Author Archives: dcaligari

January 5, 1973 –Produced by Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos, Bruce Springsteen’s debut album, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., was released on this date, but sold just 25,000 copies in its first year. After eight years playing in bars where audiences usually didn’t listen to or couldn’t hear the words, Springsteen used his first albumContinue reading “Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. hit the stores”

January 4, 1965 –During his State of the Union address, President Lyndon B. Johnson outlined his plans for the “Great Society” on this date. President Johnson had introduced his vision of a Great Society in a May 22, 1964 speech: “The great society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end toContinue reading “Bunkies, the government used to get things done”

January 4, 1975 –Elton John cover of the Lennon – McCartney song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds reached the No. #1 spot on the Billboard Charts on this date. The “Lucy” who inspired this song was Lucy O’Donnell (later Lucy Vodden), who was a classmate of John Lennon’s son Julian when he was enrolledContinue reading “Elton John topped the charts (again)”

January 4, 1969 –Jimi Hendrix was banned from the BBC after going off-script when he and his band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, appear on the show Happening for Lulu, hosted by the singer Lulu. Rather than sing a duet with Lulu, Hendrix and the band launched into an unplanned tribute to the recently disbanded CreamContinue reading “Jimi Hendrix made an oopsy on the BBC”

It is the penultimate day of Christmas. Today’s gift count (286): you currently have 11 pipers piping, 20 hyperactive effete British gentlemen, knocking furniture over, 27 Pole dancers (draw the shades, the neighborhood kids are staring into your windows), 32 organized dairy workers striking for better working conditions, 35 Swans making a racket, befouling yourContinue reading “The commotion is beginning to resemble a Roman orgy”

Today is National Trivia Day. It is observed across the United States each year on January 4. We observe trivia day, everyday here. Most Muppets are left-handed! That’s because the puppeteers who help the soft cloth heroes act in TV shows and films use their dominant hand, which is in most cases their right, toContinue reading “I trawl the outer banks of the intraweb for trivia.”

January 4, 1957 – The sitcom based on the comic strip, Blondie, starring Arthur Lake and Pamela Britten premiered on NBC TV on this date. The popular movie series (28 in all) seemed like a shoe-in for a TV series. Unfortunately, when they made the series about a decade later, it only lasted a singleContinue reading “Blondie premiered”

January 4, 1958 – The TV series, Sea Hunt, starring Lloyd Bridges premiered, in syndication on this date. Lloyd Bridges decided to leave the show after four seasons because the producers wanted to emphasize cops-and-robbers plots, while he wanted to focus more on environmental themes.

January 3, 2000 –The last daily Peanuts strip ran on this date. The comic strip, which centered around the iconic Charlie Brown, his dog Snoopy, and their friends, had been running since 1950. Almost 20,000 strips were published in total, not to mention the musicals, movies, and television specials that featured the Peanuts gang. DemandContinue reading “The Peanuts for the last time”

January 3, 1964 –A month before The Beatles make their iconic live debut in the US on the Ed Sullivan Show, Americans get their first look at the Fab Four when Jack Paar shows a film clip of the band performing She Loves You on his TV show. In the fall of 1963, TV hostContinue reading “First US peek at The Beatles”