Bob Keeshan played Clarabell on the Howdy Doody Show. In 1955 CBS offered Keeshan his own children’s show, which became Captain Kangaroo. Captain Kangaroo ran from 1955 to 1984. The show spanned many generations of kids during that time.
Keeshan was Captain Kangaroo and every morning I would look forward to seeing The Captain, Mr. Green Jeans, Bunny Rabbit, Dancing Bear, and Mr. Moose. I knew that Mr. Moose was setting the Captain up for the ritual ping-pong drop on the Captain’s head that never got old.
Mr. Green Jeans (Hugh Brannum) would have different animals at times to show. He also portrayed the Professor, Greeno the Clown, the New Old Folk Singer, and Mr. Bainter on the show.
The Painter was played by Gus “Cosmo” Allegretti who also handled the puppets and Dancing Bear.
One one of my favorite sections was the cartoon “Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings” that would appear on some shows. Simon had a magic blackboard and anything he drew became real.
Mr. Moose could be a slight smart aleck so I did like him. He also hung out with Bunny Rabbit and the Dancing Bear.
Captain Kangaroo’s place with his cast of characters was a nice place to visit as a kid.
The first ever video played on MTV was appropriately Video Killed the Radio Star. The song peaked at #40 in the Billboard 100, #1 in the UK and #6 in Canada in 1979. I’ve always liked this song but it took a few listens. It was written by Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes, and Bruce Woolley.
The Presidents of the United States of America also did a version of this song in 1998 that I like.
Here is a quote from Trevor Horn… “It came from this idea that technology was on the verge of changing everything. Video recorders had just come along, which changed people’s lives. We’d seem people starting to make videos as well, and we were excited by that. It felt like radio was the past and video was the future. The was a shift coming.”
Trevor Horn wrote this after reading a science fiction story about an opera singer in a world without sound (she was rendered obsolete). Said Horn: “Before I started Buggles I was a sort of loser record producer, I spent four years producing records for various people without ever making any money out of it or having any success at all. Mainly I just produced unsuccessful records because I couldn’t seem to lay my hands on a good song. Eventually, I got so fed up doing things that weren’t successful I decided that if I couldn’t find a good artist and a good song then I’d write it myself and become the artist, so I wrote this song called ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ with Bruce Wooley. I know the name’s awful, but at the time it was the era of the great punk thing. I’d got fed up of producing people who were generally idiots but called themselves all sorts of clever names like The Unwanted, The Unwashed, The Unheard… when it came to choosing our name I thought I’d pick the most disgusting name possible. In retrospect, I have frequently regretted calling myself Buggles, but in those days I never really thought much about packaging or selling myself, all that really concerned me was the record.”
This was the first video to air on MTV. The network launched August 1, 1981, and this provided the first evidence that MTV was going to make it.
The song was a big hit in England in 1979, but pretty much unknown in America, where it peaked at #40 in December 1979. When MTV went on the air, it was on only a few cable systems, but record stores in those areas started selling lots of Buggles albums. Radio stations weren’t playing the song and almost no one in the US had heard of the Buggles, so it was clear that MTV was selling records – an early indication of the network’s influence.
Video Killed The Radio Star
I heard you on the wireless back in ’52 Lying awake intently tuning in on you If I was young it didn’t stop you coming through Oh-a-oh
They took the credit for your second symphony Rewritten by machine on new technology And now I understand the problems you can see
Oh-a-oh I met your children Oh-a-oh What did you tell them?
Video killed the radio star Video killed the radio star Pictures came and broke your heart Oh-a-a-a oh
And now we meet in an abandoned studio We hear the playback and it seems so long ago And you remember the jingles used to go:
Oh-a-oh You were the first one Oh-a-oh You were the last one
Video killed the radio star Video killed the radio star In my mind and in my car We can’t rewind, we’ve gone too far Oh-a-a-a oh Oh-a-a-a oh
Video killed the radio star Video killed the radio star In my mind and in my car We can’t rewind, we’ve gone too far Pictures came and broke your heart Put the blame on VTR…
You are the radio star You are the radio star Video killed the radio star Video killed the radio star Video killed the radio star Video killed the radio star You are the radio star Video killed the radio star Video killed the radio star You are the radio star Video killed the radio star Video killed the radio star You are the radio star Video killed the radio star Video killed the radio star You are the radio star
I had this as a kid and would play it at family gatherings at our house. I bought an original one from 1969 from eBay a couple of years ago and still once in a while will play it. It plays like a carnival game. My son didn’t think much of it at first but when he started to play it…he liked it.
The game came out in 1969 by the Ideal Toy Company. The game was designed by Marvin Glass and Associates and created by Hank Kramer, Larry Reiner, and Walter Moe.
They still sell a version of it today.
It’s tic tac toe with bean bags…that about sums it up. Go Go Go for 3 in a row!
Now… please tell me what the little girl says after the dog drops the bag…please
Good song and singer in Patty Smyth. This song made it to #65 in the Billboard 100 in 1982. I would have sworn it made it higher than that. It was played heavily by MTV at the time. Scandal would have a top ten hit in 1984 with The Warrior.
This was written by Scandal guitarist Zack Smith. It’s a breakup song where Patty Smyth sings about moving on from a relationship. Smith wrote most of Scandal’s songs, while Smyth fronted the group, moving on to success as a solo artist and eventually marrying tennis star John McEnroe.
Patty Smyth credits MTV for this song’s success. The song didn’t get much radio airplay, but the video got a lot of spins on MTV. The clip was a typical, low budget, performance video, but Smyth was easy on the eyes and MTV was hankering for American Rock acts, especially females (note Pat Benatar’s early acceptance on the network).
Goodbye to You
Those times I waited for you seem so long ago I wanted you far too much to ever let you go You know I never got by, “I feel it too” And I guess I never could stand to lose It’s such a pity to say
Goodbye to you Goodbye to you
Could I have loved someone like the one I see in you I remember the good times baby now, and the bad times too These last few weeks of holdin’ on The days are dull, the nights are long Guess it’s better to say
Goodbye to you Goodbye to you Goodbye to you Goodbye to you
‘Cause baby it’s over now No need to talk about it It’s not the same My love for you’s just not the same And my heart, and my heart And my heart can’t stand the strain And my love, and my love And my love won’t stand the pain And my heart, and my heart And my heart can’t stand the strain And my love, and my love And my love
Goodbye to you Goodbye to you Goodbye to you Goodbye to you
Now, could I have loved someone like the one I see in you Yeah, I remember the good times baby now, and the bad times too These last few weeks of holdin’ on The days are dull, the nights are long Guess it’s better to say
Goodbye to you Goodbye to you Goodbye to you Goodbye to you
I had a stereo that had a record-able 8-track system built in. I would record straight off the radio to the 8-track and from records. I will add that it could be a miserable format to listen to music. If you had a favorite song that you wanted to hear a couple times in a row…get ready to wait till it came back around and then for the infamous “click” and you would switch tracks…and either wait some more or miss the beginning.
But there is more… you may be listening to a song and suddenly the song fades out for a while because it’s too long for the track and then finally the “click” and it finishes out on the next track.
William Powell Lear, the man behind LearJet, was also the inventor of the 8-track cartridge tape system. In 1964 William Lear convinced Ford to install the 8-track in their cars.
In September 1965, Ford Motor Company offered 8-track players as an option in their 1966 model cars. A Ford spokesperson reported that 65,000 players were installed in the first year. As a result of the popularity, the 8-track player soon became standard in all Ford cars.
In 1966 home units and portable units were offered. Now people could share their tapes with each other. The peak years of the eight-track were 1967 through 1975. Then, improvements in the tape quality of smaller cassettes and decreasing quality in eight-tracks led consumers away from the eight-track tape.
The last official release on 8-track was Fleetwood Mac’s Greatest Hits in 1988. By then though Compact Disc had taken over the market.
I did have quite a collection of official 8-tracks and self-made 8-tracks. I also have an old 8-track system in my closet…hey you never know.
This video is a must. It shows an Eight Track Museum. It is interesting.
I own a couple of lava lamps and I run them quite a bit. I didn’t get my first one until the 80s and I still have it. They do nothing but do their thing…and they create a mood. I have one in my office at work…it helps at times.
The lava lamp was invented in 1963 by Edward Craven Walker. He was passing the time in a pub when he noticed a homemade egg timer crafted from a cocktail shaker filled with alien-looking liquids bubbling on a stove top. Craven Walker’s company was manufacturing millions of “Astro Lamps,” as he called them, per year. In 1965, he sold the U.S. manufacturing rights to a company called Lava Lite.
Lava lamps caught on in the sixties and continued to be big to the late seventies. The sales cooled off until the Austin Power movies and the sales started to pick up again in the hundreds of thousands a year. Now Lava Lite supplies millions of lava lamps to retailers.
Oh, how this toy teased me as a kid. I would start drawing something halfway decent and then I would hit a wall because I would get so close to what I wanted and then make a wrong move…then came the shake part and start all over again. The definition of insanity would be this toy in my hands…but yet I still tried. Some people can do interesting things with it…I’m not one of those people.
In the late 50s French electrical technician André Cassagnes applied his experience with the clinging properties of an electrostatic charge to invent a drawing toy with no spare parts.
The Ohio Art Company took a look at the toy and invested $25,000. It has sold more than 175 million units worldwide since it hit stores on July 12, 1960.
They have new versions of it now with more options.
I’m not a big power ballad lover but this one I liked. I owned this single back in 1981. I also had the album “Nature of the Beast” which it came off of. The song peaked at #21 in the Billboard 100 and #22 in Canada. April Wine was the first Candian band played on MTV.
Through nine lineup changes, April Wine has been going continuously since 1969 up until the present day. The Nature of the Beast represents their commercial peak, selling over one million copies in the US. “Just Between You and Me” was also their greatest-selling single in the US, becoming the band’s defining power ballad. However, their career has spawned 32 hits on the Canadian charts, 21 of those in the top 40. Although they’ve been nominated eleven times for a Juno award, April Wine hasn’t won one yet. They have, however, been inducted into the Canadian Music IndustryHall of Fame, the East Coast Music Hall of Fame, and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, along with being presented with a CMW Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.
Just Between You and Me
Time and time again I see A love that seemed strong Was not meant to be Broken hearts don’t always mend Left too unsure to try love again
But just between you and me Baby I know our love will be Just between you and me Always I know our love will be Just between you and me
Lovers often seem to say Hearts can be blind to love gone astray Always it’s the same old song Someone’s been hurt by love that’s gone wrong
Just between you and me Baby I know our love will be Just between you and me Always I know our love will be Just between you Just between you and me
Words are sometimes hard to find The silence can be so unkind You always help me find my way The love that we share Grows stronger each day
Just between you and me Baby I know our love will be Just between you and me Always I know our love will be Seulement entre toi et moi Means that our love will always be Just between you and me Baby I know our love will be Just between you Just between you and me
One of my favorite toys growing up. To this day I like collecting any vintage lighting fixture like soft drink clocks or signs probably because of this toy. They came with designs that you could use to create different cartoons and clowns but I never used those. I liked to create my own masterpieces.
This toy allowed you to be creative in a very different way. It brought out the artistic side in you. You could design different things and it would light up your room in the dark with colors.
Lite-Brite was invented by Joseph M. Burck, a senior designer at Chicago toy and game design company Marvin Glass and Associates.
Of course…when I got older I would make crude messages on the Lite Brite for friends.
This song was all over the place in 1984. Both the English and German versions were played and I liked the German version better…I thought it just flowed better than the English version. When I heard “Captain Kirk” I knew I liked it.
The German version went to #2 in the Billboard 100. The English version went to #1 in the UK and #1 in Canada.
This was released in Germany, where Nena was from. Their record company had no intention of releasing it in America until a disc jockey at radio station KROQ in Los Angeles found a copy and started playing it. They recorded an English version (the original words are in German, and yes, “Captain Kirk” in German is still “Captain Kirk”) with the title translated as “99 Red Balloons” and released it in the US, where it was a big hit.
Nena’s guitarist, Carlo Karges, got the idea for the song after watching balloons being released at a Rolling Stones concert in West Berlin. He wrote the lyrics and Nena’s keyboard player Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen wrote the music.
Do you have some time to myself
then I sing a song for you
99 balloons
on their way to the horizon
you might think g’rad me
Then I sing a song for you
99 balloons
And this does not come from something like
99 balloons
on their way to the horizon was
thought to be for space-based UFOs So
a General
‘Ne squadron sent an
alert after that if that were the case.
There were
only 99 air balloons
99 jet aviators
Everyone was a great warrior considered
themselves Captain Kirk
Es gave a big fireworks
The neighbors have not gathered
And you felt the same turned on
It shot on the horizon
On 99 Balloons
99 Minister of War
Match and jerry Can
for the clever people
Witterten already fat loot
Riefen, war and power
man, who would have thought
That it comes once
Because of 99 Balloons
Because 99 Balloons
99 balloons
99 years of war left
no room for victors
war minister’s no more
And no jet planes
Today I pull my laps
See the world in ruins
Have found a balloon
think of you and let him fly
Ninety-Nine Red Balloons
You and I in a little toy shop Buy a bag of balloons with the money we’ve got Set them free at the break of dawn ‘Til one by one they were gone Back at base bugs in the software Flash the message: “something’s out there!” Floating in the summer sky Ninety-nine red balloons go by
Ninety-nine red balloons Floating in the summer sky Panic bells, it’s red alert There’s something here from somewhere else The war machine springs to life Opens up one eager eye Focusing it on the sky Where ninety-nine red balloons go by
Ninety-nine Decision Street Ninety-nine ministers meet To worry, worry, super scurry Call the troops out in a hurry This is what we’ve waited for This is it, boys, this is war The president is on the line As ninety-nine red balloons go by
Ninety-nine knights of the air Ride super high-tech jet fighters Everyone’s a Super Hero Everyone’s a Captain Kirk With orders to identify To clarify and classify Scramble in the summer sky Ninety-nine red balloons go by
As ninety-nine red balloons go by
Ninety-nine dreams I have had In every one a red balloon It’s all over and I’m standing pretty In this dust that was a city If I could find a souvenir Just to prove the world was here And here is a red balloon I think of you, and let it go
People seem to have really liked Tom Snyder or really disliked him. I’ve watched many of Tom’s interviews and he is quirky and quick to laugh (and laugh) at his own jokes but many of his interviews are remembered. The show lasted from 1973 to 1982. It was canceled to make room for David Letterman.
This was no Tonight Show. You didn’t see skits or monologues, you only saw Tom interviewing his guests and joking with his off-camera assistants. He wasn’t hip nor was he completely square. Someone called him at the time a hip square. It was just him and his guest on a dark set.
I liked Tom because he seemed real and genuine. He could laugh at himself and conducted some really good interviews. After this show ended he did a radio show out of Los Angeles, a few tv guest appearances and he guest hosted the David Letterman Show a few times.
David Letter quote
“Tom was the very thing that all broadcasters long to be — compelling,” “Whether he was interviewing politicians, authors, actors or musicians, Tom was always the real reason to watch. I’m honored to have known him as a colleague and a friend.”
One of the many SNL skits I liked was Dan Aykroyd imitating Tom Snyder…this is Aykroyd as Tom interviewing Mick Jagger.
The John Lennon interview in 1975. This would be the last TV interview he gave. John is battling his immigration status and has his lawyer Leon Wildes with him to explain what is going on. John comes off open and honest in this interview.
The Saturday Night Live cast before the first show. This is a partial look at the interview.
This is one a good one. Tom has KISS as guests and I just love how a drunk Ace Frehley (The Trout Player) takes over the interview and infuriates Gene Simmons. You can see Gene’s eyes shooting daggers at Ace and Peter.
This was a very enjoyable song by Dexy’s Midnight Runners. It was very different than what was on the radio at the time. It was released in 1982 and peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #1 in the UK Charts, and #2 in Canada. The song was written by lead singer Kevin Rowland.
I really thought this band would score another hit but they ended up a one hit wonder…one thing that didn’t help was when they were opening up for David Bowie in France, Kevin Rowland called Bowie a bad copy of Bryan Ferry and later he told the British press: “We only agreed to the show because France is an important market for us – not because I have any respect for Bowie”… Not a smart thing to do.
This song is based on a true story. Eileen was a girl that Kevin Rowland grew up with. Their relationship became romantic when the pair were 13, and according to Rowland, it turned sexual a year or two later.
Rowland was raised Catholic and served as an altar boy in church. Sex was a taboo subject, and considered “dirty” – something that fascinated him. When he wrote this song, Rowland was expressing the feelings of that adolescent enjoying his first sexual relationship and dreaming of being free from the strictures of a buttoned-down society:
You in that dress
My thoughts I confess
Verge on dirty
The song describes the thin line between love and lust.
“Come On Eileen”
Come on Eileen
Come on Eileen
Poor old Johnnie Ray Sounded sad upon the radio But he moved a million hearts in mono Our mothers cried Sang along Who’d blame them?
You’ve grown (you’re grown up) So grown (so grown up). Now I must say more than ever
Come on Eileen
Too-ra-loo-ra, too-ra-loo-rye, aye And we can sing just like our fathers
Come on Eileen Oh, I swear (what he means) At this moment you mean everything You in that dress My thoughts I confess Verge on dirty Oh, come on Eileen
Come on Eileen
These people ’round here Wear beaten-down eyes sunk in smoke-dried faces They’re so resigned to what their fate is
But not us (no, never) No, not us (no, never) We are far too young and clever Remember
Too-ra-loo-ra, too-ra-loo-rye, aye Eileen I’ll hum this tune forever
Come on Eileen Oh, I swear what (what he means) Ah, come on let’s take off everything Pretty red dress Eileen (tell him yes) Ah, come on let’s Ah, come on Eileen
Pretty red dress Eileen (tell him yes) Ah, come on let’s Ah, come on Eileen, please
Come on Eileen, too-loo-rye-aye Come on Eileen, too-loo-rye-aye Now you’re all grown Now you have shown Oh, Eileen
Say, come on Eileen These things they are real And I know how you feel Now I must say more than ever Things ’round here have changed
I say, too-ra-loo-ra, too-ra-loo-rye-aye
Come on Eileen Oh, I swear (what he means) At this moment you mean everything You in that dress, My thoughts I confess Verge on dirty Ah, come on Eileen
Ah, come on Eileen Oh, I swear (what he means) At this moment you mean everything You in that dress, My thoughts I confess Well, they’re dirty Come on Eileen
I bought this single right after it was released in 1981. The song was written by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon. Jackie did a version of this in 1974. Kim Carnes was not a one-hit wonder…she had 3 top ten hits but this one was huge going to number 1 for nine straight weeks.
I would love to hear a duet between her and Rod Stewart…or Bonnie Tyler.
This is a cool fact about this song from songfacts.
After this song became a hit single, Bette Davis wrote letters to Kim Carnes and the songwriters to say she was a fan of the song and thank them for making her “a part of modern history.” One of the reasons the legendary actress loved the song is that her granddaughter thought her grandmother was “cool” for having a hit song written about her.
Bette Davis Eyes
Her hair is Harlow gold Her lips are sweet surprise Her hands are never cold She got Bette Davis eyes She’ll turn the music on you You won’t have to think twice She’s pure as New York snow She got Bette Davis eyes
And she’ll tease you, she’ll unease you All the better just to please you She’s precocious, and she knows just What it takes to make a pro blush She got Greta Garbo’s standoff sighs, she’s got Bette Davis eyes
She’ll let you take her home It whets her appetite She’ll lay you on the throne She got Bette Davis eyes She’ll take a tumble on you Roll you like you were dice Until you come out blue She’s got Bette Davis eyes
She’ll expose you, when she snows you Off your feet with the crumbs she throws you She’s ferocious and she knows just What it takes to make a pro blush All the boys think she’s a spy, she’s got Bette Davis eyes
She’ll tease you, she’ll unease you All the better just to please you She’s precocious, and she knows just What it takes to make a pro blush All the boys think she’s a spy, she’s got Bette Davis eyes
She’ll tease you She’ll unease you Just to please you She’s got Bette Davis eyes She’ll expose you When she snows you ‘Cause she knows you, she’s got Bette Davis Eyes
This is an autobiography of Al Kooper. Al has worked with many people in the music industry. He was a songwriter, musician, producer, A&R man and everything in between.
His book is well written and Al uses humor all the way through.
A few of his career highlights are helping to form Blood, Sweat, and Tears, playing the organ on “Like a Rolling Stone” (although he didn’t know how to really play organ), organized the Super Sessions with Stephen Stills and Mike Bloomfield, found and signed a band while in Atlanta named Lynyrd Skynyrd. While in Atlanta he started a record label called “Sounds of the South” in conjunction with MCA records.
He goes over working with Lynyrd Skynyrd and how their first three albums were recorded and why they parted company. Another band that he signed was Mose Jones who was going to be his Beatles type group to counterpoint the Lynyrd Skynyrd Stones sound for his label. Mose Jones ended up being ignored my MCA.
There is so much musical history this man was involved in…he makes light of getting called Alice Cooper on many occasions.
In Al Kooper’s words
Let’s clear the air.
This is not a book by or about Vincent Furnier (né Alice Cooper.) It is a book by and about Al Kooper. If you don’t know who Al Kooper is, that’s fine. But don’t let that stop you from perusing these eye-opening accounts of encounters with Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Gene Pitney, The Royal Teens, Bill Graham, Quincy Jones, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Mike Bloomfield, The Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, George Harrison, Miles Davis, The Tubes, Nils Lofgren, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and all the other wonderful people I’ve been fortunate enough to cross paths with over the last forty years.
What was really interesting to me is he shared the same manager (Stan Polley) as Badfinger and was able to get out of his clutches with at least some of his money intact. I picked the book up cheap and I really have enjoyed it. I would recommend this to music fans. Many funny stories and he is such a talented musician.
Another quote from Kooper on the Like A Rolling Stone Session… Tom Wilson was the producer who knew Kooper didn’t normally play the organ.
Thirty seconds into the second verse of the playback, Dylan motioned toward Tom Wilson. “Turn the organ up,” he ordered. “Hey, man,” Tom said, “that cat’s not an organ player.” Thanks, Tom. But Dylan wasn’t buying it: “Hey, now don’t tell me who’s an organ player and who’s not. Just turn the organ up.” He actually liked what he heard!
Al Kooper and Bob Dylan
George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Barbara Bach, and Al Kooper
My cousin Mark won tickets in 1983 on the radio to a show called Beatlemania. He called me up because he knew I was a huge Beatles fan and wanted to know if I wanted to go with him…well yes.
I was excited but I had no clue about what to expect. In the back of my mind, I thought they would cover 1964 and maybe the early part of 1965…nothing but the early period. I only had read about this show a little in the past where the Beatles took Beatlemania to court… Never read on how good or bad it was…
We got there and went to the lobby before the show. The actual band was in the lobby talking to some people. We went over to get something to drink and I heard a couple of people talking “hey they are going to try Lady Madonna tonight for the first time”, that surprised me. That is the second I started to get really excited about the show…I thought hmmm they might play more than just the early songs. The Beatles stopped touring after 1966 and so many of the songs from and after Revolver were never played live.
They came out in the suits and started off with Twist and Shout and sounded really good. Those early songs work well live.
After playing several songs an intermission was announced. They came back out dressed in Sgt Pepper outfits and started to play Sgt Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour songs. I kept thinking that these songs could not have been pulled off in the era they were released in live. I didn’t think I would ever hear these songs live…if I closed my eyes a little…it was as close to the real thing as I could get.
Another intermission and out they came dressed like the Abbey Road period and covered songs from the White Album, Let It Be, and Abbey Road.
To hear these songs live was incredible. They were very good musicians and did a good job emulating the Beatles. I’ve since seen other Beatle cover bands in Disneyworld and Opryland and they have been decent…but never as good as this show.
It’s odd giving a review of a show that happened 35 years ago but it was really enjoyable. In 2010 I saw Paul McCartney do many of the songs live that I had not heard since that night in 1983…but this time I didn’t have to pretend as much. The giant sound McCartney had was better than I ever could expect.
But as a 16-year-old Beatle fan on September 13, 1983, these pretend Beatles were a great experience.
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PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 