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July 4, 1970 –Casey Kasem’s American Top 40debuts on station KDEO in El Cajon/San Diego, California on this date. The concept of playing the 40 most popular songs from a national chart was a new one, and no one was sure of the success of the show at the time.

July 4, 1966 –The Beatles played two shows at Rizal Memorial Football Stadium, Manila, in the Philippines to over 80,000 fans, on this date. The Beatles did not appear at a palace reception hosted by President Marcos‘ family, who were not informed that the Beatles had previously declined their invitation. The Philippine media misrepresent thisContinue reading “The not so Thrilla in Manila”

The Dog Days of Summer begin today. (That’s an inside joke for astronomers.)

On July 3, 1969, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones drowned in his own swimming pool on this date. Although he was the first Rolling Stone to do so, Mr Jones is just one of millions of people to have drowned in their own swimming pools. As a public service I have therefore chosen toContinue reading “Brian Jones”

July 3, 1951An under-appreciated Hitchcock classic, Strangers on a Train, was released on this date. The stunt where the man crawled under the carousel was not done with trick photography. Alfred Hitchcock claimed that this was the most dangerous stunt ever performed under his direction, and would never allow it to be done again.

July 3, 1985 –Universal released Robert Zemeckis’ sci-fi comedy Back To The Future, starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Crispin Glover on this date. The rights to the film and its sequels are owned by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. In a 2015 interview, Zemeckis maintained that no reboot or remake ofContinue reading “Back To The Future premiered”

July 3, 1973 –At the Hammersmith Odeon in London, after 182 Ziggy Stardust concert performances, David Bowie appears as Ziggy Stardust for the last time, explaining: “Not only is this the last show of the tour, but it’s the last show that we’ll ever do.” Many take this to mean Bowie was retiring from musicContinue reading “The end of the Ziggy Stardust tour”

July 2, 1966 –The title track of Frank Sinatra’s comeback album, Strangers in the Night reached the number one spot (on this date) on the Billboard charts and marked his return to the top of the pop charts in the mid-‘60s. Glen Campbell, who was then a session musician for hire, played rhythm guitar onContinue reading “Strangers in the Night topped the charts”

July 2, 1959 –Ed Wood’s greatest opus (not counting Glen or Glenda), Plan 9 from Outer Space, opened on this date. One of the legends about the production of this film was that Edward D. Wood Jr. used everything from automobile hubcaps to pizza pans to pie tins and even paper plates as flying saucers.Continue reading “Plan 9 from Outer Space premiered”

July 2, 1971Gordon Parks’ classic crime-drama Shaft, starring Richard Roundtree, opened on this date. One of only three films MGM released in 1971 that made a profit, and it helped save the studio from bankruptcy.