[From time to time we will have extensive team quizzes, so
gather ‘round, Buccos.]
Pittsburgh Pirates Quiz: 1900-2001. 1) How many World Series
have they won? 2) Name the only four 20-game winners since
1960 (inclusive of that year). 3) Since 1970, what players have
won batting titles? 4) Who is the only hurler to lead the league
in strikeouts since 1950? 5) Who are the only 3 hitters to
accumulate 200 homers in a Pirates uniform? 6) Who holds the
season record for RBI at “just” 131? 7) Bonus question: [You
get this one, damn, you know your Pirates.] Name the player
who in 1939 set the still existing Pirate record for RBI in a game
with 9. Answers below.
The Kinks
One of the great rock groups of our time, the Kinks were
overshadowed by the Beatles, the Stones and, to a lesser extent,
the Dave Clark Five, during the British Invasion of the mid-
Sixties.
Born and raised in London, founding brothers Ray (b. 1944) and
Dave (b. 1947) Davies ended up in different art schools, after
younger brother Dave had been booted out of his first one for
“inflagrante delicto” with a young girl. In 1963, Dave joined up
with Ray and his band, which Dave then labeled the Ravens after
watching the Vincent Price movie of the same title. Eventually
the boys settled on Mick Avory (drums) and Peter Quaife (bass),
while two local businessmen, recognizing that the four had some
talent, became their managers and renamed the group the Kinks.
As was so often the case with groups of this era, both in America
and the U.K., the rise to fame was a meteoric one, and by
September 1964, the Kinks were at the top of the British charts
with “You Really Got Me,” a tune that would hit #7 in the U.S. a
few months later. In early ’65 the boys followed up with another
#7 (U.S.), “All Day And All Of The Night,” and they were now
the rage among the burgeoning “hard rock” element of the time.
Those two songs, alone, clearly helped pave the way for some of
the driving sounds of the 70s, but, ironically, it wasn’t really
what the group was about.
Ray Davies, who penned most of the Kinks’ hits, was more into
message tunes and concept albums, which would be reflected in
some of the band’s later work. After Top 40 tunes “Tired Of
Waiting For You” (#6), “Set Me Free” (#23), “Who’ll Be The
Next In Line” (#34), and “A Well Respected Man” (#13), by
early 1966 the group’s popularity was already beginning to
wane. Later that year “Dedicated Follower Of Fashion” (#36)
and “Sunny Afternoon” (#14) would prove to be their last
Billboard hits until 1970. Of course it didn’t help matters that
the Kinks were more than a bit rowdy on tour.
The “fun” all started in ’64 when Ray, 20 at the time, married a
17-year-old Lithuanian fan (why not?). Then in March 1965 the
band was involved in a riot at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, a
major venue for the rock scene back then. [I was ten years old in
1968 when I saw Tom Jones there with my family. Mom and
Dad didn’t appreciate how cool this was at the time.]
Two months later, in May, Dave Davies received ten stitches in
his head after being hit by one of Mick Avory’s cymbals. Dave
then smashed Mick’s drum set and the Kinks were replaced on
tour for a spell by the Walker Brothers (of “The Sun Ain’t
Gonna Shine Anymore” fame).
After Dave recovered from his injury, the Kinks launched their
first formal tour of the U.S. in June of ’65, making their live
debut with the Moody Blues (how cool would that have been?),
but soon the tour was a disaster. Ray and Dave loved to argue
and at an early appearance at L.A.’s Hollywood Bowl, Ray
suddenly refused to take the stage. He later relented (the Beach
Boys were part of this bill) but the Kinks’ overall behavior led to
a 4-year ban on touring by the American Federation of
Musicians…so they went to Australia. At the same time they
were having the usual management problems and this led to the
group’s royalties being frozen for a spell.
Meanwhile, Ray and Dave were constantly quitting and rejoining
the group, while Ray worked on his concept material, much of
which was centered around social commentary concerning his
native Britain…class struggle, stuff like that.
In 1969, however, the Kinks produced an album built around a
British television show that never aired, “Arthur,” about a middle
class, middle-aged laborer, and the music was favorably received
and compared to the Who’s “Tommy” as a rock opera. [The LP
was titled “Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British
Empire)”, in case you want to try and find a copy out there.]
Then in the fall of 1970, the Kinks recorded “Lola,” which hit #2
in the U.K. and #9 in the U.S. In case you were wondering, boys
and girls, this was the first major hit that was all about a
transvestite. Also, the BBC and copyright holders forced them to
change the line “Coca-Cola” to “cherry cola.”
Following “Lola” the Kinks, now back touring the States,
became a cult favorite with rock crowds across America,
especially among those already nostalgic for classic rock. Their
hardcore fans didn’t care that the musicianship was sloppy,
probably because they were all drunk on stage (not that there is
anything wrong with that), while Ray and Dave continued their
routine of arguing with each other throughout the performance.
Later, groups like Van Halen and the Pretenders began to record
some Kinks material. For his part, Ray, whose first wife, the
Lithuanian bombshell (I really don’t know about this last bit, but
it spices up the tale), had walked out on him in 1973, taking his
two kids, settled down with the Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde…and
she bore him child. [We like to mix up our literary styles here at
Bar Chat.] Actually, Ray had been so distraught over the
Lithuanian chick’s departure, he apparently tried to kill himself.
Well, that’s about it, folks. Ray continued to do his concept
material, as well as some straight stuff and the group’s 1977 LP,
“Sleepwalker,” actually hit #21 on the U.S. charts. [They
appeared on “Saturday Night Live” that year to promote it.]
Then in 1983, the tune “Come Dancing,” a delightful ditty from
the “State of Confusion” LP, hit #6 in the U.S., thanks in no
small part to heavy exposure on MTV.
In 1990, all four original members of the band were on hand as
the Kinks were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
So quaff six ales and toast ‘em for a job basically well done.
Queen Mum
Born Lady Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon in 1900,
the future Queen Mother (who if you were on another planet,
died the other day at 101) married the Duke of York, Prince
Albert, in 1923. “Bertie,” as he was known, was a shy, bumbling
sort, who never thought he’d have to be under the microscope as
king one day, when in 1936 his brother, King Edward VIII,
abdicated so he could marry a twice-divorced woman from
Baltimore, Wallis Simpson (no relation to Homer). Basically,
Edward was an incredible dirtball and the two went off to live in
exile in France.
Well, this whole situation placed a lot of pressure on Elizabeth,
who spent her days bucking up the new King George VI so that
he wouldn’t make a fool of himself in public. She succeeded.
Historically, however, Elizabeth is significant on two other
fronts. In 1939, king and queen traveled to New Hyde Park to
visit with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor and
Elizabeth, to their credit, sat around drinking cocktails, but the
trip helped pave the way for a new relationship between the two
countries that would prove to be very important later in the year
and thereafter, following Hitler’s invasion of Poland.
But it was during the Battle of Britain that Elizabeth really
earned her place in the hearts of all her subjects, as she
steadfastly refused to leave London, even as bombs were falling
on Buckingham Palace itself. After each night’s action,
Elizabeth and Bertie would tour the damage, with the queen
always dressed in her finest to show the people that they didn’t
need to lose their dignity, picking her way amidst the rubble. As
she famously said at the time, “It makes me feel I can look the
East End in the face.”
There are stories of this era that Hitler, himself, labeled Elizabeth
the most dangerous woman in Europe. [Though to be fair I
didn’t find this reference once in my vast history library.] What
Elizabeth did insist on during the war was that royals were not to
live any better than the rest, as she turned off the heat and
allowed only one lightbulb per room. The food was also
evidently atrocious. The king once told Churchill during their
weekly lunches, “I don’t know what is in these sandwiches.
Sawdust, I suppose.”
King George died in 1952, at which time Elizabeth’s daughter,
the current Queen Elizabeth II, took the throne, while the former
queen took the title of Queen Mother. Through her actions over
the next 50 years she further endeared herself to the British people
(as well as folks like yours truly). How could you not like her,
after all?
Reporter Bryan Appleyard of the Times of London noted, “(Her
passing represents) the death of a kind of innocence, the death of
an era, the death of a figure who was simply accepted for what
she was, a person valued simply for being herself, for being there
when it counted…no British figure will be more painfully
missed.”
Of course the last decade or so was a painful one for Elizabeth,
what with 3 of her 6 grandchildren going through divorce, plus
the death of Diana, with whom the Queen Mum was very
attached, and then, just two months ago, the death of her
daughter, Princess Margaret. On Monday, Britain will hold a
state funeral, the first since Churchill’s death in 1965.
Stuff
–Jack Nicklaus has been forced to withdraw from the Masters
because of back trouble, only the 2nd time since 1959 he has
missed it. I haven’t seen an official word on Palmer yet, but I’m
now assuming he is a no go, which would really suck since a
bunch of us have him winning it…at which point the world
would end and us golfers would ascend to heaven with big smiles
on our faces.
–Barry Bonds clubbed two homers in his first game, though I
seriously doubt he’ll hit 322 this season. [I’m assuming the
Giants will not make up one rainout.]
–So did you see that South African Breweries is making a run at
Miller (owned by Philip Morris)? SAB’s best known brand is
Pilsner Urquell, the beer of choice for yours truly when my oil
stocks go up and I feel like celebrating. According to Morgan
Stanley and the WSJ, following are the top beer producers.
Anheuser-Busch…9% market share.
Interbrew…6%…Bass, Beck’s
Heineken…5%
AmBev…5%…Brazil / Latin America
SAB…4%
Miller…4%
Carlsberg…4%
Coors…3%…beer of choice in the home office, when not
drinking Pilsner Urquell.
Top 3 songs for the week of 4/1/72: #1 “A Horse With No
Name” (America) #2 “Heart Of Gold” (Neil Young…I confused
these two artists, big time, when these tunes were out) #3
“Puppy Love” (Donny Osmond…kind of a transition period for
American rock, know what I’m sayin’?)
Pittsburgh Pirates Quiz Answers: 1) World Series
Championships: 1909, 1925, 1960, 1971, 1979…all went 7
games. 2) 20-game winners since 1960: Vernon Law (1960, 20-
9); John Candelaria (1977, 20-5); Doug Drabek (1990, 22-6);
John Smiley (1991, 20-8). 3) Only two players to win batting
titles since 1970 are Dave Parker (1977, 1978) and Bill Madlock
(1981, 1983). 4) Only hurler to lead league in strikeouts since
1950: Bob Veale (1964, 250). 5) 200 home runs in a Pirates
uniform: Willie Stargell, 475; Ralph Kiner, 301; Roberto
Clemente, 240. 6) RBI / Season: Paul Waner, 131 in 1927.
Shocked? I am. 7) RBI in a single game: Back in 1939, Johnny
Rizzo had 9 one day.
Next Bar Chat, Tuesday.
