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 today as we give "More Classics That Are Actually Cover Songs!"
The best-selling American band of all time is the Eagles. And their best-selling, non-greatest-hits LP is Hotel California. Released in 1976, that album has racked up sales of over 30 million certified copies and ranks #3 on the worldwide list of best-selling albums of all time (right behind their own Greatest Hits LP at #2).
The title song is one of the reasons for its enduring popularity. But what was the inspiration for the song and what do its cryptic lyrics mean?
Well, like most great rock songs, the composers have been very vague, allowing each listener to define the song’s meaning for themselves. Glen Frey said that he and co-authors Don Henley and Don Felder wanted to create a song that was like a Twilight Zone episode. Weird when you think that the Twilight Zone attraction at Disney theme parks is also based on a hotel where guests check in but “never leave.” But as to its exact meaning, Frey says he doesn’t really know himself.
For his part, Henley says the song is about “a journey from innocence to experience…that’s all.”
Whatever it means to you, “Hotel California” was released as the second single from the album and went straight to #1 in the U.S. and Canada, also reaching the Top 10 in the U.K. and several other countries. It remains a staple of classic rock radio stations and is in the rotation here at Boomtown America. Plenty of room and any time of year, you can find it here.
No doubt your dentist tells you to floss, but is there any research to back up that advice?
Surprisingly, no.
There has never been a study to test the benefits of flossing. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you should stop flossing. No research simply means, we have no scientific evidence one way or the other. The American Dental Association still recommends flossing as well as brushing twice daily to maintain healthy teeth and gums.
A.K.A. The Danny Thomas Show
Virtually forgotten now, Make Room for Daddy was one of TV’s earliest and most successful sitcoms.
But it took a long and winding road to get there and along the way, it created some television firsts.
Danny Thomas had already flopped hosting a variety show, but ABC was willing to give him a try in a sit-com. So, Danny Thomas the entertainer played an entertainer named Danny Williams (quite the acting stretch, eh?), who juggled his career, wife (Jean Hagen) and two kids, Rusty (Rusty Hamer) and Terry (Sherry Jackson).
The show debuted 1953 and limped through 3 seasons of mediocre ratings. Hagen, not fond of her part or of Thomas, left the show. Instead of re-casting the role, Make Room for Daddy went in a new and untried direction. The show simply explained that Danny’s wife had died. He spent season 4 dating various women and finally proposing to an Irish nurse, Kathy O’Hara, played by Marjorie Lord, in the season 4 finale.
Viewers in the mid-1950's apparently did not like the concept of a single dad. Rating slumped and ABC cancelled the show. Then something unusual happened. CBS was looking for a show to replace I Love Lucy, which was ending its long run. They decided to move Danny’s sit-com, lock, stock and punch lines to CBS.
Season 5 opened with Danny and Kathy already married and added her young daughter Linda (Angela Cartwright) to the cast. Suddenly, TV’s first “blended family” was ratings gold, soaring to #2 in the ratings.
In all, Make Room for Daddy or The Danny Thomas Show as it came to be known ran for 11 seasons, remaining a top 10 show from season 5 on. It featured many recurring characters who became audience favorites including Sid Melton as Danny’s manager Charlie Harper and Pat Carroll as Charlie’s wife, Bunny. Far and away the most popular of the recurring characters was Hans Conried as Uncle Tonoose.
Perhaps its most lasting contribution to TV history was that its success allowed co-producers Danny Thomas and Sheldon Leonard to bankroll other TV series.
Among the other series produced by the team of Thomas and Leonard: The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Andy Griffith Show.
Shazam!
Besides the obvious sexism, implying single women were somehow going ketchup-less...do you find anything, oh, somewhat suggestive about the woman's pose and what she's running her finger over?