A”s Quiz [Oakland (1968-99), Kansas City (1955-67),
Philadelphia (1901-54): 1) Who is the all-time leader in hits
while in an Athletics uniform? [Hint: “Modern day” fans will
recognize the name but it will surprise you] 2) Who has the most
career wins? 3) Most hits in a single season? 4) Last A”s pitcher
to throw a no-hitter? Answers below.
Alan Freed
While some of the other claims of responsibility are exaggerated,
Alan Freed is the one who coined the musical tag phrase, “rock”
n” roll.” And clearly, as a disc jockey and concert promoter, he
made some important contributions to the rise of rock.
In 1951, Freed started his d.j. career in Akron, OH where he
quickly developed a reputation as a top rhythm & blues
spinmeister, introducing white America to the genre. He struck
up friendships with the likes of Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and
his close ties with other R&B artists enabled him, later on, to put
together terrific shows.
Author Irwin Stambler writes of Freed”s style. “He not only
played the latest R&B records, he also often sung with them,
keeping time by slamming his hand down on a telephone book
near his microphone.”
The words rock and roll were often used in the lyrics of R&B
tunes and they carried a sexual connotation. As his own fame
spread, Freed decided “rock” n” roll” aptly described the new
music popping up all over the country. He began using it in all
of his broadcasts and later, successfully filed a copyright
application for the phrase.
In 1954, the New York radio station WINS decided to feature
rock and it signed Freed to be the centerpiece of their
programming. Until the end of the decade, he was the Big
Kahuna.
In 1955, Freed began to put together interracial shows at the
Brooklyn Paramount. The audiences were huge, rowdy, and
totally swept away by the new format. The color bar started to
be put aside in pop music.
Of course, parents and officials weren”t too thrilled about the
horrible influence of the music. Others thought it was just a fad.
Freed”s reply was, “Anyone who says rock and roll is a passing
fad or a flash in the pan has rocks in his head, dad!”
Freed ended up co-writing several rock standards, like Chuck
Berry”s “Maybelline.” He offered artists suggestions all of the
time which were normally gladly accepted.
But in 1960, Freed got caught up in the “payola” hearings being
conducted by the House Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight,
chaired by Rep. Oren Harris (D-Ark.). He was indicted for
accepting $30,000 from six record companies to plug their
product.
Payola was not new to the music industry. Many of the hit songs
of earlier eras got there by way of payments to band leaders,
vocalists, and even lead musicians. Unfortunately for Freed, as
the leading figure in the biz, he was singled out for blame.
Eventually, he pled guilty to two counts of commercial bribery in
late 1962.
While payola didn”t ruin rock, Freed lost his influence. Dick
Clark took over as the leading rock broadcaster. Some day we”ll
cover Clark”s story. In the meantime, suffice it to say that Clark
appeared before the same congressional committee and everyone
just loved him.
Rep. William Steiger
[The following could easily be part of my Wall Street History
link but, since I could find only one source, it”s more suitable for
Bar Chat. Thanks for indulging me.]
Al Gore claimed to have invented the Internet. Market historian
John Steele Gordon, for one, begs to differ. In fact, he says that
Congressman William Steiger is as responsible as anyone. If you
didn”t know who Steiger was, you”re not alone.
Writing in the April issue of American Heritage magazine,
Gordon (who recently authored a book I refer to from time to
time, “The Great Game”) discusses the role of the capital gain
tax in this country and the role that has played in the growth of
many an American enterprise.
When the first modern tax was passed in 1913, capital gains were
treated no differently than other income, like salary or dividends.
Back then, investors could simply deduct these capital losses
against all income. Gordon describes what happened, however,
after the Crash of 1929:
“The wealthy often found themselves holding stock on which
they had large losses. By selling that stock, establishing the loss,
and then buying it back immediately, these people could avoid
taxes on their regular incomes without altering their control of
the corporations involved. In 1930, 1931, and 1932, J.P.
Morgan, Jr., the nation”s most famous and powerful banker, used
this technique and paid no income taxes at all.”
Congress changed the law. Half of all capital gains would be
excluded from taxation but, in exchange, capital losses could be
deducted only against capital gains, not regular income (except
for one thousand dollars a year, later raised to the current three
thousand).
But by 1967, 155 tax returns showed income in excess of
$200,000 but no tax liabilities. 21 had income of $1,000,000 but
no income taxes. The reason was the complexity of the tax code.
Congress thus set about pursuing the 21 millionaires who, as
Gordon puts it, “had accountants clever enough to help them
escape taxes.” The capital gains tax was pushed to 50 percent.
In 1968, when the tax rate on cap gains had been no higher than
25%, the government had collected $33 billion in cap gains
taxes. In 1977, when it ranged as high as 50%, receipts were
down to $24 billion, adjusted for inflation. And get this, in 1968
there were 300 hundred high tech start-ups. In 1976, there were
none at all. Gordon:
“The reason was simple enough. Starting a company utilizing
new technology is a very high-risk affair. And one of the iron
laws of economics is that the higher the risk, the higher must be
the potential reward for investors or the risk won”t be taken. But
the capital gains tax now took 50 percent of the reward in the
case of success, while the losses in case of failure could only be
offset against possible future gains.”
Enter William Steiger. Born in Oshkosh, WI, in 1938, he won
election to Congress as a Republican in 1966. Yes, he was just
28. Over the course of the early 1970s, the Republican Party
suffered severely due to Watergate. As a result of the 1976
election, the Democrats had a 112-seat majority.
Undaunted, Steiger resolved to make capital gains taxes part of
the Tax Reform Act of 1978. President Carter was after the 3-
martini lunch crowd and other business deductions. At the same
time, the battle to reduce marginal rates across the board would
still have to wait for the election of Ronald Reagan.
Steiger, though, lined up his fellow Republicans on the Ways and
Means Committee, as well as 13 Democrats (giving him a 2-1
majority) to press for his reform plan. He proposed a top tax rate
of 25% for cap gains. The President and the media were all over
him. Carter threatened a veto. Eventually, Steiger won a 28%
top rate and Carter signed the bill into law in November 6, 1978.
The effect was immediate. In 1977, only $39 million had been
raised by the venture capital industry. By 1981 it was $1.3
billion. Initial public offerings surged from the mid-70s average
of 28 a year to 953 by 1986. Gordon writes, “The great boom of
the last two decades owes much of its strength to William
Steiger.”
With this success under his belt, Steiger was viewed as a rising
star in the Republican Party. On December 4, 1978, he died of a
heart attack. As Gordon concludes, “Life, like taxes, sometimes
just isn”t fair.” So tonight, if you have prospered in any way
shape or form over this spectacular bull market, quaff an ale to
William Steiger. I will. Actually, make that two.
Top 3 songs for the week of 3/30/63: #1 “He”s So Fine” (The
Chiffons) #2 “Our Day Will Come” (Ruby & The Romantics)
#3 “The End Of The World” (Skeeter Davis…the theme song
here at StocksandNews]
Quiz Answers: 1) Bert Campaneris! 1,882. Al Simmons had
1,829 while playing for the A”s (he also played elsewhere).
2) Eddie Plank, 284 (pitched for Philly from 1901-14; finished
his career with a 325-193 mark) 3) Al Simmons, 253, 1925
(hit .384 that season with 129 RBI) 4) Dave Stewart, 1990.
