We're all about the history of rock & roll at BoomtownAmerica.com!
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 this Saturday as we introduce you to the the surprsingly raunchy "Uncensored History of Grease!"
You'll really impress the gals when you look sharp with one of these solid hairstyles. Make an appointment with your barber today!
Back in the 70’s, David Gates was the key member of a group named Bread. Between 1970 and 1976, Bread placed 11 records on Billboard’s Hot 100 (10 of them landing in the Top 20), all of them written and sung by Gates. He scored his last success in 1977 by singing the title song to the film The Goodbye Girl. Then, he just seemed to vanish.
What happened?
Well, like a lot of bands, declining success on the single charts and internal tensions (particularly between Gates and band mate Jimmy Griffin, who also wrote and sang with Bread, just never on their singles) caused the band to break-up in 1976.
Gates tried a solo career, but outside of “Goodbye Girl,” never found much success. Instead, he took the money he had made and bought a cattle ranch (no kidding) in Northern California in the early 1980s.
Since then, he has recorded sporadically and even patched up his differences with Griffin for a Bread reunion tour in 1996-97, but for the most part, has been content to remain a cattle rancher. He has been happily married to his high school sweetheart, Jo, since 1958.
BTW, Gates was heavily involved in the music scene before forming Bread. He wrote “Popsicles & Icicles” for the Murmaids in 1964 and was the arranger on Glen Yarbrough’s 1965 hit “Baby, the Rain Must Fall.” He worked in the studio with such music heavies as Elvis Presley, Bobby Darin, Merle Haggard, Duane Eddy and Brian Wilson.
How about that, a rock star who lived happily ever after!
As we grow older, many of us begin experiencing trouble sleeping through the night. If you find yourself waking up in the dark multiple times during the night, try these “sleep hacks” to getting a good night’s rest:
- Stay in the Dark – If you do wake up, don’t turn on a light, check your cell phone, or get up to watch TV. This can mess up your internal clock and make you more likely to wake up at the same time the next night.
- Upgrade Your Bedding – Is your pillow worn out or uncomfortable? How long has it been since you replaced your mattress? New bedding may be your ticket to dreamland!
- Stick to a Schedule – Our internal clocks are not as adjustable as they once were. Try and keep your bed time and the time you rise the same – 7 days a week. (No matter how tempting it may be to sleep in on Saturday morning.)
In the early days of TV, most major Hollywood studios saw it as “the enemy,” the force that was driving down attendance at movie theaters.
In those days, only Universal (which frankly could use the money), Walt Disney (who knew how to use TV to promote his movies and new theme park) and Warner Brothers really embraced the new medium.
Warner Brothers specialized in churning out 60-minure Westerns and private eye shows for ABC-TV. They began with the Western Cheyenne. When that clicked, others soon followed. One of the first was Sugarfoot, starring Will Hutchins.
While the show lasted 4 seasons, it didn’t run every week. Its first season (1957-58), it alternated with Cheyenne. The 2nd season, Bronco was added to the rotation. It wasn’t until the 4th season (1960-61) that Sugarfoot got a regular weekly airing.
The premise of the show involved Hutchins character, Tom Brewster, the proverbial tinhorn from the East – a guy so bad at being a cowboy the other ‘ombres nicknamed him “Sugarfoot” (apparently “Twinkletoes” was a little too over the line in the late 50’s).
Sugarfoot was ostensibly a lawyer, but he seemed to get involved in a fair amount of gunplay. He also seemed to roam far from the show’s Oklahoma setting (especially given how difficult long distance travel was back in the late 1800’s.
Like another W-B Western, Maverick, Sugarfoot was played very tongue-in-cheek. Jack Elam, veteran (or should that be “grizzled veteran”) of many Westerns was a frequent co-star as Hutchins’ sidekick Toothy Thompson.
As the vogue for all things Western began to fade as our attention would turn to doctors and spies, Sugarfoot rode off into that TVland sunset, occasionally returning in reruns.
The entire series is currently available on DVD.