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Every week, we present “ROCK REMEMBERED,” a deep dive into the hidden history of rock & roll, the stories behind the artists and songs that changed the world. Join host, “Boomtown Bill” Cross each Wednesday at 7 pm (Eastern) with an encore broadcast on Saturday at noon (Eastern).
Join us today for the seldom-told story of "The Beatles' Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year!"
For those who can’t get enough of the Swedish supergroup, we may have good news for you.
In 2021, ABBA surprised everyone by releasing their first album of new material in forty years (Voyager). Their holograms are also playing shows in a specially built theater in the UK. Sadly, there are no further announced projects featuring the four original members, but there have been a number of albums that come close to capturing the ABBA sound.
That’s because Benny Andersson, one of the B’s in ABBA, formed another group called Benny Anderssons Orkester (possessives in Swedish do not use apostrophes). This group has, so far, released six studio albums, a Christmas album, a live album, and two compilation albums.
What sets the group (also known as BAO) apart from most other recording and performing acts is the really eclectic blend of genres they embrace. Each album combines traditional Swedish folk music with classical, pop, and jazz influences. Most of the tracks are pure instrumentals with the occasional vocals being provided by Helen Sjöholm and Tommy Körberg, two performers well-known in Sweden.
While Benny writes all of the original music for the group when they do need lyrics, more often than not, those are provided by the other B in ABBA, Björn Ulvaeus.
BAO has been very successful in their native country. Each of their albums has landed in that country’s top 10, three reaching #1, Their single, "Du Är Min Man" (“You Are My Man”), was featured on the Swedish weekly radio charts for an astounding 258 weeks (spending 65 of those weeks at #1). The group has also toured Sweden where Benny insists that a dance floor be provided in the audience so concertgoers can dance as well as listen.
The group has released one album aimed primarily at an English-speaking audience. Story of a Heart came out in 2009. Released under the name Benny Andersson Band, it charted in both the UK and Norway. The album is a mix of previously released tracks (instrumentals needing no translation) and English-language versions of some of their more popular songs.
So, if you’re still looking for more ABBA-flavored pop, be advised that each album contains tunes well outside the boundaries of conventional pop and rock. But the most ABBA-like tunes in the BAO catalog include (the first four all feature English lyrics):
“Story of a Heart”
"Fait Accompli"
“Crush on You”
“You Are My Man” (Re-recording of "Du Är Min Man" with English lyrics)
“Bara, Bara Du” (“Only, Only You”)
“En Dag i Sänder” (“One Day at a Time”)
“Hem Till Mamma” (“Home to Mamma”)
As we age, our bones lose some of their density. But there are some exercises that can help your bones maintain their health.
If running isn’t the right fit for you, experts say go for a walk and stomp your foot 2 or 3 times every 10 steps (alternating feet, naturally).Pretend like you're trying to crush an empty soda can. That can actually help stimulate and protect your bones.
BTW – walking on real ground rather than a treadmill is also better for your legs.
On paper, this TV series couldn’t miss. It was created by the two guys (Bill Persky & Sam Denoff) who had been head writers on The Dick Van Dyke Show and had launched Marlo Thomas to stardom by creating That Girl for her just a year earlier. It had TV series geniuses, Sheldon Leonard and Carl Reiner, calling the shots behind the scenes.
Unfortunately, Good Morning, World crashed and burned after only a single season.
The show’s premise was original. It starred Ronnie Schell and Joby Baker as a pair of zany morning DJs named Lewis & Clarke at a struggling L.A. radio station owned by Billy DeWolfe. Baker was married to a cute, sexy wife (Julie Parrish) while Schell was dating a ditzy blonde, played by a newcomer named Goldie Hawn.
What went wrong? It seems the show’s writers chose to focus the show on the wrong characters. The series began as a starring vehicle for Schell, who had become a breakout character as Jim Nabors’ best buddy on Gomer Pyle. But the writers treated the show like another Dick Van Dyke, revolving most of the plots around Baker and Parrish as the young married couple.
The problem was that Baker was no Dick Van Dyke and Parrish was no Mary Tyler Moore. Apparently, Baker had real trouble memorizing his lines while Parrish was battling some real-life medical issues. So, the characters with the real comedic chops, Schell, DeWolfe and of course, Hawn, were relegated to supporting character status. In fact, Hawn only appeared in a handful of the series’ 26 episodes.
According to Schell, there was talk of a second season, recasting the Baker & Parrish roles, but CBS decided instead to simply throw in the towel.
There was a silver lining. Schell was welcomed back onto Gomer Pyle while a producer named George Schlatter had caught the show and thought the ditzy blonde actress might have potential. He called Goldie and asked her if she might want to continue playing basically the same character on a new variety show he was putting together. That show was called Laugh-In.
Hawn said yes and the rest is show biz history.
During the early part of the 1960s, the absolute, “must-have” piece of jewelry for young men was the I.D. bracelet, most famously made by Speidel. They were relatively inexpensive as jewelry goes and came in silver or gold.
The purpose of the bracelet was not really to be worn by the male who purchased it and had his first name engraved boldly on it. It was to be given away to his girlfriend, who would then wear it as a symbol that the particular male in question was “taken.” It also provided something concrete that the girl could give back to the guy to establish in physical terms that she was breaking up with him.
The bracelets were large and clunky. They fit on guys’ wrists rather loosely, so you can imagine the trouble some females had keeping them on their arms. But it didn’t matter. Your boyfriend’s letterman jacket could only be worn outdoors (and then only in cooler weather and only if your boyfriend had a letterman jacket), the I.D. bracelet would announce your relationship status no matter where you were or how athletic your boyfriend was.
There is no record of where the fad started, but it faded as the decade wore on. Yet, those bracelets are still available from multiple sources today (including Speidel), so somebody must still be wearing them.