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September 28, 1967 –Gladys Knight & the Pips‘ single, (written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for Motown Records,) I Heard It Through the Grapevine was released on this date. Along with Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone, Barrett Strong considers this the best song he wrote with Norman Whitfield. Other hits they wrote together includeContinue reading “I Heard It Through The Grapevine was dropped”

September 28, 1918 –After the Liberty Loan parade in Philadelphia on this date, thousands of people became infected with the Spanish Flu, causing the death of more than 12,000 in the city. Soon, the city was in crisis. Hospitals overflowed and bodies piled up in morgues. Philadelphia had the highest death rate of any majorContinue reading “A lesson we did not seem to learn”

September 28, 1980 – Billions and billions of brilliant moments on TV are about to be aired – Carl Sagan’s 13 part Cosmos premiered on PBS. In many episodes we see a photo of Earth showing Africa in the upper left. That is the ‘Blue Marble‘ photo taken in 1972 by Apollo 7 astronauts onContinue reading “Cosmos premiered”

September 28, 1961 –Viewers got to spend time with the Baxter’s and their wise-cracking maid when Hazel premiered on CBS-TV on this date The house where Hazel and the Baxters lived was also used as the home of Gidget Lawrence and her father on the 1965 TV sitcom Gidget. It also served as the homeContinue reading “Hazel premiered”

Today is the 117th anniversary of the completion by Albert Einstein of his paper, Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?, introducing the equation E=MC², on this date. Before this, E equaled just about anything you wanted it to equal. Just think what the atomic bomb would have been like ifContinue reading “Hope this explains it”

September 27, 1980 –Kurtis Blow becomes the first rapper to perform on national television when he does The Breaks on Soul Train. The Breaks was the first rap song to sell over 500,000 copies, earning a certified Gold record. Rapper’s Delight, released a year earlier, certainly sold a lot more (as Kurtis attests), but thatContinue reading “The Breaks performed on national TV”

September 27, 1964 –The Beach Boys appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time on this date. They also performed the song Wendy that evening. The song was released as a double A-side single in May 1964 with Don’t Worry Baby. It is considered one of the best ever single releases along withContinue reading “First Beach Boys appearance”

September 27, 1954 –Steve Allen sat down at his piano and the Tonight Show premiered nationally on NBC on this date. Steve Allen’s high-energy wit and appreciation for the emerging medium lent itself to spontaneous, original humor. He put cameras on the street and tried to find unscripted comedy in random interviews with passersby. HeContinue reading “The Tonight Show went nationwide”

There are 90 days until Christmas (83 days until Hanukkah.) (I’m sure many of you have failed the naughty/ nice test already. Maybe you still have time.)

September 26, 1969 –The Beatles release the Abbey Road album in London, on this date. It was their 13th album in the U.K. It was also their last album together as a group.