The Daily Dose/Tuesday, July 9, 2024
The Daily Dose/July 9, 2024
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
ONE, TWO, THREE O’CLOCK, FOUR O’CLOCK ROCK: History is dotted with events over the centuries whose significance separates everything preceding from everything following. Today is the 69th anniversary of one of those dates.
Sit On It, Potsie: It was on July 9, 1955, that the Rock Era in American popular music began when Rock Around the Clock went to #1 on Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart, its first of eight consecutive weeks at the top.
For The Record: The Rock Era in England began later in the year when the song went to #1 in Great Britain. It spent five weeks at the top and was their #1 selling single of the decade.
Dry, Technical Matter: Rock Around the Clock would fall off and then reappear on Billboard pop charts several more times, spending 42 weeks on either the Best Sellers chart or the Hot 100, then a record but now a mark of no particular statistical significance.
Lights…Camera…Action: The song was featured in the movie The Blackboard Jungle, which was based on a book by Evan Hunter whose pen name – Ed McBain – some might remember. It also featured the film debut of several prominent actors, including one Jameel Farah, who later changed his name to Jamie Farr.
I Like Ike: America was still pretty laid-back then, so it wasn’t as if Haley started a trend. The usual ballads and big band songs followed Rock Around the Clock at #1, and Elvis had the next rock and roll #1, Heartbreak Hotel, the following April.
The Bottom Line: Rock Around the Clock provides a line of demarcation separating everything that came before from everything that followed like few other events. The birth of Christ, the invention of gunpowder, and man’s first landing on the moon come immediately to mind. The future, as it tends to do, will produce more landmark events, of course, but Rock Around the Clock will remain on the list for a long time to come, even if – when – we discover alien life somewhere.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow – impetuously and, perhaps, prematurely – starts looking at cats. Today’s Diary.
A 5-year-old named Bandit and another named Cuddles looked promising, but it’s probably to soon…
———
Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.
Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device.
———
On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 2011 – South Sudan gains its independence from Sudan. Independence followed a civil war that ended in 2005 and several years of autonomy within Sudan. A civil war began later in the year that lasted until 2020 and in 2017 a famine affected almost 5 million people. Today South Sudan is the second-least developed country behind Somalia and remains the most recently created sovereign state on the planet.
In 2006 – Italy wins the World Cup, defeating France 5-3 on penalty kicks at Olympic Stadium in Berlin. It was the fourth and most recent title for Italy and was the first of two runner-up finishes for France to go along with two titles. France’s Zinedine Zidane was ejected in extra time for head butting an opponent, the fourth of five World Cup Finals exp[ulsions. The game was tied 1-1 after both regulation and extra time
In 1977 – Alan O’Day is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the only week with Undercover Angel. It was the first chart single for O’Day and only later #73 hit prevented him from being one of the few artist whose only Hot 100 hit went to #1. The song also went to #1 in Canada, peaked at #43 in Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 9th-biggest song of the year. It was the second #1 song written by O’Day, who earlier Helen Reddy’s 1974 hit Angie Baby.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
…we have to forget our theories and feel the fact…submersion in the flow of nature is all-important. Will Durant
The Story of Civilization, Vol I: Our Oriental Heritage
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Good Times by Chic was Billboard’s #1 soul song in 1979. It spent six consecutive weeks at #1.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What is the oldest country in Africa, dated from the acquisition of sovereignty? – Answer next time!
The Daily Dose/Monday, July 8, 2024
Valued Readers,
We’re taking a day off. The past couple of days have been hard, and we’re spent. Everything will return.
The Daily Dose/Sunday, July 7, 2024
The Daily Dose/July 7, 2024
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
The Sunday Bottom 5
A ranking of some things.
1. Bonfiglio – Family cat put to sleep Friday, ending lengthy illness after memorable, loving 13-year run…RIP, Spoo…She was executive editor of The Bottom Ten for past ten years, with exclusive responsibility for handing out Jim Hanifan Memorial Medallion, symbolic of NFL preseason ineptitude.
2. British Elections – A palace coup in the UK this week, as Labour summarily dismisses the Tories from power…Sunday Bottom 5 pollsters “not entirely certain” how Labour could win 63% of the seats with 34% of the vote, which is rich coming from voters in a country with the Electoral College.
3. USA! USA! – The 3-hole staple…With Joe Biden still in the race, America still has the two (2) worst choices ever for president: some too old and the other too ignorant…SB 5 pollsters “pretty sure” chaos will result no matter who wins…If Donald Trump wins, chaos will begin on January 20, 2025…If Joe Biden wins, chaos will begin on Wednesday, November 6 because anyone who thinks Trump will accept a loss is high, legally in more and more states.
4. Bronny James – LeBron’s son is in an impossible position…After one summer league game, he appears to have his dad’s work ethic and is a team player who knows his way around a basketball court…SB5 pollsters have become instant fans, more for being in an impossible situation than anything else.
5. Donald Trump Fact Check – Click here for the latest misinformation, inaccuracies, and lies…Courtesy of the AP.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
Read Free Sunday (RFS) is not happening today. It will run intermittently from now on.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow has a tough morning and a great evening. Today’s Diary.
It was the first time in the ten years we’ve owned The Shire that she wasn’t there when we walked in the door…
———
Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.
Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device.
———
On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1865 – Four conspirators in the April 15 assassination of Abraham Lincoln are executed at the Old Arsenal Penitentiary in Washington, DC. Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, George Atzerodt and others had been convicted on June 30, with the others receiving prison sentences. The assassin, John Wilkes Booth, had been killed on April 25. The Old Arsenal Penitentiary is now known as Fort McNair.
In 1939 – Bobby Riggs wins the Wimbledon championship, defeating Elwood Cooke 2-6, 8-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. It was the first of three Grand Slam titles for Riggs and remains the only Grand Slam singles final for Cooke. The day before he had won the doubles title with Cooke, and the mixed doubles title with women’s singles and doubles champion Alice Marble and though rare, the winning of all three titles in one Wimbledon tournament is far from unprecedented. This was Riggs’ only appearance at Wimbledon, and he remains the only player in Wimbledon history to have never lost a match.
In 1979 – Anita Ward is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the second and final consecutive week with Ring My Bell. The song went to #1 in five other countries, including Norway and Great Britain, was in its fourth of five consecutive weeks at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart, and was their 2nd-biggest soul song and 9th-biggest pop song of the year. It was the first chart single for Ward and only a #87 hit later in the year prevented her from being an ultimate one-hot wonder: an act whose only chart single goes to #1.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
To succeed, they had to be awed by the magnitude of the task and be humbled, not assertive.
Walter Isaacson
An American Life
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The Chicago White Stockings, now the Cubs, hold the record for most runs in an inning, scoring 18 in the seventh inning of a 26-6 win over the Detroit Wolverines on September 6, 1883.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What was Billboard’s #1 soul song of 1979? – Answer next time!
The Daily Dose/Saturday, July 6, 2024
The Daily Dose/July 5, 2024
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience
Leading Off will return.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow has to put the cat down. Today’s Diary.
I told her – and I was really bawling here – that we made the last walk together, kitty, just like we wanted…
———
Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.
Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device.
———
On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1919 – The British dirigible R34 completes the first trans-Atlantic crossing by an airship when it lands in New York. The ship had left East Fortune, Scotland on July 2 and arrived in Long Island after a flight of 108 hours and with only a few gallons of fuel remaining. The R34 was scrapped after crashing into a hillside in January 1921. It was designed for use by the Royal Naval Air Service in World War I, but the war had ended by its first flight.
In 1920 – The New York Yankees establish a new major league record for most runs in the 5th inning in a 17-0 victory over the Washington Senators. The Yankees scored 14 runs, breaking of the record of 13 established by the Chicago Colts – now the Cubs – in 1890 and the record still stands. The Senators committed five errors in the inning and only one of the runs was earned.
In 1974 – The Hues Corporation is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the only week with Rock the Boat. The song also went to #1 in Canada, peaked at #6 in Great Britain, at #2 on Billboard’s soul chart, and was their 43rd-biggest song of the year. It was the second chart single for the group, their first of two Top 40 hits, and remains their only Top 10 hit. The song was only in its fourth week in the Top 40 and moved into the top spot from the #6 position.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
At last I had the authority to give direction over the whole scene. I felt as if I were walking with Destiny, and that all my past life had been but preparation for this hour and this trial.
Winston Churchill
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston were the other members of the committee appointed to write the Declaration of Independence, in addition to John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
Which team holds the record for most runs in an inning? – Answer next time!
The Daily Dose/Friday, July 5, 2024
Your Daily Dose is enjoying a day off. It will return.
Click here for today’s entry in The Diary of a Nobody.