*see correction below*
New York Yankees Quiz: 1) Who were the only two A.L. MVPs
in the 1970s and 80s? 2) Who was the only outfielder to win a
Gold Glove in the 70s? 3) Who was the last batting champion?
4) *Who are the five to have played 2,000 games in a Yankees
uniform? 5) Who had the most hits as a Yank, career? 6) Who
are the only two to win 200 games? 7) What hurler had the most
losses, career? 8) Who holds the record for shutouts in a season?
[Hint: This isn’t a trick….not someone from 1910…in other
words.] Answers below.
1967…Summer of Love, continued
July 2…Uh oh…after seeing Cream play at London’s Saville
Theatre, George Harrison’s wife Pattie Boyd is introduced to
Eric Clapton at a party held at Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein’s
home. This is not good. George is gonna lose her!
July 8…The Monkees begin a U.S. tour in Jacksonville, Florida
with the Jimi Hendrix Experience. If you’re thinking, ‘no way
this works,’ you’re right. The pairing lasts only 8 shows. The
Monkees’ manager tries to convince people that the right-wing
Daughters of the American Revolution were responsible for all
the complaints that Hendrix and the boys weren’t suitable for the
Monkees’ teenybopper audience.
July 14…race riots start in Newark, N.J. and 26 die in the
violence over the next four days. Ten days later, riots break out
in Detroit, claiming 38 lives. Not exactly the summer of love in
this respect.
Also that day, Eddie Mathews became the 7th player to reach the
500 homer mark. This was back when men were men, right
Johnny Mac?
July 15… “Society’s Child,” a controversial inter-racial love
song by teenage singer-songwriter Janis Ian, peaks at #14.
July 22…the Doors perform “Light My Fire” on “American
Bandstand.”
August 25…The Beatles attend a conference of the Spiritual
Regeneration League at Normal College in Bangor, Wales, to
study transcendental meditation with Indian guru Maharishi
Mahesh Yogi. Paul McCartney comments: “Young people who
take drugs to broaden their minds should give them up and start
meditating instead. I had given up drugs before becoming
interested in the yogi’s teachings. The only reason people take
drugs is because they hear so much about experiences that can
expand the mind. By meditating, this expansion can be done
without drugs and without their ill effects. Meditation is a way
of expanding the mind naturally.”
Far out, man!
August 27…Beatles manager Brian Epstein is found dead in bed
at his Belgravia home in London, apparently from a drug
overdose following a long period of depression. Clearly, he
hadn’t found TM in time.
September 17…The Doors, guesting on “The Ed Sullivan
Show,” have been requested during rehearsals to omit the line
‘Girl, we couldn’t get much higher’ from “Light My Fire.” They
agree, but Jim Morrison sings it anyway. Immediately after the
show, the Who appear on “The Smothers Brothers Comedy
Hour.” Keith Moon sets a flash powder explosion in his drum
kit, not knowing the technical crew had already done so. The
resultant double explosion singes Pete Townshend’s hair and
damages his ears, while Moon suffers a cut on his leg caused by
a broken cymbal.
September 23…White-hot group Strawberry Alarm Clock
performs “Incense and Peppermints” on “American Bandstand.”
I didn’t realize lead singer Greg Munford was just 16. Geez, his
career was downhill from there, I’m assuming….not having
heard of him after. Actually, just looked up that Munford wasn’t
even technically part of the band. He was with the L.A. group
Shapes. Now there’s some trivia for you, sports fans.
September 25…#1 hit is the Box Tops’ “The Letter” which
required 30 takes, for some reason.
October 2…All six Grateful Dead members are arrested at their
communal base at 710 Ashbury Street, charged with possession
of marijuana. They spend six hours in jail before being released
on bail.
October 3….Folk legend Woody Guthrie dies of Huntington’s
disease. Just 55 years of age, his ashes were scattered in the
Atlantic.
October 4-12…The St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Boston Red
Sox in the World Series, 4-3.
October 7…New York concert promoter Sid Bernstein (I met
him once) offers the Beatles $1 million to perform live again, the
first of several lucrative offers that the Boys turn down.
October 17… “Hair” opens off-Broadway. It goes Broadway in
April 1968.
November 3…Pink Floyd, beset by previous visa problems,
finally makes their American debut at the Winterland Ballroom,
San Francisco, but the tour is cut short due to Syd Barrett’s
strange behavior, including his refusal to move his lips in time to
“Arnold Layne” on “American Bandstand” and later responding
to questions on “The Pat Boone Show” with a blank stare.
November 9…Rolling Stone, America’s first national rock
magazine, is launched in San Francisco, giving away a free roach
clip with every issue.
December 9…A Doors concert at the New Haven arena is halted
when Jim Morrison is arrested. This follows an earlier backstage
incident: Lieutenant James Kelly, initially unaware of the
singer’s identity, has seen him making out with an 18-year-old
girl in a shower stall near the dressing room. Huh. Kelly is
forced to use mace on Morrison, while manager Bill Siddons
pleads with police to let the show go ahead, and they agree.
However, halfway through “Back Door Man,” Morrison stops to
relate his experience with Kelly, filled with obscenities, and the
lights come on and two officers drag him offstage. Lieut. Kelly
tells the crowd the show is over, fights break out with the police
and a good time was had by all.
December 10…Almost three years to the day that Sam Cooke
died, and en route to a concert at the Factory in Madison,
Wisconsin, Otis Redding’s plane is attempting an instrument
landing in fog when it goes down at 3:28 p.m. in the icy waters
of Lake Monoma, near Madison. Seven die, including the pilot
and four members of his road band, the Bar-Kays. Only one of
them survives, Ben Cauley.
December 29…Jim Webb – the brilliant 21-year-old
writer/arranger/producer who has scored with the 5th
Dimension’s hit “Up, Up And Away,” begins work on a three-
part cantata for actor Richard Harris that is later titled
“MacArthur Park.” The 7 minute 14 second song later climbs to
#2 in 1968, though the lyrics remain a mystery and Webb refuses
to explain them. I’m now only 10 at this point (’68), but upon
hearing the tune I’m ready to commit hari-kari….though I don’t
because Mets rookie Jerry Koosman shows promise and, coupled
with Tom Seaver, forms the nucleus of a promising staff that just
may have the goods to go all the way in 1969……really, this is
what I was thinking back in ’68.
#1 hits of 1967
Jan 7…“I’m A Believer” (The Monkees)
Feb 18…“Kind Of A Drag” (Buckinghams)
Mar 4…“Ruby Tuesday” (Rolling Stones)
Mar 11…“Love Is Here And Now You’re Gone” (Supremes)
Mar 18…“Penny Lane” (Beatles)
Mar 25…“Happy Together” (Turtles)
Apr 15…“Somethin’ Stupid” (Nancy Sinatra & Frank Sinatra)
May 13…“The Happening” (Supremes)
May 20…“Groovin’” (Young Rascals)
June 3…“Respect” (Aretha Franklin)
June 17… “Groovin’” (Young Rascals…yes, returned to the top)
July 1… “Windy” (Association)
July 29… “Light My Fire” (Doors)
Aug 19… “All You Need Is Love” (Beatles)
Aug 26… “Ode To Billie Joe” (Bobbie Gentry)
Sept 23… “The Letter” (Box Tops)
Oct 21… “To Sir, With Love” (Lulu)
Nov 25… “Incense And Peppermints” (Strawberry Alarm Clock)
Dec 2… “Daydream Believer” (Monkees)
Dec 30… “Hello Goodbye” (Beatles)
[Sources: “Rock and Pop Timeline,” edited by Johnny Black;
“Rock & Roll,” Luke Crampton & Dafydd Rees.]
*I was looking through another book and missed this one the first
half of my 1967 recap….Jan.18-21…U.S. figure skating
championships. Women’s title….Peggy Fleming!!!!!! “Bar
Chat Woman of the Century…U.S. edition”
[Actually, I called Ms. Fleming “American Babe of the Century”
but that is not exactly politically correct these days, nor was
it then.]
Stuff
–My, Pacman Jones is a dumb dude. Having just accepted his
one-year suspension from the NFL for all his extracurricular
activities, Pacman was being sought for questioning as the result
of a shooting the other night at an Atlanta strip club (“Club
Blaze”) involving members of his entourage. And the incident
occurred at 4:15 a.m., of course; Pacman being the Prince of
Darkness.
From the Atlanta-Journal Constitution:
“According to a police report, men in Jones’ security detail
[security detail?!] opened fire on a vehicle after Jones was
involved in an argument (at the club)….
“Darian T. Haygood, 34, of Decatur told police he went to the
Moreland Avenue club to pick up his nephew and while inside
asked a woman for a dance. Jones allegedly confronted Haygood
about the request, saying ‘Y’all don’t know me. I’ll kill all y’all
in here,’ the police report said. [Double use of all/y’all sure sign
of an idiot….know what I’m sayin’?]
“Haygood then told an off-duty Clayton County deputy of the
run-in with Jones, the report said.
“The officer, according to the report, told police he heard Jones
say, ‘I’m going to the car to get my gun,’ which prompted the
officer to ask Jones and his security detail to leave.
“Jones drove off in a black Cadillac Escalade. Another man
known as ‘Slugga’ drove away in a black Pontiac Grand Prix and
a third man took off in a green Dodge Charger, the report said.
[In case you were wondering what they were driving.]
“Haygood left in his Toyota Sequoya and was waiting at a red
light on northbound Moreland Avenue preparing to get on
eastbound I-285 when shots rang out. He ducked and returned
fire with his Glock 23.40-caliber handgun, the report said.
“The Toyota was struck seven times with one minor injury to a
passenger.”
But Pacman was evidently not present when the shots were fired
and no charges have been filed against him. Meanwhile, the
investigation from last February’s shooting in Las Vegas that left
a bar employee paralyzed continues.
–But wait…there’s more! Running back Quincy Wilson became
the 10th Cincinnati Bengals player to be arrested in the past 14
months when he was charged with disorderly conduct at a
weekend wedding party. Of course he was at a bar at 3:00 a.m.
30 minutes earlier shots were fired a block away, police asked
everyone to disperse, and Wilson was one of many who didn’t
exactly cooperate.
–Turning to better news…Tiger became a father on Monday as
wife Elin gave birth to a little girl, Sam Alexis. Both are doing
fine. Congratulations, Tiger.
–Jason Giambi has a Thursday deadline to cooperate with
baseball’s steroids investigation or face suspension. According
to T.J. Quinn of the New York Daily News, Giambi wants to
“put the whole thing behind him” and will give up the goods, but
only with regards to his own personal use, not that of others. No
active players have met with investigator George Mitchell as yet.
–So I’m reading this article in Business Week and it’s pretty
amazing that Major League Baseball Advanced Media (BAM)
now takes in annual revenue of $400 million, entertaining 50
million visitors a month. By the end of this season, more than a
million subscribers will pay for its various offerings. It also sells
a ton of merchandise; like in the first 24 hours after Boston won
the World Series in 2004, the site sold $5 million worth of gear.
BAM has been valued at more than $2 billion, should it decide to
go public, but major league owners, who each ponied up an
initial $2.6 million to establish it, don’t want that.
–Jeff S. passed along the tale of a game that happened 105 years
ago, June 15, 1902, to be exact. The Corsicana Oilers beat the
Texarkana Casketmakers, 51-3, in a Texas League contest as
catcher Jay Justin Clarke hit 8 home runs! As The Shu
commented, imagine if BALCO had a Corsicana branch.
–Walter Johnson once hit .433 for a season, 42 for 97 with 20
RBI. And he did that in 1925 at the age of 37. Overall, Johnson,
better known for his 417-279 mark on the mound, hit .235 for his
career with 24 home runs.
–Because it involved the death of an 11-year-old boy, I’m trying
to bury the story of the first fatal black bear attack in Utah the
other day. The boy was in a tent with his family, sleeping in the
Utah wilderness, when the stepfather heard the boy scream
“something’s dragging me.”
From the AP:
“The boy and his sleeping bag were gone. The cut in the nylon
tent was so clean, his family first believed the boy had been
abducted, U.S. Forest Service officers said.
“Wearing flip-flops and without a flashlight, the stepfather
searched frantically for the boy and then drove a mile down a dirt
road to a developed campground.
“ ‘He was pounding on my trailer door. He said somebody cut
his tent and took his son,’ said John Sheely, host of the
campground, who alerted authorities by driving down the canyon
to a pay phone.
“The boy’s body was found about 400 yards away from the
campsite….Wildlife officers led by hound dogs killed the bear
Monday. After the bear was shot, an examination of the remains
confirmed that it was the killer, the Utah Division of Wildlife
Resources said.”
The problem is the bear was probably the same one that had
harassed another group of campers in the exact spot the previous
morning. One kid was “kicked in the head through a tent wall.”
One issue has been the drought in the area and the bears looking
for food anywhere they can find it. It’s rare for a black bear to
kill a human, but this incident proves the validity of carrying a
bazooka just in case you see one and his intentions aren’t good.
–Michelle Wie will not, repeat, not, play in the men’s John
Deere Classic in July because she doesn’t have the strength back
in her wrist and the course is, sniff, too long….sniff sniff……
But Wie will play in the upcoming U.S. Women’s Open. This
one I’m watching.
–John Daly begged out of the BMW International Open this
weekend in Germany due to his personal problems. Upon
examination of the pictures of him two weeks ago, when he
claimed his wife had attacked him, it’s pretty clear his wife was
right when she said he scratched his face himself to make it look
like she initiated the assault.
–Phil W. reminded me of two old Mets jokes.
Once, Tom Seaver was on Kiner’s Korner (a post-game show
hosted by Mets broadcaster Ralph Kiner) and he was asked to
describe Ed Kranepool’s baserunning. Seaver said The Krane
ran like he had a piano on his back, which wouldn’t have been so
bad except he stopped to play it.
And then there is the famous story of Rickey Henderson, who
when he joined the Mets asked teammate John Olerud why he
wore a batting helmet in the field. After Olerud told him,
Henderson said he once played with another guy that also wore
one. Olerud told Rickey that it was him, when they were
teammates in Toronto.
–Oh brother. In “For Better of For Worse,” special needs
spokesperson Shannon confronts April on the fact that Becky’s
band is playing at a telethon that is raising funds for Shannon
and her cohorts. Shannon tells April, “Your…band could…be
there!…They…want…every…one to par…tissss…i…pate!”
April replies icily, “No. I don’t want to be on the same stage as
Becky and Gerald.” Shannon, who clearly gorges herself on
McDonald’s fries, counters, “Then…it’s no…prob…lem, man!
…There’s gonna be…two…stages!!”
Then on Wednesday, we see one of Shannon’s friends, who
bears a striking resemblance to Jimmy Durante…only it’s a girl.
–Overall album sales are down another 16% in ’07 thru May,
this after seven years of non-stop erosion. “The record business
is over,” music attorney Peter Paterno, who represents Metallica
and Dr. Dre, told Rolling Stone. “The labels have wonderful
assets – they just can’t make any money off them.”
Sales have dropped from 785 million albums in the U.S. in 2000
to 588 million in 2006, the latter including downloadable albums.
In 2000, the ten top-selling albums in the U.S. sold a combined
60 million copies. Last year, the top ten sold just 25 million.
Digital sales, on the other hand, are surging; up 65% in ’06 over
’05, but the new revenue sources fall far short of making up the
difference. 5,000 record company employees have been laid off
since 2000.
It’s pretty telling when the #1 album in 2006 sold 3,719,000
copies (“Soundtrack: High School Musical”) and that wouldn’t
have even been #10 in 2000.
Top 3 songs for the week of 6/21/75: #1 “Love Will Keep Us
Together” (The Captain & Tennille…da da da daaaaaaaaaa… da
da da daaaaaaaaaaa….Sedaka is back……) #2 “When Will I Be
Loved” (Linda Ronstadt) #3 “Wildfire” (Michael Murphy….
alright, give me grief….I like this one)…and…#4 “I’m Not Lisa”
(Jessi Colter) #5 “Love Won’t Let Me Wait” (Major Harris….
uhh….uhh….) #6 “The Hustle” (Van McCoy….if only we had
stopped with this one, the world would have been saved from
Disco Fever**) #7 “Listen To What The Man Said” (Wings) #8
“Get Down, Get Down (Get On The Floor)” (Joe Simon) #9
“Magic” (Pilot….believe it or not…this song has aged pretty
well) #10 “Cut The Cake” (AWB… “Queen Of My Soul” their
best…and incredibly peaked at just #40 on the pop charts)
**Speaking of disco, your editor is currently playing
Jamiroquai’s greatest hits CD (“High Times: Singles 1992-
2006”). I first listened to a lot of his (Jay Kays’) music in a bar
in Amsterdam and it’s a nice change of pace, I gotta tell ya. So
run to your local record store (to keep someone employed) and
pick up a copy. Tell ‘em, “The Editor sent me.”
New York Yankees Quiz Answers: 1) MVPs in 70s and 80s:
Thurman Munson, 1976; Don Mattingly, 1985. 2) Bobby
Murcer won a Gold Glove in 1972…only Yank outfielder to do
so during the decade. 3) Bernie Williams is the last batting
champ, 1998, .339. 4) 2,000 games: Mickey Mantle…2,401;
Lou Gehrig…2,164; Yogi Berra…2,116; Babe Ruth…2,084;
Bernie Williams…2076*. 5) Most hits, career: Lou Gehrig…2,721.
6)200-game winners: Whitey Ford, 236; Red Ruffing, 231. 7)
Most losses, career: Mel Stottlemyre, 139. [164-139] 8)
Most shutouts, season: Ron Guidry, 9 (1978).
*Sorry, Bernie fans. I initially had him at 1945, having missed
2006.
Next Bar Chat, Monday p.m.
