JOBC Cubs Almanac--February 5

Today's JOBC Cubs Almanac--the goat of the 1918 series, the 3rd baseman who got away, the future GM who got a game winning hit while John Lennon was apologizing for saying the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, and more.

Check it out here.

Shovel This

I made it through about 1/3 of my driveway. Taking a break, then going back out. Usually when we get seven inches of snow the boys are home from school to help. This winter has made everyone sturdier, including the schools.

Joel Daly Gets the First Copy of "The Daly News"

This is always a big moment in an author's life...the moment when he or she gets to hold their brand new book for the first time. A few minutes ago, Joel Daly was handed the first copy of "The Daly News". Now the rest of them can go to press. We'll start sending them out next week. Pre-order your copy today.

Benny & The Jets

This song was released exactly 40 years ago today. I bought the 45, which was not the live version we hear all the time these days. (I like it better, but I haven't been able to find it). Here's Elton performing the song on "Soul Train"...

A Sure-Fire Argument Starter

The WXRT website has a list of 10 of the worst and most overrated rock songs. I couldn't agree more about three of the songs on their list, but I also like three of the songs quite a bit. There's no way everyone will agree. Discussing bad or overrated songs is a sure way to start an argument. My list will probably start just as many arguments, if not more. Please note--I like all of these artists and bands, just not these songs.

Ready? Here goes...

"Layla" by Derek and the Dominoes
It's not terrible, it's just OK, and definitely not worthy of it's radio (over) airplay.

"She Loves You" by the Beatles
That's right. I said it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. (Disclaimer: My feelings about this song may be slightly influenced by working at an Oldies station and playing it every single day for ten years)

"Do Wah Diddy" by Mannfred Mann
See the disclaimer above.

"Eclipse" by Pink Floyd
Ugh. I can't change the station quickly enough.

"Hurts So Good" by John Cougar Mellencamp
He evolved after that one.

"Peaceful Easy Feeling" by the Eagles
It's nice, but it's not rock and roll. To my ear, they didn't really rock until Joe Walsh joined the band.

"Sweet Child of Mine" by Guns & Roses
Where do we go, where do we go, now? I go to the next song.

"Take the Money & Run" by Steve Miller
The grammatical mistakes in this song are like nails on a chalkboard to me. He took the money and ran, Steve. That's the way you say it in English.

"Ruby Tuesday" by the Rolling Stones
Wow are they bad singers, but they never sounded worse than they do on this one. My dog howls during the harmonies.

"Let 'Em In" by Paul McCartney
You know how much I love Paul, and the melody on this song is actually pretty darn catchy, but wow are these lyrics stupid. They couldn't be more stupid.

Today's Best Tweets--February 4

Here are some tweets that caught my eye today...




Chicago Cubs ‏@Cubs 5m
Two months until the #Cubs home opener at Wrigley Field! pic.twitter.com/UxPLaSxpMr

Deadspin ‏@Deadspin 5m
Sochi's not ready yet, and staying there is a hilarious adventure: http://deadsp.in/4n4oGna

Huffington Post ‏@HuffingtonPost 17m
What on earth is going on in these Sochi bathroom signs? http://huff.to/1fIkUv6

Sarah Spain ‏@SarahSpain 12m
If I were out in Sochi covering the games I'd have a minimum of 10 stray dogs in my hotel room by Day 2. So awful. http://m.nydailynews.com/1.1600417

Keith Olbermann ‏@KeithOlbermann 15m
Monday's Worsts: Putin now pre-arresting protestors (Don't Watch The Olympics, Either); Premature tattoo jocularity
http://j.mp/LtJK6Q

Stephen Whyno ‏@SWhyno 4h
One of rooms Canada men's hockey team will stay in pic.twitter.com/7OJQd2m4bq

Rolling Stone ‏@RollingStone 6m
Watch David Bowie play "Fame" at Howard Stern's 44th birthday bash: http://rol.st/1aZfAVA

CollegeHumor ‏@CollegeHumor 8m
9 Pick-Up Lines That Are Definite Red Flags http://ow.ly/tgIoc How bout we rearrange the alphabet and put "P" on "U"?

Mary Dixon ‏@MaryLDixon 8m
After the last 2 months, I'm all, 'Whatever, winter. Bring it.'
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=lot&storyid=98894&source=0

Taegan Goddard ‏@politicalwire 15m
Surprise! Less War Improves Morale of Soldiers http://boeing.rollcall.com/topic-a/news/less-war-improves-morale-soldiers/ … via @rollcall

Media Spotlight--February 4

Every weekday in 2014, I'll be keeping an eye on what's happening in the media. My focus will be on some of my favorite subjects...the moguls, the pundits, the broadcast news biz, show business, and the publishing business. (Read "$everance" if you want a crystallization of my positions on those subjects.) And, of course, I'll also keep tabs on Chicago's media.


Chicago Media

~Linda Yu is Back!
Happy to hear it. I was worried about her after hearing she was involved in a motorcycle accident. You'll be hard-pressed to find someone who has anything bad to say about Linda, and in the media world, that's a small club indeed.


Social Media

~Facebook is 10 years old today
And they are celebrating with a video look back.


Showbiz

~Advertising on the Oscars
The Oscars are second only to the Super Bowl for advertising, and you'll probably hear stories (like the one linked here) about sponsors bailing out of the broadcast. In this case, it's true that both Coca-Cola and Hyundai have backed out. The sub-head, however, shows why it's a non-story. GM and Pepsi instantly took their places.

~U2's Free Download Raises More Than $3 Million for AIDS fight
I know there are people who don't like U2 or think Bono is puffy and full of himself, but is there a group that more consistently does good for their fellow man?

~Roger Ebert wanted Philip Seymour Hoffman to Play Him in Movie
Roger's widow Chaz revealed that the other day. He would have been the perfect choice.

~Jerry Seinfeld on TV vs. Web
There's a video interview at the link, and it features this great line: "Why would I put a show in a box in your living room when I can put it right into your pocket?"

Today's Time Waste

I took the "Which Star Trek Character Are You?" quiz. Looks I'm comfortable with my feminine side...

Just One Bad Century--February 4

Today's JOBC Cubs Almanac--the man who stole first base, and a home run that was absolutely crushed...

Check it out here.

Russell Brand's Explanation of Addiction

This is a great piece by Russell Brand, explaining the inexplicable, drug and alcohol addiction. It's particularly helpful in understanding the Philip Seymour Hoffman story, even though it was written almost a year ago. There's something about addiciton that people who have never come across it don't understand (and by the way, who are these people?). How could someone who has it all throw it away? Is there a profound unhappiness within that person? Not necessarily. They may be perfectly happy. They may have everything going for them. But they just can't stop.

It sounds implausible, but I've seen it.

The Inaccuracies of WKRP in Cincinnati

Ken Levine's blog, if you don't have it bookmarked yet, is a great read for those of us who love classic television comedy (and radio!). Ken was a disc jockey and sportscaster, but he was also one of the all-time best sitcom writers. In this blog post from Friday, he examines the innacuraccies of WKRP in Cincinnati (one of my favorite shows).

Many of his observations here also hold true for "Frasier", by the way, which Ken wrote for several years.

PSH

My favorite Philip Seymour Hoffman movie was "Almost Famous". He was amazing as Lester Bangs...

Today's Best Tweets--Febuary 3

Here are some tweets that caught my eye today...





NYDN Politics ‏@NYDNPolitics 12m
‘SNL’ creator Lorne Michaels says Republicans take a joke better than Democrats. http://nydn.us/1dm9Gbi

Matt Yglesias ‏@mattyglesias 3m
Pushing back against @chucktodd’s slam on American beer: http://slate.me/1imMtuP

670 The Score ‏@670TheScore 6m
Did you realize? Northwestern has climbed to 4th in Big Ten by rallying around Chris Collins, writes @CEmmaScout: http://cbsloc.al/1er8Gaq

WGN FM ‏@WGNFM 12m
They're back! @PugsandCo and @HeyItsMeKelly return to Chicago radio! Listen now! http://wgn.fm/ #wgnfm pic.twitter.com/CbfTXgvfGY

Los Angeles Times ‏@latimes 14m
This legal case perfectly underscores the differences between U.S. and Canadian gun laws http://lat.ms/1nIlSf5

Josh Marshall ‏@joshtpm 11m
Chicago Man Shoots Himself In The Toe While Cleaning Gun http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/chicago-gun-toe-cleaning …

People magazine ‏@peoplemag 16m
Philip Seymour Hoffman posed for an eerie photo at Sundance two weeks before his death http://peoplem.ag/te6Qj

Huffington Post ‏@HuffingtonPost 6m
"She's second only to bacon," says man who married wife at bacon fest http://huff.to/1fFqaQ2

FreedomDork ‏@JackieBodnar Jan 31
RT @CorkGaines: To the surprise of nobody, Rob Ford enjoys a good tickle [reuters]. pic.twitter.com/yQ5Reta66d

Brendan Nyhan ‏@BrendanNyhan 2h
The civic damage resulting from newspaper closures - empirical evidence in two new studies http://www.minneapolisfed.org/research/wp/wp686.pdf … http://leeshaker.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Dead-Newspapers-and-Citizens-Civic-Engagement-Lee-Shaker-Forthcoming-in-Political-Communication.pdf

Media Spotlight--February 3

Every weekday in 2014, I'll be keeping an eye on what's happening in the media. My focus will be on some of my favorite subjects...the moguls, the pundits, the broadcast news biz, show business, and the publishing business. (Read "$everance" if you want a crystallization of my positions on those subjects.) And, of course, I'll also keep tabs on Chicago's media.


Chicago Media

~Greg Brown
My February media column has been posted at the Illinois Entertainer. This month I got into the weeds of disc-jockeying with WLS Radio's Greg Brown.

~WGN-FM
The internet version of WGN, which stars Johnny B and Harry Teinowitz, is adding a few other voices this week. Pugs & Kelly and Abe Kanan will be getting tryouts this week, according to Chicagoland Radio & Media. (I've previously interviewed Pugs for Chicago Radio Spotlight)

~Lineup Shuffle Coming to ABC-7
Robert Feder has the details about the implications of Katie Couric's departure, and it's good news for Jeopardy fans. It looks like it will be returning to it's old 3:30pm timeslot.


The Moguls

~Amazon's plan to take over the world
According to this piece, it's poised to become the biggest media company in the world.

~Rupert to be inducted into the TV Hall of Fame
The ceremony will be held on March 11. Details in the Guardian.


The Pundits

~O'Reilly's interview with the president
It was testy, but Bill finally got to ask questions about the non-scandals that Fox News is obsessed with. "These kinds of things keep on surfacing in part because you and your TV station will promote them," the president said. Now Fox will get to spend a week obsessing that the president is blaming them for the non-scandals they just know are much bigger deals than everyone else in the world believes. It's a never-ending cycle.

~Katie's getting married
Katie Couric was a guest on Howard Stern's 60th birthday bash and spilled the beans about her upcoming wedding. People Magazine has more at the link.

~Bill Kristol to join ABC News
The Weekly Standard's editor Bill Kristol will become a panelist on George Stephanopolos' show "This Week". Basically he and George Will have just swapped jobs.


Advertising

~Super Bowl Commercials
The New York Times analyzes this year's crop. I don't think there was a particularly memorable one in the whole bunch.


Showbiz

~Philip Seymour Hoffman
Sad news--the Academy Award winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman died yesterday of a drug overdose (the needle still in his arm). Addiction can take any life, even the great ones. I hope he's remembered for his work and not for the way he died. It usually doesn't work that way, unfortunately. Ask John Belushi's family.

~Jerry & George Reunion
They teased it on the Super Bowl commercial last night, and here's the full webisode at the link above.

The Day the Music Died

On this day in 1959, Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper died in a plane crash in Iowa.

It was four years before I was born, but I have since met many of the people affected by this important day in history. Bobby Vee filled in for Buddy Holly at the gig he was flying to--and became a star. We had him him on Landecker's show and he told the story. We also had Nicki Sullivan, one of the original Crickets, on the show.

Bob Hale was the MC of that last Buddy Holly gig, and I interviewed him a few years ago for Chicago Radio Spotlight. Here's the crucial part about the day the music died...

Rick: I know you've had to answer this question a million times, but please indulge us by answering it one more time. You were the Master of Ceremonies on February 2, 1959 in Clear Lake, Iowa--the last concert by Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper. Describe the scene backstage for us, and explain your part in that ill-fated coin-flip.

Bob: The bus with Valens, Holly, Richardson, Dion, and Frankie Sardo arrived in the late afternoon…actually around 6PM . We hurriedly got them something to eat, and then all pitched in to set up for the performance. Those days were pre-high-fi days, so we had to deal with only one microphone. The tour manager was Sam Geller of the GAC Corporation (which would go on to purchase Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus). As the set-up was taking place, Buddy was playing the piano. Sam and I were listening and he said to me, “This guy is going to be one of the greatest popular music composers of our time. He’s so talented – he can play so many instruments, and he creates such interesting music.”

Buddy’s talents were put to use during the concert as he played the drums during the Dion set. The regular drummer, Charlie Bunch was in the hosp[ital in Green Bay , Wisconsin , having suffered frostbite on the broken down bus! Buddy would play the drums for Dion’s set, which began the second half of the show. The first half was Frankie Sardo, and Big Bopper.

The second half, Dion and the Belmonts, followed by Buddy.

When Dion’s set was over, I sat down with him on the riser in front of the drum set and asked him to introduce his musicians. When it came time for the drummer Dion said something like: “This fellow is taking the place of Charlie Bunch, our regular drummer who is in the hospital in Green Bay suffering from frost bite. Um...let’s see…the drummer’s name…is…ah, oh yeah! BUDDY HOLLY!”

Buddy jumped up, grabbed his guitar and began singing “Gotta Travel On.” The backup men quickly changed places and joined Buddy before he was half way through the first stanza.

There was some drama taking place off-stage, even before we got started, actually. At one point Bopper was sitting with my wife, Kathy, and me in a booth. Kathy was expecting our first child, and Bopper said something like, “That’s what I miss most…being around my wife when the baby moves. Kathy, may I feel your baby moving?” Kathy took Bopper’s hand and placed it on her stomach as the baby moved. Bopper smiled: “I can’t wait to get home to do that.”

Interestingly, no such conversation took place involving Buddy. We didn’t even know at that point that Maria was expecting.

During intermission the back-and-forth conversation between Bopper and Waylon Jennings took place, resulting in Waylon giving up his seat to Bopper. At that point Waylon uttered a phrase that would haunt him all his life – “Well, OKAY, but I hope your plane crashes!”

Years later, at a social gathering in Kentucky, Waylon and I recalled that night. He said: “Man, there isn’t a day goes by that I don’t wish I could take back that comment. The next day when I got the news in Fargo, I went nuts. I cried, I yelled. And I began to drink. Drugs helped along the way. Of course, I realized years down the road I was killing myself, so I quit. I don’t know, maybe deep inside I was so damned guilty, I was trying to kill myself!” He admitted that no matter how long he'd live, he’d always be haunted by Feb 3rd 1959.

After the show was over that night, Tommy Allsup, pressured by Ritchie Valens, said, “Let’s flip a coin.” It’s at this point that two versions of the coin flip emerge. Tommy maintains he flipped the coin; I maintain that as soon as he suggested it, he reached into his pocket and realized he had no money – he was still in his stage clothes. He asked me if I had a coin. I took out a 50 cent piece, said to Ritchie, “OKAY, Ritchie, you want to go, you call it.”

“Heads!”

“Heads it is, Ritchie, you’re flying.”

Tommy said, “OKAY,” and went out to the car to retrieve his bags which he’d already put in Carroll Anderson’s car. Regardless which version of the coin toss you hear or accept neither Tommy nor I demand “ownership.” We’ve talked about this, and have no emotional investment in either version. What we agree on is that night was a tragedy and an extremely emotional one for us all.

Rick: What was that next day like?

Bob: February 3rd would be a painful day for family, friends, fellow-musicians, and for those who attended the Winter Dance Party. Within minutes of my announcing the plane crash – I was pulling the 9 to noon shift on the 3rd, teens began arriving at the station (KRIB) just to talk. It became a day-long wake, Pepsi and Coke distributors brought extra cases to our studios – we had so many people just “hanging around.” Parents came, too. Many had been at the Surf the night before. It was the custom of Carroll Anderson to invite parents to the weekly record hops free of charge. Many teens and parents were in tears.

Some students from Waldorf College had been at the Surf the night before. Some came to the studios. I interviewed college as well as high school students. What I didn’t know at the time was that Waldorf, a two-year Lutheran college, did not condone dancing! The school had a rigid Danish-Lutheran background which was extremely conservative in social activities – “Sad Danes,” they were called in Lutheran circles. When the school heard about the students who’d been to the Surf, they immediately suspended the dozen or so students for a couple of weeks. No comments on the deaths – just on “school policy.” Fortunately time has given Waldorf a more enlightened school administration, as well as transforming the college into a four-year, well respected liberal arts college.

On the way home in the afternoon, after conducting about two-dozen telephone interviews with radio stations across the country, I drove by the crash site. The bodies had still not been removed, as the ambulances were still in the corn field. I could not bring myself to walk the hundred yards to the site – and to this day, I’ve not been able to make that walk!

And Bob Dearborn became an expert on the song about that day ("American Pie") and became a nationwide sensation with his interpretation of the song. I worked with Bob at WJMK, and got to know him well enough to ask him to write a guest blog for me on the anniversary of Buddy's death. He was gracious enough to comply...

The Day the Music Died
By Bob Dearborn


Some dates – December 7, 1941; November 22, 1963; August 16, 1977; September 11, 2001 – remain as indelible in our minds as our memory of the shocking events that took place on those dates.

We have just marked the anniversary of another stunning tragedy, one not as big as those others but an important milestone for many people of my generation and, to be sure, for me personally: 55 years ago, three popular young music stars perished on what came to be called a dozen years later, “The Day The Music Died.”

In the very early hours of February 3, 1959, a small plane chartered after a concert in Clear Lake, Iowa, crashed shortly after takeoff leaving all four on board dead: the pilot, singer Ritchie Valens (‘La Bamba,’ ‘Donna’), J.P. Richardson who performed under the name, "The Big Bopper” (‘Chantilly Lace’), and Charles Hardin Holley, known by millions of his fans the world over as Buddy Holly.

I had seen death before, close up, although the earlier experience for me was more curious than catastrophic, more surreal than sad. Oh, I liked my grandparents, all right, but I was 10 and 11 years of age when they died and I hadn't developed enough yet intellectually or emotionally to really understand or feel an impact of their passing.

Of course, two years later, I was much more mature, and starting to realize all kinds of important things. What a revelation it was to discover that music could be about more than the beat, that movies and TV shows could be more than shoot ‘em ups and car chases, that the sudden loss and finality of death could be devastatingly sad.

The first time I was really moved by the passing of someone I cared about was when Buddy Holly died – somebody I “knew” only from his music, his hit records, his appearances on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”

I couldn't have guessed it at the time that his music would have a great influence on future generations of musicians and songwriters, including the young, not-yet-famous Beatles and Rolling Stones. I just knew I liked it. From “Peggy Sue” and “That'll Be The Day” through everything that followed, I was first a fan of his music.

He changed the style of rock ‘n’ roll music by altering the chorus and verse pattern of contemporary song composition. He popularized the four-man group configuration. Buddy was the one who advised Elvis to get a drummer (to join Scotty and Bill in Elvis’ backup band). He was the first rock ‘n’ roll singer to use violins, a whole string section, on his records (‘It Doesn't Matter Anymore’). For a man who enjoyed fame for only the last year and a half of his young life, he made the most of it. Leaving his fingerprints all over contemporary music, his influence has been felt and his popularity has sustained for almost 50 years.

It was more than the music for me, however. In an era of pretty-boy teenage idols ruling the music charts, here was this young Texan who was kinda … geeky. He wore horn-rimmed glasses on his face and his emotions on his sleeve for all to see and hear – from the youthful pedal-to-the-metal exuberance of songs like “Rave On” and “Oh, Boy!” to the playful intimacy of a song like “Heartbeat.”

This guy was not only different and good, he was the first rock ‘n’ roll star that I could relate to, since I was a gawky, sensitive, geeky kid with black, horn-rimmed glasses, too! Buddy Holly’s acclaim and success confirmed that it was okay to be and look that way, that I was okay. He was MY hero. And his death was a crushing blow.

Ritchie, the Bopper and Buddy were the first popular music/rock ‘n’ roll heroes to die suddenly, shockingly at a young age. Theirs are the first names on a list that we review with heartache for its scope and length: Eddie, Johnny and Jesse … Patsy, Gentleman Jim … Sam, Otis and Frankie … Janis, Jim, Jimi, Ronnie and Duane … Jim, Rick, Karen, John, Harry … Marvin and Stevie Ray. Elvis. John.

Each time the bell has tolled, we've been stunned to learn of the loss of another hero, another artist who touched us with their music, a person we never met but who was so much a part of our lives that we viewed them as friends. And, too, with each passage, we've felt the loss of yet another important touchstone of our youth.

For me that all started with Buddy Holly. I was changed by his presence while he was alive, profoundly moved by his untimely death, always transformed by his music. And touched yet again by all of that in late 1971 when I first heard Don McLean’s brilliant composition, “American Pie.” Masterpiece is not a big enough word to describe that recording.

The song’s story begins with Buddy Holly’s death … as felt and told by one of his great fans, Don McLean. The clever metaphors of American Pie’s lyrics, then as now, leave many people confused, unable to understand what the song is about. Don and I are the same age, we lived through the same music era with similar reactions to all the changes that occurred, and we were, first and foremost, big Buddy Holly fans. I knew immediately what Don was saying in that song.

Where did all this lead? I invite you to click on the link below that'll take you to a Web site that Jeff Roteman created in tribute to my analysis of American Pie. I hope you enjoy “the rest of the story” at this site, that it helps you appreciate what a wonderful piece of work American Pie is, that it makes you want to know more about Buddy Holly and his music, and that you find the experience a fitting observation for the anniversary of “The Day The Music Died.”

Bob's Full "American Pie" analysis can be found right here.

Bob's excellent The Olde Disc Jockey's Almanac can be found here.

Just One Bad Century--February 3

Today's JOBC Almanac--Norman Rockwell, a Newt, a Tiger, and three generations of big leaguers.

Check it out here.

14 Books You Could Have Read Instead of Watching the Super Bowl

It was a bad game, and the commercials weren't even good. What else could you have done during that time?

PBS has a list of 14 books you could have read instead. Some of them are classics.

Maybe next year...unless the Bears are in it.

Ground Hog

This just about sums it up. Thanks to "TS" for sending this. What did the ground hog say yesterday? First of all, he doesn't talk, so he didn't say anything. Secondly, Who cares? It's a rodent, and has no earthly idea what the weather will be like for the next six weeks.

High School Rankings

US News & World Report came out with their annual rankings of America's high schools. My two oldest sons attend the #9 school in Illinois! Pure luck on our part. It just happens to be the school within walking distance of our house.

World Cup '14

It's another World Cup year in 2014, and this year the World Cup will be held in Brazil. I like this first ad I've seen promoting it. This one's by Nike...