50 years ago today, all seats were 75 cents at Detroit’s suburban theaters for a showing of “Thunderbirds are Go“. The 1966 British science-fiction adventure film was based on the 60’s TV series Thunderbirds, starring marionette puppets. The plot focused on the futuristic spacecraft Zero-X and its manned mission to Mars. When Zero-X suffers a mechanical failure during re-entry, it is up to International Rescue, with the aid of the Thunderbird machines, to save the astronauts on board before the spacecraft is obliterated in a crash landing.
This January 16th article in the New Yorker features a conversation with Avi Loeb, the chair of Harvard’s astronomy department, who talks about the appearance of an unexplained object, speeding by us in space. Conversations about UFOs have been happening since the humanity first documented science. In America, it was the atomic age that sparked popular interest in the phoenominon.
The earliest known film about aliens was “Aelita“, a Russian made silent in 1924 and edited for American audiences as “Revolt of the Robots”. 1953’s telling of H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds”, the first starring role for Gene Barry with Anne Robinson as the love interest gained additional traction when it’s television distribution happened in parallel with the sales boom in color TV sets. Many like it followed, some really good, like Robert Wise’s “The Day The Earth Stood Still” and many more really bad, as noted on this exhaustive Wikipedia list.
During my own college years, we watched “2001 – A Space Odyssey” more than once, sometimes in altered states of consciousness. Later, Stephen Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” & “E.T. The Extraterrestrial” awakened a new generation to the genre. With the launch of the Star Wars franchise, “Space Opera” became a well worn word in the Hollywood lexicon.
On the radio, Sheb Wooley’s “The Purple People Eater,” topped the charts for six weeks in the summer of 1958, while a studio group called Billy Riley And His Little Green Men.” did their thing a year earlier at Sun Records with “Flyin’ Saucers Rock & Roll,” Among the “Green Men” was Jerry Lee Lewis on piano. Other notables in the genre include two nautical themed tunes,”Ride Captain Ride” a 1972 one hit wonder for Blues Image and the Styx standard, “Come Sail Away“.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Whenever the idea that “we are not alone” pops up in the news, pop culture art always seems to appear.
Quick Takes:
One of the biggest hits of 1979 was The Doobie Brothers “What a Fool Believes”. Around that time, Michael McDonald replaced Tom Johnston as the lead singer and the iconic voice of the group. He’s an amazing talent in his own right, but when it came time to write this song, he partnered with another legendary performer, Kenny Loggins of Loggins & Messina. Here’s the backstory on how the two collaborated on one of the Doobies’ biggest records. Via the Wall Street Journal.
A feel good tale: A Good Samaritan picks up hotel tab for 70 homeless in Chicago amid life-threatening cold. Via WGN
Mark Hamill would be proud of this bionic limb.
“Baddass pilot” Rosemary Bryant Mariner dies of ovarian cancer at 63. She was the first woman to fly a tactical fighter jet. “Right from the get-go, Rosemary was a lot of grit and determination wrapped up in a small package.” Via follower Jeff Smith.
Julius Campbell, ‘Remember the Titans’ captain dies.
Today in History:
1949, The Modern Jukebox was made possible on this date when RCA Records issued the first ever 45 rpm single.
1964, The Beatles started a seven week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’, the first US No.1 by a UK act since The Tornadoes ‘Telstar’ in 1962 and the first of three consecutive No.1’s from the group.
1965, Martin Luther King Jr. & 700 demonstrators arrested in Selma Alabama.
1967, Which came first, the tune or the album concept? On this date at Abbey Road studios in London, The Beatles started work on a new song ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’. It wasn’t until they had recorded the song that Paul McCartney had the idea to make the song the thematic pivot for their forthcoming album.
1972, The best selling album of the year was released on this date by Neil Young. “Harvest” was his 4th LP.
1976, “Rich Man, Poor Man” mini-series premieres on ABC TV. It cements the stardom of actors Peter Strauss, Nick Nolte and Susan Blakely.
1976, Money speaks stronger than true love. Sonny & Cher resume TV show, despite real-life divorce.
1982, Today’s trivia question: Who was the first guest when “Late Night With David Letterman” debuted on NBC-TV on this date? Bill Murray. Yup, we have the (Video)
Happy Birthday To: Don Everly (Everly Brothers), 1937; Ray Sawyer (Dr. Hook), 1937 (d. 2018); Sherman Hemsley, 1938 (d. 2012); Rick James, 1948 (d. 2004); Lisa Marie Presley, 1968; Bill Mumy, 1954; Brandon Lee, 1965 (d. 1993)
Much More Music:
1965, James Brown records ‘Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag’. It will become his first top ten hit, reaching No.8 on the @Billboard Pop chart and No.1 on the R&B chart the following August. later winning a Grammy Award for Best R&B Recording. The tape was edited and sped up for its single release, increasing the tempo and raising the pitch by a half step. (Video)
1969, Tommy James and the Shondells started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Crimson And Clover’, the group’s second and final No.1. It was recorded in late 1968 in about five hours and is one of the earliest songs recorded on 16-track equipment. James said the title came to him before the song did. He took a rough mix to WLS to get the program director’s opinion. Without James’ knowledge, the station made a recording of the song and started playit on the air. (Video)
Another top 20 Motown smash from 1969. The Four Tops channel the Left Banke with “Walk Away Renée”. Legend has it that keyboard player and songwriter Michael Brown wrote the tune when he was 16. The Tops’ biggest success came from the pens of Holland–Dozier–Holland, but they charted with several standards including “Walk Away Renée” and Tim Hardin‘s “If I Were a Carpenter”. (Video)
1975, Neil Sedaka had his second US No.1 single with ‘Laughter In The Rain’, over 12 years after his last chart topper ‘Breaking Up Is Hard To Do’. The tune was a partnership with lyricist Phil Cody Cody who said he came up with the words in about five minutes after smoking marijuana and falling asleep under a tree. (Video)
1992, George Michael and Elton John went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’, also a No.1 in the UK. All proceeds from the single went to Aids charities. (Video)
Today’s Quote Worth Re-Quoting: “Our focus is not on Disney+, Amazon and others, but on how we can improve our experience for our members.” ~Reed Hastings (Via Jacobs Media)
We leave you with this Turtles tune that was climbing the charts this week 50 years ago. “You Showed Me”. It was written in 1964 by Roger McGuinn and Gene Clark of the Byrds. Producer Chip Douglas, heard the song when Clark, McGuinn, and future CSN member David Crosby performed it at LA’s Troubadour.
