Miami Dolphins Quiz: 1) Name the franchise”s only 4 coaches?
2) Name the five QBs selected ahead of Dan Marino in the first
round of the ”83 draft? 3) Most pass receptions, career? 4) Most
interceptions, career? Answers below.
The Carpenters
Now, now, I know what you”re thinking. But be honest, the
older you get, the more you actually like to hear a Carpenters”
tune now and then. [I”m not saying you all are rushing out to get
their Greatest Hits, mind you, but you aren”t turning the dial
automatically, like some of us did back in the 70s.] Because,
after all, when you look at the group”s body of work, there aren”t
too many around who can speak of 12 Top Ten Billboard
Singles. In fact, let”s start with a list.
1970 – (They Long To Be) Close To You #1
1970 – We”ve Only Just Begun #2
1971 – For All We Know #3
1971 – Rainy Days And Mondays #2
1971 – Superstar #2
1972 – Hurting Each Other #2
1972 – It”s Going To Take Some Time #12 (not Top Ten but
one of their better ones)
1972 – Goodbye To Love #7
1973 – Sing #3
1973 – Yesterday Once More #2
1973 – Top Of The World #1
1974 – I Won”t Last A Day Without You #11 (should have been
Top Ten)
1974 – Please Mr. Postman #1.not a popular tune today.
1975 – Only Yesterday #4
1975 – Solitaire #17
1976 – There”s A Kind Of Hush (All Over The World) #12
Eight #1 or #2, not too shabby. And a lot of the time they beat
out some pretty good hard rock acts.
It all started back in New Haven, CT, 1946 to be specific, when
Richard was born. Karen followed in 1950. Both kids were
influenced by their father, who had a vast collection of records
from the 30s and 40s, mostly big band sounds. Richard started
taking piano lessons at 9 and by 16 he was studying classical
music at Yale and playing in local jazz clubs.
The family then moved to Downey, California in 1963 and
Richard began studying at Southern Cal and Cal State – Long
Beach. In the middle of ”65 he then formed a group with sister
Karen and a friend, Wes Jacobs (who would later move on to the
Detroit Symphony). Karen was playing the drums in her high
school marching band so this little trio had a female drummer,
rather rare for those days.
In 1966 the group, which took the moniker The Carpenter Trio,
won the big awards at the Hollywood Bowl”s famous ”Battle of
the Bands” competition, where literally hundreds would compete
for the attention of music industry moguls. RCA execs were
impressed with the Carpenters, but after recording two records
that were never released, the label decided the group was too
“soft” to make it on the pop charts of the day.
And so it came to pass that Richard and Karen took some time to
regroup, eventually forming a new band, Spectrum. Richard
brought in some Cal State buddies and Spectrum began to get
gigs at places ranging from Disneyland to a real rock hot spot of
the time, Whisky a Go Go. Rockologist Irwin Stambler writes in
his “Encyclopedia of Pop Rock and Soul” that at Whisky, “The
effect on the hard rock fans was unusual. When Spectrum
started playing, people on the dance floor stopped to listen to the
music. The management was afraid this might lead to smaller
audiences and terminated Spectrum”s engagement.” “Get out of
here, you bums,” I imagine the guys shouted. “No, let them
play,” their dates would reply. And then it would come down to
whether or not the guy really wanted to be with the girl. [The
editor really has no freakin” clue, just a bonus musing.]
So now Spectrum disbanded. No one wanted its soft, easy
listening tunes. Yes, the Carpenters could have given up, but
noooo. Dammit, they thought, we”ll ram this crap down the
public”s throat whether they like it or not. And so as Karen
worked with a voice teacher, Richard came up with an even
softer approach based on some of his favorite groups and artists,
like the Beatles, Beach Boys, Bee Gees and Burt Bacharach.
[Imagine what he would have done had he gone on to the C”s and
D”s?!]
Finally, in 1969 a producer by the name of Jack Daugherty took
the Carpenters” demo tapes to Herb Alpert over at A&M records.
Alpert, who had been spending a lot of time on management and
production, okayed the Carpenters first LP, ”Offering,” which
was later relabeled ”Ticket to Ride,” after a Beatles tune that they
knocked off. In fact, I had forgotten just how many tunes Karen
and Richard would knock off in their careers, but I”m getting
ahead of myself. After the release of the first album, the
television networks gave the Carpenters some good spots on the
variety show circuit and the 2nd LP, ”Close to You,” was released
in May 1970, with both the LP and the title single moving to the
top. Burt Bacharach gave them “Close to You,” (“Such nice
kids,” he probably thought), and “We”ve Only Just Begun” was
actually a Crocker Citizens Bank TV commercial penned by Paul
Williams.
By the summer of ”71, the Carpenters had their own variety show
as a summer replacement on ABC. Their hit “For All We
Know,” from the film “Lovers and Other Strangers,” would win
the Oscar for ”Best Song of the Year.” They would also
accumulate 3 Grammy Awards, including for Best New Artist
and Best Pop Vocal Group.
And they continued to rely on others for their hits; like “Rainy
Days and Mondays” (Paul Williams) and “Superstar” (Leon
Russell / Bonnie Bramlett.which had been originally performed
by Bette Midler on “The Tonight Show”). Then there was
“Hurting Each Other,” which was first done by Ruby & The
Romantics, “It”s Going To Take Some Time” (Carole King), and
“Sing,” (written for “Sesame Street” by Joe Raposo).
But wait, there”s more. “Please Mr. Postman” was a hit for the
Marvellettes in 1961 (both versions hit #1.which tells you that
a lot of postmen buy records) and “There”s A Kind of Hush,” a
#4 for Herman”s Hermits in 1967.
Oh, this really isn”t fair. After all, everyone knows that Richard
was a very talented musician in his own right, but is it any
wonder that London”s Daily Mail wrote an article alleging that
the Carpenters were incapable of writing their own songs?
[Richard filed suit and won undisclosed damages against the
tabloid.]
And, besides, by late ”75, Karen was having some major
problems on the health front, namely, she had a nasty habit of
giving back food.in chewed form. This whole deal grew out of
her desire to keep her weight down, so it was the old mantra,
“Weight down.food up.” It was increasingly difficult for
Karen to tour, though for a while Richard wasn”t quite sure, as he
related in an interview after her death.
“When she got sick in Las Vegas in 1975, we knew something
was seriously amiss. It turned out to be anorexia. My Lord, I
remember she would come in between shows and just flop down.
She was down to 80 pounds and she”d walk out on stage and her
voice was absolutely marvelous. We were in awe at first. But
then we had to cancel two tours the following year.”
Karen, however, continued to avoid the topic. Then shortly
before the end she sought help in New York. When she returned
to Califonia all seemed to be well, but it was too late. Her heart
had been so weakened from years of abuse that her body wasn”t
able to keep up anymore. On February 4, 1983, Karen collapsed
at her parents” home. She died of cardiac arrest. The Los
Angeles coroner noted the cause of death as “heartbeat
irregularities brought on by chemical imbalances associated with
anorexia nervosa.”
And in 1989, Cynthia Gibb played the title role in the CBS-TV
movie, “The Karen Carpenter Story,” which topped the ratings!!
Well, there you have it. Regardless of what you think about the
Carpenters” music, we do all owe a debt of gratitude to Karen for
“Merry Christmas Darling,” one of the best. We now resume our
regularly scheduled programming.
Johnny Mac”s Baseball…The New York Yankees [1921-28]
I reckon most of you know about this bunch, as the 1927 club is
often given the nod as “The Best Ever.” It”s a matter of opinion,
I guess, but I just don”t buy it. The Yankees were not very
successful in the formative years of the American League,
spawning from the old Baltimore Orioles, a National League
club that did not make the cut when the league consolidated. In
fact, they played the 1901 and 1902 seasons in Baltimore before
moving to New York and becoming the Highlanders. They had a
few second place finishes through the years, but no pennants, and
rarely got above .500 till Miller Huggins arrived in 1918. The
pre-Ruth squad was a rag-tag collection of aging veterans (Frank
Baker, Del Pratt, Duffy Lewis, Ping Bodie) with some decent
pitching (Carl Mays, Bob Shawkey, Jack Quinn). 1920 saw the
arrival of the Bambino, who was relegated to full-time duty in
right. I think we know how that worked out. Shattering his own
record for homers, Babe swatted an unfathomable 54 that year,
while his .847 slugging pct. still stands as the single-season
mark.
In 1921 youngsters Bob Meusel and Waite Hoyt arrived on the
scene and the Yanks won their first pennant. Ruth had
cartoonish numbers, hitting 59, scoring 177 (still the record),
driving in 171 and slugging .846. They lost to McGraw and the
Giants in the Series, but at least they saved on travel expenses
(both teams played in the Polo Grounds).
They repeated in 1922, thanks in large part to another Red Sox
cast-off, Bullet Joe Bush. Joe went 26-7 (fyi.he was 195-183
over his career), but the Yanks were ousted 4-0 by the Giants in
the Series. This team still had some holes, but luckily the Red
Sox would be more than willing to fill them. Herb Pennock
joined former Boston mates Mays and Bush in the rotation, and
Jumpin” Joe Dugan, yet another former Bostonian, filled a need
at third. They waltzed to a third pennant and, yet again, were to
meet the Giants in the Fall Classic. One big difference this
year.Yankee Stadium had opened its doors. The largest,
newest facility in baseball sat just across the river from the Polo
Grounds, and suddenly relegated the Giants to second-class
status in a town they had owned. The results were different
too.the Yankees rode Ruth (3 homers, 8 runs), Meusel (8 RBI),
Pennock and Bush to their first title, winning in six.
Still hungover, the Yankees lost the race in 1924 to the Senators
by just two games. 1925 then proved to be a disaster, as the
Babe had his famous tummy ache and the team stumbled to 69-
85, good for next-to-last. The one bright spot was the emergence
of a young, soft-spoken, Ivy League educated slugger at first,
Lou Gehrig. Earl Combs also joined the outfield, and veteran
hurler Urban Shocker was picked up from the lowly Browns.
1926 saw a return to prominence and the addition of Tony
Lazzeri at second and Mark Koenig at short solidified the infield.
They beat out Cleveland for the pennant and went on to face the
Cardinals for the title.
The Redbirds featured player/manager Rogers Hornsby and
slugger Jim Bottomley, but it was grizzled warhorse Grover
Alexander who would prove decisive. Old Pete (who would win
373 games in his career), was a mid-season pick up from the
Cubs. Now 39, he had been tossing shutouts and closing bars
since 1911. The Series went back and forth, the teams tied 3
games apiece. Having thrown complete games victories in
Games 2 and 6, Alexander took the liberty of quenching his thirst
the night before Game 7 (or so the story goes). Jesse Haines was
nursing a 3-2 lead in the seventh, but a blister forced him out.
With the bases juiced and Lazzeri waiting, Hornsby signaled for
Alexander. Tony timed one, jacking a long shot just foul.
Grover then knuckled down and struck out Lazzeri to end the
inning. The Yankees had one more threat as Ruth walked with
two down in the ninth. Cleanup hitter Meusel was the Series-
winning run at the plate. Ruth inexplicably took off for second
and was gunned down. What a way for the Series to end.
1927.still stinging from the tough loss the previous autumn, the
Yankees ran roughshod over the league, finishing 110-44, some
19 games ahead of the Athletics. They dominated every
statistical category, scoring 100 runs more than their nearest
competitor, allowing 100 less than anyone else, and hitting three
times more homers than any other club. Ruth, with his new
record of 60 round trippers, out-homered every other team in the
American League. [We”ll allow this to sink in.] Gehrig, believe
it or not, was even better. Lou hit .373, with 47 homers, 175
RBI, 149 runs scored, 52 doubles and 18 triples en route to 447
total bases. Combs, Meusel and Lazzeri had good years with the
bat as well, so the pitching staff had it pretty easy (hey, how
would you like to get over six runs a game, every game?) Hoyt,
Shocker and Pennock had solid years, and even career minor-
leaguer Wilcy Moore, a rookie at age 30, went 19-7 with 13
saves, working mostly in relief.
Meeting the overmatched Pirates, the Yankees cruised in four
straight. Ruth (7 RBI) and Koenig (.500) supplied most of the
offense, while four different hurlers won a game apiece. It was a
methodical dismantling and the Yankees looked as unbeatable as
any team ever would.
In 1928 they repeated again, although the talented Athletics
would push them all the way, falling 2.5 games short (see prior
Bar Chat). The core was basically the same and the Series was
another mismatch, with the Cardinals being the victim this go
round. Gehrig hit .545, with 4 homers and 9 ribbies, while the
Babe hit a mere .625, swatting 3 and scoring 9. Hoyt won 2
games, with George Pipgras (who was 24-13 in the regular
season) and Tom Zachary winning one each, as the starters
completed each game. Zachary was a castoff from the Senators,
a lifetime .500 pitcher (185-191 lifetime) who was only 3-3 for
New York in ”28, but it didn”t matter, did it? This team could
have started four teenage girls and swept the Series.
While over the course of 1921-28 the Yankees won 6 pennants in
8 years, it is the pitching that gives me pause. Despite the fact
that Pennock and Hoyt made it to Cooperstown, the staff was
never really that great. This era in baseball is severely over-
represented in the Hall anyway, due mainly to inflated batting
stats and the silly Old Timers (Veterans) Committee. They
would sit around the bar at the Otesaga Hotel, get pretty liquored
up, and swap stories about their contemporaries. Since most of
them played during this era, they naturally figured their
teammates and competitors were just great players. Look,
Pennock (241-161, 3.60 ERA) and Hoyt (237-182, 3.59 ERA)
were nice pitchers, but they never rose above the level of the
team, and were not demonstrably better than Shocker (188-117,
3.17 ERA) or Shawkey (198-150, 3.09 ERA), who pitched
alongside them. Journeymen like Zachary, Moore and Pipgras
won for these teams. Both Pennock and Hoyt had career ERAs
only slightly better than the league average, hardly the stuff of
greatness (unlike, say, Lefty Grove or Walter Johnson). I don”t
know, but I just never get the feeling that they could beat some
other great Yankee clubs, or the Athletics team that followed
them, despite the Babe and the Iron Horse. Just my opinion.
Top 3 songs for the week of 10/19/68: #1 “Hey Jude” (The
Beatles) #2 “Fire” (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown) #3
“Little Green Apples” (O.C. Smith)
Miami Dolphins Quiz Answer: 1) Only four coaches since
inception in 1966. George Wilson (”66-”69.and, of course, I
thought you”d miss this one), Don Shula (”70-”95), Jimmy
Johnson (”96-”99), Dave Wannstedt (”00-”01). [Shula had a
losing record only twice.] 2) QBs drafted ahead of Marino in
1983, all first round. #1 John Elway (Baltimore) #7 Todd
Blackledge (K.C.) #14 Jim Kelly (Buffalo) #15 Tony Eason
(New England) #24 Ken O”Brien (Jets). Marino was taken on
the 27th pick. And to give you a sense of how highly rated this
QB class was in relation to future years, no QB was taken in the
first round of either the ”84 or ”85 draft. 3) Receptions, career:
Mark Clayton, 550. 4) Interceptions, career: Jake Scott, 35.
Get fired up.Oklahoma / Nebraska, Saturday, Noon (ET); #1
vs. #2 in Bowl Championship Series poll. There is one problem,
however, and that is the fact these two will likely face each other
in the Big Twelve title game, so this week is far from conclusive,
re: the final bowl picture.
Next Bar Chat, Friday.
