Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Netflix Most Rented of 2009

Today Netflix released its list of the most rented movies of 2009.

1- Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2- Seven Pounds
3- Slumdog Millionaire
4- Gran Torino
5- Changeling
6- Twilight
7- Doubt
8- Body of Lies
9- Valkyrie
10- Burn After Reading

Thursday, December 24, 2009

#1 Song of the Week

This week we turn the clock waaay back to this week in 1958 and the #1 song "The Chipmunk Song" by The Chipmunks and David Seville.
The fastest selling song of 1958 with 2.5 million copies sold in the first 3 weeks of release. Ross Bagdasarian a.k.a David Seville was the creator of the Chipmunks and at the first annual Grammy Awards took home 3 awards: Best Recording for Children, Best Comedy Performance and Best Engineered Recording.

R.I.P George Michael

View more news videos at: http://www.nbcwashington.com/video.

Monday, December 21, 2009

The Decade in Horse Racing

Good article from the New York Times covering this decade of racing.


FYI,
due to numbness in a couple of my fingers on my right hand and trouble with my left hand going numb at times, I may not be posting much in the next few days. I am scheduled to see the doctor on Wednesday.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

#1 Song of the Week

This weeks chart topper is from July 11th 1970. Sorry I am cold and needed a summer hit to make it seem warm outside.
"Mama Told Me (Not To Come) by Three Dog Night
hit the top in July 1970 where it spent 2 weeks. It knocked off "The Love You Save" by The Jackson Five.
This was the only song written by Randy Newman to hit the top, although his "Short People" made it to #2 in early 1978. This was the first #1 for the singles machine of Three Dog Night who had 21 Top 40 hits between 1969 and 1975, with 11 hitting the top 10 and 3 of those going to the top spot (Joy to the World 1971, Black and White 1972 were the others).
This was also the first #1 song on the first show of "American Top 40" hosted by Kasey Kasem.

Here are Danny Hutton, Cory Wells and Chuck Negron, Three Dog Night

Friday, December 11, 2009

Best of the 2000s: The Decade In Charts and More | Billboard.com

Best of the 2000s: The Decade In Charts and More Billboard.com

the bestselling album of the decade went to a group that isnt even around anymore, N'Sync.
top single of the decade was "We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey.

In my opinion as a grumpy old man, most of these stink. view at your own risk.

Bigfoot in the northwoods?

Bigfoot in the northwoods? Camera picks up strange image near Remer - TwinCities.com
Here is another subject I am absolutely fascinated with, Bigfoot and any other paranormal phenomenon.
One of my very favorite books I read back in high school was called "Earth Secret Inhabitants". The book is a now hard to find paperback but was a great read about winged creatures, mysterious lions and leopards being seen in Indiana, Illinois and Ohio. It had a theory that there was a door between dimensions that was over those states and the creatures passed through all the time.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Tadeus Wladyslaw Konopka

You may not recognize the name but you know him and love him and today would have been the 86th birthday of the great Ted Knight.
Here in this video his friends pay tribute to his years as Ted Baxter.

One Hit Wonder

Today on Yahoo! Music they announced Billboard Magazine's One Hit Wonders of the Decade. Actually they used the years 2000-2007.
Strangely the #1 song on the list is the only one of the Top Ten that I recognized.

Here is the article from Yahoo!
and
Here is the Billboard list

Saturday, December 5, 2009

A true troubled hero

Yesterday my friend Doug emailed me about an article in the USAToday on the journey of the death mask of Ira Hayes.
Who is Ira Hayes you might ask, well he was one of only 27 survivors of the battle for Iwo Jima and is in the legendary picture of the flag raising on Mt Suribachi. He is on the far left of the group in the picture.


He is one of America's great soldiers who was a hero but after his service was never the same and didnt want the celebrity that was thrust upon him.

God Bless all our men and women in uniform past and present.

Aaron Schroeder dies at 83; prolific songwriter for Elvis Presley and others -- latimes.com

Aaron Schroeder dies at 83; prolific songwriter for Elvis Presley and others -- latimes.com
As you read this obituary you will see in later years Mr. Schroeder provided songs and singers for "Scooby Doo Where Are You?" and "The Banana Splits". Quite a varied career in music.
I found this very interesting because you dont hear about the writers of all the great Elvis songs, just him singing these songs and making them famous.
Elvis also helped the career of a young songwriter named Scotty "Mac" Davis by putting "In The Ghetto" on his Memphis Sessions album that also included "Suspicious Minds", "Kentucky Rain" and "Don't Cry Daddy".

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Friday, December 4, 2009

Your Video of the Day

My daughters and I have been going around doing this routine for the last 2 weeks.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Top of the Pops!

This week we celebrate the 75th Birthday of soul legend Billy Paul and his biggest chart hit.
We go to December 16th 1972 for our Top 5.

#5 - It Never Rains in Southern California - Albert Hammond
Peaking this week at #5 with his biggest hit


#4 - You Ought to be With Me - Al Green
This would peak a week later at #3 and had been on top of the RB singles chart this week.


#3 - If You Don't Know Me By Now - Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes
This was the first song in the Top 5 by the songwriting team of Gamble & Huff and the first hit for the Teddy Pendergrass led Bluenotes.


#2 - I Am Woman - Helen Reddy
This first of 3 #1 singles for Helen Reddy, this song spent the previous week at the top spot and helped Helen Reddy win a Grammy for Best Female Performance in 1972.


#1 - Me and Mrs. Jones - Billy Paul
The other song by Gamble & Huff in this weeks Top 5 and their first #1 song, this spent the last 3 weeks of 1972 on top and made Billy Paul a household name.