1966: “We can work it out" was # 1 this week

The Beatles had another # 1 double hit this week in 1966.   

The A-side was "We can work it out"/   The B-side was "Day Tripper".   

Both songs were included in the "Yesterday and Today" LP but in the US.    You can also find them in "Past masters" or "1962-66".

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

 

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We remember John Belushi (1949-1982)

We remember John Belushi, one of the original members of Saturday Night Live.   Belushi was born in Chicago on this day in 1949.    He died in 1982.

Wow!  Lots of memories of those shows!   

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

We remember Sharon Tate (1943-69)

Sharon Tate was born in Dallas, Texas, on this day in 1943.   

Sharon was killed by Charles Manson in 1969.   It was an awful story because Sharon was pregnant and apparently alone in a ranch.

Sharon Tate was in various films, such as "Valley of the Dolls" in 1967.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

We remember Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

We remember Winston Churchill who passed away on this day in 1965.    He was 90.

Churchill was one of the great leaders of the 20th century and UK Prime Minister 1940-1945 and 1951-55.    

Churchill was also a great author and won The Nobel Prize in Literature for his six-volume books of World War II and for political speeches.

P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

A couple of songs about the girl in the window...

A few days ago, I heard "Silhouette" by Herman's Hermits. 

This song was originally recorded back in the late 1950'ss by The Rays, a "doo wop" group.

Herman's Hermits released it during the days of the so-called British Invasion of the US pop charts, or 1964-66.  

Herman's Hermits was very popular in our home.  In fact, my sister's pet canary was named Herman, a.k.a. Peter Noone!

My sister had Herman posters all over her room, along with Paul McCartney, Barry Gibb, Davy Jones and a few others! 

"Silhouette" is one of two songs that I can recall about watching "a girl" in the window.

The other is "From a window" recorded by Billy J Kramer in 1964, or in the middle of Beatlemania & The British Invasion mentioned above.  It was written by Lennon-McCartney but never released by The Beatles.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

How young Winston discovered Cuban cigars

We remember Winston Churchill who passed away on this day in 1965.  He was 90.

Churchill was one of the great leaders of the 20th century and UK Prime Minister 1940-1945 and 1951-55.  

Churchill was also a great author and won the Nobel Prize in Literature for his six-volume history of World War II and for political speeches.

Churchill apparently fell in love with Cuban cigars during a visit to the island circa 1895.  My late father once told me that the Cuban embassy in London would often deliver Mr. Churchill a complimentary box of cigars.  Eventually those long cigars that he smoked came to be known as "Churchill".

Cuba was still a Spanish colony at the time of young Winston’s visit or  three years before the Spanish American War that paved the way to Cuban independence in 1902.

According to H.P. Klepak, author of "Churchill Comes of Age, Cuba 1895", the young Churchill spent 18 days in Cuba.  

He was there on loan from the British army to observe colonial Spain’s defense against independence fighters, as Klepak said in an interview: 

History previously recorded that Churchill saw combat in Cuba and discovered the siesta, which would later help him keep long hours as British prime minister during World War Two.
But Klepak, a former Canadian military officer, argues previous works overlooked how influential the Cuban venture was, including the months of maneuvering Churchill needed to land his assignment.   
With his Cuba experience he became a war correspondent, political analyst, strategist and liaison with a foreign army, all for the first time. His writings start to show legendary humor. He discovers rum and Cuban cigars’ breadth and quality.
Inspired by observations from local historian Lourdes Mendez, Klepak believes he became the first to scrutinize and cross-check the Cuban, British and Spanish archives, discovering for example that Churchill was fired upon by no less than Antonio Maceo and Maximo Gomez, two of Cuba’s greatest independence leaders.
“Very quickly when I looked at it from a historical perspective it was pretty obvious that this was an amazing story which for some reason had never been told,” Klepak said.

Neat story.  This is also a book that you may want to pick up when you need a break from politics.  It is another chapter in the amazing life of one of the most important figures of the 20th century.

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).   This is the book: