James Stewart’s Seventy-Sixth Film: Monday, 4th April, 1977

The doctor prodded my stomach and took my blood pressure. Then, having listened to my late mother’s case history, decided to book me in for a blood test tomorrow and, as an extra precaution, an electrocardiograph.

Hollywood actor, James Stewart, is interviewed on “Willesee”, this evening, from seven o’clock. He is out here to promote his seventy-sixth film, “Airport ’77”. His son was killed while fighting in the Vietnamese War.

Today’s weather was almost a carbon copy of yesterday’s, which included the same maximum temperature.

“With A Husband Like That…!”: Tuesday, 5th April, 1977

I was not allowed to partake of any breakfast for I was scheduled to have a blood test at half past ten. The doctor has asked me to ring on Thursday morning, in order to receive my results.

Whilst I was at the clinic my heart was scrutinised via an electrocardiograph. The doctor found it difficult to get the suction cups to adhere to my hairy chest. He was able to tell me that the graph of my heartbeat showed no irregularities.

I arrived at Tiki’s place of work to give her a lift home and found that she was being pestered by a member of the staff, in the office in which she works. He gave me some unsolicited advice on how one should beat one’s wife, by stating that a husband should use a telephone directory and/or a length of rubber hose, in order to minimise the bruising.

The American comedy series, “Good Times”, at half past seven, gave way to a changing of channels and “Holiday”, from eight. This evening’s edition takes the viewer to Vila, in the New Hebrides, before examining a journey across the southern part of Australia on the Indian-Pacific Railway, before, lastly, exploring the options should one wish to plan ahead to visit this year’s Melbourne Cup.

Bill Doggett

The era that was rock and roll did not have to wait for long before the emergence of its first truly outstanding instrumental. It arrived in the form of “Honky Tonk (Parts 1 & 2)”.

William Ballard Doggett was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in February of 1916. His mother was a pianist and it was she who introduced him to the piano.

Bill Doggett’s career included stints with Lucky Millinder and his Orchestra, The Ink Spots and the 1940s’ most popular exponent of rhythm and blues, Louis Jordan. It was whilst playing with Louis’ backing group, The Tympany Five, that Bill was introduced to playing the Hammond organ.

Bill formed his own trio, in 1951, and was signed to record for King Records. Nevertheless, it took him until 1956 to find gold. “Honky Tonk (Parts 1 & 2)” had been co-written by Bill and guitarist, Billy Butler. The recording, which features saxophonist, Clifford Scott, rightfully created such an impression that it topped Billboard’s rhythm and blues chart for thirteen consecutive weeks, while on the pop chart it spent three weeks at its peak of No.2.

http://youtu.be/StNiPBC8GxQ

“Honky Tonk (Parts 1 & 2)” has since been revived by the likes of The Ventures and George Thorogood and The Destroyers. Among Bill’s other successful recordings are “Slow Walk” (1956), “Ram-Bunk-Shush” (1957), “Soft” (1957) and “Hold It” (1958).

http://youtu.be/ZLlmpqw8At4

Bill Doggett left us in November of 1996.

Needless to say, I have added “Honky Tonk (Parts 1 & 2)” to my list of favourite recordings. This can be found in the suggested playlists.

Sue Thompson

Eva Sue McKee was born in July of 1925 (or 1926 — I’ve seen both years quoted), in Nevada, Missouri (or Mississippi). Nevertheless, she was raised in San Jose, California. As Sue Thompson, she was to record as both a pop and country artist.

Sue performed on the radio station, KGO, in San Francisco, while still in her teens. Although she procured a contract to record as early as 1950, it would be more than a decade before her recordings would enter the charts.

In the meantime, Sue appeared on television in the country series, ‘Hometown Hayride’, and, by the late 1950s, had joined the Grand Ole Opry, in Nashville. There she worked with the highly popular Red Foley.

I state in ‘About Me’ of how I really admire songwriters who can tell a story in two or three minutes. It was one such recording that really launched Sue Thompson’s career. “Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)”, written by the prolific John D. Loudermilk, rose to No.5 on Billboard’s pop chart, in 1961.

http://youtu.be/AVvP1alR4j4

“Norman”, recorded towards the end of that year, was to become Sue’s largest success, in her homeland,when it rose to two places higher than her initial release.

http://youtu.be/tEDpp7PSp40

http://youtu.be/aqjluvKXi-k

Further hits followed, also written by John D. Loudermilk. These included “James (Hold The Ladder Steady)”, in 1962, and “Paper Tiger”, in 1965.

http://youtu.be/2fNk5tNh8rA

In Australia, all four of the aforementioned releases reached the Top 10. While “Paper Tiger” reached No.2, “Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)” proved to be her largest hit because it remained in the Top 40 for eighteen weeks, having peaked at No.3.

http://youtu.be/CPvoaHYpueQ

A hiatus of six years was to ensue before Sue Thompson would again appear on the charts, however, this time it was to be as a country artist. Not only did Sue record country music as a solo performer, in the 1970s, she also had nine entries that were recorded in duet with the famed singer, songwriter Don Gibson.

“Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)” appears on the list of my favourite recordings, which can be found in the suggested playlists.

 

Bald Eagle In Peril: Thursday, 7th April, 1977

It has been a hot and humid day with a maximum temperature of twenty-eight degrees Celsius. This was followed by rain from half past three.

This evening, from half past seven, we watched an English documentary on the American bald eagle and whether the species can actually survive.

We retired to bed after having viewed “Policewoman” from half past eight.

John Travolta’s Tragic Loss: Good Friday, 8th April, 1977

Sydney’s maximum temperature was nine degrees Celsius cooler than yesterday’s.

I read articles from “The Bulletin” magazine as I watched the film, “Smoky”, that was produced in 1966. One such article centred upon South Australian racehorse trainer, Colin Hayes, and his impressive training establishment, Lindsay Park, while another is on what is viewed to be ‘Russia’s African Gunboat Diplomacy’.

“Smoky” is about a horse of that name and was screened on television here only last year. It stars Fess “Davy Crockett”/”Daniel Boone” Parker and Diana Hyland. Diana passed away a fortnight ago from breast cancer, at the age of forty-one. She reportedly died in the arms of her lover, actor John Travolta, who was eighteen years her junior. The pair had met, last year, on the set of “The Boy In The Plastic Bubble”, a movie made for television.

“Good Times”, a film which is a year younger than “Smoky” and was also shown last year, features Sonny and Cher and the veteran actor, George Sanders, who was born in Russia to English parents. George committed suicide in Barcelona, Spain, in April of 1972, at the age of sixty-five.

Tiki joined me and, from half past two, we watched a thoroughly entertaining film, “The Jokers”. It bears the copyright of 1966 and features Michael “Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em” Crawford and Oliver Reed cast as brothers, who plan to steal the Crown Jewels.

We finally decided to get out of the house and drove to Brighton-le-Sands, in a chill wind, where I talked a young fellow out of charging us twenty cents just to walk around the promenade at the Brighton Baths.

At half past seven, actor Garry McDonald’s alter ego, Norman Gunston, performs “Peter And The Wolf”, backed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. This is followed by a documentary about British youths who hike on the icy mountains of Norway and Sweden.

“Perry Como’s Hawaiian Holiday” screens from half past eight and has as its guest the English songstress, Petula Clark.

 

The 1910 Fruitgum Co.

The catchy, childlike pop songs that emanated from the studios of Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz, in New York City, between 1967 and 1969, were dubbed bubblegum music.

Principal exponents of this sound included The Lemon Pipers and Ohio Express, both of whom emerged from the state after which the latter was named, and The 1910 Fruitgum Co., from New Jersey.

The 1910 Fruitgum Co. had as its leading singer, Mark Gutkowski. His boyish voice suited the songs, which the band came to record.

Officially, the group was comprised of Mark Gutkowski on vocals and the organ; Frank Jeckell, vocals and rhythm guitar; Floyd Marcus, vocals and drums; Steve Mortkowitz, on bass; and Pat Karwan, on vocals and leading guitar. Nonetheless, replacements were always in the wings and as these were often used, just who played what on which recordings appears blurred.

Placing to one side the actual composition of the group, there is no denying that its relatively short career produced recordings that the young, and young at heart, thoroughly enjoyed.

“Simon Says”, so obviously based upon the children’s game, swiftly brought the group international fame, in 1968, when it reached No.5 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart; as well as, for example, No.2, in Britain, and No.12 in Australia. The recording’s success in Great Britain was to also mark the band’s last there.

Seven months after the release of its initial hit, The 1910 Fruitgum Co. had another on hand this time in the form of “1, 2, 3, Red Light”, which peaked at No.5 in both America and Australia. “Goody Goody Gumdrops” faired considerably better in Australia (No.13) than in America (No. 37).

http://youtu.be/u8bQ6sI44HQ

http://youtu.be/uuBBCyLQIFI

The new year came and with it, one last major success, “Indian Giver”. It ascended to No.5 in the United States and No.9, in Australia. I particularly like the intergration of the tom-toms in this cleverly written recording, which, emulated the group’s previous two major successes by managing to sell in excess of a million copies. “Indian Giver” was covered by The Ramones in the 1980s.

http://youtu.be/oWBiVmOJIyM

http://youtu.be/hfuJnyKkO2o

In all, seven of the quintet’s singles entered the charts while five albums were released in its name.

Expectant Princess Anne: Easter Saturday, 9th April, 1977

It has been announced that Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips are expecting their first child. The royal couple was married on 14th of November (Prince Charles’s birthday), in 1973.

A howling chill wind blew as I mowed the lawns this morning. Despite this, Sydney’s maximum temperature still reached twenty degrees Celsius.

We drove into town to see Clint Eastwood in “Enforcer”, only to arrive and find that it was not being screened. In lieu of this I regrettably stood in a queue of about fifty patrons to buy tickets to view the recent recipient of four Academy Awards, “Network”.

In spite of its reputation, we found the highlight on the programme to be the short film on skateboarding, in which enthusiasts can be seen riding up the sides of empty swimming pools. “Network” is riddled with swearing, verbosity and periods of prolonged boredom.

Cronulla-Sutherland defeated North Sydney by twelve points to seven, at North Sydney Oval. “Just Ideal”, a 33/1 outsider, won the Doncaster Handicap at Randwick, and the odds-on favourite, “Balmerino” ($0.35 and $0.30 on the N.S.W. T.A.B.) the Autumn Stakes.

From 6.30 p.m., we watched the series, “Swiss Family Robinson”. It is followed, at half past seven, by “Baa Baa Black Sheep”.