Illinois USS Oklahoma Pearl Harbor Victim Identified

All of my blogs today will be about Pearl harbor, this being the 76th anniversary of the attack.

From the December 7, 2016, Chicago Tribune "For Pearl Harbor Dead, A Final Rest" by Ted Gregory.

"Katherine Kany was at work last spring when she got the phone call that pulled together the loose ends of a family mystery.  The remains of her uncle, a 22-year-old from Waukegan who died 75 years ago Wednesday, finally had been identified.

"The call was part of a project begun in earnest last year with the goal of identifying and returning to loved ones the remains of 388 sailors and Marines -- 18 from Illinois -- killed when Japanese fighter planes riddled the USS Oklahoma with torpedoes on December 7, 1941.  At least five of the explosions struck the Oklahoma about 8 a.m., and the battleship capsized in less than 10 minutes."

"Kany, of Arlington, Va., and other relatives gathered October 25, at Arlington National Cemetery for a full military funeral for Navy Fireman 3rd Class John H. Lindsley, a man who died before Kany was born."

Identifying These Dead Is the Correct Thing to Do.

Got My Flags Up To Commemorate the 76th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Today

I just went out in the cold (and a light smattering of snow) and put up two U.S. flags to honor those who died and survived that attack on Pearl Harbor 76 years ago that plunged the country into World War II.

Pearl Harbor, along with the Alamo, Fort Fisher and the Titanic have always been the four history stories that have interested me the most.

Sadly, as far as I know, there are no ceremonies in our part of northeast Illinois that is having anything for it.

This being the very first major action of the war for the United States, these persons are among the very oldest of those remaining from World War II and because of it, they are dying off even faster than the others.

When I was growing up, it seemed that all of my parents' friends were World War II veterans and it is hard to imagine there coming a time when they won't be around anymore.

In observance, every one of my blogs today will be about Pearl Harbor.

Hope You Are Flying Your Flag Today.   --

WLS Top 40 for December 8, 1967-- Part 4: "Massachusetts"

25.  HONEY CHILE--  Martha & the Vandellas   #11  Martha Reeves and her group.

24.  BABY, YOU'VE GOT IT--  Brenton Wood    #34  Born Alfred Smith in Shreveport, Louisiana.  raised in California.

23.  PLEASE LOVE ME FOREVER--  Bobby Vinton   #6  His father was a bandleader.  Toured as part of backing band for Dick Clark's "Caravan of Stars" in 1960.

22.  INCENSE & PEPPERMINTS--  Strawberry Alarm Clock   #1    West Coast psychedelic band.  Lead singer on this song was 16-year-old leader of another band, Greg Munford.

21.  MASSACHUSETTS--  Bee Gees   #11   "(The Lights Went Out In) Massachusetts."  This song was Liz and my song when we first went steady back at Palatine High School in Palatine, Illinois.  We will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of when I gave her my ID bracelet (as a junior, we had not yet gotten our class rings) on December 15 this year.

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  "Something's Telling Me I Must Go Home"  Answer Below.  --RoadDog



"Massachusetts"

WLS Top 40 for December 8, 1967-- Part 3: "To Sir With Love"

30.  OTHER MAN'S GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER--  Pet Clark   #31   On the radio at age 9 and had her own TV show at age 11.

29.  IT'S WONDERFUL--  Young Rascals   #20   Last song as the Young Rascals.  Shortened to Rascals after this.

28.  TO SIR WITH LOVE--  Lulu   #1   Title song from movie starring Sidney Poitier.

27.  SUMMER RAIN--  Johnny Rivers   #14   Real name John Ramistella.  Was named Johnny Rivers by DJ Alan Freed in 1958.

26.  KEEP THE BALL ROLLIN'--  Jay & the Techniques   (D)   #14  Follow up to biggest hit "Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie"  #6 earlier in 1967.

Name That Tune (from above songs):  "West Wind Soft As A Sweet Dream."  Answer Below.  --RoadDog



"Summer Rain"

Music Deaths: Mel Tillis

MEL TILLIS, 85

Died November 19, 2017

One of my all-time favorite country singers.

Very popular in the 1970s.

SZome of his big songs:

"I Ain't Never", "Good Woman Blues", "Coca-Cola Cowboy (from movie "Every Which Way But Loose"), "Memory Maker" and "Southern Rain."

And, my personal favorite  "I Got the Hoss."

A Great One.

Past Movie Scratches: Bad-- Gladiator-- Ghostbusters-- Jaws-- Jaws II-- Ice

Past Movie Scratches.  Movies I saw on TV in 2016.

55.  BAD BOYS--  6-23--  Trading places with your cop buddy.

56.  GLADIATOR--  7-5--  "Prepare to unleash hell!!"  Great, great battle scene.

57.  GHOSTBUSTERS--  7-16--  "Get her!!  That's your plan??""

58.  JAWS--  7-177--  "We're gonna need a bigger boat."

59.  JAWS 2--  7-19--  Humor or toy.  That is the question.

60.  ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT--  7-22--  Its the end of the world as they knew it.

Not Sure About #59.  --RoadDog

ACCIDENT REPORTS:  "The other car collided with mine without giving warning of its intention."

Past Movie Scratches: Hobbitt-- Hawk-- Survivor-- Bluebird-- Blind-- Jumanji

Past Movie Scratches--  Movies I saw on TV in 2016.

49.  HOBBITT:  AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY--  Battling the White Orc on that  White Whatever That Is.

50.  BLACK HAWK DOWN--  4-20--  Rotten Somalians!!

51.  LONE SURVIVOR--  Take a Lickin'.  Take a Beatin'.  Keep on Fightin'.

52.  BLUEBIRD--  4-23--  Shirley Temple horns in on Oz.

53.  THE BLIND SIDE--  5-14--  Rescuing Michael.  A real feel-good movie.

54.  JUMANJI--  6-8--  Loved that Robin Williams.  Real funny guy in a very DANGEROUS game.

--RoadDog

ACCIDENT REPORTS  (From the Orange Peel). :  A pedestrian hit me and went under my car.

Music Deaths: Della Reese

DELLA REESE, 86,

Died November 19, 2017.

Best remembered for "Don't You Know"  (#2-1959)

Born Delloreese Patricia Early in Detroit.  better known for her R&B)  Had "And That reminds Me"  (#12 R&B-1957.

WLS Top 40 for December 8, 1967-- Part 2: ""Wear My Love Like Heaven"

35.  BY THE TIME I GET TO PHOENIX--  Glenn Campbell    #26  Born 1936 in Billstown, Arkansas

34.  IF I COULD BUILD MY WORLD AROUND YOU--Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell    #10  Follow up to their #5 "Your Precious Love."  They had a total of 12 Top 100s together and 4 Top Tens.

33.  WEAR MY LOVE LIKE HEAVEN--  Donovan   #23   Born Donovan Phillip Leitch near Glasgow, Scotland.  Was there a better Flower Child?

32.  GREEN TAMBOURINE--  Lemon Pipers    #1  Their biggest-ever hit of three top 100s.  Psychedelic/bubblegum rock quintet from Oxford, Ohio.

31.. AN OPEN LETTER TO MY TEENAGE SON--  Victor Lundberg   #10   Showing how split the country had become.

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  "She'll Find the Note I left Hanging On her Door."  Answer below.  --RoadDog


"By the Time I Get to Phoenix"

WLS Top 40 for December 8, 1967-- Part 1: "Tell Mama"

(D)=  Debut.  The number behind the performer is the highest the song got on the Billboard Top 100.

40.  EXPLOSION--  Soul Survivors   (D)   #33  White soul band from New York City and Philadelphia  (In Your Soul)  (In My Soul)

39.  SKIP A ROPE--  Henson Cargill   (D)    #25   Country singer born in Oklahoma City.  His only hit.

38.  LET THE HEARTACHE BEGIN--  Long John Baldry  (D)    #88    Influential blues rocker from England.  Probably best known for his "Don't Try To Lay No Boogie-Woogie On the King of Rock and Roll"  which went to #73, his highest charting song in the U.S..

37.  WHO WILL ANSWER--  Ed Ames   (D)   #19   One of the Ames Brothers.  His biggest hit was "My Cup Runneth Over"  (#8-1967)

36.  TELL MAMA--  Etta James  (D)  #23  Her biggest hit.  Born Jamesetta Hawkins in 1938

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  "Oh Listen To the Children While They Play."  Answer Below.  --RoadDog


"Skip A Rope"

Better Late Than Never-- Billboard Top Ten Halloween Songs

Gary Trust, Jessica Latkem and Chris Payne track sales during the 2013 Halloween season.

10.  THIS IS HALLOWEEN--  Danny Elfman
9.  HIGHWAY TO HELL--  AC/DC
8.  DON'T FEAR THE REAPER--  Blue Oyster Cult

7.  CREEP--  Radiohead
6.  SUPERSTITION--  Stevie Wonder
5.  WEREWOLVES OF LONDON--  Warren Zevon
4.  DEAL WITH THE DEVIL--  Pop Evil  (Great video)

3.  GHOSTBUSTERS--  Ray Parker Jr.
2.  MONSTER MASH--  Bobby Pickett
1.  THRILLER--  Michael Jackson

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  "All Out Times Have Come."  Answer below.  --RoadDog


"Don't Fear the Reaper"

Music Deaths: Keith Wilder of Heatwave and Robert Knight "Everlasting Love"

KEITH WILDER, 68

Died October 29, 2017.

Lead singer and co-founder of Heatwave with brother Johnny.

Their hits included:  "Boogie Nights"  (#2-1977),  "The Groove Line"  (#7-1978), and the ballad "Always and Forever"  (#18-1978).  I sure played the lat song a lot at weddings when I deejayed.

ROBERT KNIGHT, 72

Died November 5, 2017.

He did the original hit version of "Everlasting Love"  (#13-1967).

JSS: Football Alabama and Auburn-- 16-Team College Playoffs-- Rochester, Illinois

JSS--  Just Some Stuff

This one's about football.

1.  ALABAMA AND AUBURN--  That was one great football game last Saturday when Auburn upset Alabama.  I always like to see Alabama lose.  But what about the teams they played the week before.  The mighty 'Bama played Mercer and Auburn played the Citadel.  Come ON!!!  Those easy wins shouldn't count as victories.

2.  16-TEAM PLAYOFFS--  And again, I sure would like to see a 16-team playoff for the Power Five Conferences and another one for the rest of the teams.  That would make some of those "toilet" bowl TV games account for something.

3.  ROCHESTER, ILLINOIS--  This one is for high school football.  This team has dominated the Class 4A playoffs, winning seven of the last eight years.  Time for them to move up to 5A.

--RoadDog

Music Deaths: Fats Domino

ANTOINE "FATS" DOMINO  89.  Died October 24, 2017

R&B, rock pianist,  vocalist.  Played with the band The Solid Senders in the 1940s and then had quite the remarkable solo career as "The Fat Man."  Met producer Dave Bartholomew who cowrote the songs in 1949.

Together, they reeled off quite the string of hits.

Blueberry Hill  (#2-1957)
I'm In Love Again  (#3-1956)
I'm Walkin'  (#4-1957)
Blue Monday  (#5-1957)
Whole Lot Of Lovin'  (#6-1959)

Was on the Top Pop 100 for 66 times and has a dozen in the Top Ten.  Also, a whole lot of R&B hits.

He was feared dead in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, but had survived.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.  His last public appearance was ten years ago.

A Huge Talent.

Past Movie Scratches: Hustle-- Reddick-- Vegas-- Phillips--

43.  AMERICAN HUSTLE--  2-27--  The "Sting" goes 1970s.  Worst comb-over ever.

44.  REDDICK-- 3-2--  Particularly nasty snake things.

45.  VEGAS VACATION--  3-3--  Papageorgio can't lose.  Papagriswald can't win.

46.  CAPTAIN PHILLIPS--  3-5--  No doubt the scrawniest, skinniest bunch of pirates ever assembled.

47.  PERCY JACKSON:  SEA OF MONSTERS--  A cyclops and titan that like to eat people.

48.  PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN:  ON STRANGER TIDES--  3-12--  Battling bad-ass mermaids and looking for that Fountain of Youth.  Ponce de Leon was so jealous.

--RoadDog

WLS Top Ten for December 1, 1967: "I Can See For Miles"

1.  DAYDREAM BELIEVER--  Monkees
2.  RAIN, PARK & OTHER THINGS--  Cowsills
3.  TO SIR WITH LOVE--  Lulu

4.  INCENSE & PEPPERMINTS--  Strawberry Alarm Clock
5.  PLEASE LOVE ME FOREVER--  Bobby Vinton
6.  OPEN LETTER TO MY TEENAGE SON--  Victor Lundberg
7.  BETTER SIT DOWN KIDS--  Cher

8.  BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE--  Bobby Vee
9.  NEON RAINBOW--  Box Tops
10.  I CAN SEE FOR MILES--  Who  This and "My Generation" are my two favorite Who songs.

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  "The City Lights, the Pretty Lights."  Answer below.  --RoadDog


"Neon Rainbow"

Music Deaths: George Young: Australia's Easybeats

GEORGE YOUNG, 70  Died October 22, 2017.

Guitarist with Australia's Easybeats.  Cowrote their big hit "Friday On My Mind" (#16-1967).  Brother of Angus and Malcolm Young of AC/DC.

He produced AC/DC's "Dirty deeds Done Dirt Cheap" album.  He also cowrote the John Paul Young song "Love Is In the Air" (#7-1978)

His brother Malcolm Young died November 18, 2017.

Past Movie Scratches: Iron-- Jurassic-- Thor-- Battleship-- Z-- Finding

Movies seen on TV in 2016.

37.  IRON MAN 3--  2-14--  Jeeves knows.  Jeeves knows.

38.  JURASSIC PARK 3--  2-15--  Looking for Eric and finding the ultimate dino.

39.  THOR:  THE DARK WORLD--  2-19--  Loki turns out to be a good guy after Asgard falls.

40.  BATTLESHIP--  2-22--  It was like Pearl Harbor for the aliens.  Love those old battleships  like the USS Missouri.

41.  WORLD WARD Z--  2-26--  Those Z-dudes can sure motivate.

42.  FINDING PRIVATE RYAN--  2-27--  That D-Day part and the end (in the cemetery) still get me.

--RoadDog

THE LAST MORE COFFEE SIGNS:  You think CPR stands for "Coffee Provides Resuscitation."