Buddy Holly # 13 in Rolling Stone's Top 100 artists

In 1972, Don McClean introduced our generation to Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper in the # 1 song"American Pie". 

It started like this:     

"A long, long time ago...I can still remember How that music used to make me smile. And I knew if I had my chance That I could make those people dance And, maybe, they'd be happy for a while. But February made me shiver With every paper I'd deliver. Bad news on the doorstep; I couldn't take one more step. I can't remember if I cried When I read about his widowed bride, But something touched me deep inside The day the music died."

The "day the music died" was on this day in 1959, a big triple loss for pop music. 

McClean's tune got me very interested in Buddy Holly, a native of West Texas.

I bought his records. I visited his grave during a business trip to West Texas about 20 years ago. I have followed the creation of The Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, TX.

I learned that Paul McCartney was also a huge fan of Buddy Holly. He toured England in 1958!

The Beatles recorded Holly's "Words of Love" in one of their early LP's. The Rolling Stones recorded "Not fade away", another of Holly's songs.

Buddy Holly was only 22 but ".....In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Holly #13 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time."

You can hear Buddy Holly's influence in every rock song recorded over the years. You can specially hear it in garage bands or every 15-year old who has played a rock guitar.

Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper were killed in the same plane crash. They were not as popular as Holly but Valens had incredible potential since he was only 17!

The day "the music died", a sad day in the history of rock.

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June 29, 1941: DiMaggio got 41 & 42 in a doubleheader

On this day in 1941, the amazing Joe DiMaggio singled in the sixth inning in the first game of a doubleheader to tie George Sisler's A.L. consecutive-game hit record of 41 games. 

In the second game, he set the record at 42 games with a single in the seventh inning.  

His next goal was the N.L. record of 44.  

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1979: Weaver won # 1,000

On this day in 1979, the Orioles opened the season by beating Chicago.    It was Earl Weaver's 1,000th win as a manager, all of them with Baltimore.

Weaver became the O's manager in July 1968, won the 1970 World Series, the 1969 & 1971 AL pennants, plus the 1973 & 1974 AL East titles.   

In 1979, Weaver's O's won 102 and returned to the World Series but lost to the Pirates.  In 1980, the O's won 100 games but finished 3 behind the Yankees.

He retired in 1982 with 1,480 wins and a .582 winning pct.    He went into The Hall of Fame in 1996.

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Why do we love George Washington?

We remember another of George Washington’s birthdays. Back in our early days in “el exilio”, we used to celebrate this day exclusively. No Presidents’ Day but rather President Lincoln on February 12th and President Washington on the 22nd. I regret that we changed that.

George Washington was vital to the success of the new American nation. Our friends at Power Line call him the indispensable man and they are right:

Today is the anniversary of the birth of George Washington. Of all the great men of the revolutionary era to whom we owe our freedom, Washington’s greatness was the rarest and the most needed. At this remove in time, it is also the hardest to comprehend.

Take, for example, Washington’s contribution to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Washington’s mere presence lent the undertaking and its handiwork the legitimacy that resulted in success. The convention’s first order of business was the election of a presiding officer. Washington was the delegates’ unanimous choice.

Washington led an army of colonists and then held together the new constitution by serving as the first president. He could have been “president for life” or reelected to a 3rd term. However, he respected the constitution and set the example by walking away from power. We’ve had orderly transfer of power ever since and that’s no small accomplishment in world history. He died in 1799.

He was indeed the indispensable man to the new nation. Where would we be today without the work or presence of George Washington?

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We remember Boris Yeltsin (1931-2007)

We remember Boris Yeltsin who was born on this day in 1931.  He died in 2007.

It's hard to think of Boris N. Yeltsin without recalling the end ot the USSR.  I can still remember Yeltsin with a Russian flag and surrounded by lots of happy faces. That was a happy moment for him and the Russian people.

Yeltsin was consequential, although he had his problems. At the same time, no one is perfect, specially the leader of nation without any democratic traditions.

 

How will Yeltsin be remembered?

 

My guess is that history will be kind to Yeltsin.  

 

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1944: Siege of Leningrad

On this day in 1944, the siege of Leningrad ended.  It was the 900-day German-enforced containment of the city and cost thousands of Russian lives.

We discussed Hitler's decision to invade the USSR with Barry Jacobsen.

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Happy New Year

WE WISH YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR..........

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We remember Glenn Miller who disappeared on this day in 1944

On this in 1944,  Glenn Miller was lost over The English Channel.

1944 was a very tough year, from Europe to the Pacific, D-Day, the Battle of The Bulge and the loss of Glenn Miller in December.

Miller was travelling to Paris for a Christmas concert and his plane was lost over the English Channel.    

His plane was never found and Miller is still listed as MIA.

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Real communism

We are having a debate about socialism among some of our young people.  From Alejandra Ocasio-Cortez to Bernie Sanders, we’re hearing that some are inspired concerning socialism.  

The Democrats are even running candidates who claim to be “democratic socialists“!  I guess that means that they will take a vote before taking your property away or something like that.

Well, two recent anniversaries will remind the young what real communism is all about.

First, Warsaw Pact tanks marched into Prague this week in 1968.  They were there to crush a freedom movement, as we remember from our history:   

On the night of August 20, 1968, approximately 200,000 Warsaw Pact troops and 5,000 tanks invade Czechoslovakia to crush the “Prague Spring” — a brief period of liberalization in the communist country. Czechoslovakians protested the invasion with public demonstrations and other non-violent tactics, but they were no match for the Soviet tanks. The liberal reforms of First Secretary Alexander Dubcek were repealed and “normalization” began under his successor Gustav Husak.

By the way, the confused young must be reminded what Mr. Husak meant by “normalization”.  It meant shut up or we will throw you in prison.  And your family won’t know what happened to you, either.  In other words, no “habeaus corpus” or right to a speedy trial under communism.

The second anniversary is less known but very important.  It shows how communists deal with those they disagree with.  I am talking about the killing of Leon Trotsky on August 21, 1940:  

Exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky is fatally wounded by an ice-ax-wielding assassin at his compound outside Mexico City. The killer – Ramón Mercader –was a Spanish communist and probable agent of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Trotsky died from his wounds the next day.

This is the real story of communism, along with a health care system that stinks in Cuba, or people eating grass in North Korea, or people risking their lives to jump over the Berlin Wall.

Let’s remember communism, and its convenient mask called socialism.  In both cases, they take your property and freedom.  

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We remember Walter Johnson (1887-1946)

We remember Walter Johnson who was born on this day in 1887.   He died in 1946.

Check out these awesome statistics:  417 wins, 2.17 career ER, 3509 Ks, 531 complete games and 110 shutouts.   

He also lost 279 games!

Johnson had a .599 winning pct.   In other words, he lost 40% of his games.  

How do you lose 40% of your games with a 2.17 career ERA?   He must have had a lot of 1-0 or 2-1 complete game losses.

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