The number one British single today in 1957 was the same single as the previous week …
… though performed by a different act:
The number one British single today in 1958:
The number one album for the fifth consecutive week today in 1976 was “Chicago IX,” which was actually “Chicago’s Greatest Hits”:
The number one single today in 1955 was banned by ABC Radio stations because it was allegedly in bad taste:
The number one album today in 1961 wasn’t a music album — Bob Newhart’s “The Button Down Mind Strikes Back!”
The number one album today in 1965 was “Beatles ’65”:
The Beatles had the number one album, “Rubber Soul” …
… and the number one single today in 1966:
First: The song of the day for those who understand what the 12 days of Christmas really mean:
The number one album today in 1968 was the Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour”:
The number one single today in 1973 included a person rumored to be the subject of the song on backing vocals:
The number one British single today in 1979 was this group’s only number one:
Nick Sparano of WGBA-TV in Green Bay:
The Packers and Vikings played Sunday night’s New Year’s Eve game under the comfort of a climate-controlled dome, but did you know there was once serious consideration of building a dome over Lambeau Field? A stadium synonymous with cold weather. Let’s dive into the history of this proposed dome and explore the real reasons why the organization abandoned the idea.
I asked the authority on Packer’s history, Cliff Christl, the Packer’s historian.
“In 1943 [Curly] Lambeau told a reporter for the United Press that within five years, once World War II ended, that he expected pro football owners to begin building roofs over their stadiums to reduce the hazards of bad weather,” said Christl.
Legendary Coach Curly Lambeau predicted the use of domes in the NFL as far back as the 1940s. It was only speculation back then, and construction of the Houston Astrodome didn’t begin for another 20 years.
“In August 1966, Lombardi admitted consideration has been given to building a dome over Lambeau Field, and I think that’s the first time the subject was ever discussed. He said it was architecturally feasible as long as the ends of the stadium remained open,” Christl added.
But again the idea of building a dome over Lambeau Field was just in the talking stages.
It wasn’t until the 1980s that the Packers commissioned an architectural study of the dome project. Christl, who covered the story at the time for the Green Bay Press-Gazette, says members of the Packers Executive Committee toured the Silverdome in Michigan to gain a better understanding of what would be involved if the Packers decided to build one.
However, it was the high cost of the project that made the idea fizzle out.
Perhaps the main reason why putting a dome over Lambeau never took off was built on the pride of playing in such harsh conditions.
“The Packers are so now so closely identified with playing outdoors and cold weather and it’s just part of their identity. I remember covering Vikings vs. Packers games at Bloomington at the old outdoor Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. When Bud Grant was coaching the Vikings and I truly believe that that’s been one of their issues is that they kind of lost their identity once they moved indoors,” Christl says.
With the legacy that followed the Ice Bowl on New Year’s Eve in 1967, weather has become the identity of the Green Bay Packers.
“I think now people would consider it pure blasphemy if they put a dome over Lambeau Field,” Packer’s historian, Cliff Christl says.
Knowing Packers players can withstand just about anything remains a testament to our resilience, connecting with fans in a way no dome ever could.
Jeff Fedotin provides visual evidence:
“To do that to Lambeau Field would be a sin,” former Packers president Bob Harlan said. “To me football’s meant to be played outside. If I talked about putting a dome on the stadium, I’m not sure I could walk to the office building from my car and still be alive.”
But before Harlan became president in 1989, the Packers engaged a design team, which included Geiger Berger Associates and The Eggers Group P.C., to study the feasibility of covering Lambeau Field with an air-supported cable restrained fabric roof.
The study, released on August 13, 1982, examined the amount of capital investment, the duration of the construction and the additional revenue that it would produce.
David Campbell, a design engineer in 1982 at Geiger Berger Associates and now the president of Geiger Engineers, estimates it would have cost at least $10 million for the roof and $5 million or 6 million for the heating and ventilation back then.
According to the study, they analyzed the potential of gathering extra revenue through “trade and travel shows, exhibitions, concerts, rodeos, horse shows, etc., as offseason users of the facility in determining the cost effectiveness of encapsulating Lambeau Field.”
If Lambeau had added a dome, the results could’ve been dire. None of those interviewed suggested that Green Bay would’ve ended up losing the franchise, but the NFL’s smallest market always has faced a unique challenge to maintain its team.
“There’s no telling what might’ve happened,” said Packers team historian Cliff Christl. “It certainly would’ve tarnished some of the tradition and charm of the franchise, its romantic appeal.”
Placing a dome on Lambeau not only would have tarnished some of the charm, but also eroded the Packers’ edge. While he was still in his prime heading into his 14th Packers season, Brett Favre had a 38-3 record at Lambeau and a 95.0 QB rating when the temperature was 34 degrees or below. …
The 1982 feasibility study is so esoteric that Harlan, who was the Packers’ corporate assistant to the president at the time — along with several other current Packers staffers — have no recollection of it.
“It wasn’t a huge story,” said Christl, who previously covered the team for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Green Bay Press-Gazette. “But I do remember writing about it.”
The Packers were simply trying to keep up with the Joneses of the NFL. In the 1980s domes seemed like the wave of the future. And two of Green Bay’s NFC Central brethren, the Lions and Vikings, had recently built domed stadiums, providing further incentive for Green Bay to explore the issue.
“The study was done, but I don’t think there was any serious follow-up on that,” Campbell said. “It never had any legs.”
The Packers also were not unique in reaching out to examine the possibility of a domed structure. Campbell worked on feasibility studies to dome San Francisco’s Candlestick Park and Oregon’s Autzen Stadium.
“A number of stadiums were interested in looking at it,” he said. “None of the major stadiums actually did it.” …
To address some of the same concerns raised in 1982 about an open-air stadium in a cold weather climate, Harlan spearheaded a major stadium renovation in 2000. Part of the $295 million overhaul was the Lambeau Field Atrium, a five-story, 366,000-square foot dining, entertainment and retail center on the east side of the stadium that makes Lambeau a 365 day-a-year destination.
“We simply could not have continued to exist in the old Lambeau Field,” Harlan said.
That renovation ensured the best of both worlds. The Packers maintained the ambience of seeing an outdoor game at Lambeau Field while also creating a structure that would generate local revenue for the publicly owned team — without having to resort to building a dome.
“It’s a 1,000 percent consensus that would ruin the Packer experience,” Christensen said. “I love sitting out at Lambeau.”
Only two domed teams, the Rams (once in St. Louis and once back in L.A.) and New Orleans, have won a Super Bowl. Only two other domed teams, Atlanta and Arizona, have gotten to a Super Bowl. (Plus Seattle when the Seahawks played in the late Kingdome, but now they play outside.) Having a dome gets you the chance to host a Super Bowl, but having a dome does not get you to the Super Bowl.
The second point to be made is that the Packers’ home record is not what it once was. The Packers have lost playoff games in Lambeau to Atlanta, Minnesota, the Giants and San Francisco, and all but the Giants should have frozen like blocks of ice in those cold-weather conditions. (The first Giants game on this list had below-zero temperature and wind chill.) The Packers lost their last game last season, a game they needed to win to get in the playoffs, to Detroit, whose last outdoor home field was Tiger Stadium in the 1970s.
But there really isn’t a compelling business or football reason for the Packers to build a dome or cover Lambeau Field. Since its opening as City Stadium in 1957, luxury boxes and club seats have been added for fans willing to pay more to avoid the elements. (Disclosure: The last time I watched a game at Lambeau sitting outside was a late ’90s preseason game.) Lambeau Field has grown from the second smallest NFL stadium when it opened to the second largest NFL stadium now, and yet the Packers have no problem selling tickets in the oldest stadium in the smallest market in major professional sports.
The stadium is also considerably far down on the list for free agent players, since they’re there basically 20 days a year (two preseason games, eight regular-season games and the day-before walk-thrus). The team’s workout facilities, where players spend much more time, would be more important, but those pale in comparison to the top two — salary and chances of winning.
The Packers and Da Bears, Sunday’s opponent, are the only two NFC North teams that play outdoors. Da Bears are trying to exit Soldier Field for a new stadium in apparently one of several possible locations. Apparently a dome is being considered.
Today’s first song is posted in honor of the first FM signal heard by the Federal Communications Commission today in 1940:
Today in 1968, Jimi Hendrix was jailed for one day in Stockholm, Sweden, for destroying the contents of his hotel room.
The culprit? Not marijuana or some other controlled substance. Alcohol.
Today in 1973, Bruce Springsteen released his first album, “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.” It sold all of 25,000 copies in its first year.
The number one single today in 1959, which (1) extended Christmas beyond where non-Episcopalians (who would tell you that Christmas lasts until Epiphany) would want it, and (2) proves yet again that there is no accounting for taste:
Today in 1970, the Who’s Keith Moon was trying to escape from a gang of skinheads when he accidentally hit and killed chauffeur Neil Boland.
The problem was Moon’s attempt at escape. He had never passed his driver’s license test.
DePauw University Prof. Jeffrey M. McCall:
The former opinion editor of the New York Times, James Bennet, took his former employer to task recently in a lengthy essay. The headline of the piece boldly asserted that the New York Times has “lost its way.” Inasmuch as the newspaper represents professional expectations and standards for the entire journalism world, Bennet could be translated as saying the broader news industry has also lost its way. The Times is just the largest float at the front of a parade heading in the wrong direction.
Indeed, public sentiment about the news industry as a whole is at dismal levels. Gallup polling shows Americans’ confidence in the news media to report in a “full, fair and accurate way” is at historically low levels. Given this lack of trust, it only stands to reason that Americans are less likely to follow the news at all. There is no need to consume news from sources one can’t trust. Journalists rank near the bottom of public ratings of professions in terms of ethics and honesty.
For better or worse, when Americans think of the journalism industry, the New York Times jumps to the front of their consciousness. It is the major news outlet in the nation’s most prominent city. The Times is perhaps the key player in setting the nation’s news agenda. What gets defined as news at the Times ends up being covered by virtually all broadcast networks, cable news channels and other competing news outlets.
Beyond the news topics in the agenda, however, journalists across the country, and even the world, monitor the Times to see what approach the “Gray Lady” will take on those topics. As Bennet points out, the Times has long been noted for its rather left-of-center approach to the news of the day. It can be of little surprise that other news outlets see this drift and model it, assuming that if pushing angles on the news is OK for the Times, it must therefore be an industry standard. The number of prominent news outlets that get a “lean left” label from the AllSides Media Bias Chart is worth pondering. That list includes not only the New York Times, but the Washington Post, CNN, USA Today, CBS, NBC, ABC and the Associated Press, among many others.
Bennet’s essay basically provides an insider’s window into the world of professional journalism. But his perspective just confirms what most American news consumers have known for a while — that professional journalism has taken on an activist nature. That activism has replaced journalism’s former mission to provide fact-based information on which citizens can manage their lives and hold the powerful accountable.
Of course, opinion and analysis have always been a part of journalism. Journalism has historically had a raucous component with opinion pages, endorsements and so on. But there has long been a sense in the journalism profession that such activist content was to be confined to designated sections, and that the news was to be fact-driven and balanced. Fairness is a skill that journalists once prided themselves on achieving.
New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger responded to Bennet’s essay with a formal statement disagreeing with his narrative and touting the Times’s commitment to “independent journalism.” But Bennet wasn’t disputing the need for independence in journalism — that should be a given (and, by the way, is protected by the First Amendment). The issue is whether independent news outlets can fairly fuel the broad conversation of democracy with transparency. Bennet criticized the Times as drifting from “liberal bias to illiberal bias,” caving to an “impulse to shut down debate altogether.”
The nation needs solid, sensible and fair journalism. Citizens need to know that much good journalism is still being produced. But the public has grown weary of having to search for the effective journalism being done and no longer trusts the industry “leaders” to provide it. News consumers want a news industry that serves the interests of regular people, rather than the self-interests of journalism executives riding ideological high horses.
The decline in trust and readership is hurting the news industry financially. Job cuts in journalism accelerated in the last year to record rates. With an election on the horizon, a sputtering economy and international tensions, America seriously needs an informed electorate. Citizens can’t be well informed when they abandon formerly trusted news outlets for echo chambers or social media.
The news industry needs to reinvent itself and find its principles. Given its historic stature, the New York Times could play a leading role in this new vision. Otherwise, the time could well come when the Times is known primarily as just a place to play Wordle.
The number one single on both sides of the Atlantic today in 1957:
Today in 1964, NBC-TV’s Tonight show showed the first U.S. video of the Beatles, two months after NBC News’ first report:
Today in 1967, Beach Boy Carl Wilson got his draft notice, and declared he was a conscientious objector.
Today in 1969, Jimi Hendrix appeared on BBC’s Lulu show, and demonstrated the perils of live TV:
Steve Prestegard.com: The Presteblog 