Lots of good stuff on this morning’s show: We remember Carol Channing. Oz is back in theaters & the Who tours again. Happy birthday to The Cavern Club, Dr. King & Charo. Plus much more music from The Buckinghams, Chase and The Mamas & Papas.
So long Dolly. Remembering the incomparable Carol Channing, who left us today at age 97. Nine actresses would try to recreate Carole’s magic as the original lead in the Broadway musical “Hello Dolly“. None we’re better. From Wikipedia: “As a film actress, she won the Golden Globe Award and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Muzzy in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). Other film appearances include The First Traveling Saleslady (1956) and Skidoo (1968). On television, she appeared as an entertainer on variety shows, from The Ed Sullivan Show in the 1950s to Hollywood Squares. She had a standout performance as The White Queen in the TV production of Alice in Wonderland (1985), and had the first of many TV specials in 1966, An Evening with Carol Channing.” Here’s Louis Armstrong‘s version of the title song, which displaced the Beatles at number one in 1964. (Video)
We’re off to see the Wizard, again. The perennial television favorite, “The Wizard of Oz” returns to theaters for a brief 80th anniversary run later this month. At right, a 1939 set shot of the Kansas farmhouse where the Gales lived. That bicycle parked outside means the nasty Miss Almira Gulch is visiting. Photo via Steve Crum an essential follow if you are on Facebook.
The Who will be touring North America again, commencing with a May 7th concert in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Billboard Magazine reports that original members Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend will be joined by guitarist/singer Simon Townshend, keyboardist Loren Gold, bassist Jon Button and drummer Zak Starkey (son of the Beatles’ Ringo Starr), on the Moving On! tour. The band plans to release their first new CD collection in 13 years later this summer. BTW. It was on this date in 1965 when the Who’s first single, “I Can’t Explain” was released in England. (Video)
Quick Takes:
- Facebook bets $300M on local news.
- Are you having iPhone battery problems? Apple replaced over 11 million last year. Our 10Xs seem to be rock solid but older models have been dying.
- This is how the government shut down will end; at the airports. TSA staff who have been working without pay are finally starting NOT to show up for work.
- Are you afraid of robots? American culture has a different outlook on AI tech compared to Japan.
- Workers uniting at Google and Facebook to end mandatory arbitration.
Today in History:
In 1948, “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre“, film based on B. Traven’s novel, directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart premiere. It’s famous for adding, “Badges? We don’t need no stinking badges!” to the lexicon. A very young Robert Blake appears uncredited as a young boy selling lottery tickets
In 1957, The Cavern Club opened in Liverpool. It became the home base for many Liverpool bands including The Beatles who appeared there 292 times. Over the years a wide variety of popular acts appeared at the club, including The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, The Hollies, The Kinks, Elton John, Black Sabbath, Queen, The Who and John Lee Hooker.
We talked yesterday about Diana Ross‘ swan song with the Supremes in Las Vegas on January 14, 1970. Nine years earlier, on this date in 1961 the trio signed with Motown Records.
Today in 1971 George Harrison releases “My Sweet Lord” in the UK. It would become a worldwide hit and get the former Beatle into legal trouble due to the tunes similarity to the Ronnie Mack song “He’s So Fine“, a 1963 hit for the New York girl group the Chiffons. (Wikipedia) (Video)
In 1973, Bruce Springsteen appeared at Philadelphia’s Villanova University, to an audience of 25 people. Due to a strike at the time by Villanova’s school newspaper The Villanovan, the concert went unadvertised. It was probably the smallest crowd Bruce and The E Street Band have ever played in front of.
Today in 1974, Ritche, Potsie, Malph and the Fonz entered our vocabulary as “Happy Days” began an 11 year run on ABC. The pilot was shot in 1972 but it wasn’t until George Lucas cast Ron Howard as the lead in his 1973 hit film “American Graffiti” that the network got interested in the show.
In 1981 “Hill Street Blues” premieres on NBC. Mary Tyler Moore‘s MTM Enterprises developed the series on behalf of NBC, with Steven Bochco producing. In its first season, the show won eight Emmy Awards, a record surpassed only by The West Wing.
On January 15, 2009, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger was forced to crash-land his aircraft in the Hudson River. All the passengers lived to tell the tale. The remarkable event now known as “The Miracle on the Hudson.” Here’s WNYC’s recounting of the story that was turned into a Hollywood hit staring Tom Hanks.
Much More Music:
One of the things that used to drive me nuts as a DJ was the poor stereo mixes of some of the classic 60s tunes I loved. Case in point. This Mamas & Papas tune is much better in mono. Here’s “I Saw Her Again” from 1966. (Video)
In 1967, The Buckinghams record “Don’t You Care.” (Video)
In 1971, Chase records “Get It On.” (Video)
In 1974, Brownsville Station‘s “Smokin’ In The Boys’ Room” is certified Gold. (Video)
in 1977, Leo Sayer‘s “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” hits #1. (Video)
Happy Birthday to: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 1929 (d. 1968); Bobby Bloom (Montego Bay), 1946 (d. 1974); Ronnie Van Zant, 1948 (d. 1977); Charo, 1951; Mario Van Peebles, 1957
Today’s Quote Worth Re-Quoting: “Not all storms come to disrupt your life. Some come to clear your path.”
We leave you with the number one song from this week in 1967, “Itchycoo Park” the only US hit for The Small Faces. The song got its name from the stinging nettles that grew in Suburban London’s Little Ilford Park.
