Death Of Peter Finch: Saturday, 15th January, 1977

Actor, Peter Finch, died this morning, from a heart attack, in Los Angeles. He was sixty years of age. The Australian actor was born in London, England. Films in which he played a major role include “A Town Like Alice” (1956), “The Shiralee” (1957),”The Pumpkin Eater” (1964), “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (1971) and “Network” (1976).

On the pop music programme, “Sounds Unlimited”, on ATN Channel Seven, this morning, Cliff Richard was seen to sing his latest release, “I Can’t Ask For Anymore Than You”.

At stumps in the Third Test, Pakistan is 5-281 in reply to Australia’s two hundred and eleven.

Australian Batsmen Capitulate, Again: Sunday, 16th January, 1977

This morning is heavily overcast and humid. A copy of today’s “The Sun-Herald” cost fifteen cents.

Pakistan was dismissed in the last over before lunch for 360, after Asif Iqbal had top scored with 120. Australia has collapsed to be 9-180 at stumps (Rodney Marsh, 41; Doug Walters, 38), and holds a lead of just thirty-one runs.

From 7.30p.m., on ATN Channel Seven, “This Is Your Life” is examining that of the elderly comedian, Reg Quartley. Because of a stroke, Reg walks with the aid of a walking stick.

Expensive Stay: Monday, 17th January, 1977

It has been a warm night with the temperature not falling below twenty-four degrees Celsius. Today’s maximum was thirty-three.

For a stay of one and a half hours in the new car park at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in town, we were charged $1.60. At Epping, I bought a bottle of red Kaiser Stuhl ‘Cold Duck’ for $1.50.

Neil Sedaka

Not only did Neil Sedaka write or co-write most of his own songs, he also wrote hits for other artists. Neil wrote his first piece of music, in Brooklyn, New York City, at the age of thirteen, in 1952, in collaboration with his next-door neighbour, Howard Greenfield.

Neil, who was a student of the classical piano, joined the group, The Tokens, but left it long before it benefitted from its large, instantly recognisable hit, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”; a revised version of The Weavers’ hit of 1952, “Wimoweh”. Among the artists who recorded songs written by Neil and Howard were The Clovers, Connie Francis, LaVern Baker, Clyde McPhatter, The 5th Dimension, The Captain and Tennille, and Tony Christie.

http://youtu.be/pCBFHj3mRmU

Neil’s personal recording career was doing well until the British Invasion swept the global charts, ending many artists’ careers. It was to be countries such as Australia that were to support his recordings over this long lean period. In Australia, his release of 1968, “Star-Crossed Lovers” went to No.1; followed, in 1970, by “Wheeling, West Virginia” (No.9) and “Standing On The Inside” (No.10), in 1973. Neil actually recorded “Wheeling, West Virginia” during one of his many visits to the land ‘Down Under’.

http://youtu.be/DULHFltFIdk

It was to be 1974 before Neil Sedaka would again have a No.1 hit in his home country. This came in the form of “Laughter In The Rain”. Nineteen seventy-five was also an excellent year, as The Captain and Tennille took “Love Will Keep Us Together” to No.1 and Neil’s recording of “Bad Blood” did likewise. A slow version of his No.1 from 1962, “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do”, ended the year off nicely for him by also entering the Top 10 in America.

The names of more recordings by Neil Sedaka can be found in the suggested playlists. Whilst there, why not look at the list of my favourite recordings? I shall be adding to it from time to time.

Wilson Pickett

Wilson Pickett’s voice epitomised soul. A voice honed in travelling gospel groups; a voice that would cultivate what became known as the Scream.

Wilson was born in rural Alabama, in March of 1941. He was the fourth of eleven children whose future was totally dependant upon the crop, cotton.

In 1955, Wilson Pickett moved to Detroit where he lived with his father. It was there that he met the group, The Falcons, which contained Eddie Floyd among its members. Eddie was to write and record “Knock On Wood”, in 1966, the same song that Amii Stewart was to take to the top of the charts, in 1979, at the height of the disco era.

The Falcons modelled itself upon Hank Ballard and The Midnighters. Hank Ballard was to pen and record “The Twist”, in 1959, which, in 1960, Chubby Checker covered, and, in doing so, launched an international dance sensation.

“You’re So Fine” and “I Found A Love” were hits for The Falcons but Wilson was already aiming to become a solo artist. This aim, he thought, would come to fruition when he was signed to Atlantic Records, however, things did not work out, and it was not until 1965 when he moved to Memphis, to record in the Stax studio, that his goal began to take shape. “In The Midnight Hour” and “634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)” were among the tracks recorded there.

That following year, Wilson began recording in the famed Muscle Shoals studios, in Alabama. “Land Of 1000 Dances” topped the soul charts and rose to No.6 on the pop charts.

http://youtu.be/Kk4Uwge4DzQ

Wilson Pickett became an inductee into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, in 1991. His career received another boost from the film, ‘The Commitments’, in which he was viewed as the personification of soul. The film and its subsequent soundtrack introduced a new generation to songs such as “Mustang Sally”.

http://youtu.be/My2apquxKKQ

Wilson died from cardiac arrest in January of 2006, at the age of sixty-four.

The names of more recordings by Wilson Pickett can be found in the suggested playlists. While there, you may like to peruse the list of my favourite recordings. I shall be adding to it from time to time.

Bobby Rydell

Robert Louis Ridarelli was born in Philadelphia, in April of 1942. He wanted to be an entertainer from an early age and took to playing the drums, having become a fan of Gene Krupa, a legendary drummer in the era of jazz. In fact, it was an early pioneer of jazz, orchestra leader Paul Whiteman, who first noticed his potential.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09J1iEAWcsg

Nevertheless, it was as a singer, and bearing the new name of Bobby Rydell, that ‘Robert’ was to make his mark. At a time when teenage heart-throbs were selected as much for their looks, as their ability to sing, Bobby began a long series of entries to the charts, in 1959, that was to last until the middle of the 1960s. He would appear quite regularly on Dick Clark’s televised dance show, ‘American Bandstand’, and was to make his debut in a major film when he appeared as Hugo Peabody in ‘Bye Bye Birdie’, the musical which stars Ann-Margret.

Bobby’s last sizeable hit was “Forget Him”, which was written by Briton Tony Hatch. Ironically, it was the British Invasion, led by The Beatles, that was to bring an end to the recording careers of many American artists, and Bobby Rydell’s was no exception.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IKpA__9kTU

When the producers of the overwhelmingly popular musical, ‘Grease’, wanted to pay tribute to the era of the clean-cut teenage idol, they named the high school, in the film, after none other than Bobby Rydell.

The titles of more hits by Bobby Rydell can be located in the suggested playlists. Whilst there, why don’t you peruse the list of my favourite recordings? I shall be adding to it from time to time.

Rosemary Clooney

In the first half of the 1950s Rosemary Clooney vied for popularity with such other leading female recording artists as Doris Day, Patti Page, Jo Stafford, Kay Starr and Peggy Lee. Rosemary had been born in Kentucky in May of 1928. By the time she was fifteen her parents had separated and she and her mother opted to live in California.

Although Rosemary had been recording on the Columbia label since 1946, her career as a solo artist did not really materialise until “Come On-A My House” spent eight weeks atop the American charts, in 1951. Similarly successful hits followed. These included “Half As Much”(1952), “Botch-A-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccina)”(1952), “Hey There”(1954), “This Ole House”(1954) — revived by the Welsh rocker, Shakin’ Stevens, in 1981 — and “Mambo Italiano”.

“Mambo Italiano”, written by the prolific Bob Merrill, has been covered by numerous artists over the years. One of the later versions is by Lady Gaga. Madonna performs “Come On A-My House” to her ‘master’ whilst they are marooned onĀ  an island in ‘Swept Away’, a film produced in 2002. A modernised version of the song also accompanies the ‘Girls Of The Playboy Mansion’ television series.

Rosemary also tasted success with “Too Old To Cut The Mustard”, a duet recorded, in 1952, with Marlene Dietrich. In 1954, she appeared in the film, “White Christmas”, with Bing Crosby,who had had the smash single of the same name twelve years earlier.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KwqTBFBvVA

Rosemary, while she continued to record and perform, became increasingly dependant upon pills. Nevertheless, it was to be lung cancer that eventually claimed her life, in June of 2002, at the age of seventy-four.

The names of Rosemary Clooney’s other hits can be located in the suggested playlists. While you are there, you may care to peruse the list of my favourite recordings. I will be adding more to it from time to time.