Elvis Presley Appears on ‘The Milton Berle Show’

Posted on April 3, 2018 by Rick Watts

On This Day in Rock: April 3

In 1956, Elvis Presley appeared on ABC-TV’s ‘The Milton Berle Show’ live from the flight deck of the USS Hancock in San Diego, California. He performed ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ ‘Shake Rattle And Roll’ and ‘Blue Suede Shoes.’ It was estimated that one out of every four Americans saw the show.

In 1967, Working on The Beatles Sgt. Pepper album at Abbey Road studios in London, George Harrison recorded his lead vocal on his song ‘Within You Without You’. as well as a sitar part, and some acoustic guitar parts.

In 1971, The Temptations scored their second US No.1 with ‘Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)’. The track is considered one of the Temptations’ signature songs, and is notable for recalling the sound of the group’s 1960s recordings. It is also the final Temptations single to feature founding members Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams.

In 1975, Steve Miller was charged with setting fire to the clothes of a friend, Benita Diorio. When police arrived at Miller’s house, Diorio was putting out the flames, Miller then got into a fight with some of the policemen and was charged with resisting arrest.

Pink Floyd Begins Recording Live Performances at Pompeii

Posted on March 23, 2018 by Rick Watts

On This Day in Rock: March 23

In 2008 – Neil Aspinall, who ran the Apple Corps music empire for the Beatles from 1970 – 2007 died at a hospital in New York from cancer aged 66.

In 2004 – An album Paul Simon recorded in 1965 that has never saw the light of day in America gets its first official release there. “The Paul Simon Songbook,” previously only available as an import and long out-of-print even in that form, is released via Columbia/Legacy. The original 12-track album was recorded in the wake of the lukewarm response afforded Simon & Garfunkel’s 1964 debut, “Wednesday Morning 3 A.M.”

In 1985 – Billy Joel marries model Christie Brinkley. The couple splits nine years later.

In 1972 – Pink Floyd spend the first of eight days recording performances at Pompeii, Italy’s Roman amphitheater. The film was later released as “Pink Floyd At Pompeii”, and is one of the greatest-ever concert films (at least in KMZN DJ Bob Allen’s humble opinion).

Eric Clapton Loses Son After Tragic Accident

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Rick Watts

March 20: On This Day

In 1991 – Conor Clapton, the 4-year-old son of rock guitarist Eric Clapton, dies when he falls out the window of a 53rd-floor apartment in New York. The tragedy was the second for Clapton in less than a year. His agent, tour manager and bodyguard died the previous summer in the same plane crash that killed blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan.

In 1984 – Slim Jim Phantom of the Stray Cats marries actress Britt Ekland. They later divorced in 1992.

In 1980 – A 28-year-old truck driver takes the office manager of Elektra/Asylum Records’ New York branch hostage. Joseph Riviera, the kidnapper, demands that either Jackson Browne or the Eagles give him money in order to start his own business. Neither responds, and he eventually surrenders to New York police.

In 1976 – Alice Cooper married 19-year-old Sheryl Goddard, a ballerina instructor/choreographer whom performed in the Alice Cooper show from 1975 to 1982. In November 1983, at the height of Cooper’s alcoholism, Sheryl filed for divorce, but by mid-1984, she and Cooper had reconciled. The couple has remained together since. They have three children.

In 1971 – Yes release The Yes Album in the UK.

Chris Stapletons’s Cover of Elton John’s ‘I Want Love’ Is Amazing

Posted on March 19, 2018 by Rick Watts

Details of the Elton John tribute albums, “Revamp and Restoration,” have been revealed. The Revamp disc will include a Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart duet from Q Tip and Demi Lovato. On Restoration, Chris Stapleton delivers a powerful rendition of I Want Love.

“At any stage of life you can pick out a moment…and there’s an Elton John song playing somewhere in the background,” says Chris. “His music reaches that far.”

The two-disc “Restoration” LP, due April 6, coincide with John’s retirement from performing. He heads out for an extensive final tour of North America in September.

Check out Stapleton’s version of “I Want Love” on the right.

Source: Rolling Stone

Wedding Bells for Bowie

Posted on March 19, 2018 by Rick Watts

March 19: This Day in Rock

In 2002 – A taping of CMT’s Crossroads is cancelled when Ryan Adams falls ill. His show partner Elton John refuses to have the audience dismissed and delights the studio listeners with a solo performance.

In 1996 – the second Beatles Anthology series was released. The album featured ‘Real Love’, a track the remaining members of the Beatles recorded using an old demo track of John Lennon’s. The song was first recorded by Lennon in 1977 with a handheld tape recorder on his piano at home, it originated as part of an unfinished stage play that Lennon was working on at the time entitled “The Ballad of John and Yoko.”

In 1982 – Randy Rhoads, the lead guitarist for heavy metal star Ozzy Osbourne, is killed when the plane in which he is flying buzzes Osbourne’s tour bus and crashes into a house in Leesburg, Fla. He is 25.

In 1976 – Paul Kossof guitarist with Free and Back Street Crawler died of heart failure on a flight from Los Angeles to New York. Kossof had a long history of drug abuse. Free had the 1970 UK No.2 & US No.4 single ‘All Right Now’.

In 1970 – David Bowie marries his first wife, Angie Barnett.

In 1958 – Simon and Garfunkel release their first single, “Our Song,” under the moniker Tom & Jerry.

Tiger Woods Still Brings Ratings Gold For Golf

Posted on March 13, 2018March 13, 2018 by Rick Watts

NBC saw a record 5.11 overnight rating on Sunday for its 3PM – 6PM coverage of the final round of the Valspar Championship. You know…the one in which Tiger Woods came within one stroke of winning for the first time since 2013?

Oh, and that overnight rating was the best rating for a non-Major PGA Tour event since the 2013 Players Championship.

And Sunday’s final round was also the best-rated golf telecast (other than The Masters) since the 2015 PGA Championship.

NBC Sports also saw a record 3.26 overnight rating on Saturday for its coverage of the third round. It was the best-rated Round 3 of a PGA Tour event on any broadcast network since 2006, and the best rating for the Valspar tournament in its history—an eye-popping 181% gain over Round 3 of the event last year.

And golf can look for Tiger’s successor all it wants, but those Saturday and Sunday numbers were all without Jordan Spieth or Rory McIlroy, who both missed the cut after Friday, and the number one ranked golfer in the world Dustin Johnson who sat this tourney out.

They all tuned in to see if Tiger.

Because when Tiger is competing on Sunday, nothing else can.

Source: Yahoo! Finance; Photo: Tiger Woods Facebook Page

Earth, Wind & Fire Grandstand Tickets On Sale This Friday

Posted on March 5, 2018 by Rick Watts

(DES MOINES, Iowa) – The Iowa State Fair recently announced that decades spanning, chart toppers Earth, Wind & Fire will take the stage at the Iowa State Fair Grandstands on Thursday, August 16.

Earth, Wind & Fire joins already announced Grandstand Acts: Casting Crowns (August 9), Reba (August 10), Old Dominion (August 12), Jim Gaffigan (August 14), and Sugarland (August 17), Florida Georgia Line (August 19). Tickets for Earth, Wind & Fire (August 16) go on sale on Friday, March 9, at 10:00 AM.

With a signature sound beyond category and a groove as deep as the soul of the planet, the band’s legendary journey has set the standard for music of all genres and made a profound and lasting impact on popular culture. Earth, Wind & Fire has released 23 albums. They have recorded eight #1 R&B singles and eight Double Platinum Top 10 Pop Albums. Earth, Wind & Fire has earned more than 50 Gold and Platinum albums and sold over 100 million albums worldwide, earning them a solid spot as one of best-selling music artists of all time.

Ticket prices vary depending on location of seats in the Grandstand. Tickets can be purchased at www.etix.com or by calling 800-514-3849. Please see concert maps for reserved and standing pit area seating. Convenience charges apply to all tickets. Grandstand tickets do not include Fair admission, but discounted advanced admission tickets are available at www.iowastatefair.org. The Iowa State Fair is not responsible for tickets purchased through any third party vendors; please check that you are purchasing tickets from www.etix.com.

Source: Iowa State Fair

Ozzy Hits the Books

Posted on March 2, 2018March 2, 2018 by Rick Watts

March 2: This Day in Music

In 2010 – A Ozzy Osbourne book signing at a Florida Barnes & Noble turns dramatic when the bomb squad is called in, due to a fan with some marijuana and homemade fireworks.

In 1983 – The compact disc is launched.

And in 2008 – Canadian guitarist and singer, Jeff Healey, dies of cancer. Healey had been blind from the age of one when he lost his sight to retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the eyes. His eyes had to be surgically removed, and he was given ocular prostheses. The cancer returned in 2007 and ultimately claimed his life a year later at the age of 41.

Eric Clapton Invited to North Korea

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Rick Watts

Feb 27: On This Day in Music

In 2008 – Eric Clapton is invited to play a landmark concert in communist North Korea, according to an official at the country’s embassy in London. The confirmation follows a report in today’s Financial Times which claimed that North Korea had invited Clapton to perform in the capital Pyongyang in 2009.

In 2004 – A worker in a supermarket in Aspen, Colorado alerted the police-after seeing a man shopping with his face covered by a mask. Police arrived on the scene and identified the man as Michael Jackson who was in town on holiday with his children.

In 1977 – Not a good day for Keith Richards. While sleeping at Toronto’s Harbour Castle Hotel, he’s awakened by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who search the suite. They find 22 grams of heroin, 5 grams of cocaine, and drug paraphernalia. The Rolling Stones guitarist is arrested and charged with possessing cocaine and heroin with intent to traffic. He’s released on $25,000 bail and trial is set for October.

And in 1967 – Pink Floyd record Arnold Layne, their first single.

Offbeat News: Exercising Demons, A Wiz Kid & More

Posted on February 27, 2018February 27, 2018 by Rick Watts

“Exercising Demons”

The Vatican is set to hold a week-long international conference in April after demands for exorcisms have increased. The church is particularly concerned about the inconsistent skills in current exorcists and fear priests are no longer willing to learn how to do it.

This all comes after a four-day meeting in Sicily where one of the organizers, Friar Beningo Palilla, said there are at least 500,000 cases asking for exorcisms a year in Italy. Why so many? Palilla thinks it’s because people often see fortune tellers and Tarot readers that “open the door to the devil and to possession.” Regardless of the demand, Palilla thinks priests could use some extra training.

He suggests intense training for priests to become exorcists including an apprenticeship. The goal of the conference will be “to offer a rich reflection and articulation on a topic that is sometimes unspoken and controversial.”

“Vote ‘The King’ for Congress”

It seems that Elvis Presley is gunning for the open congressional seat in Arkansas. We’re not talking about the actual King. Elvis D. Presley actually impersonates the rock and roller Elvis A. Presley, but now he’s switching gears to run as the Libertarian nominee for congress in Arkansas. His opponent? Republican Rep. Rick Crawford, who’s held the position four terms.

“Wiz Kid in a Doozy”

A boy got trapped on an elevator in China after peeing on the control panel. Surveillance camera shows the boy taking a wiz on the buttons, which caused the elevator to malfunction. The doors never fully open and the elevator eventually goes dark sending the boy into panic. Turns out his pee caused the control panel to short circuit. He was eventually rescued, but he and his family are expected to pay for the damage he caused.

“Think Before You Ink”

A U.K. tattoo artist, Eli Ink has inked his entire body including his eyeballs and the inside of his mouth. The process for inking his eyes could have gone terribly wrong, but he doesn’t care. It’s all part of his plan to look like a character in a Pablo Picasso painting.

“In my opinion, the only person who will only ever understand my transition properly is me. I don’t attempt to describe it to anyone,” Ink says. “I wanted to look like an abstract character in one of Picasso’s paintings. I love the abstract look, no thought, just pure expression.”

Tattooing his eyes could have had horrible consequences, but that was a risk Ink was willing to take. “That’s the risk you take letting anyone near your eyes, even trained surgeons can make mistake,” he notes. “Body modification is a risk taker’s lifestyle.”

So with all he’s done to modify his body already, what’s next? “I will never be finished,” he offers. “It will take me the rest of my life to finish my studies but I am dedicating the rest of my life to body modification and perfecting my work.”

STUPID CRIMINALS:

Australian police have arrested a man who managed to fit 650 pounds of the meth ingredient ephedrine inside highlighter markers. The New South Wales Police Force teamed up with the Australian Border Force after finding 50 boxes of 21,000 pens containing the substance. This amount of ephedrine could have been used to make $120-million in meth.
Police in Missouri have arrested Jonathan A. Menth after he led cops on a chase while driving an ATV naked. Menth led the chase for about 20 minutes and even went on the interstate. Police were eventually able to arrest him and he’s charged with second-degree burglary, tampering with a motor vehicle, and first degree sexual misconduct.
A Florida man was arrested after setting his neighbor’s Corvette on fire. Brandon Rivera claims his neighbors have stolen things from him including his lawnmower. Rivera used a Gatorade bottle filled with gasoline and poured it into the car. He then lit it on fire with a lighter, closed the door of the car, and walked away. His neighbors’ roommate was there at the time and put the fire out with a garden hose. Rivera was charged with burglary and arson.

For more Offbeat News, check out DJ Bob Allen’s Facebook Page, tune your dial to 99.5FM KMZN, or click here to listen live.

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