Keener 13

George Mendonsa was on leave from his destroyer and in Times Square when victory over Japan was announced. He grabbed what he thought was a nurse, kissing her as Life photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt snapped the shutter on his camera. It became on of the images associated with the elation a nation felt as the Second World War came to a close. Mendonsa died after a fall at his assisted living facility at the age of 95. Married for 70 years, Mendonsa wasn’t kissing his wife in the famous photograph.

A story in the New York Post noted that it was “Greta Zimmer Friedman, a dental assistant in a nurse’s uniform who’d never met Mendonsa when he suddenly locked lips with her at the Crossroads of the World.” The couple were reunited several years ago at the exact spot where the impromptu kiss took place. Friedman died of natural causes in 2016 at age 92. Continue reading “Today in Keenerland 2/19 – The Kiss in Times Square” →

Classic Cars In Cool Movies:

Vehicles have played a role in movies and television since the days of the Keystone Cops. A close viewing of television credits thank the manufacturers for providing the cars. The brands ultimately benefited from the “product placement”. How many automobiles can you reflexively recall in connection with a favorite film? Here are three faves.

Goldfinger (1964) – The gadgetry that Q installed in James Bond’s 1963 Aston Martin DB5 made this ride popular for a generation. Featured in seven Bond films, it enjoyed more appearances than any actor in the starring role. A trivia factoid: The DB series was named honouring Sir David Brown (the owner of Aston Martin from 1947 to 1972). Corgi released a toy version in 1965.

Bullitt (1968) – A 1968 390 V8 Ford Mustang GT Fastback with a four-speed manual transmissions was the real star of this thriller. The chase scene down the mountainous San Francisco streets, culminating in the firey crash of the bad guys’ 1968 375 hp 440 Magnum V8-powered Dodge Charger remains an all time favorite. Mustang sales soared with the popularity of the film. Here are a pair of video links to the famous pursuit: (Part 1) (Part 2)

Clueless (1995) – Alicia Silverstone and Justin Walker leave on their date in his 1954 Nash Metropolitan Convertible (Video). Built between ’54 and 1962, these babies were considered one of the first compact cars. They came standard with map light, electric windshield wipers, cigar lighter, and a rear-mounted spare tire with cover, which were options on most other vehicles of the day.  An AM radio, “Weather Eye” heater, and whitewall tires were offered as optional extras. Continue reading “Today in Keenerland: 2/18 – Classic Cars in Cool Movies” →

Remembering the original VW Beetle.

Today in 1936 the VW Beetle was commissioned in Germany. Known as the “People’s Car” in the 1930s, the unique body style was designed by Ferdinand Porsche. The car had a rear engine, unusual for the time. Only small numbers were made before WWII halted production. After the war, sales soared aided by an iconic advertising campaign “Think small”. Nicknamed “the Beetle” it overtook the Model T Ford as the best-selling car in the world in 1972, selling over 15 million. It was only after 80 years that Volkswagen announced in 2018 that it would finally cease production in 2019. Here’s one of the more memorable TV ads from the 1960s. How does the guy who plows the snow on our roads get to work? In a VW, of course. (Video) Continue reading “Today in Keenerland: 2/15 – Remembering the VW Beetle” →

Today in 1969:
American Motors Corporation offered it’s “Rambler” at an entry level price of $1998.00 in a full page newspaper ad on this date in 1969. The company was was formed by the 1954 merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history. It went on to compete with the US Big Three with the Rambler American, Hornet, Gremlin and Pacer; muscle cars including the Marlin, AMX and Javelin; and early four-wheel-drive variants of the Eagle, the first true crossover. The company was known as “a small company deft enough to exploit special market segments left untended by the giants”, and was widely known for the design work of chief stylist, Dick Teague, who “had to make do with a much tighter budget than his counterparts at Detroit’s Big Three” but “had a knack for making the most of his employer’s investment”. Renault acquired a major interest in AMC in 1979—and the company was ultimately acquired by Chrysler. At its 1987 demise, The New York Times said AMC was “never a company with the power or the cost structure to compete confidently at home or abroad. (Wikipedia) Continue reading “Today in Keenerland 2/14 – American Motors & DJs’ Love Affair With Radio” →

Fifty years ago today:
Detroit Mayor Jerome Cavanagh appeared on “Truth or Consequences“. The program was taped at Ford Auditorium and was seen tonight in 1969 on WJBK. That’s Bob Barker applying the makeup. “Remember kid,” he said, “This could make your career. Now go out there and Wow ’em!”

Via the Detroit Free Press archives.

Quick Takes:

Conspiracy theories abound in show business. We all know about the “Paul Is Dead” rumors. Keener’s Russ Gibb helped amplify them to the international stage. But I bet you didn’t know some of these, including a couple that turned out to be true. Via Ultimate Classic Rock.

Jacobs Media asks: Do you ever get tired of discovering new music? “Interestingly, the top excuse for gravitating away from the new music scene is a lack of time, demanding jobs, and a sense of music overload.” Continue reading “Today in Keenerland: 2/13 – Mayor Cavanagh: Game Show Contestant, Conspiracy Theories and Countdown Wednesday” →

Another snowy mess today. Be safe out there!

50 Years ago Today: 
Miami (AP) – In a surprise move, Cuban authorities allowed the immediate return of passengers and plane that had been hijacked Monday by a gun toting fat man. who said his father was dying in Cuba. There were 111 passengers and 8 crew members aboard Eastern air lines flight 950 when it was diverted at gunpoint while in route from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Miami. When the hijacking occurred a steward had to quiet one of the passengers — a 268 pound wrestler, Abdullah the Butcher, of Hamilton, Ontario. “I wanted to knock the man down,” said Abdullah afterward, “but the steward said there were to many people involved.” The hijacking brought to 1,182 the number of people making the Havana hop since the first of the year. It was the 14th commercial hijacking since January 1 and the sixth Eastern plain pirated. (No mention of the incident is made in Abdullah’s Wikipedia page.)

Factoid: There were over 130 hijackings over a four year period before the U.S. tightened airport security. Continue reading “Today in Keenerland 2/12: Spin & Marty, Kelly Harmon and Eclectic Birthday Tunes” →

“Wouldn’t you really rather have a Buick?” This Detroit newspaper add from today in 1969 features the Buick Special at the low-low price of just $2562.00, $17,529 in today’s dollars. The Special nameplate was used on lower-priced intermediate-sized Buicks through the 1969 model year. In 1970, the end of the Special came about when the Special Deluxe was dropped too in favor of the slightly upscale Buick Skylark. Continue reading “Today in Keenerland 2/11: They Don’t Make Em Like They Used To” →

Earl “Madman” Muntz made the front page of the May 27th, 1967 edition of Billboard Magazine, which reported the grand opening of his Detroit tape cartridge retail store at 15268 Gratiot Avenue. The former Kaiser-Frazer used car salesman was a marketing visionary, creating innovative products and selling them with crazy costumes and outrageous sales pitches. Muntz invented the Stereo-Pak 4-track tape cartridge, the direct predecessor of the Stereo 8 cartridge, developed by Bill Lear.

His Detroit operation, which ultimately sold both 8 track tapes and the automotive stereo gear that played them launched in a former Nash Rambler dealership in the heart of the Motor City’s “Auto Row” of car dealerships.  The concept soon spawned competitors. 27 year old “Crazy Jack” Frankford’s Michigan Mobile Radio and former Detroit DJ Mickey Shorr were two of the names we often heard advertised.

Entertainment in our automobiles in the 1960s was still primarily consumed through the AM radios that were ubiquitous since the Gavin Motor Company first introduced the idea in 1930. By 1967 FM was becoming popular in our homes and many of us spent a month’s pay on expensive stereo systems to render the increasingly complex production that went into the albums we bought. Continue reading “When Car Stereo Shops Ruled” →

“It’s Farmer Jack Savings Time!” Remember when you would hear that unique sounder followed by the slogan and a price point? “Special cut rib-eye steak, just 88 cents a pound, through Sunday at Farmer Jack!”

Aside from the prices, a lot has changed across the Detroit area grocery landscape. Companies like A&P, Wrigley’s, Chatham and Great Scott have all fade into history. The big box stores like Kroger, Meijer and Walmart dominate. Cashiers hand entering the price of food items into a cash register has transformed into scanning systems that instantly calculate the price and adjust the inventory so management can know the status of daily sales volume at any moment.

When was the last time you wrote a check for groceries? Although not totally abandoned as a payment method, we are now sliding debit cards into chip readers or tapping our iPhones to pay the bill. Continue reading “Grocery Shopping 50 Years Ago” →

50 Years Ago Today: “W.T” from Oak Park asked The Free Press action line, “Is there really a Wichita Lineman?”

The Glen Campbell tune, written by the Jimmy Webb in 1968 was a hit that fall, but still on the minds of Detroiters on February 8, 1969. Here’s their answer:

Yep. But he sings ”I’m a lineman for Kansas Gas and Electric.’· Sedgwick County (Wichita.) doesn’t hire guys to ride around singing songs and looking for electrical overloads. Wichita is the second city Jim Webb and Glen Camp­bell have spotlighted. “By the Time I Get to Phoe­nix” started it and there’s a big country to cover. Next will be “Galveston”.

Under The Covers: Back in the early days of rock and roll, it was a common practice to expropriate the work of others. Original artists, many African American, didn’t have the savvy or the money to protect their work. In time, that changed, but imitation of the originals is still the sincerest form of flattery. Sometimes “Cover Tunes” are better. Sometimes they are worse. Here are a few originals and some remakes we thing land on the cool side of the scale.

Originals:
Big Mama Thornton – Hound Dog (1952)
Richard Berry & the Pharaohs – Louie Louie (1957)
Remakes:
Rod Stewart – Day After Day (2006)
Huey Lewis & Gwyneth Paltrow – Cruisin (2000)
Eric Clapton – Layla – Acoustic (1982) Continue reading “Today in Keenerland 2/8” →

50 years ago today, irate Ann Arbor commuters, accused the Penn Central Railroad of trying to drive them away and kill the train service that ran from what is now the Gandy Dancer Restaurant to Detroit’s Michigan Central Depot. Two years later, Amtrak would take over national passenger rail service. Continuing to provide a ride to Detroit until January 6, 1988.

I bought my wife a year of Amazon Unlimited music for Christmas. It jogged some memories of what life was like in the era of Record Clubs, K-Tel and the cut-out bin.

Record clubs made their margins on “stiffs”, giving you a list of LPs to choose from each month that included a lot of  stuff you didn’t necessarily want. Supply was limited. Demand was high. We often ended up with more than a few marginal albums among the more enduring selections in our collections.

And there was always the problem of getting stuck with a knock-off, a re-recorded version that was not at all like the tune we heard on the radio. The most excruciating for me was Free’s album version of “All Right Now“. The single mix (Hear it Here) was what we played on Top 40 Radio. It was totally different and light years better. You have to dig deep into the Amazon library to find it among the dozens of inferior album versions. It’s worth the work. If you liked the tune, you’ll know why the minute you hear it. Continue reading “Today in Keenerland 2/7” →

50 years ago today, The Federal Commission first proposed a ban on cigarette advertising on Television. It would take another year before there was a consensus in Congress, but the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act took effect on April 1, 1970. In the final year of cigarette advertising on the air, the industry spent$205 million of their $314 million budget on television. As the politically incorrect Virginia Slims jingle used to say, “We’ve come a long way, baby.”

It’s Countdown Wednesday and this week we’re looking at the WKNR Music Guide from February 6, 1967. It was a week when the enduring music that still populates oldies station playlists was first being created. Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” had it’s chart debut. The monster Turtles hit, “Happy Together” was headed toward it’s chart topping run. The Monkees’ first double sider, “I’m a Believer” and “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone” was dislodged from the top spot and on its way down. Iconic artists like Elvis, Sonny & Cher, The Young Rascals, The Association, Johnny Rivers, Spenser Davis and the 5th Dimension, shared airtime with “Middle of the Road” acts like Ed Ames and Cannonball Adderley. Motown artists were in evidence and the chart reflected a good deal of Michigan Talent, including Terry Knight and the Pack, The Underdogs and Bob Seger. The commonality? Every song is something you will remember if you had a radio on today in 1967. Find out more about Detroit’s most popular 60s rock radio station at Keener13.com. Continue reading “Today in Keenerland 2/6” →