NBA Quiz: Hakeem Olajuwon is about to become the fifth
player in NBA history to record 26,000 points and 13,000
rebounds. Who are the other four? Answer below.
Dave Clark Five
I wrote on Monday that I would update my Dave Clark Five
story from a long time ago. Well, in looking through the old pile
here, I realized I wrote all of about 5 lines on the group back in
February 1999. As a matter of fact, they were part of the very
first Bar Chat. Well, they deserve better. Little Steven, a k a
Steve Van Zandt, said recently that the DC Five produced the
“most powerful records” of their era.
And it”s easy to forget just how good the group was. They had 7
Top 20 hits in 1964, second to the Beatles 15 that year. [The 4
Seasons had 6, Beach Boys 4…the Stones were just getting
started.] 4 of their singles in ”64 were Top Ten (“Glad All
Over,” “Bits And Pieces,” “Can”t You See That She”s Mine,”
and “Because”).
The group”s founder, Dave Clark, was born in Tottenham,
London, 12/15/42. Clark was a big time rugby player who found
time for a little drumming and, later, movie stunt work, when he
decided to advertise for a band. The result was The Dave Clark
Five and Stan Saxon, the vocalist.
As with all bands in their early stages, changes were made and
saxophonist Denis Payton and vocalist Mike Smith were added
(Smith replacing Saxon). Smith and Clark would go on to write
the bulk of the DC Five”s tunes.
Initially, the group raised funds ostensibly to be used for their
rugby team”s traveling expenses. But by 1963, the band was
becoming a force on the London club circuit, playing mostly at
the Tottenham Royal Ballroom. At one point, the owners of the
Ballroom weren”t too fired up about having the boys as regulars
so 300 girls marched to Tottenham Town Hall with 4,500
signatures, petitioning to return the group to their rightful stage.
[Your editor is very jealous of this action.]
Late in ”63, “Do You Love Me” charted in the U.K., and then
things moved fast and furiously, as they did for all the big
groups, back then.
In January ”64 they released “Glad All Over,” which topped the
U.K. charts, replacing the Beatles “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”
The British tabloids had a field day. “London Topples
Liverpool”…and the single sold 870,000 copies in the U.K.
alone. “Glad All Over” was released in the U.S. and hit the Top
40 in March. The group unleashed a big tour in the U.K. with
the Hollies and the Kinks; one of many such awesome deals that
we all wish we could have been part of (probably cost about a
pound, too).
Back in London, the song “Bits And Pieces” was banned by
many ballroom managers because they feared damage to the
dance floors with the song”s “stomping” break. The group was
smoking. And it”s easy to forget that they were the loudest act
from the British Invasion until the arrival of the Who.
By May 30, 1964, the Dave Clark Five was playing Carnegie
Hall and making their first of what would be 12 appearances on
the “Ed Sullivan Show” (the following night). Then they
embarked on a wildly successful, if dangerous, U.S. tour.
Guitarist Rick Huxley suffered extensive facial injuries when he
was mobbed by fans in Washington, D.C. (he was O.K.). [In
August ”65 on another tour, Smith broke some ribs when fans
pulled him off the stage in Chicago.]
But by the end of 1967, the group was out of chart hits in the
U.S., though they continued to have success in the U.K. They
retired from touring in 1969 and formally split up in 1970. Clark
and Smith continued to collaborate for a spell on various
projects.
And any retelling of the Dave Clark Five story needs to discuss
the brilliance of founder Dave Clark. It was Clark who, to this
day, is the envy of all his fellow musicians of that era. Why? He
was smart enough to control the rights to all of the group”s
recordings, going back to 1962. No one else seemed to have the
foresight to do that. But Clark did. And it wasn”t a great
surprise that Clark waited until 1993 to come out with the
definitive CD-compilation, as he waited until all of his various
contracts were just right. [This set is an absolute must for any
”60s fan. Ask for it for Christmas.]
Clark always said that his music aimed to entertain. “Records
are for enjoyment; there”s no message in our music; it”s just for
fun.” Right on, bro.
Finally, Dave Clark has always been known as a class act in
music circles. So it should come as no surprise that he was at
Freddie Mercury”s bedside when the great singer died of AIDS
on 11/24/91. Mercury and Clark had worked on some tunes
together for Clark”s London musical, “Time.”
Secrets
The Sunday Times Magazine had a piece by Jonathan Vankin
which divulged some potential solutions to “secrets” that have
perplexed us all over the years. [Or, rather, these are Vankin”s
best guesses as to the answers.]
–Coke”s secret formula: Combination of oils derived from
lemon, orange, coriander, nutmeg and cinnamon.
–Best Guess as to what happened the night of Marilyn Monroe”s
death: According to a private detective who had bugged
Marilyn”s home, on the night of August 4, 1962, Robert Kennedy
had a “violent argument” with Monroe. Hours after his
departure, she allegedly swallowed an overdose. Of course, we”ll
never know if that was intentional or not.
–Mafia initiation rite: Learned from a FBI recording in 1989,
the initiate swears an oath in Italian, after which the index finger
is pricked and a picture of the family”s patron saint is burned.
Now I”m not Italian, but this would be a problem for me because
there is no way I”m burning my picture of Ronald Reagan.
Moissanite
A few months ago, I did a series of articles for “Hott Spotts” on
the diamond industry. My friend Harry K. knows a thing or two
about gems and told me at that time that I should be aware of
moissanite, a jewel quality crystal that has many of the properties
of diamonds, and is far less expensive.
So I saw my first television commercial for moissanite the other
day and checked out the web site it was touting,
www.moissanite.com. Sure enough, the New York area
campaign has now begun.
But here”s the catch…and Harry told me of this long ago. In his
own words, “It has become the number one fraud scam in the
U.S. People go buy a $5,000 moissanite, take it to a jeweler and
sell it as a diamond, for $50,000 (Harry”s figure). Few jewelers
have the sophisticated testing devices necessary to distinguish
between diamond and moissanite, and, in fact, the accepted tester
that is commonly found in jewelry shops will test moissanite as
diamond. Some consumer protection TV show up here took one
to ten different jewelers in the Toronto area, and only one out of
ten recognized it as a moissanite.”
Hey, get back here guys…you still have to come up with the first
$5,000!
Sports Bits
–Jockey Chris Antley was allegedly murdered the other day. He
was just 34 and had won some 3,480 races in his short, but
brilliant career.
Antley was recently suffering from more drug and weight
problems, which have plagued him over the years, and he hadn”t
raced since March when he told stewards he needed time off to
address some personal issues.
But none of us sports fans will ever forget a terrific moment, that
being during the 1999 Kentucky Derby. Antley was on board
Charismatic, who had already won the first two legs of the Triple
Crown. Unfortunately, Charismatic broke down in the stretch of
the Belmont. But as the horse crossed the finish line, Antley
quickly pulled him up, dismounted and cradled Charismatic”s
broken leg in his arms until a horse ambulance arrived. It was
something for the ages and his quick thinking saved the horse”s
life, allowing Charismatic to stand at stud, while putting tons of
money in its owner”s pockets.
*Trivia: Antley was the first jock to ride 9 winners in one day (4
at Aqueduct and 5 at the Meadowlands. [Source: Ken Turnick /
New York Times]
–Triple Doubles: What a two-day period for sports stats. First,
the NFL had 4 rushers go for 200 yards on the same Sunday
when there had never been more than two. And then on
Monday, two long-time college b-ball programs saw their first
“triple-doubles” as Seton Hall”s freshman phenom Eddie Griffin
and North Carolina”s Brendan Haywood had double figures in
points, rebounds and blocked shots. It”s just amazing that these
were “firsts,” especially in the case of UNC.
–UNC Women”s Soccer: Talk about a dynasty, the UNC soccer
program ranks right up there with anything John Wooden did at
UCLA (Wooden”s basketball teams won 9 in 10 years). The
Lady Tar Heels have now won 16 of 19 NCAA titles, having
defeated, ironically, UCLA 2-1 for the championship. Coach
Anson Dorrance thus upped his NCAA post-season record to 66-
3. Rather gaudy, wouldn”t you say?
Top 3 songs for the week of 12/8/73: #1 “Top Of The World”
(Carpenters) #2 “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (Elton John)
#3 “The Most Beautiful Girl” (Charlie Rich…Heyyyyy).
Ozark Mountain Daredevils
These dudes were one of my favorite groups of all time (“Jackie
Blue” #3, 1975), but my favorite album of theirs, “Men From
Earth,” has been out of print for years.
Well, about three years ago, I wrote the fan club and one of the
guys actually made a copy of the album on tape for me. [Yes, I
could have done that myself with the old, beaten up record I had
from 1976…but just the thought was incredible.]
So this weekend I received potentially great news for those of us
who appreciate this vastly underrated group. They are beginning
to work out their problems with a new record company and, just
maybe, their old stuff will be reissued. In the meantime, they
have been given permission to release a new greatest hits
compilation, “Time Warp: The Very Best of the Ozark Mountain
Daredevils,” which will be out shortly (like yesterday).
Why am I going on like this? Well, I seldom use the power of
the pen for personal pleas (actually, I”ve never done this), but I
need your help on this one. Check out “ozarkdaredevils.com.”
By doing so, you may help the group in convincing Universal
Music to reissue their full catalog…and you won”t be
disappointed if you order “Time Warp.”
NBA Quiz Answer: The other four players in the 26,000 point –
13,000 rebound club are: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 /
17,440); Wilt Chamberlain (31,419 / 23,924); Moses Malone
(27,409 / 16,212); Elvin Hayes (27,313 / 16,279).
“Bourbon-drinking” Judge N. Sanders Sauls, you have just
become a member of the Bar Chat Hall of Fame, along with the
benefits that accrue therefrom. [This is all contingent, of course,
on the final outcome.]
Next Bar Chat, Friday…if you keep it where it is.
