The Monkees #4

From the Dell comic book version of the Monkess comes this story. It is the only one in the comic book series that featured the Monkeemen. The only difference is that for some reason they call them the SuperMonkees

Rest In Peace Michael Jackson: A Special This Day in Music History Segment: The Jackson Five and The Love You Save

It has been quite awhile since I have posted a "This Day in Music History" segment. I have been wanting to do one and with the recent passing of Michael Jackson I wanted to do one with him in mind. Today marks a big day in music history for Michael and his brothers who together were known as the Jackson Five. On this day in music history, June 27, 1970, The Jackson Five had their third #1 hit on the Billboard Charts with the song "The Love You Save."
Why was this a big day in music history for the Jackson Five? Because it made them the first preformers in the rock and roll era to have their first three singles become number one.
It was written and produced by Freddie Perren, Fonce Mizell, Deke Richards and Berry Gordy Jr. Berry Gordy really wanted the third song to be a big hit. With the first two songs, "I Want You Back" and "ABC", having gone platinum the stakes were high for the third song. He wanted to prove the Jackson Five were no flash in the pan.
Finally they took a song they had written about watching out for traffic. Perhaps it was called "The Life You Save." I don't know for certain about that but I do know they changed the lyrics to be about a girl who was growing up too fast.
When it was finished three of the writer/producers took to the studio to record the demo. They went to the Sound Factory studio in Hollywood. While recording it Berry Gordy dropped in on them. After a few minutes of listening to them Gordy said he wasn't worried anymore because they had it. Then he left.
As you see in one of the photos the writing and producing credits went to "The Corporation." It seems that some time earlier the writing and producing team of Holland-Dozier-Holland had a nasty split with Motown Records. The pain from the split was still being felt and the generic name of The Corporation seemed to be safer.
Producing the first three singles for the Jackson Five wasn't the first time Freddie Perren was associated with the group. He played the piano at the Regal Theater in Chicago for Jerry Butler and the Jackson Five was the opening act. They had a regional hit with the song "I'm A Big Boy Now." Perren said Michael was so tiny that he thought the nightclub crowd would jsut murder him. He felt sorry for Michael. But when he sang he brought down the house. The Jackson Five were so well received that Perren thought Jerry Butler should have been their opeing act.
No matter how you feel about how he led is very public personal life, you have to admit that his talent was apparent from the very beginning. Rest in Peace Michael Jackson.
Below you can see him and his borthers Jackie,Tito,Jermaine and Marlon from their 1977 TV Show preforming the song.

Rest in Peace Farrah Fawcett

I was sad to hear that Farrah Fawcett had died due to cancer. I had heard that her long time boyfriend Ryan O'Neal proposed marriage again and this time she said yes. I had hoped that they would finally get married, even if it was at the last minute, to put a happy ending to her life and thier romance. That didn't happen. She gained fame on TV as part of Charlie's Angels. Try as she might none of her movies or TV shows ever had her match that fame again. Even her most famous movie, The Burning Bed, didnt do that and it just became a footnote in her career. For people my age the first time seeing Farrah may have been in guest spots on other TV shows like I Dream of Jeannie, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, Harry O, etc. or on many television commercials. For those pre politically correct days they were pretty sexy for television. I remember one where she was trying to sell the product to a woodsman. He told her that he hadn't seen a woman in years and she fought off his advances in the end by kicking him off of a huge tree stump.













Also here is a 1969 apearance she did on the Dating Game.



Here she is on The Partridge Family.



Rest in peace Farrah. You had many fans and were always entertaining.

Monkees Pleasant Valley Sunday

Just saw this video on YouTube.com. In the more section it says that The Girl I Knew Somewhere was the original song for this segment. Others in repeats and syndication replaced it. Steam Engine from the CBS Saturday mornings is the one I remember. Here is the rare verson with Pleasant Valley Sunday.

Rest in Peace Ed McMahon

When I heard that Ed McMahon had died I couldn't help but remember when I first heard of him. I forget the exact year it was but I was just a young boy and my Mom and Dad were out looking at carpets. Since we moved into a new home in the early 70's it had to be in the late 60's early 70's era. In the store was a big stand up ad. Many TV stars of the day were on it and I knew them all. Except one. I asked my Dad who the guy was. Dad said he was Ed McMahon. "Who's that?" I asked again. He told me he was on TV late at night around 11:30pm.
Now my bedtime was much earlier then that. So it wasn't hard to understand why I didn't know him. I had never seen the Tonight Show at that time. It was the first time I knew that there were programs on TV after the 11 o'clock news.
As I got older and was able to stay up later I came to know Mr. McMahon and his friend and boss Johnny Carson better. Also, my love of TV, Flims and radio grew by leaps and bounds.
Mr. McMahon was actually a very talented individual. He couldn't sing or dance but he could announce. Yes ladies and gentlemen announcing is a talent. It helps to be born with a deep voice but even tenors can have success if they have talent. Luck also plays a big part in a persons success. Mr. McMahon's was when he was lucky enough to be teamed up with Mr. Carson.
His talent as an announcer took him far. He began to do more commercials and MC other TV shows like Star Search, Jerry Lewis' Labor Day Telethon, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, TV Bloopers and Practical Jokes and more. Even showed he was a pretty good actor in movies and TV shows. My first time seeing him as an actor was in the 1970's classic movie "Fun With Dick and Jane." Ed played Dick's boss. He fired Dick and in the end Dick and Jane get their revenge. Here is a trailer to the film.




Finally having success on his own people were starting to ask why he still stayed on the Tonight Show. His answer was that his Mother raised him not to stray far from the well. As long as Johnny kept doing the tonight show he would stay with him.
With all of the commercials, TV Shows and movies you didn't have to stay up late to know who Ed McMahon was. By comparison the popular Johnny Carson was a recluse. Ed had to work twice as hard to get what Johnny had. Ed McMahon had the job that every announcer dreamed of and took it to another level.
In the last few years he was plagued with health and financial issues. He almost lost his home but made a deal to keep it. Saddly his health issues got the best of him. Announcing is a talent and skill that seems to be dying as well. With the passing of Ed McMahon we lost an American Icon. Not just a great second bannana or sidekick. We lost the last of the great announcers. Below is a video of an early TV show that he announced for. It is called "Two for the Money."

Below are some commericals that he did.

If you click here you can see a car ad he did for American Motors Corporation.

Hope On Cancer

As many fans of the Monkees know Peter Tork is battling cancer. To help raise money for charitable organizations, Petertork.com is selling the colorfulbands that you see above. The cost is $3.99 each plus $1.75 s&h = $5.74 for orders in the USA. Order one today to wear your heart on your sleeve for Peter and anyone who is fighting for their life with cancer. If yhou know someone who lost the battle then you may want to order one in honor of that person.

Origins of Father's Day

Ever wonder how Father's Day started? If so you may want to go to this site. They tell you about the early days of the holiday. It hasn't been with us as long as you may think.

Possible America Gene Cover Art?

I am not certain if this is the cover art to Mike Nesmith's new book America Gene but I thought it looked pretty cool. I got it in an e-mail update from videoranch3D.com.

Nesmith Reads New Novel

Ok this may seem odd since I love the Monkees and I love to read but this may be an event that I miss. But for those of you that don't want to miss it here is what I just heard from Videoranch.
Michael Nesmith will be reading from his forthcoming novel, The America Gene, this Sunday at 5PM PT, at Ed's October Cafe in Videoranch3D. This is a live event you don't want to miss, so mark your calendar!
The only reason I say why I may miss it is that when the author is famous and I know the author's voice as well as I do Mr. Nesmith's is that when I read the book I usually hear his voice in my head as I read it. Since I want to get the book there isn't much sense in my hearing him read it twice. But I hope you go to the event and enjoy it.Event: Michael Nesmith book reading
Date: Sunday, June 21st
Time: 5PM Pacific
Place: Ed's October Cafe in Videoranch3D
This event is free and open to the public. To download the Videoranch3D software please visit our site videoranch3D.com

Monkees Ad

Here is an ad from TV Guide for the Monkees reruns on Saturday morning. In the lower right corner they also promo for Micky and Davy's new single Oh My My. As you can see the TV show was a bigger hit in 1970 then the music.

Davy Jones on Spongebob

Over at his facebook site Al Bigley had a link to this video. When I saw it I had to share it with you here.

George Harrison's New CD

Yes John has proven it and now George. The Beatles can make and sell cd's and albums from even beyond the grave. Just click here to get it at Amazon.com.

Blog Rating

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Online Dating

Thank to News From ME we have been made aware of What's My Blog Rate site. There they rate your blog in the manner of the movie ratings. Mark says it is silly and he is correct. But I love silly. The one above is for this site and I will post it in the section on the left.

Goodbye to Our Analog Friend

Over at Neato Coolville The Mayor created this video to document the end of an era. Today offical ends the era of analog television.

Jon Voight on Obama

I can't believe this came from Jon Voight but I am glad that he stood up for what he believes.

Monkees on a Chicago TV Guide

I saw this while surfing the net. Not bad art for a local TV Guide.

What Were They Thinking File

From the "What Were They Thinking File" comes the case of Captain Crunch and the woman who cried Crunchberries. Over at Lowering the Bar it is reported that a woman sued the Captain and his company. It seems that his Crunchberries cereal didn't contain any crunchberries. Mainly because crunchberries are not real. They are just colored balls of cereal. Thankfully Judge Morrison England, Jr. showed that he had the brains a Judge should have and dismissed the case.

The Prisoner on AMC

Normally I don't care much for the original series that AMC has been running. But in November they will be showing a remake of the Prisoner. The original series had Patrick McGoohan as number Six. A man who was kidnapped and sent to the mysterious village. Who took him? That was a mystery for much of the series. The last episode attempted to answer it but was kind of psychodelic for the series. Not uncommon for shows in the 1960's but the ending didn't make any sense to me. I can't wait to see how the show goes with Jim Caviezel as number Six and starring Ian McKellen as number Two.

You can find out more at AMCTV.com and even watch full episodes of the original series there. Below is a promo video I first saw on Pop Culture Safari.

Terrorism Still Exist

I never heard this story till recently. Al Queda still exist and still is still taking and killing hostages according to Mirror.co.uk.

25 years ago today

It was 25 years ago today that Bill, Dan, Harold, Rick and company taught me how to laugh at ghost again. It continued a tradition that many comedians have been doing for years. I opened this with saying me as others in the country had a chance to see it the day before as that was the official day it was released.

I remember going with my college buddies Chuck and Mike. We had a hard time deciding between this and Gremlins. Both were released on the same day. Ghostbusters won out and it seems like most of the town was there. Back then the theaters were huge compared to some that they have now. We couldn't find 3 seats together. Lucky for Mike he ran into a bunch of people he knew who had a seat next to them. so he sat with them and Chuck and I found two seats together. It was the funniest film I had seen in a long time.

Years later they made the sequel. It was just ok. Now I hear that a third may come out soon. I just hope it is better then the second. I don't thaink any film can be as good as the first.

Video of the Week: Chocolate Rain by Tay Zonday

My cousins friend yesterday showed me this video. It is the first time I heard this song or heard of this 14 (at the time of this video) year old artist. The kid is good but he sounds much older then he is. Hope you have a good Memorial Day.

Mick and the Stones Sell Rice Krispies

I didn't think the establishment of the 1960's would allow the Rolling Stones to help sell Kellogg's Rice Krispies. Still here is the proof.

Archie #600

Hey comic book fans! Have you seen this press release for Archie #600? This should get peoples attention.

Info at Plastic Man Platitudes

FYI info for Plastic Man fans over atPlastic Man Platitudes. Also if you like any info that you read on my sites and want to you can contribute by clicking the Paypal link below.

Al Bigley

Al Bigley wrote me a very nice e-mail some time ago and I wanted to post a link to his site as a kind return. Since then things have been very busy here and they may even get busier in the near future. As a result I haven't been able to make daily post on all my sites as I want to. So since there is a small break in the action here is my link to Big Glee! The Albert Bryan Bigley Archives! I hope it isn't too late Al!
As you can tell by the above image Al has recently posted about one of my favorite mags of the 1970's...Pizzazz!

Star Trek Related Album Covers

Sid and Marty Krofft's Pufnstuf and Land of the Lost

The movie version of H.R. Pufnstuf and the complete series of Land of the Lost are both coming out on DVD this month. You can order H.R. Pufnstuf if you click here and you can click here to oeder the Land of the Lost TV series.

The ABC's of me

A friend tagged me with this on facebook but I couldn't get it to work on there. I copied and pasted it and it always cut off at M. So I am posting it here and linking to it.
A - Age: 47
B - Bed size: Queen
C - Chore you hate: mow the lawn
D - Dog: None
E - Essential start your day item: caffeine
F - Favorite color(s): blue
G - Gold or Silver: Gold
H - Height: 6'2"
I - Instruments you play: I play a little of each of the piano, guitar, trombone, tuba
J - Job title: Husband Collection Agent
K - Kids: none
L - Living arrangements: ranch and live there with my wife
M - Mom's name: Margaret
N - Nicknames: Rick
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: No
P - Pet Peeve(s): dishonesty and disloyalty
Q - Quote from a movie: Too many to name here but one is
Sundance Kid (Robert Redford): "I can't swim."
Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman): "Why, you crazy, the fall'll probably kill ya!" from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
R - Right or left handed: right
S - Siblings: none
T - Time you wake up: Between 5 and 7.
U - Underwear: of course
V - Vegetable you dislike: lima beans
W - Workout style: none
X - X-rays you've had: Dental
Y - Yesterday's best moment: computer went down at work. I got paid to watch someone else work and it was called training.
Z - Zoo favorite: None you see one zoo you've seen them all.

Batman:The Brave and the Bold Pushed Back

I just heard from James that the return of Batman: The Brave and the Bold was pushed back at the last minute. So instead of returning tonight it will return on May 8th. You may have seen the clip below before. If not here is the first look at the Huntress from the May 8th episode "Night of the Huntress." Feature episodes will feature Booster Gold, Bat Mite, Red Tornado and Robin.

SuperFriends the Lost Episodes

I saw at Superman Homepage and here that on August 11th the SuperFriends Lost episodes will be for sale.
During the 1982-1983 season, ABC continued to run a half-hour long show entitled The Best of the Superfriends. This show consisted of reruns of shows from the previous nine seasons. These episodes were mostly half-hour long episodes (not shorts) featuring the core group of five Superfriends. By the time the 1983-1984 season rolled around, older Superfriends series were well into sydication, and could be viewed on weekday afternoons. Therefore in its ultimate stupidity, ABC decided to drop the Superfriends from the 1983-1984 Saturday morning television line-up. However, during this time Hanna-Barbera continued to produce new episodes of the Superfriends. In fact, 24 of these so-called "Lost Episodes" were animated but not aired in the United States that season. Three of these episodes were aired when the Superfriends returned to Saturday morning ABC television the following year. The remainder of the episodes finally aired in syndication years later as part of the Superman/Batman Adventures.

They are available for pre-order on July 7th.

Rest in Peace Bea Arthur

I just heard that Bea Arthur, known to TV fans for her hit shows Maude and Golden Girls, passed away. Most remember her from Golden Girls and tend to forget her series Maude that ran from 1972 to 1978. Here is a video of the opening credits. Womens lib in the 70's was a hot topic and as you can tell by the credits the comedy tackled that issue head on.

The Opening Credits for Maude - watch more funny videos

Now here is a video of a show called Family Guy. I don't watch the show but this part that I once saw was funny.

Dolenz Jones Boyce and Hart Video

I just saw a rare video of Dolenz, Jones, Boyce and Hart at Booksteve's Library. Go there and take a look and join in on their campy fun.

Frank Miller's The Spirit

For years I hoped they would make a movie or TV series out of The Spirit. Finally comic book writer and artist Frank Miller made it one of his projects when he became a movie director. I thought this will be great. When I read his comic books I always thought they looked more like movies in the film noir vein. When it came to theaters I thought I would see it but I kept reading mixed reviews. So I held off. Recently I got it from the library. When I saw it I was underwelmed and thankful that I got it for free from the library.

The movie is in color but in most scenes you can hardly tell. Miller can't seem to make up his mind if he is filming the story in present day or the 1940's. I would have prefered the 1940's. The endless beatings he takes are in there and that is mostly what the movie is about. The Octopus injected him with a chemical when he died that made him immortal. It was a test by the Octopus to see if it worked. Then Octopus would use it on him. Speaking of the Octopus, only Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson as Silken Floss seem to be enjoying their parts in the movie. Also I did enjoy some of the comic book referances. Young Denny Colt reading an EC horro comic book was good. I liked seeing one of the delivery trucks named Ditko's but why not name them Eisner's deliveries. The Spirit in this movie was shocaced as a Ladies Man. I never had that impression of him. Ellen was always his lady. He was just so good looking that other women seemed to always fall at his feet. In the movie he was always coming on to them. Even in front of Ellen. In short I think Mr. Miller's vision of the Spirit could have been better.

1970's Commercial for McDonalds's

Remember in the 70's when some commercials nearly gave you a Broadway Revue? Well here is one from McDonalds with some future famous charactor actors.

Saturday Morning Cartoons: Afternoon Editon: Shazzan

The Brave and the Bold Comes Back May 1st

If you are missing Batman:The Brave and the Bold as much as I am you won't have to wait much longer. I have just been told that it will be returning on May 1st. Here are a couple of up coming clips from the new episodes.

Cardboard Gods

Even if you didn't like Baseball you probably collected Baseball cards. Well I just found the site Cardboard Gods. It takes you on a nostalgic trip via baseball cards from the 1950's to the 1990's. take a look at Cardboard Gods.

KFC Commercial

Here is a KFC Commercial where the Colonel himself nearly tells you how to make your own taste like KFC chicken.

Goofy 1970's Commercials

Steve Carlisle album

Steve Carlisle sang the opening theme song to WKRP in Cincinnati. I saw that on e-bay someone is selling the album he recorded it on. The auction has only 15 hours left so click here if you want to place a bid.

Happy Easter Christ the Lord is Risen!

Saturday Morning Cartoons: Afternoon Editon: The Barkleys

Micky on the Radio

I just got this from Brad of The Monkees Home Page and monkees-alert@yahoogroups.com

Micky Dolenz will be the special guest of Mark Simone on the April 11th,
2009 Saturday Night Oldies Radio program. The show airs from 6pm to 10pm EST. It can be heard in the NYC area on 770 AM. The station has a wide listening range so you may be able to hear it in surrounding states, some as far as Florida.

The program streams live on the WABC-AM website.

The above photo of Micky I saw when I was reading The Calgary Sun.

The Beatles Box of Vision

Want a clever way to store your Beatles CD's and enjoy the art of their albums? Then you may be interested in the Beatles Box of Vision.

Animated Batman with Adam West

Here is a Batman video with an all star cast from the DAVE School. The cast includes Adam West and Dick Van Dyke.

Video of the week:The Beatles Live?

Here is a video with clips from various concerts showing us what might have been if they really got together to preform "Free As A Bird" live.