’70s POP MUSIC ICON FOUND UNRESPONSIVE; DIES OF CARDIAC ARREST
Karen Carpenter(click image 2x for largest view)
LOS ANGELES — Karen Carpenter, one-half of the Carpenters, the top-pop duo of the 1970s, died Friday (February 4) of full cardiac arrest at Downey Community Hospital near here. Carpenter, 32, was taken to the hospital at 9:23 a.m. by her parents and brother Richard, and was pronounced dead at 9:51 a.m.
An autopsy is pending though it is known that Carpenter suffered from anorexia nervosa for which she was first hospitalized several years ago.
The Carpenters signed with A&M in 1969 and went on to cut 11 albums for the label, of which eight went gold. They also reached Billboard’s Hot 100 with all 28 of their singles releases, of which 10 went gold.
(Information and news source: Billboard; February 12, 1983).
A U G U S T 1 1 , 1 9 6 4 : T O D A Y I N M U S I C H I S T O R Y
___
1964: The Beatles’ first film, ‘A Hard Day’s Night,’ has its U.S. premiere in New York City.
Today In Pop Music History: August 11, 1964
A BRIEF NOTE: While every previous English versions of the film has since been removed from YouTube, yes, we did find one. And while the foreign sub-captions can be a somewhat distraction, ignore it. You’ll note this version of “A Hard Day’s Night” is truly indeed — English! — enjoy. — MCRFB.COM
F E B R U A R Y 9 , 1 9 6 4 : T O D A Y I N M U S I C H I S T O R Y
___
1964:At 8:00 PM EST,CBS’ Ed Sullivan Show takes to the airwaves to broadcast the Beatles’ first US television appearance. Nearly 73 million Americans — a record for its time, and still one of the highest ratings ever — watch as John, Paul, George and Ringo perform “All My Loving,” “Till There Was You,” “She Loves You,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand” to 703 screaming teenage fans (mostly girls) in the audience.
‘BEATLES AND SHRIEKS ON U.S. TV’: Beatles New York Daily News feature, February 10, 1964 (click image for larger view)
Although the group realized how important America was to their career, they had no idea just how important the Sullivan show was to domestic audiences; when the full impact of the event hit them just before the show, John Lennon became so nervous he taped the band’s song lyrics to the back of his guitar, just in case.
Before the band’s performance, Sullivan reads a telegram: “Congratulations on your appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show and your visit to America STOP We hope your engagement will be successful and your visit pleasant STOP Sincerely Elvis and the Colonel.” During “Till There Was You,” a message flashes when John appears on-screen: “Sorry, girls. He’s married.”
While the music can barely be heard over the screams, this one show has an enormous effect on galvanizing future rock stars into attempting their own version of Beatlemania. Indeed, one other future music star from Britain appears on the show this night — the Monkees’ Davy Jones, performing as part of the cast of Broadway’s Oliver!
___
Today In Pop Music History: February 9, 1964
The Beatles on CBS’ Ed Sullivan Show. Sunday, February 9, 1964(click on image for larger view)
ALSO: From the MCRFB news archives — a 1964 article from Billboard magazine,‘MEET THE BEATLES’ January 18, 1964. Published three weeks prior the Beatles’ North American visit in February, 1964. (With complete ‘Meet The Beatles’ Capitol LP audio in stereo)!
WANT MORE BEATLES? See our menu, under ‘Categories.’ (And to fully appreciate the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show spread under ‘The Beatles’ header photo above — click on image for expanded view).
AND: In commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ 1964 first U.S. visit on CBS.com., see‘THE BEATLES U. S. INVASION’A Cultural Milestone 50 Years Later: The Fab Four’s Appearance On The “Ed Sullivan Show”
___
Youtube: From the British MOVIETONE News film archives, 1964 ‘BEATLES HIT NEW YORK‘ (attached video below).
T R I N I L O P E Z who really made it big in the United States during the last year, got his momentum from his acceptance of “If I Had A Hammer.”
As his manager Bullets Durgom explains, “Trini caught on fast in Europe because the people liked his sound and beat.” Durgom said he found it aggravating attempting to convince American booking agents that Trini had been a success on his own merit in Europe in 1964 and deserve showcasing here.
“They didn’t want to believe his European success,” Bullets said. “They thought it was manufactured.”
But in little over a year the 27 year-old Dallas singer had broken attendance marks, set the Europeans singing and dancing along with his infectious melodic style and traveled more than 100,000 miles to earn $480,000 dollars.
At the Olympic Music Hall in Paris, the Reprise artist reportedly stole the spotlight from the Beatles, earning more encores than the Fab Four. In berlin, 23,000 fans crammed inside an arena to hear him sing. In Buenos Aires he drew 60,000.
Trini Lopez opened for the Beatles while in Paris, 1964, to critic’s acclaim.
More of the same occurred in Holland, Spain, Italy, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Australia, England, Germany, Monte Carlo, Beirut, Canada and Mexico.
In Mexico City, he broke the attendance record at the Terrazza Cassino and earned $80,000 for two weeks’ work.
Trini’s success in Europe can be directly traced to the single, “If I Had A Hammer,” culled from his debut LP for Reprise. This cut was recorded live at P.J.’s, a Los Angeles night spot.
A call by Pete Felderman, Reprise’s licensee in Holland, to Mo Ostin, Reprise general manager in Burbank, California, exclaiming that “Hammer” had everybody excited, alerted the record company of a developing enthusiasm for the rising star. Felderman said if Trini could appear on the Eurovision TV show “Grand Gala De Disc,” he felt the record could break wide open all over the Continent.
Trini Lopez performed with the Beatles while in Paris, France, 1964. (Click image for larger view)
Lopez did go to Europe after ending a two-year engagement at P.J.’s and his appearance on the TV show excited other European bookers.
Durgom relates it was “thrilling to hear European audiences, many of who couldn’t speak English, singing along with Trini on such singles as “If I Had A Hammer,” America,” “This Land Is Your Land” and “Kansas City.” “It reminded me of a revival meeting,” Durgom said. The effect worked and through advance radio exposure, audiences memorized the lyrics and came in person to see the young American with the Latin accent, the infectious rocking beat along with the happy voice. Accompanying Trini on his first European tour were David Shriver, bass guitar, and Micky Jones, drums, since replaced by Gene Riggio.
When Trini returned to the United States, his first East Coast breakthrough occurred at Basin St. East in New York, where he was paced on the bill with the Smothers Brothers. This appearance resulted in national television exposure at bookings at Harold’s, Reno; Mr. Kelly’s, Chicago; Blinstrub’s, Boston; Latin Casino, Philadelphia; Off-Broadway, San Francisco; Flamingo, Las Vegas (at $15,000 per week for three weeks).
Also scheduled bookings are slated at the Eden Roc, Miami Beach. Trini’s first major booking after P.J.’s was at Cal-Neva for $1,200. The club has him booked this year at $15,000. END
___
(Information and news source; Billboard; May 15, 1965)
A MCRFB Note: Trini Lopez with the Beatles (above two photos) courtesy the official Trini Lopez website.
Trini Lopez signs an autograph for a fan during his tour across Europe in 1964.
1958: DICK CLARK’S SATURDAY NIGHT BEECH-NUT SHOW AT THE LITTLE THEATER IN NEW YORK
Beech Nut Chewing Gum was the sole sponsor of this short-lived (nearly three years) Dick Clark production. The show, out of NYC, was broadcast every Saturday on ABC-TV from February, 1958 through September, 1960. (Click image for larger view).
The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show was Dick Clark’s second attempt at a prime time show. His first, a prime-time version of American Bandstand, ran only 13 weeks. The Beechnut Show was much more successful lasting almost 3 years.
The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beechnut Show was broadcast live Saturday nights from the Little Theatre in New York City. Every weekend, Dick Clark commuted from Philadelphia to NYC to do the “Beechnut” show. There was actually two shows done each Saturday. The first was a rehearsal show where the artists could sketch out their performances and Clark could line everything up. This would have a different audience then the second show which was the one that was televised.
Beechnut Gum was actually picked up as a sponsor for the third episode to the conclusion of the show’s run. The artists that appeared usually “lip-synched” to their records. Very few actually performed live.
This is the only show to be able to make the claim of having Buddy Holly,Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper as guests (though on different episodes). All three were killed together in a plane crash on February 3, 1959.
Amazingly, Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson, two of the biggest stars of the period, never appeared on the show. The first show aired on February 2, 1958 with guests Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Willis, Johnny Ray and the Royal Teens. The final show aired on September 10, 1960. MORE
Dick Clark interviewing Fabian on the Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show in 1959. Dick Clark seen here interviewing Bobby Rydell during the show in 1959.
Addendum: Above information provided by TV.com. For the complete 1958-1960 Dick Clark Beech Nut Show summary and artist-appearance listing for every show, go here to TV.com.
Motor City Radio Flashbacks will be showcasing many of these *rare* Dick Clark video presentations here on this website from time to time. In this first installment, we present four video classics (below) from the Dick Clark Beech-Nut show as was first broadcast on national television during that memorable late-’50s rock and roll era:
Ed Sullivan backstage with the Beatles during a dress rehearsal, February, 1964. The Beatles video segment above was from their first (of four) scheduled Sunday night appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show.February 9, 1964New York, February 10 — “Seventy-million American televiewers saw the Beatles last night in action and heard the shrieks of an excited studio audience . . . . “— New York Daily NewsThe Beatles’ televised appearance that Sunday night was dated on this VIP admission ticket for the Ed Sullivan Show.
A MCRFB ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: A special thank you goes out to Kail Tescar for allowing Motor City Radio Flashbacks to use his remarkably splendid Beatles cartoon image(s) above. For more on Kail Tescar‘s wonderfully created Beatles cartoon arts, you can visit his website here.
Copyrighted material. Used with permission by the artist. All rights reserved.
HIS FIRST PROFESSIONAL ACTING gig happened when he was eleven. He was a star on the BBC’s Coronation Street at age 16. And when he was 20, Davy Jones was picked from a casting call of thousands to be part of a made-for-television rock band that became one of the most popular acts of the decade.
After seeing the filmA Hard Day’s Night,Bob RafelsonandBert Schneiderdecided to create a TV show that would feature what they hoped would be America’s answer to the Beatles. Their first choice was to sign John Sebastian’sLovin’ Spoonful, but that group already had a record contract. So they ran an ad inDaily VarietyandThe Hollywood Reporterin the fall of 1965 to find their musicians.
While each Monkee had his fan base, Davy was a particular favorite. With the British Invasion in full swing, his English accent and Beatle hair cut put him at the forefront. 38 years later,Yahoo Musicnamed him “Number 1teen idolof all time.”
Jones continued to pursue a show business career after the Monkees broke up in 1971, touring with Dolenz, Boyce & Hart and various other side men. His stage and television credits include starring with Dolenz inHarry Nilsson‘s play The Point in London and appearances on, The Brady Bunch, My Two Dads, Here Come the Brides, andLove, American Style. He continued to record, releasing his last album in 2009.
His last performance happened on February 19th in Oklahoma, just ten days before he died in his sleep of a massive heart attack at age 66.
From the MCRFB news archive: 1983
