10/13 Entertainment History

“Anybody who knows much about the history of my father will know that it wasn’t in his mindset to judge someone for not being ‘country enough.’ It went against his philosophy. So let me make it clear, I don’t believe my father burned that envelope because of that.”
~Charlie Rich, Jr.
Discussing the ‘Envelope Incident’

ROCK & ROLL HISTORY

1965 – The Beatles recorded Drive My Car in a 5-hour session at Abbey Road Studios.
The song – written primarily by Paul McCartney – reversed the traditional boy-girl roles in The Beatles’ songs, presenting a tale of a gold digger and wannabe star who wants a man as a chauffeur and for “other” services.

1965 – The Who recorded My Generation at Pye Studios in London.
When it was released as a single, it peaked at #2 in the UK and #3 in Canada, but only reached #74 in the U.S.

1968 – John Lennon recorded Julia for The Beatles’ White Album. The song was written for Julia Lennon, John’s mother, who was killed by a car driven by a drunk off-duty police officer when John was 17 years old.
No other Beatle sang or played on the song. It featured Lennon’s double-tracked vocal and double-tracked acoustic guitar.

1969 – Neil Diamond released Holly Holy. The single reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1969 – Peter, Paul & Mary released Leaving On A Jet Plane as a single.
The song – written by John Denver in 1966 – had been on the trio’s 1967 album, Album 1700, but their label, needing a hit from the group, released it as a single, hoping to get lucky.
It turned out to be Peter, Paul and Mary’s biggest (and final) hit, and became their only #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

1975 – After briefly reuniting for the recording of My Little Town, Simon & Garfunkel released the single on this date.
The single peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1975 – The Envelope Incident…
Charlie Rich, the man voted Entertainer of the Year for by the Country Music Association of America one year earlier, stood onstage at the CMA awards show to announce that year’s winner of the Association’s biggest award.
But after ripping open the envelope and seeing what was written inside, he had a strange reaction.
Instead of merely reading the name “John Denver” and stepping back from the podium, Rich – who later admitted he was on a combination of prescription pain medication and gin-and-tonics that night – reached into his pocket for a cigarette lighter and set the winner’s form on fire.
Though the display shocked the live audience in attendance, Denver was present only via satellite linkup from Australia and he offered a gracious acceptance speech with no idea what had occurred.
In the aftermath of the incident, Rich was blacklisted from the CMA awards show for the rest of his career.

1977 – Shirley Brickley of The Orlons was shot to death by an intruder in her Philadelphia home. She was only 32.
The killer was never found.
Her group placed several hits in the Billboard Top 5 in 1962 and ’63, including The Wah Watusi (#2), Don’t Hang Up (#4) and South Street (#3).

1980 – George Jones won Single of the Year at the Country Music Association awards for He Stopped Loving Her Today, starting a career resurgence for the country legend.

1987 – George Harrison released Got My Mind Set On You, a cover of a 1962 single by James Ray.
Harrison had been the first former Beatle to have a solo #1 single (My Sweet Lord in 1970) and with Got My Mind Set On You, he became the last to hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart as a solo artist.

2001 – Peter Doyle, guitarist/singer with The New Seekers (I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing and Look What They’ve Done To My Song, Ma) died after a prolonged battle with cancer.

2009 – Al Martino died at 82 of natural causes.
As a singer, Martino enjoyed great success with I Love You Because, Spanish Eyes and Mary In The Morning.
As an actor, he is best remembered for playing the role of Johnny Fontaine in The Godfather films.

2010 – General Norman Johnson, lead singer with Chairmen Of The Board (Give Me Just A Little More Time) died of lung cancer at the age of 69.
Rock Factoid: General was his real first name.

2016 – Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. He received the prize “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”
The Nobel Prize committee announced in November that Dylan would not travel to Stockholm for the Prize Ceremony due to “pre-existing commitments.” He was given a deadline of June 10, 2017 to deliver a lecture that is required of all Nobel laureates to receive the $900,000 prize.
On April 2, he finally showed up.

MOVIE/TV HISTORY

1947 – Junior Jamboree premiered on WBKB in Chicago, but you might remember it as something different.
The program starred puppeteer Burr Tillstrom in the roles of Kukla and Oliver J. “Ollie” Dragon (among others) and radio comedienne Fran Allison as herself.
The program was later renamed Kukla, Fran and Ollie. The first NBC network broadcast of the show took place on January 12, 1949.
The program was created for children, but it was soon watched by as many adults as children. It did not have a script and was entirely ad-libbed.
It aired until 1957.

1957 – CBS delivered a host of entertainment giants in a musical variety special sponsored by the Ford Motor Company.
Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong performed and sang the praises of a brand new car … the Ford Edsel.

1974 – Ed Sullivan died of esophageal cancer at the age of 73.
He hosted The Toast Of The Town – usually remembered under its second name, The Ed Sullivan Show – for 23 years.

SPORTS HISTORY

1903 – The Boston Americans won the first modern World Series, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates five games to three in the best-of-nine series.
Pittsburgh’s ace pitcher Sam Leever was not available for the series due to an injured shoulder, so his teammate Deacon Phillippe pitched five complete games over a 12-day period.
Name Factoid: Boston changed the team name from the Americans to the Red Sox after the 1907 season.

1960 – After six games had been played in the World Series, the New York Yankees had scored 46 runs and the Pittsburgh Pirates only 17, yet the series was tied going into Game 7.
That game at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh opened with a home run by Rocky Nelson and was concluded by a historic game-winning home run by Bill Mazeroski off Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry, giving the Pirates a 10-9 victory and their first world championship in thirty-five years.
Baseball Factoids: The time of the game was 2 hours and 36 minutes. In today’s world, that game would take about 4 hours. And even more impressive … neither team had a strikeout!

Compiled by Ray Lemire ©2005-2020 RayLemire.com / Streamingoldies.com. All Rights Reserved.