Tag Archives: music trivia

♫ Summer of ’69 ♫

Posted on by under music, Social commentary

I have a double reason for playing this one tonight … nay, a triple reason!  One is our friend Keith Wilson who said, speaking of Bryan Adams, “‘Summer of ’69’ is probably my favorite of his because it seems autobiographical.”  Two is our friend Clive who, also speaking of Bryan Adams, said, “My favourites of his are ‘Summer Of ‘69’ and ‘Run To You’, not that you were asking 😉“  And third, I rather like this song … if I didn’t, I wouldn’t likely play it here. 

Typically, I get most of the trivia and backstory for my songs from SongFacts and Wikipedia, but tonight I stumbled across an additional source for this song, an article from September 2018 on a website called bookmyshow.com titled “6 Facts We Bet You Didn’t Know About Bryan Adams’s ‘Summer of ’69’” that contains snippets from interviews with both Bryan Adams and the co-writer of this song, Jim Vallance.  The article is fascinating, but a bit too much in more ways than one (hint, don’t take your underage children to the site) for me to use as a lead-in for the song on this post.  I do urge you, if you’re interested, to go check it out at the above link.

Adams wrote this with the songwriter Jim Vallance, who wrote several Aerosmith songs and often collaborated with Adams. On his website, Vallance explains that the song went through a number of changes, and it was originally called Best Days Of My Life, with the line “Summer Of ’69” appearing just once in the lyrics. Vallance feels that the Jackson Browne song Running On Empty, which contains the lyrics, “In ’69 I was 21,” was a subconscious influence on their writing, and that Adams may have been influenced by the movie Summer Of ’42.

Adams had a few hits before this was released, his biggest being “Straight From The Heart,” but this song and the rest of the Reckless album made him a star. Vallance reflects:

“Looking back, I think ‘Summer Of ’69’ was Bryan and I at our best. We hadn’t had any real ‘success’ yet… that would come when Reckless went to #1 on the charts and sold 12 million copies… but that was a year away. In January 1984 Bryan and I were still writing songs for all the right reasons, for the pure love and joy of it. We had nothing to prove, and even less to lose. We wrote songs to please ourselves. Everything started to unravel after Reckless.”

According to Vallance, many of the lyrics were inspired by other songs:

  • “I got my first real six string” – from Foreigner’s Juke Box Hero and the line, “I bought a beat up six-string in a second-hand store.”
  • “Standin’ on your mama’s porch, you told me that you’d wait forever” – Bruce Springsteen’s Thunder Road and the line, “The screen door slams, Mary’s dress waves. Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays.”
  • “When you held my hand, I knew that it was now or never” – The Beatles I Want To Hold Your Hand.

This song made it to #5 in the U.S., #11 in Canada, and #42 in the UK.

Summer Of ’69
Bryan Adams

I got my first real six-string
Bought it at the five-and-dime
Played it ’til my fingers bled
Was the summer of ’69

Me and some guys from school
Had a band and we tried real hard
Jimmy quit, Jody got married
I should’ve known, we’d never get far

Oh, when I look back now
That summer seemed to last forever
And if I had the choice
Yeah, I’d always wanna be there
Those were the best days of my life

Ain’t no use in complainin’
When you’ve got a job to do
Spent my evenin’s down at the drive-in
And that’s when I met you, yeah

Standin’ on your mama’s porch
You told me that you’d wait forever
Oh, and when you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
Those were the best days of my life

Oh, yeah!
Back in the summer of ’69, oh

Man, we were killin’ time
We were young and restless
We needed to unwind
I guess nothin’ can last forever
Forever, no!
Yeah!

And now the times are changin’
Look at everything that’s come and gone
Sometimes when I play that old six-string
I think about you, wonder what went wrong

Standin’ on your mama’s porch
You told me that it’d last forever
Oh, and when you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
Those were the best days of my life

Oh, yeah!
Back in the summer of ’69
Oh!
It was the summer of ’69
Oh, yeah!
Me and my baby in ’69
Oh!

It was the summer
The summer
The summer of ’69
Yeah!

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Vallance James Douglas / Adams Bryan
Summer Of ’69 lyrics © Testatyme Music, Adams Communications Inc.

♫ Hit The Road Jack ♫

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Let’s close our eyes for a minute … no, I didn’t say go to sleep … wake up, Joe!  Close your eyes and travel back in time … the year is 1961 … I was ten years old, but I remember this song like it was yesterday.

Although Ray Charles wrote many of the songs he recorded, this one was actually written by his friend, Percy Mayfield. 

Percy_MayfieldMayfield himself had been a popular performer, singing mainly rhythm & blues, but in 1952, at the height of his career, Mayfield was severely injured in an automobile crash.  He was returning from a performance in Las Vegas to Los Angeles as the front-seat passenger in a chauffeur-driven car. The vehicle hit the back of an unseen stationary truck, and Mayfield was hit by debris. Though pronounced dead at the scene, he eventually recovered but spent two years convalescing. The accident left him with a facial disfigurement that eventually ended his career as a performer but did not halt his prolific songwriting.

This song was first recorded in 1960 as an a cappella demo sent to Art Rupe, but it didn’t become famous until it was recorded by the singer-songwriter-pianist Ray Charles with The Raelettes vocalist Margie Hendrix, and eventually became one of Charles’ signature songs.

Charles’s recording hit #1 for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, beginning on Monday, October 9, 1961. Hit the Road Jack won a Grammy award for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording. The song was #1 on the R&B Sides chart for five weeks, thereby becoming Charles’s sixth number-one on that chart. The song is ranked number 387 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”.

I am told that many professional and semi-professional hockey teams play the first few lines whenever a player is sent to the penalty box.

I found a bit of cool trivia about Ray Charles, including the fact that he owned his own plane and even flew it, though he had been blind since the age of 7!  Take a look for yourself.

I am playing two versions tonight … both by Ray Charles, but one is the original recorded in 1961, and the second is 35 years later when Ray Charles, then … played it on Saturday Night live.  I liked both, loved seeing Ray Charles still as vibrant as ever.

Hit the Road Jack
Ray Charles

Hit the road Jack and don’t you come back
No more, no more, no more, no more
Hit the road Jack and don’t you come back
No more
What’d you say?

Hit the road Jack and don’t you come back
No more, no more, no more, no more
Hit the road Jack and don’t you come back
No more

Oh woman, oh woman, don’t treat me so mean
You’re the meanest old woman that I’ve ever have seen
I guess if you say so
I’ll have to pack my things and go (that’s right)

Hit the road Jack and don’t you come back
No more, no more, no more, no more
Hit the road Jack and don’t you come back
No more
What’d you say?

Hit the road Jack and don’t you come back
No more, no more, no more, no more
Hit the road Jack and don’t you come back
No more

Now baby, listen baby, don’t you treat me this way
‘Cause I’ll be back on my feet some day
Don’t care if you do, ’cause it’s understood
You ain’t got no money, you just ain’t no good
Well, I guess if you say so
I’ll have to pack my things and go (that’s right)

Hit the road Jack and don’t you come back
No more, no more, no more, no more
Hit the road Jack and don’t you come back
No more
What’d you say?

Hit the road Jack and don’t you come back
No more, no more, no more, no more
Hit the road Jack and don’t you come back
No more

Well (don’t you come back no more)
Uh, what you say? (don’t you come back no more)
I didn’t understand you (don’t you come back no more)
You can’t mean that (don’t you come back no more)
Oh now baby please (don’t you come back no more)
What you tryin’ to do to me? (don’t you come back no more)
Oh, don’t treat me like that, baby (don’t you come back no more)

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Percy Mayfield
Hit the Road Jack lyrics © The Ray Charles Foundation Dba Tangerine Music

♫ I’m Into Something Good ♫

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For a time in 1965, Herman’s Hermits kicked The Beatles off the charts. And as the Fab Four transitioned into a more serious, studio-only band, there was still an appetite for bright pop songs with a definite British edge, which is where Peter Noone and his band came in.

For some reason, Herman’s Hermits popped into my head earlier today with Listen People, and I could not shake them out at all!  My ears must be clogged!  At any rate, I was going to play Listen People, for I like it, but I could find almost no trivia on it, so I decided instead to go with this one, I’m Into Something Good, which I also like and for which I found some interesting songfacts!

I had no idea that this was written by the songwriting team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King who wrote for so many artists including the Monkees, Aretha Franklin, the Drifters and many more! Goffin & King are … the gold standard by most any measure!

This was originally recorded by Earl-Jean (real name Ethel McCrea), who had been the lead singer the R&B vocal group The Cookies. Her version, titled I’m Into Somethin’ Good, peaked at #38 in the US in August 1964.

The song became a British Invasion hit when producer Mickie Most heard Carole King’s demo and decided to cover it with a new British group, Herman’s Hermits. The band was fronted by 16-year-old John F. Kennedy lookalike Peter Noone, who had already appeared in the British TV soap Coronation Street. Released as the group’s first single, it went to #13 in the U.S. in December 1964, but proved wildly popular on their home turf, reaching #1 in the UK in September.

According to Peter Noone …

“On the record you can hear the enthusiasm of this band who believe that they were going to be heard on the radio. When the record was on the radio, we thought we’d made it.”

Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, both future members of Led Zeppelin, played on some Herman’s Hermits songs, but not this one.  This was Herman’s Hermits’ only song to reach #1 in the UK, where it remains their best-known song. After it hit, the band went on tour in the U.S. with Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars and made inroads in that country, where they were welcomed as part of the British Invasion. In 1965, they had two U.S. #1 hits: Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter and I’m Henry The VIII, I Am.

I’m Into Something Good
Herman’s Hermits

Woke up this mornin’ feelin’ fine
There’s somethin’ special on my mind
Last night I met a new girl in the neighbourhood, whoa yeah
Somethin’ tells me I’m into something good (Somethin’ tells me I’m into somethin’)

She’s the kind of girl who’s not too shy
And I can tell I’m her kind of guy
She danced close to me like I hoped she would (she danced with me like I hoped she would)
Somethin’ tells me I’m into something good (Somethin’ tells me I’m into somethin’)

We only danced for a minute or two
But then she stuck close to me the whole night through
Can I be fallin’ in love
She’s everthing I’ve been dreamin’ of
She’s everthing I’ve been dreamin’ of

I walked her home and she held my hand
I knew it couldn’t be just a one-night stand
So I asked to see her next week and she told me I could
(I asked to see her and she told me I could)
Somethin’ tells me I’m into something good (somethin’ tells me I’m into somethin’)
(Somethin’ tells me I’m into somethin’, ahhh)

I walked her home and she held my hand
I knew it couldn’t be just a one-night stand
So I asked to see her next week and she told me I could
(I asked to see her and she told me I could)
Somethin’ tells me I’m into something good (somethin’ tells me I’m into somethin’)
Somethin’ tells me I’m into something good (somethin’ tells me I’m into somethin’)
To something good, oh yeah, something good (somethin’ tells me I’m into somethin’)
To something good, something good, something good

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Carole King / Gerry Goffin
I’m Into Something Good lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

♫ That’ll Be The Day ♫

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Last week when I played Tommy Roe’s Dizzy, a comment by Keith mentioned Buddy Holly … a music legend of his time, yet one whose work I have never played here!  Oversight on my part.  So, tonight I am taking you waaaaaaaayyyyyy back … to a time some of you weren’t even yet born.

The year was 1957 … I was six years old, but I still remember this one as if it were … well, a few decades ago!  A bit of cool history from SongFacts …

Holly had been kicking around his home town in Lubbock, Texas trying to write a hit song for his small rockabilly band since he had attended an Elvis Presley gig at his High School some time in 1955. His band in those days consisted of him on lead vocals and guitar, Jerry Allison on the drums and Joe B. Maudlin on upright bass. He and Jerry decided to get together and go see The Searchers, a Western movie staring John Wayne. In the movie, Wayne keeps replying, “That’ll be the day,” every time another character in the film predicts or proclaims something will happen when he felt it was not likely to happen. The phrase stuck in Jerry’s mind, and when they were hanging out at Jerry’s house one night, Buddy looked at Jerry and said that it sure would be nice if they could record a hit song. Jerry replied with, “That’ll be the day,” imitating John Wayne in the film.

Holly and his band The Three Tunes recorded this in Nashville in 1956, but Decca records didn’t like the result and refused to release it. A year later, Holly re-recorded it with The Crickets in a studio in Clovis, New Mexico owned by his new producer, Norman Petty. Backup vocalists were brought in and the key was lowered to fit Holly’s voice a little better. This version became a huge hit and made Holly a star that summer.

Norman Petty took a writing credit on this because he produced it. This meant Holly and Allison had to share royalties with him.

This was Holly’s first hit, but it was credited to The Crickets, Holly’s band. They worked with two record labels, with one releasing Holly’s songs as The Crickets and the other as Buddy Holly. Both labels were subsidiaries of Decca Records.

This song reached #1 in both the UK and the U.S. and inspired the British 1973 movie of the same name, about a young man with dreams of becoming a rock star.  It was also the first song John Lennon learned to play on guitar. American rock stars like Holly and Little Richard were a big influence on The Beatles.

That’ll Be the Day
Buddy Holly

Well, that’ll be the day, when you say goodbye
Yes, that’ll be the day, when you make me cry
You say you’re gonna leave, you know it’s a lie
‘Cause that’ll be the day when I die

Well, you give me all your loving and your turtle doving
All your hugs and kisses and your money too
Well, you know you love me baby, until you tell me, maybe
That some day, well I’ll be through

Well, that’ll be the day, when you say goodbye
Yes, that’ll be the day, when you make me cry
You say you’re gonna leave, you know it’s a lie
‘Cause that’ll be the day when I die

Well, that’ll be the day, when you say goodbye
Yes, that’ll be the day, when you make me cry
You say you’re gonna leave, you know it’s a lie
‘Cause that’ll be the day when I die

Well, when Cupid shot his dart he shot it at your heart
So if we ever part and I leave you
You sit and hold me and you tell me boldly
That some day, well I’ll be blue

Well, that’ll be the day, when you say goodbye
Yes, that’ll be the day, when you make me cry
You say you’re gonna leave, you know it’s a lie
‘Cause that’ll be the day when I die

Well, that’ll be the day, woo ho
That’ll be the day, woo ho
That’ll be the day, woo ho
That’ll be the day

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Jerry Allison / Buddy Holly / Norman Petty
That’ll Be the Day lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., BMG Rights Management

♫ I’d Really Love To See You Tonight ♫

Posted on by under music, Political commentary

The 1970s were the peak for the duo of England Dan & John Ford Coley.  England Dan is Dan Seals, who had a series of country hits after he stopped performing with Coley in 1980. His older brother Jim was the Seals of Seals & Crofts, who had the hit Summer Breeze.  Oooohhhh … have I played that one yet?  Stay tuned in a week or so!

Seals and Coley met in high school. This was their first single, and they followed it up with several other light songs, including my favourite, Nights Are Forever Without You, which I almost played tonight instead of this one.  This was written by a Mississippi songwriter named Parker McGee, who also wrote Nights Are Forever Without You.

You all know how I mistake lyrics on occasion … well, fairly often … okay, most of the time!  There, you happy?  Sheesh.  Anyway, a funny bit of trivia I’ve found is that with this song, the line “I’m not talking about movin’ in” is often heard as “I’m not talking about the linen.”  Ha ha ha … even I didn’t get that one wrong!!!  Although, I must sheepishly admit that it sounds just like something I might have mistaken it for.

I’d Really Love To See You Tonight

England Dan & John Ford Coley

Hello, yeah it’s been awhile
Not much, how ’bout you
I’m not sure why I’d called
I guess I really just wanted
To talk to you

I was thinking maybe later on
We could get together for a while
It’s been such a long time
And I really do miss your smile

I’m not talking ’bout movin’ in
And I don’t want to change your life
But there’s a warm wind blowin’ the stars around
And I’d really love to see you tonight

We could go walkin’ through a windy park
Take a drive along the beach
Or stay at home and watch TV
I see it really doesn’t matter much to me

I’m not talking ’bout movin’ in
And I don’t want to change your life
But there’s a warm wind blowin’ the stars around
And I’d really love to see you tonight

I won’t ask for promises
So you don’t have to lie
We both played the game before
Say I love you then say goodbye

I’m not talking ’bout movin’ in
And I don’t want to change your life
But there’s a warm wind blowin’ the stars around
And I’d really love to see you tonight

I’m not talking ’bout movin’ in
And I don’t want to change your life
But there’s a warm wind blowin’ the stars around
And I’d really love to see you tonight

I’m not talking ’bout movin’ in
And I don’t want to change your life
But there’s a warm wind blowin’ the stars around
And I’d really love to see you tonight

Writer/s: Parker McGee

♫ Lady In Red ♫

Posted on by under music

I just hopped out of the shower … yeah, yeah, I know that not everybody showers at 1:30 in the morning, but I am, um, unique and my schedule doesn’t mesh well with the bulk of society.  Anyway, if you’ll allow me to finish … where was I … oh yeah, the shower.  I had just finished writing my ‘good people’ post and was trying to think of what song I wanted to play tonight, and two songs came to mind:  Midnight Train to Georgia, and Lady in Red.  I checked, and found I had played Midnight Train in late October, so that left me with Lady in Red.  About that time, Me and Bobby McGee by Janis Joplin popped into my head.  You can see why my mind is sometimes rather messy and goes bouncing off on its own.  Anyway, if you looked at the title of this post, you can see that I settled on Lady in Red.

Quite honestly, I could not remember who sang this song, only that I liked it.  Turns out, it is both written and sung by British-Irish singer-songwriter Chris de Burgh.  Released in June 1986, the song was responsible for introducing de Burgh’s music to a mainstream audience worldwide.

According to de Burgh, he started writing this song about his wife Diane, after an argument, but he was having a hard time finishing it. Part of the problem was that he needed a title: he didn’t want to use The Way You Look Tonight, because there there was already a song with that name. As de Burgh tells it, five months later he saw Diane, wearing red, across a crowded nightclub, which gave him the idea for the title. On the British TV series This Is Your Life, de Burgh said that the song was inspired by the memory of when he first saw Diane, and how men so often cannot even remember what their wives were wearing when they first met. On his website, he said the song was not specifically about Diane, but about appreciating the most important people in our lives, who we often take for granted; how we often fail to notice what attracted us to another person in the first place. In this account, he was already married to Diane but didn’t realize it was her when he spotted her across the room.

Chris de Burgh was born in Buenos Aires but moved with his family to Ireland when his diplomat father retired. He and Diane had two sons and a daughter named Rosanna Davison (Chris uses his mother’s maiden name for showbiz – his real name is Chris Davison) who was chosen Miss Ireland, 2003 and went on to win the Miss World pageant.

Just out of curiosity … have any of you heard of a group called Korn?  Keith?  I’ll ‘splain in the next music post.

The Lady in Red
Chris de Burgh

I’ve never seen you looking so lovely as you did tonight
I’ve never seen you shine so bright
I’ve never seen so many men ask you if you wanted to dance
They’re looking for a little romance, given half a chance
And I have never seen that dress you’re wearing
Or the highlights in your hair that catch your eyes
I have been blind

The lady in red is dancing with me, cheek to cheek
There’s nobody here, it’s just you and me
It’s where I want to be
But I hardly know this beauty by my side
I’ll never forget the way you look tonight

I’ve never seen you looking so gorgeous as you did tonight
I’ve never seen you shine so bright, you were amazing
I’ve never seen so many people want to be there by your side
And when you turned to me and smiled, it took my breath away
And I have never had such a feeling
Such a feeling of complete and utter love, as I do tonight

The lady in red is dancing with me, cheek to cheek
There’s nobody here, it’s just you and me
It’s where I want to be
But I hardly know this beauty by my side
I’ll never forget the way you look tonight

I never will forget the way you look tonight
The lady in red, the lady in red
The lady in red, my lady in red

I love you

Songwriters: Chris De Burgh
The Lady in Red lyrics © BMG Rights Management

♫ Our House ♫

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I keep having these strange days where nothing quite seems as it should be.  I go into the kitchen for the sole purpose of cleaning my glasses.  I make a cup of coffee, put a couple of dishes in the dishwasher, see a bit of something on the countertop and wipe it down, check the freezer to … what?  Make sure there is still food in it?  Open the dryer … oops, forgot to fold the towels.  Fold the towels.  Bring the coffee back into the living room, sit down, pick up the laptop and … why is everything so blurry?  Oh yeah … I forgot to clean my glasses.  I blame all this on Donald Trump and his supporters.  Anyway, this song popped into my head while I was rolling smokes tonight, and I thought that somehow it fits my mood just perfectly!

Our House, released in September 1970, was written by Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.  At the time, Nash was living with Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell.  According to Nash …

“The time that Joni and I were living together was really interesting, because I had left my band [The Hollies] successfully, I had left my country [England] successfully, I had been accepted here [Los Angeles, California], and I was feeling great. And Joni was feeling great, too; she had started to realize who she was and the fantastic work she was doing. She was painting and designing her second album cover, doing that self-portrait. And I remember being totally in awe of her. She’d go and make some supper and come down and we’d be eating, then she’d all of a sudden space out, go to the piano … to see her sit down and write ‘Rainy Night House’ and all those other things was just mind blowing.”

According to Graham Nash’s biography Wild Tales, a famous line in this song had a very specific inspiration. He and Joni Mitchell went to an antiques store and she picked out a vase. When they got home, Nash said, “I’ll light the fire while you place the flowers in the vase that you bought today.” He stopped dead in his tracks and went immediately to the piano.

Our House
Crosby, Stills & Nash

I’ll light the fire
You put the flowers in the vase that you bought today
Staring at the fire for hours and hours while I listen to you
Play your love songs all night long for me, only for me

Come to me now and rest your head for just five minutes, everything is good
Such a cozy room, the windows are illuminated by the
Sunshine through them, fiery gems for you, only for you

Our house is a very, very, very fine house with two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy ’cause of you
And our la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

Our house is a very, very, very fine house with two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy ’cause of you
And our

I’ll light the fire while you place the flowers in the vase that you bought today

Songwriters: Graham Nash
Our House lyrics © Spirit Music Group

Saturday Surprise — Music, Music, Music

Posted on by under music, Saturday Surprise

I had all but forgotten that today is Saturday, as I was preparing to write my a.m. post last night.  With all the news popping up yesterday, I was still trying to catch my breath and decide which direction I needed to go, when it hit me that it would be Saturday in just a few short hours and I hadn’t even thought of a theme for my Saturday surprise.  Along about then, a friend sent me a music clip to listen to, and as I listened, I found my mind drifting and wondering:  what were we listening to 50 years ago?

Then I remembered that when I was asking for suggestions for this new feature, several of the suggestions involved music.  I didn’t think it would be too fun to put only a bunch of music clips, but I am combining some things … a few clips, some interesting ‘this day in history’ facts pertaining to music, and a blurb or two about some of the songs that we were listening to 50 years ago.  So let’s start with the #1 song of 1967 by a Scottish singer named Lulu … the song is, of course, To Sir With Love

 

The song was, of course, the title song in the movie, based on a book of the same name,  a 1959 autobiographical novel by E. R. Braithwaite  In the movie, Sidney Poitier had the starring role as an unemployed black engineer who takes a job teaching an unruly class of white students in London’s East End. By the end of the film he has won over the undisciplined youngsters and has taught them to have self-respect.

Although To Sir With Love was never released as a single in the UK, it was the flip side of Neil Diamond’s The Boat That I Row in the U.S., and Lulu fared far better than Diamond on that one, spending five weeks in the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, from October 21st through November 25th.

Other notable songs on the charts around this time in 1967 included two from the Monkees, I’m a Believer, and Daydream Believer. Also, a few that I still remember and like …

How about a bit of trivia?  On this day, December 2nd, in …

  • 1957, Al Priddy a DJ on US radio station KEX in Portland was fired after playing Elvis Presley’s version of ‘White Christmas’ The station management said, ‘it’s not in the spirit we associate with Christmas’. Wow …
  • 1967, The Monkees album, ‘Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones Ltd’ went to No.1 on the US album chart. It was their fourth album to sell over a million copies, following ‘The Monkees’, ‘More Of The Monkees’ and ‘Headquarters’.
  • 1969, Cindy Birdsong of The Supremes was kidnapped at knifepoint by a maintenance man who worked in the building she lived in. She later escaped unharmed by jumping out of his car on the San Diego freeway. The kidnapper was arrested in Las Vegas four days later.
  • 1976, The first day of the photo shoot for the forthcoming Pink Floyd Animals album cover took place at Battersea Power Station in London, England with a giant inflatable pig lashed between two of the structure’s tall towers. A trained marksman was hired ready to fire if the inflatable escaped, but was not needed on this, the first day. Unfortunately the following day the marksman hadn’t been rebooked, so when the inflatable broke free from its moorings, it was able to float away, eventually landing in Kent where it was recovered by a local farmer, reportedly furious that it had ‘scared his cows.’

I hope you enjoyed a musical trip down memory lane this morning.  Have a great weekend, my friends!  And I end this post with one of my favourites, Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder