Author Archives: dcaligari

August 30, 1941 – The Merrie Melodies short, Snow Time for Comedy, directed by Chuck Jones, was released on this date. A rare short for the studio with no dialogue

August 30, 1952 – The Looney Tunes short, A Bird in a Guilty Cage, directed by Friz Freleng and starring Tweety Bird and Sylvester the Cat, was released on this date. One of the few times Tweety is actually shown flying, if only for a brief moment.

August 30, 1968 –Columbia Records released the sixth studio album of The Byrds, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, on this date. The first major album widely recognized as country rock, it represented a turning point for the 1970s country rock movement, which influenced the outlaw country and new traditionalist movements.

August 30, 1968 –Apple Records released its first single, Hey Jude by The Beatles on this date. This was the Beatles longest single, running 7:11, and at the time was the longest song ever released as a single. It was the first long song to get a lot of airplay, as radio stations still preferredContinue reading “Na na na nananana, nannana,”

August 29, 1967 – ABC’s television ratings soared through the roof as David Janssen and Barry Morse starred in the final episode of The Fugitive on this date. This was the first series to feature a “final episode” in which all the plot lines were resolved, and all questions answered.

August 29, 1964 –Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins opened in general release on this date. This is first movie I ever saw (but not on this date.) Walt Disney cast Julie Andrews for the lead after seeing her in Camelot on Broadway. When she mentioned she was pregnant, he offered to wait until she had herContinue reading “Mary Poppins floats in for the first time”

August 29, 1936 – The Merrie Melodies short, At Your Service Madame, directed by Friz Freleng, was released on this date. Although they’re seated at a conventional dining table, the pig family is daintily eating from troughs.

August 29, 1953 – Warner Brothers introduced Speedy Gonzalez in the cartoon Cat-Tails for Two on this date. While this is the first cartoon featuring the character Speedy Gonzales, his depiction here is vastly different from the character he would later become. It wasn’t until his second appearance, Speedy Gonzales (two years later,) that heContinue reading “Cat-Tails for Two debuted”

August 29, 1981 –ELO’s album, Time, went to No. 1 on the U.K. charts on this date. It was their second album to do so. There is a backward message on the Time album. Actually, it’s on the interlude between Twilight and Yours Truly, 2095, but on the Time CD it’s attached to Twilight fromContinue reading “Time topped the charts”

August 29, 1986 –BBC1-TV aired a Paul McCartney special, McCartney for the first time, on this date. Originally conceived as a long-form promotional piece for the Wings album, Press to Play, the BBC staffer (Richard Skinner) persuades Paul McCartney to talk about much more, including one of the more in-depth interviews about Wings.