American actor, pianist, and creator of Alvin & The Chipmunks. Notable songs include “Witch Doctor” and “The Chipmunk Song.” Died at 52 on 1/16/1972.
1930 – Bobby “Blue” Bland: R&B/soul-blues-gospel singer, Lifetime Grammy winner. Notable track “That’s The Way Love Is.” Died at 83 on 6/23/2013.
1937 – Bruce Tate: Founding member and tenor vocals for The Penguins. Notable hit “Earth Angel.” Died at 36 on 6/20/1973.
1943 – Thom Bell: Jamaican-American musician, key architect of “Philly Soul.” Notable works with The Delfonics, The Spinners, and The Stylistics. Died at 79 on 12/22/2022. Some of his hits include: Betcha by Golly, Wow, Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time), I’ll Be Around, La-La (Means I Love You), The Rubberband Man, Then Came You, Mama Can’t Buy You Love.
1946 – Nedra Talley: Backing vocals for The Ronettes, known for “Be My Baby.”
1948 – Kim Gardner: Bassist in The Thunderbirds and Ashton, Gardner & Dyke. Died at 53 on 10/24/2001. We have video of Resurrection Shuffle, live on Top of the Pops.
1951 – Brian Downey: Drummer for Thin Lizzy, known for “The Boys Are Back In Town.”
1951 – Seth Justman: Keyboards and vocals for J. Geils Band, wrote “Centerfold.”
1952 – G.E. Smith: Guitarist, bandleader, and session musician. Played with Hall & Oates, Saturday Night Live, Bob Dylan, and others.
Actor Alan Alda is 88. Humorist Mo Rocca is 55. Actor Elijah Wood is 43.
Singles Released Today:
1956 – Elvis Presley – “Heartbreak Hotel”
1967 –Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – “The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage”
1973 – Electric Light Orchestra – “Roll Over Beethoven”
Today in History:
In 1956, Elvis Presley made his first national TV appearance on “Stage Show,” a CBS program hosted by Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. We have video.
In 1962, with “The Twist” at #1 in America, two San Francisco DJs sell out the Cow Palace in San Francisco with a “Twist Party” headlined by Chubby Checker.
In 1970, John Lennon wrote, recorded, and mixed his new single ‘Instant Karma!’ in one day at London’s Abbey Road Studios, making it one of the fastest-released songs in pop music history, hitting stores just ten days after its creation. We have video.
In 1973, a cease-fire officially went into effect in the Vietnam War, a day after the signing of the Paris Peace Accords by the United States, North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
In 1973, Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” featuring a drum beat originated by Jeff Beck, became his second No.1 single in the US, 10 years after his first No.1 hit, and despite being initially offered to Beck, Berry Gordy insisted that Wonder himself record it first. We have video of Stevie and Jeff performing Superstition at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th anniversary celebration.
In 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, killing all seven crew members, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.
Weekend Extra: 22 Songs That Mention Michigan
- “America” – Simon and Garfunkel – LYRIC: “Michigan seems like a dream to me now”
- “Back in ’72” – Bob Seger – LYRIC: “But we got homesick for Lincoln Park”
- “Brass In Pocket” – Pretenders- LYRIC: “Been driving, Detroit leaning”
- “Dancing In Lansing” – Ronnie Hernandez
- “Dancing In The Street” – Martha & The Vandellas – LYRIC: “Can’t forget the Motor City”
- “Detroit Breakdown” – J. Geils Band
- “Detroit City” – Bobby Bare
- “Detroit Made” – Bob Seger
- “Detroit Rock City” – Kiss
- “Don’t Stop Believin’” – Journey -LYRIC: “Born and raised in South Detroit”
- “Heart Of Rock & Roll” – Huey Lewis & The News -LYRIC: “DETROIT!”
- “Heat Is On” – Glenn Frey – From the film “Beverly Hills Cop” which takes place in Michigan.
- “I Care About Detroit” – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
- “I Got A Gal In Kalamazoo” – Glenn Miller
- “Inner City Blues” – Marvin Gaye“Makin’ Thunderbirds” – Bob Seger
- “Michigan Blackhawk” – The Monkees
- “Night Moves” – Bob Seger
- “Panic In Detroit” – David Bowie
- “Saginaw, Michigan” – Lefty Frizzell
- “She Was Hot” – Rolling Stones – LYRIC: “Detroit was smoky grey”
- “Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald” – Gordon Lightfoot -LYRICS: “The searchers all say they’d have made Whitefish Bay,” “Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings,” “Old Michigan steams like a young man’s dreams,” “And farther below Lake Ontario takes in what Lake Erie can send her,” “In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed,” “Superior, they said, never gives up her dead.”
