Back to That Amazing April 4, 1964, Billboard Beatles Chart-- Part 1

From Billboard.

The number 1 song, "Can't Buy Me Love" had jumped from #26 to #1.    That was the record jump by an artist until Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This" jumped from #52 to #1 in 2002.  Then, her "My Life Would Suck Without You" jumped from #97 to #1 in 2009.

Besides the Top Five 5 songs, all by the Beatles (check the Beatles or Beatlemania labels to find out the Top Five), the rest of the Top Ten was:

#6, "SUSPICION"  by Terry Stafford,
#7.  "HELLO DOLLY" by Louis Armstrong,
#8.  "SHOOP SHOOP SONG" by Betty Everett,  
#9.  "MY HEART BELONGS ONLY TO YOU" by Bobby Vinton
#10.  GLAD ALL OVER"  by the Dave Clark Five.

RoadDog

Deaths: "Little" Joe Cook, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, Deon Jackson

"LITTLE" JOE COOK, 91:  Died April 15, 2014.  Wrote and sang falsetto on the Thrillers' #22 song "Peanuts" in 1959.  I was familiar with the Four Season version of it.


RUBUN "HURRICANE" CARTER, 76.  Died April 20, 2014.  Boxer and subject of Bob Dylan's 1976 song "Hurricane" which went to #23.  Also, a movie of the same name.


DEON JACKSON, 68.  Died April 19, 2013.  Had a #11 hit in 1966 with "Love Makes the World Go Round."

Five Careers in Crisis// Five Booming Careers

From Yahoo! Education by Tony Moton.  He tells why, but you'll have to go to the site.  I'm just listing 'em.

Five Careers on the skids:  12.  Farmer, rancher and other agricultural managers,  2.  Postal service worker,  3.  News analyst, reporter, correspondent.  4.  Travel agents.  5.  File clerk.

Five Booming Careers:

1.  Registered nurse.   2.  Software developer.  3.  Market research analyst.  4.  Elementary School teacher.  (And, I really thought all teachers were doomed.)  5.  Accountant.

--RoadDog

WLS Survey: April 24, 1964: The British Invasion Is ON!!

Just looking back at a HALF A CENTURY AGO. That long? Really??? Where does the time go? And, I was about to turn 13.

#1. SUSPICION-- Terry Stafford
#2. CROOKED LITTLE MAN-- Serendipity Singers
#3. DEAD MAN'S CURVE/ NEW GIRL IN SCHOOL-- Jan & Dean

#4. WHITE ON WHITE-- Danny Williams
#5. HELLO DOLLY-- Louis Armstrong
#6. BITS AND PIECES-- Dave Clark Five

#7. THANK YOU GIRL/ DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET-- Beatles
#8. FOREVER-- Peter Drake
#9. GLAD ALL OVER-- Dave Clark Five

#10. CAN'T BUY ME LOVE/ YOU CAN'T DO THAT--Beatles
#12. TWIST AND SHOUT-- Beatles
#26. NOT FADE AWAY-- Rolling Stones

#27. YESTERDAY'S GONE-- Chad & Jeremy
#30. LOVE ME DO-- Beatles
STAY AWHILE-- Dusty Springfield.

The Dave Clark Five running neck-and-neck with the Beatles? First Stones song on the chart?

Fifty Years Ago?? --RoadDog

About Last Weekend-- Part 2 The Yard, Captain's. Bars, Bulls and Hawks

SATURDAY, APRIL 26TH:

 Did a whole lot of burning of yard waste, clearing out flower beds and raking on a pretty nice day at first. Took the lawn tractor out to cut the grass for the first time, but after 30 minutes it started making a strange noise and I found that the belt had pulled out and was broken.

Temps really started dropping around 3 in the afternioon.

Went to Captain's Quarters on Fox Lake to watch the Chicago Rev Up band play, but left after the first set as it was too crowded with a Fox Lake Fireworks fundraiser and a 70th birthday party.

Then checked out the new Angry Beaver on Grasslake (where the old Dirty Rooster was). They had a deejay, but not much going on. Ended up at Antonio's in Spring Grove and tried their new watermelon/cucumber margarita. Quite the tasty treat.

SUNDAY, APRIL 27TH:

 Drove to Twisted Moose in McHenry to watch the Bulls playoff game (unfortunately they were blown out by the Wizards).

The big reason was to see the sixth game of the Black Hawks-Blues playoff game. Huge crowd and most everyone in Black Hawk attire. We were joined by several of the Usual Suspects, our Bear-viewing crew. Great time, especially in the 3rd period when the Hawks really came alive and went on to win 5-1. Lots of air horns, flashing red lights and "Chelsea Dagger." And the Hawks go on to Round Two!!!

Stopped at Sunnyside Tap on the way home. And, both the Cubs and Sox won!!

Go Hawks!!! --RoadDog

About Last Weekend-- Part 1: Shopping, Hockey & baseball

FRIDAY, APRIL 25TH: 

Tried the new McDonald's chicken club sandwich to get a Black Hawks pennant. That is a good sandwich. Drove the '85 Firebird to McHenry and looked at the nurseries at Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Meijer's but didn't buy anything. It is still too cold to do any planting.

Also went to Target, Goodwill, Hobby Lobby, Five Below, Dick's Sporting Goods and Party Station. Lots of shopping, but didn't buy much.

Watched the NHL hockey playoff game between the Black Hawks and Blues at Tommy's with a whole bunch of other crazy Hawks fans. And, Chicago won in overtime. That was the fourth overtime in five games. The Hawks started off 0-2, losing twice in overtime by 4-3 scores. Now, 3-2.

And, the Sox won with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth!!

Pretty Good Chicago Sports Night. --RoadDog

Every Blooming THing: Late April 2014

One thing about the early days of yardwork after a long winter layoff, man, am I ever sore. I have been busy with my burn pile last Sunday and today. Lots of dead perennials, leaves and annuals from last year to get rid of. (We can only burn on weekends in April and May.)

I have to be careful of hundreds of what appear to be bees in certain areas of the yard.

Right now, the jonquils are in full bloom and some tulips and hyacinths as well. Also, some other flowers of which I know not the names.

I am planning on going out to cut the grass for the first time. Some of the yard needs it and other parts don't, but I can't let it get ahead of me in the spring as it can really take off, especially with the cool and rainy weather we've been having.

I have been reading quite a few articles about people with winter burn/kill on their plants, especially yews and boxwoods. Most experts say to fertilize and wait to see new growth. They don't want you cutting back or trimming until you know what is still alive.

We Sure Had A Rough Winter --RoadDog

Movie Scratches: Rise-- Sherman-- Nebraska-- Divergent

A dog's eye view of today's movies.

 #21. 300: RISE OF EMPIRE-- 3-12-- FOX lAKE, $4.50-- All the blood splatter and floaters you could ever want.

#22. MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN-- 3-12-- FOX LAKE, $4.50-- All that history and Sherman gets the girl.

#23. NEBRASKA-- 3-14-- FOX LAKE, $6-- Sort of Rainman, Part 2. One of the best movies I've ever seen. I sure wish my local theaters would show movies like these when they come out.

#24. DIVERGENT-- 4-8-- WOODSTOCK, $4.50-- Hunger Games, Part 2. "Faction Before Blood."

Hey, Love Those Varieties of Salt. --RoadDog

Record Store Day Purchases-- Part 2

I also bought two other albums: Cry Like a Baby by the Box Tops and Just Like Us by Paul Rever & the Raiders. //// Cry Like a Baby featured the title song, but none others that I recognize and was boasting that "Cry Like a Baby" would go all the way to #1 like the group's first hit, "The Letter." Alex Chilton and the boys recorded it in Memphis at American Sound Studio. //// Just Like Us featured the hits "Steppin' Out" and "Just Like Me." Paul Revere and Mark Lindsay wrote "Steppin' Out." Loved the American Army Revolutionary War uniforms on the front cover. Definitely the anti British Invasion group now that I think about it. //// I also bought a four-CD set of Stax music. //// --Keep Step, Step Steppin' Up Against the Brits. --RoadDog

What's Up With Dolly & the Zombies?

From the April20-26, 2014, American Profile "Ask American Profile. //// DOLLY PARTON, 68, whose career has spanned five decades has her42nd studio album coming out in May. She'll be touring the U.S., Europe and Australia. Love her music, but hate her talking (like with Rebe McIntyre). //// Someone wanted to know if the 60s band ZOMBIES was still making music. The band had hits with "Tell Her No," "Time of the Season" and "She's Mot There" split in December 1967. Original members Rod Argent ("Hold Your Head Up" with Argent) and Colin Blunstone have been playing together since 1999 as the Zombies. Blunstone, 68, is lead vocalist. I'm a big fan of the Zombies and think they should have had more hits back in the 1960s. //// So, Now You Know. --RoadDog

Record Store Day Purchases-- Part 1

This past Saturday, I went to The Vinyl Frontier in McHenry, Illinois, and bought four albums and I went way back for them, all from the 1960s. //// Two were by Chicago groups: TIME & CHANGES by the Buckinghams ($4) and SUGAR & SPICE by the Cryan Shames ($2). //// The Buckinghams album featured "Don't You Care," "I'll Be Back," "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" and "Foreign Policy." Of course, part of the name Buckinghams came from the British Invasion. Buckingham sounded British, even though there is a fountain in Chicago by that name. "I'll Be Back" was written by Lennon-McCartney. //// The Cryan' Shames album featured "Sugar and Spice" and "I Wanna Meet You." Another song on it was written by George Harrison "If I Needed Someone." Of interest was the ages of the group with two at 18 and the other four at 21. Many of the songs were written by group member Jim Fairs, on of the 18-year-olds. //// One reason Chicago groups got so popular was that the Chicago radio stations (WLS and WCFL) really played a lot of their music. //// --RoadDog

Flashback to 1973-- Part 3

TIME-- Pink Floyd // DANCING WITH MR. D.-- Rolling Stones // SUFFICIENTLY BREATHLESS-- Captain Beyond // KNOCKIN' ON HEAVEN'S DOOR-- Bob Dylan // SOUTHSIDE SHUFFLE-- J. Geils Band // 5:15-- Who // GIVE ME THREE STEPS-- Lynyrd Skynyrd //// SPIRITS IN THE NIGHT-- Bruce Springsteen // I'M THE GREATEST-- Ringo Starr // ALL THE WAY FROM MEMPHIS-- Mott the Hoople // BROTHER LOUIE-- Stories // CHINA GROVE-- Doobie Brothers //// I THINK IT WAS THE WINE-- Siegall-Schwall Band // OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY-- Led Zeppelon. //// --RoadDog

Did My Part for Record Store Day on Saturday

I made it over to The Vinyl Fronteir in McHenry, Illinois, on Saturday and found a big crowd in the place. It is small and moving around the very narrow aisles was difficult. //// I'd say there were twenty people inside when I got there at 2 PM and the owner said that he already had a line of a hundred people stretching out around the corner when he arrived. He roughly estimated around 250 people before I got there. For some reason, he was all smiles. //// There were several teenagers buying albums and talking music, so maybe there is hope for record stores. //// Several parents were there with young kids. They said that they wanted their kids to experience a record store since all they do is download songs. //// There is nothing like flipping through albums with your fingers and searching for that special record. //// Well, Here's Hoping for the Mom and Pops. --RoadDog

Flashback to 1973-- Part 2

ROSALITA-- Bruce Springsteen // LET'S GET IT ON-- Marvin Gaye // FAT MAN IN THE BATHTUB-- Little Feat (Another strange name for a song.) // SAIL ON SAILOR-- Beach Boys // RIGHT PLACE, WRONG TIME-- Dr. John //// DEAR ABBY (Or is that Abbey?)-- John Prine // D'YERMAKER-- Led Zeppelin // SITTING HERE IN LIMBO-- Jinmmy Cliff // LOVE REIGN O'ER ME-- Who // HIGHER GROUND-- Stevie Wonder // JEAN GENIE-- David Bowie //// BODHISATTVA-- Steely Dan /// BAND ON THE RUN-- Paul McCartney & Wings. //// --RoadDog

Flashback to 1973-- Part 1

From WXRT's Saturday Morning Flashback, April 19, 2014. //// Johnny Mars sat in for Wendy Rice and took us back 41 years to a mighty busy time for me, what with graduating from college, getting married and getting my first and only tecahing job. These are the songs he played: //// MIND GAMES-- John Lennon // YOU'VE BEEN IN LOVE TOO LONG-- Bonnie Raitt // JESSICA-- Allman Brothers Band // GOODBYE YELLOWBRICK ROAD-- Elton Jihn // I KNOW WHAT I LIKE IN YOUR WARDROPE-- Genesis (Probably one of the weirdest titles ever.) //// FRESH-- Sly & the Family Stone // EMERALD EYES-- Fleetwood Mac // TAKE IT EASY-- Jackson Browne (He wrote it, but the Eagles had the Route 66 hit with it.) //// I CAN'T STAND THE RAIN--Ann Peebles. //// --RoadDog

Record Store Day Today!!

A favorite day of mine. A blast from the past in the days before downloading. Something that "they haven't taken away from me"...yet, anyway. We're not going out to DeKalb for the NIU spring football game, so I will be getting over to our local place in McHenry, The Vinyl Frontier, at noon and hang around and buy some stuff. That is, hang around until the Hawks game starts at 2, and then it is over to the Twisted Moose for all the fans, air horns and flashing lights. Hopefully, it won't be a repeat of the forever triple overtime game from Thursday. So, go to the website www.recordstoreday.com, and find out the record store closest to you. (Well, I suppose you already know where it is.) Support 'Em before They're Gone. --RoadDog

Follow Up On "Frank's Place"

As I finished typing the last entry, the name You Tube popped into my head. Might they have some episodes on it? Went there and they did. I'll have to catch up. //// Saw part of the pilot, where Frank inherits the place from his deceased father and encounters the interesting employees. Then, there were those great accents. //// Of interest, this was a multi-racial cast, who seemed to really get along. //// Poor Tim Reid had some "learning" to do. //// Not only was there that great music, but food as well. //// I foresee Some Hours On You Tube. --RoadDog

"Frank's Place": A Great TV Show

From Wikipedia. //// One of my all-time favorite TV shows, even though it only lasted for one season. It was sort of a "Frasier" before the idea. A show that was made for more of an adult viewing audience. On CBS and aired 22 episodes from 1987-1988. Cancelled after just one year. //// Created by Hugh Wilson with series star Tim Reid as Frank Parish operating a bar/restaurant in New Orleans. They certainly had a group of interesting characters hanging out there, sort of a "Cheers" crowd but with a 'Nawlins slant. //// As funny as the show was, I liked the songs they played on the jukebox just as well. That stuff really knocked me out. More great music from down there that I'd never heard. //// Should a DVD ever become available, I'd sure get it. But, I understand there are problems getting licensingfor the jukebox songs. //// Good Old Frank's Place. --RoadDog