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Shhh, I believe today’s holiday is a huge conspiracy perpetrated by a large Big Sugar Syndication. It’s National Lollipop Day; but don’t go too overboard on the sugary treats. (Last time I checked; it’s about 251 licks.) Demand Euphoria!

July 19, 1965 –The Beatles released the single, Help (B-side I’m Down), ahead of the release of the album of the same name, on this date. The song runs just 2:18, but packs in 267 words, making it one of the most lyrically dense hits of the era. It starts and ends on a vocal,Continue reading “When I was younger …”

July 19, 1986 –Genesis had their first (and only) #1 Hot 100 hit as Invisible Touch went to No. 1 on the Billboard Charts, on this date. The Invisible Touch album marked Genesis‘ complete transformation from complex, theatrical music (starting when Peter Gabriel was lead singer) to condensed pop songs. They lost some fans alongContinue reading “Invisible Touch topped the charts”

July 19, 1941 – MGM released the Hanna/ Barbera cartoon, The Midnight Snack, starring Tom and Jerry, on this date. William Hanna and Joseph Barbera originally had the cat named Jasper and the mouse was Jinx, in 1940’s Puss Gets the Boot cartoon. This is the first cartoon with their names, Tom Cat and JerryContinue reading “The Midnight Snack premiered”

July 19, 1995 –Amy Heckerling’s comic adaptation of Jane Austin’s novel Emma, Clueless, starring Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Paul Rudd, Dan Hedaya, and Brittany Murphy, opened in US theatres on this date. Alicia Silverstone (Cher) actually did not know how to correctly pronounce “Haitians” in the classroom scene. Director Amy Heckerling told the crew notContinue reading “Clueless premiered”

July 19, 1960 –The initial pilot for what would become The Dick Van Dyke Show, Head of the Family, premiered on this date. Carl Reiner has said that he let this pilot sit for about a year after it didn’t sell, and then he showed it to Sheldon Leonard who told him he liked itContinue reading “Head of the Family previewed”

It’s National Daiquiri Day. It’s just about the middle of the summer, so it more than appropriate to celebrate (although it might have been fun to celebrate it on July 11 – see my note on sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia.)

July 18, 1980 –Closer, the second and final album from Joy Division, was released on this date, just two months after the suicide of founding member and singer Ian Curtis. Despite or perhaps because of the tragedy surrounding Joy Division, the band has had an indelible effect on the post-punk music scene, which later morphedContinue reading “Asylums with doors open wide”

July 18, 2008 –Universal Pictures finally released it much planned ABBA jukebox musical, Mamma Mia! starring Christine Baranski, Pierce Brosnan, Dominic Cooper, Colin Firth, Amanda Seyfried, Stellan Skarsgård, Meryl Streep and Julie Walters in the US on this date. Meryl Streep first saw the musical in October 2001 with her daughter Louisa, and her daughter’sContinue reading “I have a dream, a song to sing …”

July 18, 1986 –A Minnesota local news crew, KARE 11’s chopper pilot Max Messmer and photographer Tom Empey, captured unbelievable footage of a tornado moving through the Twin Cities area, on this date. The video, which was shown live during the 5 p.m. news, (which was the first time a tornado was broadcast live inContinue reading “One would have thought this happened earlier”