I post a weekly diary of historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news (often receiving little notice in the US) and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I often feature in "Cheers & Jeers".
OK, you've been warned - here is this week's tomfoolery material that I posted.
CHEERS to Bill and Michael in PWM, our Laramie, Wyoming-based friend Irish Patti and ...... well, each of you at Cheers and Jeers. Have a fabulous weekend .... and week ahead.
ART NOTES — an exhibition entitled Stay Tuned: Rock on TV— including archival footage, original artifacts and new interviews — will be at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio through March 31st.
Through the end-of-the-monthNATIONS WHO ARE CONCERNED about retail establishments not properly recording consumer sales (in order to avoid paying sales taxes to the state) are increasingly turning to receipt lotteries— which offer customers an incentive to ask for a receipt (forcing sales to be recorded) and offering them a chance at recurring lottery drawing … with the Brazilian state of São Paulo going one-step-beyond and offering a rebate.
THURSDAY's CHILD is among those featured in the 2019 Cat Video Fest— a compilation reel of the latest and best cat videos, which raises money for cats in need through partnerships with local cat charities, animal welfare organizations and shelters — and at the link, you can see the nationwide screenings of the film and locations.
One couple at the 2019 Cat Video FestJUST IN CASE you haven’t read it — and it is not a short read — do yourself a favor and read Jane Mayer’s account of the Fox network, which is a great supplement to the book that Gabriel Sherman wrote about Roger Ailes.
She also recorded a podcast (with the New Yorker editor David Remnick) giving some of the back-story behind the essay (and there is a transcript).
xIn the future, everyone will be White House Communications Director for 15 minutes.
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) March 8, 2019YUK for TODAY — on the other night’s 11th Hour w/Brian Williams: after reading a story about Paul Manafort’s attorneys saying he suffers from gout, high blood pressure, psoriasis, arthritis, severe anxiety, panic attacks and a constant feeling of claustrophobia ... Brian mentioned, “We have products for just about all of that ……. in just our first commercial break”.
FRIDAY's CHILD is named Shadow the Cat— who was reunited with his family after going missing four months ago in the Camp Fire in northern California.
Shadow the CatBRAIN TEASER - try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC.
THE OTHER NIGHT yours truly hosted the Top Comments diary with a look at some of those who have departed the Fox network not for sordid reasons, but more philosophical ones … with one being revealed (after-the-fact) just this week.
Reader Suggested SEPARATED at BIRTH — from willyr: embattled Texas Secretary of State candidate David Whitley (who warned of “illegal voters”) ... David Whitley: on the ropes .. and embattled Trumpster immigration aide Stephen Miller. Whaddya think? Stephen Miller: w/o spray......and finally, for a song of the week ............... while he had other offspring who went into the music field, Rufus Thomas did see his daughter Carla become a more financially successful R&B star than himself. But his influence on the Memphis music scene (as a mentor to performers of all genres) made his influence count ... and this is a family story worth telling.
Rufus Thomas was born in Cayce, Mississippi in 1917, with his family settling in Memphis when he was aged two. He became a tap dancer as a child (which came in handy later in life) and began studies at Tennessee A&I for a semester .... but the Depression made it untenable, and he joined a minstrel group that toured the South in 1936.
He then began work at a textile plant, staying there for the next twenty-two years as his day job. But all along, he remained in the entertainment business, first in 1951 as a DJ at a pioneering station WDIA - black-owned and staffed, but which gathered white listeners over time. He later emceed talent shows at a theater on Beale Street, and it was he who first introduced Riley 'BB' King to the people of Memphis. And he had a #3 R&B hit in 1953 with Bear Cat - an answer record to the Big Mama Thornton hit Hound Dog (which of course Elvis had a big hit with).
Meanwhile, his daughter Carla Thomas - born in Memphis in 1942 - grew up in a music-laden environment, and was able to join a local (rotating) group of high school singers known as the Teen Town Singers - which featured the likes of Isaac Hayes in the future. She was allowed to join them at only age ten, because the group was sponsored by WDIA .... which, of course, her father worked for. The training paid off because in 1959 (at age seventeen) she sang with her father on Cause I Love You (with her brother Marvell on keyboards). The next year, she had a #10 pop hit with the ballad "Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)".
The early 60's helped launch the career of Rufus Thomas (when he was signed by Stax Records) who never made it big by producing lush orchestrations, or soulful lyrics. Instead, he relied on the sounds of early funk, laced with humor, animal sounds and his childhood dance steps (brought on-stage) .... all of this in middle age. And so he had hits with "Somebody Stole My Dog", "Do the Funky Chicken" as well as "Do the Penguin" and his #10 pop hit in 1963, Walking the Dog - which the Rolling Stones recorded on their first album. And it is believed Rufus Thomas is the first father to have a Top Ten pop hit ... after his daughter had one.
In the early 1970's, he began to change with musical tastes, and began recording a more heavy version of funk, with songs such as "The Push", and "The Breakdown". But when Stax Records folded in the late 1970's, so did Rufus Thomas' recording career. He did remain a performer, releasing a comeback album in 1988, singing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and toured the world. One place he performed at was an annual soul music festival held near Bologna, Italy .... and later the amphitheater (where the action is centered) was named after Rufus Thomas.
Rufus Thomas was awarded a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1992, and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, shortly before his death in December of that year at the age of 84.
Rufus Thomas in his youth .. …….. and in his later yearsCarla Thomas went on to have several hits in the 60's and 70's, including her own answer record to Sam Cooke, "I'll Bring It on Home to You", as well as "Let Me Be Good to You", plus "B-A-B-Y" - which the singer/TV writer Rachel Sweet had a hit with in the late 70's - "I Like What You're Doing to Me", plus Tramp - a duet with Otis Redding.
Like her father, Carla Thomas saw her recording career curtailed after the demise of Stax Records. But she did some recording as late as the 1990's, released a 2002 live album and worked for the program "Artists in the Schools" - to talk to teens about performing careers, and how avoiding drugs and crime was a necessary first step.
Also like her father, Carla Thomas in 1993 was awarded a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation for her life's work and — while at age 76 rarely performs— it’s worth it if the chance presents itself.
Carla Thomas in her youth .. …….. and in recent yearsWhile each have more famous songs, let's close with a blues classic: Night Time Is the Right Time - which has an interesting history in itself - and below you can hear Rufus and Carla sing it together.
You know the night time is the right time To be with the one you love Oh, my darling It's you that I'm thinking ofBaby, baby Baby, drive me crazy You know I love you Hold me tight And I'll make things all right
You know the night time is the right time To be with the one you love
x YouTube Video