I was a bit surprised at how I was affected by the recent news of David Cassidy’s failing health and then the news of his death. Like many people, it had been decades since I had really followed his career. But his voice and music were a big part of the reason I came to love music.
As a kid, one of my favorite television shows was The Partridge Family, which ran from September 1970 to March 1974. Each episode featured pop music, that even if not actually featuring the whole “family,” did feature David Cassidy and Shirley Jones.
Their hit “I Think I Love You” became one of my favorite songs after I bought the 45 rpm single. Yeah, it was pop music and even David Cassidy would for a time try to distance himself from the music of The Partridge Family. But it was a wonderful introduction to popular music for this kid.
I remember him on the teen magazines and the girls who liked him for his looks as well as his voice. But at that time, I had yet to discover the younger version of Elvis or to delve into Dylan or discover Springsteen. David Cassidy was my first rock star.
Whenever I hear music from Cassidy it always makes me smile to this day. And what’s not to love about that? Rest in peace.
What is your favorite memory of David Cassidy? Leave your two cents in the comments.
On June 25, 1967, the first live, world-wide satellite program was broadcast to an estimated 350 million people around the world. The “Our World” global broadcast ran for a little more than two hours and featured representatives from around the world. Fourteen countries provided material (after the Soviet Union and six other Eastern Bloc countries pulled out apparently in response to Western nations’ response to the Six Day War).
“All You Need is Love”
The Beatles, the biggest music act of the time, represented Great Britain and the BBC. The band performed “All You Need Is Love” with a little help from some friends.
The song was written specifically for the “Our World” broadcast. After the Beatles signed the contract in May for the show, John Lennon wrote “All You Need Is Love” for the broadcast. Then, the band recorded a rhythm track and some backing vocals. The song was especially powerful considering the Vietnam War was a major issue at the time.
The Beatles performance of “All You Need Is Love” from Studio Two at Abbey Road Studio included The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Graham Nash, and Marianne Faithfull singing along in the audience. According to The Beatles Bible website, Lennon recorded additional vocals after the broadcast.
The entire Beatles performance of “All You Need is Love’ is not currently available on YouTube, but you may check out a portion of the Beatles segment below.
The original broadcast appeared in black and white, but the above video is from 1995’s The Beatles Anthology special, which colorized parts of this segment, using color photographs taken at the event.
Playing for Change
The “Our World” performance is not the only time “All You Need Is Love” went around the world. Although not done with the technological marvel of a live broadcast, Playing for Change put together kids from around the world singing the song about love and harmony.
Check out the Playing for Change version of “All You Need is Love.”
What is your favorite part of “All You Need Is Love”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
P. Jay Sidney, who was born as Sidney Parhm Jr. on April 8, 1916 in Virginia, was a groundbreaking actor who fought to help integrate television starting in the 1950s. He often was relegated to small walk-on parts such as doormen and waiters. But the African-American actor also played some substantial parts as he struggled to both make a living and to fight against the racism of the times.
Sidney’s Acting Career
Sidney started out with a career on stage and on radio. But then he began making a living in TV starting in 1951. He garnered some substantial roles such as that of Private Palmer on The Phil Silvers Show.
Sidney continued to take what roles he could get. He appeared in more than one-hundred and seventy shows. He also did voice-over work and took roles in advertisements, such as Waxin Jackson in Ajax commercials.
Sidney’s Battle Against Discrimination
Sidney’s activism was fueled by the discrimination he saw in the limited roles given to African-American actors. He marched. And he advocated for a boycott against Lever Brothers for only using black talent for commercials aimed at African-Americans. He testified before the U.S. House of Representatives in 1962. He picketed. And he spoke out when he saw discrimination and encouraged others to do the same.
A December 7, 2015 article in The New Yorker, “American Untouchable,” by Emily Nussbaum discusses some of the toll that the discrimination took on Sidney. His story is also recounted in Donald Bogle’s book, Primetime Blues. As in the case of baseball player Jackie Robinson, one may see that standing up to racism is not easy.
But as in the case of Robinson, we need to remember P. Jay Sidney. He was a dignified man who did a job while also standing up for something greater.
Below, Sidney plays a small role as a doctor in a 1961 episode of Route 66, “Goodnight Sweet Blues.” In this opening clip of the episode, you may see Sidney at around the 3:16 mark, as a family doctor getting some assistance from a white cardiologist.
Sidney never got to see equal representation of African-American actors on TV or in Hollywood. But he helped us take an early step toward that destination. Moses never made it to the Promised Land, and Sidney’s final role in a movie was playing a bellman in A Kiss Before Dying (1991).
Yet, other actors, like Ossie Davis recognized that they were able to get jobs because of Sidney’s activism. Sidney passed away on September 30, 1996, and while an increase in television channels has created more opportunities for non-white actors, Sidney’s legacy can be seen in critiques like the recent Oscar So White campaign in Hollywood.
Sidney’s battle, which is a battle for all of us, continues.
One of the coolest videos on YouTube combines a hit instrumental with fast-flashing works of art. The story of the tune, “Classical Gas,” and the video, “3000 Years of Art,” go back to the Smothers Brothers in the 1960s.
The Creation of “Classical Gas”
Mason Williams, who was born August 24, 1938, was a comedy writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. The show began its first season during the winter of 1967. After the show completed its first season, Williams began to work on some other projects.
Following a two-week tour with Dick and Tom Smothers in Las Vegas, Williams returned home and picked up his guitar. He had missed playing the instrument and decided to write something he could play for friends.
So, Williams started on a piece he called “Classical Gasoline.” He got the idea for the title from his thought that the piece would be “fuel” for the classical guitar. He continued working on the tune during the second season of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1968.
At one point, the Warner Bros. music label asked Tom Smothers for suggestions of new artists to add to its label. And, one of the artist he suggested was Mason Williams from his show. So, Williams began working on The Mason Williams Phonograph Record for Warner Bros.
One of the songs featured on the record was the finished version of “Classical Gasoline.” But the music copyist made the mistake of writing the name as “Classical Gas.” The new name stuck. As Williams later explained, “It wasn’t until sometime later that I realized most people were thinking ‘Gas’ as in ‘Hey man, it’s a gas!’
Below, Williams performs “Classical Gas” in 1968.
“3000 Years of Art”
After Williams premiered the tune on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, the song climbed the charts. Then, Williams contacted a filmmaker named Dan McLaughlin. McLaughlin had made a student video putting together Beethoven’s 5th Symphony with a montage of art works. Williams asked him to do the same with “Classical Gas.”
So, McLaughlin created “3000 Years of Art” with the tune, using fast images in a visual effect that is now called kinestasis. The images purport to show a history of art in three minutes.
The video premiered on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1968. Check out the really cool video of “3000 Years of Art” below.
In 1969, “Classical Gas” went on to win three Grammy Awards. The awards were for Best Instrumental Composition, Best Contemporary-Pop Performance, Instrumental, and Best Instrumental Arrangement.
One unusual cartoon character from classic cartoons was Eugene the Jeep, an animal that might be a magical dog, from the “Popeye” cartoons.
On March 16, 1936, Eugene the Jeep made its first appearance in the Thimble Theatre strip that starred Popeye. The Jeep was a yellow creature, somewhat like a dog. But, unlike a dog, Eugene walked on his hind legs and had magical powers.
The history of Eugene the Jeep is a little blurry because of different stories in Popeye episodes. But it was an interesting and unusual character who we hope one day may make it to the big screen.
From Where Did Eugene the Jeep Come?
In the comic strip, Eugene the Jeep’s origin was explained by the fact that Olive Oyl’s Uncle Ben found Eugene in Africa and then gave it to Olive. Animated episodes, however, provided different takes on Eugene.
In animated versions of Popeye, the animators treated Eugene the Jeep largely as a “magical dog.” In The Jeep (1938), Popeye gave Eugene to Olive Oyl and Swee’Pea.
But a few years later in Popeye Presents Eugene the Jeep (1940), Popeye received Eugene from Olive. In the episode, he acts like he had never seen the “baby puppy” before. The episode is not available for embedding but is available on YouTube.
Near Misses With Movies
Eugene the Jeep almost made it onto the big screen with Robin Williams in Robert Altman’s 1980 movie Popeye. An early screenplay by Jules Feiffer included Eugene the Jeep.
But reportedly it was difficult to make the magical creature believable in the live-action film. So, he was taken out of the story. Some of his magic remained, though, as the writer gave some of the Jeep’s characteristics to Swee’ Pea in the movie.
But although Eugene the Jeep missed out on that movie, he is still around. For example, he is the school mascot for a couple of high schools.
At one point, Eugene the Jeep was scheduled finally to make it to the big screen by appearing in a 3D Popeye movie directed by Gennedy Tarakovsky (Hotel Transylvania). Tarakovsky left the project in 2015 after disagreeing with the studio, which wanted a more modern version of Popeye. Still, in 2020, there were rumors that there was hope the movie might still get made.
The video below features a screen test of animation from Tarakovsky’s film, including an appearance by Eugene the Jeep.
We will have to wait and see whether Eugene the Jeep ever makes it to the big screen.
What is your favorite Eugene the Jeep story? Leave your two cents in the comments.
I was a bit surprised at how I was affected by the recent news of David Cassidy’s failing health and then the news of his death. Like many people, it had been decades since I had really followed his career. But his voice and music were a big part of the reason I came to love music.
. As in the case of baseball player Jackie Robinson, one may see that standing up to racism is not easy.
for Warner Bros.