50 Years Ago Today, Chrysler announced 32,000 layoffs at 6 of its 8 assembly plants due to slower than anticipated sales. The 1969 model year started off at a brisk sales pace, but dealers reported a 53 days supply of inventory as the calendar year began. Company president Virgil E. Boyd said Chrysler expected to sell as many cars in the 1969 model year as they had in 1968, 8.6 million units.
With a 50th anniversary celebration of the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair set for the original upstate New York venue, we thought we’d take a look at two copycat events. One in Indiana was a disaster. Another in Michigan at a place called “Goose Lake” came off without many hitches, but the governor banned future events like it.
Know anyone who is trying to get into college? The Wall Street Journal Reports that many universities, “are quietly tracking prospective students’ online interaction with the schools…” including how quickly they open email and whether they click links. “Enrollment officers at institutions including Seton Hall University, Quinnipiac University and Dickinson College know down to the second when prospective students opened an email from the school [and] how long they spent reading it.”
What career advice would you give a young person? Those of us who have seen “The Graduate” remember Murray Hamilton’s iconic advice to Dustin Hoffman: “Plastics”. That may have been a career path in the 60s, but today there’s a huge shortage in the cyber security sector. Tech Crunch says, “Seasoned cyber pros typically earn $95,000 a year, often markedly more, and yet job openings can linger almost indefinitely. The ever-leaner cybersecurity workforce makes many companies desperate for help.”
Michael Caine remains a sought after actor, 5 decades into a stellar career. He talked recently with Rolling Stone about the the first time he got high (With Richard Harris), the roll he regrets most (“The Swarm”) and the secret to a lasting marriage (separate bathrooms).
Quick Takes:
Those Forever Stamps, just got more expensive. (NPR)
If you are under age 25, this coming week will be the coldest in your lifetime. (Axios)
Richard Branson‘s 10 quotes to live by.
“Rent Live” isn’t quite. Some pre-taped material had to be shown last night after the leading man broke his foot. (Mashable)
Today’s Survival Skill: Opening a wine bottle without a corkscrew.
Today In History:
1956, Elvis Presley’s 1st appearance on National TV was on this date. It happened on The Dorsey Brothers’ (Big Band Leaders Tommy and Jimmy) Stage Show. Of course we have (Video)
1958, The Lego Group patented their first brick. 61 years and billions of Legos later, the originals still work with what is produced today. The ultimate in “backward compatibility”.
1973, Ron Howard appears on M*A*S*H as an underage Marine in the episode, “Sometimes You Hear the Bullett”. Howard lived, but it was the first time a featured character died on the show. Alan Alda remembers a CBS executive telling producer Larry Gilbart, “Are you crazy?” Tonight in ’73 was also the premier of Barnaby Jones, starring Beverly Hillbilly lead, Buddy Ebsen. Triva: Ebsen was originally cast as The Tin Man in “The Wizard of Oz”, but had to bow out after the metal flakes from his makeup nearly suffocated him.
Happy Birthday to: Bernard Stanley Bilk (Acker Bilk – Stranger on the Shore), 1929 (d. 2014); Rick Allen (Box Tops – The Letter / Soul Deep), 1946; Gene McFadden (McFadden & Whitehead – Ain’t No Stopping Us Now), 1949 (d. 2006); William Nelson (Funkadelic – I’ll Bet You), 1951; Joey Fatone (NSYNC), 1977; Nick Carter (Backstreet Boys), 1980; Elijah Wood, 1981
Much More Music:
A tune for everyone heading to work today – a classic from this week in 1966. “Well Respected Man” from The Kinks. Written by the group’s lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ray Davies, It remains one of the band’s most popular and best known songs. It is one of four Kinks songs included on The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame‘s list of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll along with “You Really Got Me,” “Waterloo Sunset,” and “Lola“. (Wikipedia) If you enlarged the album cover, you’ll notice that the Kinks were one of dozens of bands who took a crack at “Louie Louie“, too. (Video)
Paul Revere & the Raiders were prescient about the forthcoming opioid crisis when they recorded “Kicks” in 1966. Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil wrote the song for the Animals, but the band’s lead singer Eric Burdon turned it down. Doris Day’s son, Terry Melcher produced the record, which drew both praise and criticism. David Crosby, then with the Byrds, hated it, especially since the band’s “Eight Miles High” had been banned by some radio stations as promoting drug use. Beach Boy Brian Wilson on the other hand considers “Kicks” to be one of Melcher’s best creations, as do reviewers for Crawdaddy and AllMusic. (Video)
Acker Bilk? Who the heck was he? Bernard Stanley “Acker” Bilk, MBE (28 January 1929 – 2 November 2014) was an English clarinetist and vocalist known for his breathy, vibrato-rich, lower-register clarinet style, and distinctive appearance – of goatee, bowler hat and striped waistcoat. Bilk’s 1962 instrumental tune “Stranger on the Shore” became the UK’s biggest selling single of 1962: it was in the UK charts for more than 50 weeks, peaking at number two, and was the first No. 1 single in the United States by a British artist in the era of the modern BillboardHot 100 pop chart. (Wikipedia) (Video)
Today’s Quote Worth Re-quoting: “Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it” ~ Dennis Kimbro
We leave you with a Foundations classic that ended up as a music video that played during the credits for the film, “Something About Mary”. Here’s “Build Me Up, Buttercup”, number one this week in 1969. Trivia: The Los Angeles Angels play this song during the seventh-inning stretch, after “Take Me Out to the Ball Game“.
