**8/28…next chat not until Tues. evening, ET**
[Overseas and out of touch…in case you’re wondering how I
could have missed a particular event the next few days.]
U.S. Open Tennis Quiz:
Men: 1) Since 1930 (post-Bill Tilden, who won his last title in
1929), who are the three to win four or more singles titles? 2)
How many has Andre Agassi won? 3) Who am I? I won in 1975
and my initials are M.O.
Women: 1) Post-1931 (Helen Wills Moody won the last of her
seven titles that year), name the three to win five or more titles.
2) How many titles have the Williams sisters won, combined? 3)
Who am I? I won four titles from 1959 to 1966 and my initials
are M.B.
Answers below.
1966…the Music Scene
Jan. 1…Simon & Garfunkel hit US #1 for the first time with
“The Sounds Of Silence,” which was actually written three years
earlier by Paul Simon.
Jan. 18…Brian Wilson begins work in earnest on “Pet Sounds.”
Feb. 3…During a visit to Britain, Stevie Wonder performs at the
Scotch of St. James nightclub in Mason’s Yard, London, and
after the show meets audience member Paul McCartney.
Feb. 16…James Brown cuts “It’s A Man’s, Man’s, Man’s
World.”
Feb. 19…The Mamas & the Papas make their network television
debut, performing “California Dreamin’” on “American
Bandstand.”
March 4…In an interview for London’s Evening Standard, John
Lennon makes the comment that the Beatles were more popular
than Jesus. At the time it caused nary a stir. But the interview
was reprinted right before the Beatles’ summer tour in the US
and then all hell broke loose. [See below]
March 19…Paul Revere & The Raiders release “Kicks,” one of
the first anti-drug rock songs.
March 20…The World Cup soccer trophy is stolen in London
but is unearthed a week later by Pickles the dog.
That same day James Brown headlines a bill at Madison Square
Garden featuring The Young Rascals, Len Barry and the
Shangri-Las.
April 1…The Troggs record “Wild Thing” in London. They are
literally sitting in a van outside the studio when they’re told they
have 45 minutes to set up their equipment, test the levels, record
the song and pack up.
April 12…Jan & Dean’s Jan Berry, preoccupied with a draft
notice he had just received, plus an upcoming medical school
exam, crashes his Corvette Stingray into a parked truck on
Whittier Boulevard in Los Angeles and is almost killed, suffering
total paralysis and brain damage. [He later partially recovered.]
April 14…The Sandoz Corporation in Switzerland suspends
distribution of LSD.
May 1…The Beatles performed live for the first time since the
previous December, only a 15-minute spot at the annual New
Musical Express Poll Winners’ Concert in Wembley, England.
They sing “I Feel Fine,” “Nowhere Man,” “Day Tripper,” “If I
Needed Someone,” and “I’m Down.” It is the group’s last ever
British live concert.
May 7…Beach Boys release “Pet Sounds”
May 11…European radio stations announce the death of The
Who’s Roger Daltrey. Daltrey denies it. ‘I’m not dead!’
May 20…Drummer Keith Moon leaves The Who after Pete
Townshend hits him over the head with a guitar for being late.
He returns a week later.
May 21…US radio stations begin banning the Byrds’ single
“Eight Miles High” because of drug connotations.
June 10…Janis Joplin makes her debut with Big Brother & the
Holding Company at the Avalon ballroom in San Francisco.
That same day at the Soundblast ’66 concert at Yankee Stadium,
check out the bill…Ray Charles, the Byrds, the Beach Boys,
Stevie Wonder, Jerry Butler, the McCoys, the Marvelletes, and
a new family-member group, the Cowsils. How awesome is
that? There is also a 66-member troupe called the Go-Go Girls
that perform a new dance called “The Bike.” The New York
Times described the act as “the Isidore [sic] Duncans of
frugdom.”
June 25…Jackie Wilson is charged with inciting a riot and
refusing to obey a police order after police are called to the
Flamingo No. 2 club in Port Arthur, Texas. A crowd of between
200 and 400 has been whipped into a frenzy and is tossing
furniture around. Wilson refuses to stop singing. It turns out he
started the performance three hours late. He is convicted of
drunkenness and fined $30.
Also this day, at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles…the
Beach Boys, the Byrds, Lovin’ Spoonful, Love, Sir Douglas
Quintet, Captain Beefheart, the Outsiders and the Leaves.
July 4…the Beatles play to 80,000 over two concerts in Manila.
But the next day the headlines are screaming they had dissed
Imelda Marcos in an apparent mix-up. So authorities levy a
heavy tax on the group which Brian Epstein has to pay out of
concert receipts before the Boys are allowed to leave the country.
July 18…Bobby Fuller, who had but one Top Ten with the song
“I Fought The Law” in February, is found dead in his mother’s
Oldsmobile, outside an apartment they shared in West
Hollywood. His body is badly beaten and reeks of gasoline. The
case is never solved.
July 29…Bob Dylan suffers serious injuries when he crashes his
Triumph 55 motorcycle at Albert Grossman’s home in
Woodstock, New York. He then goes into seclusion.
Aug. 3…Comedian Lenny Bruce dies of a drug overdose. Phil
Spector says it was from a “police overdose.”
Aug. 11…The three US television networks cover the Beatles’
press conference at the Astor Towers Hotel in Chicago,
following release of the reprint of the Evening Standard
interview where John compares the Beatles to Jesus.
Lennon publicly apologizes: “If I had said television is more
popular than Jesus, I might have got away with it, but I just
happened to be talking to a friend and I used the words ‘Beatles’
as a remote thing, not as what I think – as Beatles, as those other
Beatles like other people see us. I just said ‘they’ are having
more influence on kids and things than anything else, including
Jesus.”
Afterwards, some radio stations ban Beatles tunes forever and
several tour dates are cut.
Thurman H. Babbs, pastor of the New Haven Baptist Church in
Cleveland vows to excommunicate any parishioner who goes to a
Beatles concert or listens to their music.
The next day the Beatles begin their final North American tour
with the Cyrkle, the Ronettes, the Remains, and Bobby Hebb.
Aug. 14…Radio station KLUE in Longview, Texas, which had
organized a public bonfire of Beatles records the day before, is
knocked off the air when a lightning bolt hits its transmission
tower, causing extensive damage. The station’s news director is
apparently knocked unconscious.
Aug. 19…At the Beatles concert in Memphis, the band receives
an anonymous call that a member will be assassinated. But when
during the second show a firecracker is thrown on the stage, the
band didn’t miss a beat.
Aug. 29…The Beatles perform together live for the last time in
Candlestick Park, San Francisco. The 11-song set ends with
Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally.”
Sept. 8… “Star Trek” debuts. Actor Jeffery Hunter is Captain
Christopher Pike in the first pilot, turned down by NBC. Creator
Gene Roddenberry then comes up with a second pilot (also for
NBC) that features William Shatner.
Sept. 12… “The Monkees” debuts on NBC. Songwriters Gerry
Goffin and Carole King, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, 25-year-
old Neil Diamond and Neil Sedaka are hired to write songs for
the group.
Sept. 24…The Animals’ bass player Chas Chandler arrives in
London with his discovery, 23-year-old, left-handed guitarist
Jimi Hendrix, whom Chandler saw performing at the Café Wha
in Greenwich Village, New York, in July. [Legend has it
Hendrix changed his name from Jimmy to Jimi during the flight
over.] Within two weeks, Hendrix has recruited Noel Redding
and Mitch Mitchell and formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Oct. 7…British rocker Johnny Kidd (Johnny Kidd and the
Pirates) is killed in a car crash. He’s just 26.
Oct. 30…The Black Panther Party is founded by Huey Newton
and Bobby Seale.
Nov. 8…Ronald Wilson Reagan is elected governor of
California. In Massachusetts, Edward Brooke becomes the first
black in 85 years elected to the US Senate.
Nov. 24…After a sabbatical following their tour, the Beatles start
work on “Strawberry Fields Forever,” their most complicated
tune to date.
Also that day, thousands rampage outside the Municipal
Auditorium in Kansas City where James Brown is performing.
Police had stopped the show because of “alleged obscene dances
being performed on the stage.”
Dec. 1…Tom Jones’s “Green, Green Grass Of Home” tops UK
charts for first of seven weeks at the top. Did you know this
would become his biggest-selling single? [It was a cover of
Porter Wagoner’s country hit.] Jones had just sung title song for
the Bond flick “Thunderball.”
Dec. 3…The Monkees make their live debut before a sellout
crowd of 8,300 in Honolulu. Fan response confirms their
success.
Dec. 15…Walt Disney dies of cancer.
Dec. 19…Somehow rumors get started that Mick Jagger is dead
and it sweeps America.
Dec. 24…19-year-old Tommy James of Dayton, Ohio, having
already notched a hit with “Hanky Panky,” records the follow-
up “I Think We’re Alone Now.” Boy these guys were
underrated….8 Billboard Top Tens.
Sources: Two new books I just purchased… “Rock and Pop
Timeline,” edited by Johnny Black; “Rock & Roll: Year by
Year,” by Luke Crampton & Dafydd Rees…we’ll have more in
the coming months.
Stuff
–Well, I was half right. I thought Captain Tom Lehman would
pick Stewart Cink and Jerry Kelly to round out the Ryder Cup
squad. Instead it was Cink and Scott Verplank.
Verplank was a big surprise since he missed the cut at the PGA
(with the pressure on) and finished 20th in the points standings.
But he is a veteran and a straight hitter so what the hell. We’re
going to get waxed, anyway.
Tiger, Mickelson, Furyk, Chad Campbell, Toms and DiMarco
are a solid first six.
But then you have rookies Vaughn Taylor, J.J. Henry, Zach
Johnson, Brett Wetterich; plus Cink and Verplank.
If Lehman can bring back the trophy with this squad, he should
go straight to the Golf Hall of Fame.
The Europeans don’t finalize their squad until Sept. 3.
Ryder Cup records for U.S. players
Tiger…7-11-2 (2-1-1, singles)
Mickelson…9-8-3 (3-2-0, singles)
Furyk…4-9-2 (3-0-1, singles)
Campbell…1-2-0 (1-0-0, singles)
Toms…4-3-1 (1-1-0, singles)
DiMarco…2-1-1 (1-0-0, singles)
Cink…2-4-1 (0-2-0, singles)
Verplank…2-1-0 (1-0-0, singles)
–All kinds of stories on Tiger’s first ten years on tour and a
good one involves caddie Steve Williams, who has been on
Tiger’s bag for the past seven years (and 11 of his 12 majors).
At Pebble Beach in the 2000 U.S. Open, which Tiger would win
by a stupendous 15 shots, Tiger hit his tee shot on no. 18 into the
ocean as they were completing the second round. Williams
nearly had a heart attack when he realized they were down to
their last ball. As told by Doug Ferguson of the Associated
Press:
“(Williams) tried desperately to get Woods to hit a 2-iron
without explaining the circumstances, lost a heated argument,
then breathed easy when his boss split the middle of the
fairway.”
[Now I did a cursory glance at the Rules of Golf and I believe
Tiger would have been allowed to ‘borrow’ a ball from his
competitor(s) without penalty. I do recall some obscure situation
where in tournament play if the competitors didn’t want to give
him one he would have had ‘x’ amount of time to purchase one
from the pro shop….feel free to correct me on this. Regardless,
it’s likely Steve Williams’ job with Tiger may have been in some
jeopardy. Remember Ian Woosnam and his caddy?]
–Can you believe it’s been 30 years…30 years!…since the
summer of Mark “Bird” Fidrych?
Fidrych, a 21-year-old rookie with Detroit, went 19-9 with a 2.34
ERA and, as compared to today’s era where a complete game is
exceedingly rare, Fidrych, that year’s A.L. Rookie of the Year,
completed 24 of his 29 starts.
Fidrych was best known for his antics on the mound, seeming to
talk to the ball (he said he was talking to himself) and picking at
the dirt, which when combined with his Harpo-like hair and
lanky body had many comparing him to Sesame Street’s Big
Bird, thus his nickname.
It helped that Fidrych pitched a one-hitter on national television
in June against the Yankees and he drew sellout crowds
wherever he went. In Anaheim, for example, they even threw a
Mark Fidrych Autograph Day where Bird signed thousands of
them…in an opponents’ ballpark, for crying out loud.
“Bird” was mystified by all the attention. He was a simple guy
who was more interested in talking about a rock and roll act than
baseball. Heck, he celebrated the news he had made the Tigers’
roster by having sex with his girlfriend on the pitcher’s mound at
Detroit’s training camp in Lakeland.
Alas, knee and arm injuries limited him to just 10 wins over the
following four seasons and at age 25 he was out of the game.
But for that one glorious summer, The Bird was the word.
–Goodness gracious. “A swarm of killer bees attacked a man
and his father as they repaired a roof in a small town in southeast
Arizona, killing the son and hospitalizing the father, police said.”
[AP]
This happened about 160 miles southeast of Phoenix.
–Well I beat the Wall Street Journal on the Alaska bear story,
as on the front page of Tuesday’s edition they have a tale of the
growing conflicts between bears and fishermen at some popular
creeks. As Jim Carlton reports:
“In the past few weeks, grizzlies and black bears have started
sneaking behind anglers, making off with Hefty bags and fishing
lines filled with salmon. In one recent incident, two bears
sauntered down, grabbed a tourist’s backpack and calmly
returned to the woods. On another occasion, a grizzly wandered
around nonchalantly, scaring an angler into dropping his catch
just a few feet from the parking lot.”
They’re just toying with us, and it’s estimated there is an army of
some 30,000 grizzlies in Alaska (just 1,000 in the lower 48).
And since Russia sells weapons to anyone these days (see its
recent sale of sophisticated weaponry to Syria, for example), it’s
a certainty the grizzlies will get their share.
–I can’t believe I forgot Bernie from “Room 222” in discussing
great ‘fros on television. Thanks to all who noted this omission.
[I have honored Bernie in the past.]
–Disney has a movie opening this weekend titled “Invincible”
with Mark Wahlberg. It’s the true story of the Philadelphia
Eagles’ Vince Papale who played 41 games for the team from
1976-78. Papale barely played high school football and
somehow made the team. I bet this is pretty good.
–Top Three Ring Tones
1. Yung Joc… “It’s Goin’ Down”
2. Young Dro featuring T.I. … “Shoulder Lean”
3. Kelis featuring Top $hort… “Bossy”
[I have no freakin’ clue what these are.]
–Nor could I tell you anything about the Top Ten albums on the
Billboard Chart these days, but here they are.
1. LeToya… “LeToya” [ex-Destiny’s Child singer…not to be
confused with LaToya Jackson, who once allowed a boa to wrap
itself around her….ahem….ahem……]
2. Now 22… various artists
3. Pharrell… “In My Mind”
4. Tom Petty… “Highway Companion”
5. Gnarls Barkley… “St. Elsewhere”
6. High School Musical… soundtrack
7. Rihanna… “A Girl Like Me”
8. Nelly Furtado… “Loose”
9. The Pussycat Dolls… “PCD”
10. Rascal Flatts… “Me and My Gang”
My recommendation of a few months ago, “Corinne Baily Rae,”
is #19.
And that’s your Bar Chat Hip Tidbit.
Top 3 songs for the week of 8/22/64: #1 “Where Did Our Love
Go” (The Supremes) #2 “Everybody Loves Somebody” (Dean
Martin) #3 “A Hard Day’s Night” (The Beatles)…and…#4
“Under The Boardwalk” (The Drifters) #5 “The House Of The
Rising Sun” (The Animals) #9 “Wishin’ And Hopin’” (Dusty
Springfield…pre-feminism) #10 “How Do You Do It?” (Gerry
and the Pacemakers)
U.S. Open Tennis Quiz Answers:
Men: 1) Since 1930, the three to win four or more are Jimmy
Connors and Pete Sampras, five; John McEnroe, four. 2) Andre
Agassi has won two (1994, 99). 3) Manuel Orantes won in 1975,
defeating Jimmy Connors.
Women: 1) Since 1931, winners of five or more titles are Chris
Evert Lloyd, six; Margaret Smith Court and Steffi Graf, five. 2)
The Williams sisters have won a combined four titles… Serena
in 1999 and 2002, Venus in 2000 and 2001. 3) M.B. was Maria
Bueno, who won in 1959, 63, 64, and 66.
Open tidbit: Ivan Lendl was first or second 8 straight years,
1982-89; winning three from 1985-87.
Next Bar Chat, Wednesday 8/30.
