Via Futility Closet, we learn that the four-year-old son Junior—called Tony—of humorist, critic author (an
auxiliary member of the Algonquin Roundtable) and eventual editor of the New Yorker’s Talk of the Town section, Wolcott Gibbs, composed a defiant chant intoned one evening while taking a bath. With the opening and refrain, his father took down the words with the opening and refrain:
He will just do nothing at all.
He will just sit there in the noonday sun.
And when they speak to him, he will not answer them, Because he does not care to.
Folk singer and activist Pete Seeger (previously) adapted the lines into a song, finding the opposition highly relatable.
Established after the breakup of two of the founding bands of British progressive rock Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer in 1981—with John Wetton of Uriah Heap and Geoff Downes of the Buggles later joining Steve Howe and Carl Palmer—the supergroup’s eponymous debut album reached number one on the US charts on this day in 1982, holding top place for nine weeks, ranked as the best-selling record for that year in America and in several other countries. The signature lead single from lyricist Wetton and keyboardist Downes is described as an abject apology to the dreadful way he treated his first wife.
Recorded at the RCA Studios in Hollywood on this day in 1965 a week after Keith Richard’s wrote the song and played a rough version of the introductory and driving riff in his sleep captured on a cassette recorded, two-minutes of acoustic guitar strumming before hearing the pick drop and the rest of the tape was filled with Richards’ snoring and Mick Jagger’s lyrics contribution poolside in Clearwater, Florida, the single’s release on 4 June immediately solidified the success of The Rolling Stones with an iconic and recognisable musical hook, ranking on charts internationally and is consistently counted among the greatest rock songs of all time, whose themes critiquing commercialism, dithering between cynicism and a plaintive protest, were quite revolutionary and could be perceived as threatening to older audiences.
The most often performed of his orchestral arrangements and originally given the working title Mouvement Symphonique for the compositional exercise in building momentum whilst slowing tempo, the tone poem by Arthur Honegger, a member of Les Six—a group of composers working in Montparnasse who collaborated on projects and produced albums during the interbellum and WWII when audiences could not attend live performances—had its premiere on this day in 1924. A tribute to steam locomotives and named for a class of engines with two axles for pilot wheels, three for the driving wheels and two for the trailing, Honegger was a noted train enthusiast, declaiming that “I have always loved locomotives passionately. For me they are living creatures, and I love them as others love women or horses.” The below 1949 award-winning short by director Jean Mitry of the same name scores railyard operations to Honegger’s music.
Originally released as separate records in 1968, the group’s debut and follow on collection of psychedelic folk, the double-album reissued by T. Rex (see previously) and reaching the top of the UK charts on this day in 1972 and retains the distinction of the longest title of any number one hit. Tracks from the combined project by Marc Bolan on guitar and vocals with Steve Peregrin Took on percussions, kazoo and pixiephone (a kind of toy glockenspiel) showcased experimentation (like the boustrophedonic and backmasking reprise of their hit “Debora” as “Deboraarobed” as an opener well before The Beatles dared lead with such radical departures) and linguistic invention, half word play and half speaking in tongues.
Originally presented as the Gramophone Award on this day in 1959, as our faithful chronicler informs, the first ceremony was hosted simultaneously in California’s Beverly Hilton and the Park Sheraton in New York City—though not televised live until 1971 (although the second confusingly took place later that same year, hosted by Frank Sinatra and was aired on NBC)—and had its roots in the Hollywood Walk of Fame project with industry executives realising that their top artists might not receive the same level of recognition as film stars. Following the tradition of the Oscars, Tonys and Emmys, the organisers first proposed calling the honours the Eddies after Thomas Edison (see also), inventor of the phonograph before eventually settling on the Grammys. Twenty eight trophies were awarded for the first ceremony including winners Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie with record of the year going to Nel Blu, Dipinto di Blu (“Volare”) by Domenico Modugno and The Champs’ Tequila taking Best Rhythm and Blues Performance.
Released as the second single from the titular eighth studio album from Robert Palmer was originally intended to be a duet with Chaka Khan but her vocal contributions were removed due to contractual obligations with another label, the song made it to number one on the US charts on this day in 1986. Reminiscent of the concept music video for Elton John lyricist Bernie Taupin’s vision for Benny and the Jets, the noted homage also references the work of Patrick Nagel and with several tributes to follow.
Often performing in the title nightclub of the Hotel Pennsylvania in midtown Manhattan along with other Big Band ensembles that the spacious venue could host, Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded his instrumental version of the tune (originally by Jerry Gray with lyrics by Carl Sigman—Numbers I’ve got by the dozen, everyone’s uncle and cousin but I can’t live without buzzing…) on this day in in 1940 at the RCA Victor Studios in New York. One of the oldest telephone exchanges still in use, the accommodations closed permanently in 2020 during the COVID pandemic and lost efforts to declare the building as a candidate for historical preservation (the club itself converted into a basket ball court in its final decade), currently being demolished to make way for new skyscrapers on Penn Plaza. Only Sigman’s refrain was retained after the telephone sound effect, shouted by band members. The foxtrot hit would go on to be recorded by many other artists, with homages and parodies, including Transylvania 6-5000 and Weird Al’s Plumbing Song with the number “Roto-Rooter 6-5000.”
Via Kottke, we are directed to rediscovered audio sampler from the Hood Internet (previously) while producing year instalments of pop music mashups—described as a plane crash of nostalgia scattered across a desolate beach—talk about Desert Island Discs, given fidelity and released for their fans. I enjoy these revues quite a lot but always want to pause and hear the whole song before returning to the medley track. There are a lot of juxtaposed jewels to discover.
Unseating Michael Jackson’s Thriller as top album on this day in 1984 after thirty-seven weeks at number-one on the US charts, the soundtrack of Herbert Ross (a Broadway choreographer who went on direct musicals and comedies) film starring Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, Dianne Wiest and John Lithgow featuring tracks by Kenny Loggins and Deniece Williams held its spot through the end of June. The movie tells the narrative of a Chicagoan teen moving to a small, conservative town that has banned dancing and rock music, which the newcomer and his group of friends contest so that the high school can host a proper senior prom, ultimately held just outside and within earshot of the prohibition’s jurisdiction. Tom Cruise and Rob Lowe had been previously cast to play the lead but were unavailable—Bacon turning down an offer for the main role in Steven King’s Christine to take the part of Ren McCormack. The title song has been covered by VeggieTales, Good Charlotte and in Swedish by the Herreys.
Via fellow internet peripatetic Messy Nessy Chic, we discover a 1983 self-defence manual authored by Australian Bob Jones—a martial arts instructor who invented (along with fellow consultant, fight choreographer and stunt artist Richard Norton) his own technique called Zen Do Kai a decade earlier and which is still in practice and chief security detail for the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Joe Cocker, ABBA, David Bowie and Fleetwood Mac—inspired by protection and training he had provided for Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks during their world tours. Learning of her bodyguard’s side project with this book based on a series of reflexive, subconscious kicks and thrusts perfected as second nature under threat by repetition and recitation, Nicks immediately agreed to contribute and helped demonstrate, appearing in a spread of photographs throughout the volume as well as on the cover. It is unclear whether it was Nicks’ stage-routine that influenced some of these actions or the other way around. More at the links above. FEAR—that is, false estimate of the actual reality.
First performed on this day in 1951 in community hall of the Hirschbach (presently the Hotel Zum goldenen Hirsch) of Suhl by local musicians Herbert Roth and Waltraut Schulz, the hymn extolling the joy of wandering in nature (see previously here and here—see also) has become an auxiliary state anthem and better known than the official, Thรผringen, holdes Land (Fair Country).
The refrain goes: “I often walk this path to the Hรถhn (apparently a picturesque high hill with the ruins of Fischberg castle on top that we will make it a priority to see) , the little song birds singing / If I am far away, Thuringer Forest, I only long for you!”
court dress: the pink sleeves of the supreme courts of Labrador and Newfoundland are in deference to the former summer robes for sittings in England and Wales—via Super Punch
Featuring the tracks “Give It to Me Baby” and Grammy-nominated “Super Freak,” the fifth studio album from punk-funk founder Rick James was released on this day in 1981 by Motown’s Gordy Records. Billboard’s Record of the Year, the album was certified Gold in sales in Canada, the UK and the US, all songs—including a duet with Teena Marie—have enjoyed a legacy of numerous homages and sampling (Pretty Fly for a White Guy, MC Hammer’s Can't Touch This), topping dance charts in all incarnations.
Via our faithful chronicler, among many other events of pith and circumstance, Annie Lennox (previously) released her debut solo Diva album on this day in UK markets in 1992, following a hiatus from performing after the dissolution of the Eurythmics two years prior and spawning five hit singles including “Little Bird” put out as a double A-Side with “Love Song for a Vampire” made for the soundtrack of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The accompanying music video, shot while Lennox was eight months pregnant with the MC outfit reminiscent of Cabaret tailored to conceal her baby-bump, features a cast of personae from previous songs portrayed by impersonators and drag-artists vying for the spotlight.
With the finale held on this day fifty years ago, held in the arts venue the Dome of Brighton with veteran television personality and presenter Katie Boyle—winner of the 1973 contest Luxembourg having declined the honour of hosting the event consecutive years in a row due to cost constraints for their public broadcaster, Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Tรฉlรฉdiffusion, some of the more memorable acts of the Eurovision Song Contest (previously) with an iconic and transporting recognition owing to the winners’ costuming and performance include an interlude by the Wombles, Olivia Newton-John, Mouth and MacNeal and entrant Pooky from newly admitted Israel, whose prog and jazz fusion would prove enduring. France did not participate that year out of respect for the national mourning period for the death of president Georges Pompidou, withdrawing a few days before, and contest was not aired until several months afterwards for fear that the country’s own submission, “Sรฌ” finishing in second place, might have influenced votes on a confusingly worded nation referendum on whether to keep or rescind newly introduced legislation (see above) that allowed for divorce in country—“yes” being the ballot initiative to outlaw the recently enacted liberty.
Compiled in recognition of the approaching fortieth anniversary of Neunundneuzig Luftballons in translation for international audiences, a full year after its original release as a single in March of 1984, we appreciated this playlist, surely courting controversy for what’s left out, of the best of Euro Pop by UK charts. The rankings include Falco (see above), Enigma (see also), Trio and Desireless plus some of those outside the golden age of the genre, like O-Zone and Iceland’s Sigur Rรณs. Which energy complements yours?
auxiliary member of the Algonquin Roundtable) and eventual editor of the New Yorker’s Talk of the Town section, Wolcott Gibbs, composed a defiant chant intoned one evening while taking a bath. With the opening and refrain, his father took down the words with the opening and refrain: 
