They Paved Paradise And Put Up A Piece Of History…

Heading northwest from Manhattan for 108 miles will take you to the the sleepy village of Bethel, New York in about two hours.  The trip will also transport you for a moment in time to an era of sex, drugs and rock and roll.  If you listen hard enough you can almost hear the whine of Jimi Hendrix guitar feedback, the harmony of Crosby, Stills and Nash, The Who, The Dead and even  Richie Havens singing for the sun.  Instead of imagining those moments, you can relive them at the newly-opened  Woodstock Museum, which opens today…

The museum is more history than hippie.  In addition to music memories, the culture of the 60s is captured with exhibits featuring the likes of Dr. Spock and JFK.  It’s where love beads and go-go boots live in perfect harmony with politics and war.  The exhibition gallery sits in buildings up the hill from where the original Woodstock stage sat 39 Augusts ago.  Cable TV billionaire Alan Gerry opened a performing arts center nearby in 2006 and the museum’s proceeds will go to the non-profit Gerry Foundation.  Michael Egan who developed the museum for the foundation says “we tell you the story of the 60s, the story of Woodstock and the story of the legacy of Woodstock.” …

The Gerry Foundation designed the museum as a family attraction - something Woodstock was not in 1969, but doesn’t skirt the reality either.  Visitors who were at Woodstock can record their memories on a mic set up to capture the events firsthand, which would eliminate those that forgot that they were there.  Watching this video clip  might bring some of those memories back…

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1851]  Who has more fun than Maine?:  Ans: Everyone.  Maine becomes the first state to enact a law prohibiting alcohol…
2. 1886]  White House wedding bells:  President Grover Cleveland  becomes the first president to marry at the White House.  His bride is Frances Folsom…
3. 1896]  Patent no longer pending:  Guglielmo Marconi’s radio is patented…
4. 1897]  Keeps on ticking:  Responding to rumors of his death, 61-year old Mark Twain  is quoted in the New York Journal  as saying, “The report of my death was an exaggeration.” …
5. 1928]  What is that stuff?:  Kraft creates the spam of the cheese world:  Velveeta…
6. 1935]  Bye-bye Bambino:  40-year old Babe Ruth, batting just .181 is released by the Boston Braves.  Ruth retires with a .342 lifetime batting average and 714 home runs.  His pitching record is a phenomenal 94-46.  He also had a run of 29.2 scoreless innings in world series play, a record that stood for 43 years…
7. 1941]  A disease of his own:  Lou Gehrig  dies in New York of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which will be renamed “Lou Gehrig Disease“.  His death falls on the 16th anniversary of his replacement of Wally Pipp as Yankees first baseman…
8. 1966]  Moon shot:  Surveyor I, a U.S. space probe lands on the moon and sends photos back to earth.  It’s the first soft-landing on the moon…
9. 1997]  Guilty as charged:  Timothy McVeigh  is convicted of murder and conspiracy in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that took 168 lives…
10. 2003]  Deregulation:  Federal regulators  vote to allow companies to buy more television/radio stations and newspaper combinations in the same city…

Music Memories:

• 1958]  ‘The King’ at WABC:  Alan Freed  joins WABC Radio and I remember sending the memo out from the ABC mailroom that announced his hiring.  It was made clear that Freed would not be referred to as “The King Of Rock ‘n’ Roll“.  ABC was running scared over the impending payola hearings.  Freed also had a weekly TV show at channel 7 which I would watch from Mike Wallace’s inner balcony overlooking the studio.  There were times that Wallace would take a break and stand next to me watching Freed rehearse…
• 1964]  Rock & Roll Debut:  The Rolling Stones make their U.S. debut at the Manning Bowl in Lynn (MA)…
• 1975]  Number One on this date:  “Thank God I’m A Country Boy” - John Denver…1985]  “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” - Tears For Fears…

Commentary:

Hugh Jarrett  was mostly known as the Jordanaires bass-singer but when Jarrett wasn’t recording or traveling with Elvis Presley he was one of the legendary blue-eyed soul disc jockeys of WLAC, Nashville.  There was Gene Nobles, John R (Richbourg), Herman Grizzard, Hoss Allen that hawked R&B music, Royal Crown Hair Pomade, Randy’s Record Shop of Gallatin, Tennessee, Ernie’s Record Mart and Buckley’s Record Shop.  There was also “Big Hugh Baby” Jarrett.  I remember listening to Hugh when I worked morning drive at WKDA in the early sixties but with their great signal you could hear WLAC in about 40 states or so it seems.  Hugh Jarrett was a terrific jock.  Hugh died on Saturday from injuries sustained in an auto accident March 25th.  No age was given for Hugh but my guess is that he was about 80.  R.I.P. “Hugh Baby“… 

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday”:

Freddy Adu (19), Wentworth Miller (36), Wayne Brady (36), Dana Carvey (53), Dennis Haysbert (54), Jerry (”The Beave“) Mathers (60), Marvin Hamlisch (64), Stacy Keach (67), Charlie Watts (67), Sally Kellerman (72) and Sammy Turner (76)…

Timeline Countdown:  5 days until the Belmont Stakes, 13 days until Father’s Day, 20 days until summer and 33 days until July 4th…

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