Wednesday, June 12, 2024

Wednesday's podcast: Hunter Biden case, More people like trades, Hit the road LO, Reagan 1987 and more stories

 Wednesday's podcast:   

Hunter Biden case, More people like trades, Hit the road LO, Reagan 1987 and more stories....

If I were a carpenter...

If I were a carpenter...: Okay. I'm not talking about the carpenter story that Johnny Cash and June Carter were singing about. My carpenter is the fellow who puts things together and has no trouble making money in our society. He is busy making a living and…
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We remember Reg Presley (1941-2013)

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We remember Reg Presley who was born on this day in 1941.  He died in 2013.  Reg was the lead singer of The Troggs, a British band that had several Top 40 hits in the late 1960s

Reg's songs take me back to those days when we used to listen to AM radio and catch the top 40 every week.  

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.


June 1970: "The Long and Winding Road" or the last # 1 by The Beatles

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"The Long and Winding Road" turned out to be the last single released by the group.

There were other singles in the 1970's, such "Got to get you into my life" and "A day in the life".   However, those were old songs reissued for one reason or another.

It was "The long and winding road", with "For you blue" on the B-side, that was the last hit by the legendary band.      It reached # 1 on Billboard in June.

Later, a "Naked version" without Phil Spector's strings and choir, was also released.     Frankly, it was a lot better but we did not hear it until almost 30 years later.

You can get the LP HERE.    The so called "Naked version" HERE.    

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  

We remember Jim Nabors (1930-2017)



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James Thurston Nabors was born on this day in 1930.  He died in 2015 at age 87.     

Besides playing the happy Marine, Nabors also had an amazing singing voice.  

As a singer, Nabors released 28 albums and was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1985.

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 Anne Frank (1929-45)

We remember Anne Frank who was born on this day in 1929.    

In 1942, she received a diary as a birthday present.      

A bit later, her family went into hiding in German occupied Holland.   Later, her diary was found and published.  

It is one of the greatest books of the 20th century.  

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.




June 12, 1987: The Berlin Wall & President Reagan



Time flies.   On this day in 1987, or many years ago today, we watched President Reagan call on the USSR to tear down the Berlin Wall.    

According to Peter Robinson, a speechwriter, the "line" was discussed and argued about in the US State Department.  Some of President Reagan's advisers throught that the line might be seen as provocative by the Kremlin. 

At the end, President Reagan said it anyway. 

What a great moment it was. 

I can still remember holding our 3-week old son and watching it on TV back then. 

Did President Reagan see the future?  We will never know but he definitely knew that the USSR and the Berlin Wall were doomed for failure.  As we know now, The Berlin Wall eventually came down 30 months later! 

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, click send, and drop a dime here.




The Bee Gees and more very early hits





The Bee Gees, or The Brothers Gibb, started singing professionally in 1960 when Barry was 14 and his twin brothers were 11.


As we've mentioned in other posts, these tunes, such as "Wine and women" & "Monday's rain" were recorded when the brothers were teens and trying to establish themselves as a pop group.

These songs were never heard outside of Australia until ATCO released two LP's of the early material in 1969. The LP's were called "Rare, precious and beautiful"!

Nevertheless, they were very early signals of their incredible harmonies and songwriting potential.

It was these songs, and others, that persuaded Robert Stigwood to give the brothers an international recording contract in London 1967.

The rest is musical history......Barry was 19 and his brothers were 16 when they had their first international hit, i.e. "Spicks and specks".

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  
 



1965: "Satisfaction" is another year older!


The Rolling Stones - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (1965, Vinyl ...
Let's remember a landmark moment in pop/rock history.

We are talking about The Rolling Stones and "Satisfaction", their first big hit in the US and moving up the charts quickly this month in 1965.

It was voted by Rolling Stone (the magazine not related to the group) as the # 2 rock song of all time.

"Satisfaction" clearly put The Rolling Stones on the music map. However, I think that "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is the group's greatest song.

Nevertheless, we look back at one of the big moments in rock history.

The Stones were Mick Jagger on vocals and Keith Richards on lead guitar. The other 3 were Charlie Watts on drums, Bill Wyman on bass and the late Brian Jones was the other guitar.

What would rock music sound like without "Satisfaction", Mick Jagger and Keith Richards? It wouldn't be the same!

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.

June 12, 1987: It was a great day for freedom!


Berlin Wall" Speech - President Reagan's Address at the ...
Time flies.   On this day in 1987, or many years ago today, we watched President Reagan call on the USSR to tear down the Berlin Wall.    

According to Peter Robinson, a speechwriter, the "line" was discussed and argued about in the US State Department.  Some of President Reagan's advisers thought that the line might be seen as provocative by the Kremlin. 

At the end, President Reagan said it anyway. 

What a great moment it was. 

I can still remember holding our 3-week old son and watching it on TV back then. 

Did President Reagan see the future?  We will never know but he definitely knew that the USSR and the Berlin Wall were doomed for failure.  As we know now, The Berlin Wall eventually came down 30 months later! 

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  



June 12, 1987: President Reagan's words that get better with age


Time flies but the threats from the left keep on coming.   As President Reagan himself 
said:   

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

On this day in 1987, or many years ago today, we watched President Reagan call on the USSR to tear down the Berlin Wall.   I watched it later in the evening with our new three-week-old son.  

According to Peter Robinson, a speech writer, the "line" about tearing down the wall was discussed and argued about in the US State Department.  Some of President Reagan's advisers thought that the line might be seen as provocative by the Kremlin. 

At the end, President Reagan said it anyway. 

What a great moment it was.   It is critically important that we remind our young people that the communist threat is ongoing.  They want to destroy our way of life as much today as they did when President Reagan told them to tear down that wall.  

Who knew that evening in 1987 that we'd be facing the leftist threat to our country in 2021?  Who could have guessed that our universities today would be schools of political indoctrination graduating students who hate the country and don't have a clue about anything?  Who knew that math would be racist?   Or that "Dumbo," the Disney movie that my sons grew up watching, would insult anybody?   Or that we'd be debating whether boys who think are girls would be beating girls in competitions?

Did President Reagan see the future?  We will never know but he warned us that our freedoms are always under threat.  Freedom is not guaranteed, as my late Cuban parents would always tell me.  We must keep our guard and defend our way of life.

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 President George H W Bush (1924-2018)




We remember President George H. W. Bush who was born on this day in 1924.  He died in 2018.


To my knowledge, President John Quincy Adams never wrote a book about his father, President John Adams.   

Our generation is very lucky.    President George W. Bush, the 43rd president, wrote a book about his father, President George HW Bush, the 41st president.

It is historic and about the special relationship between a father and son.

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.