Tag: Chicago the Band

The number one album today in 1975 was “Chicago VIII”:

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Chicago is playing in the Overture Center in Madison Monday night.

Without my being there. The two words at the end of the first sentence are why, and those implications for the four-letter word “work.”

The song “25 or 6 to 4” …

… is about the torturous process of writing a song, but the words …

Waiting for the break of day
Searching for something to say
Flashing lights against the sky
Giving up I close my eyes …

Staring blindly into space
Getting up to splash my face
Wanting just to stay awake
Wondering how much I can take
Should I try to do some more
25 or 6 to 4

Feeling like I ought to sleep
Spinning room is sinking deep
Searching for something to say
Waiting for the break of day

… certainly could apply to journalism on deadline too. (The song title refers to 3:34 or 3:35 a.m.)

Chicago will be at the Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee Wednesday. Yes, I won’t be there either.

You can read about the band here.

The texting shorthand term “smh” (“shakes my head”) didn’t exist in 1955 because texting didn’t exist in 1955.

But surely “smh” was invented for things like this: Today in 1955, CBS talent scout Arthur Godfrey made a signing decision between Elvis Presley and Pat Boone.

Godfrey chose Boone.

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The Beatles had quite a schedule today in 1963. They drove from Liverpool to London through the night to appear on the BBC’s “Parade of the Pops,” which was on live at noon.

After their two songs, they drove back north another three hours to get to their evening performance at the Swimming Baths in Doncaster.

The number one song today in 1965:

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The number one British single today in 1963:

The number one single today in 1970:

The number one British single today in 1976 replaced a single that had the title of the new number one in its lyrics:

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Our first item comes from the Stupid Laws File: Today in 1956, Ohio youths younger than 18 were banned from dancing in public unless accompanied by an adult, the result of enforcing a law that dated back to 1931.

The number one single today in 1965:

The number one British single today in 1971 was the first number one by a singer from his previous group:

Today in 1977, Patti Smith broke a vertebra after falling off the stage at her concert in Tampa, Fla.

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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”:

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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:

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:

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Today in 1963, the London Times’ music critics named John Lennon and Paul McCartney Outstanding Composers of 1963. Two days later, Sunday Times music critic Richard Buckle named Lennon and McCartney “the greatest composers since Beethoven.”

The number one album today in 1969 was “Led Zeppelin II” …

… the same day that the number one single was this group’s last:

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The number one British album today in 1969 was the Rolling Stones’ “Let It Bleed”:

The number one British single today in 1980 came 12 days after its singer’s death:

The number one song today in 1986:

The number one album today in 1975 for the second consecutive week was “Chicago IX,” which was actually “Chicago’s Greatest Hits”:

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