March 4, 2012

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Olivia Mananquil!

175 years ago
1837

Politics and government
Martin Van Buren was inaugurated as the 8th President of the United States of America.

60 years ago
1952

On television tonight
Suspense, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Day of Infamy, starring Signe Hasso

40 years ago
1972

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K.: Son of My Father--Chicory Tip (3rd week at #1)

Australia's Top 10 (Go-Set)
1 Brand New Key--Melanie (2nd week at #1)
2 Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)--Benny Hill
3 Cherish--David Cassidy
4 Day by Day--Colleen Hewitt
5 American Pie, Parts I and II--Don McLean
6 The Desiderata--Les Crane
7 Ranger's Waltz--The Mom and Dads
8 Imagine--John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
9 Captain Zero--The Mixture
10 Theme from Shaft--Isaac Hayes

There were no singles entering the chart.

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Without You--Nilsson (3rd week at #1)

U.S. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Without You--Nilsson
2 Hurting Each Other--Carpenters
3 Down by the Lazy River--The Osmonds
4 The Lion Sleeps Tonight--Robert John
5 Precious and Few--Climax
6 Joy--Apollo 100
7 Everything I Own--Bread
8 Sweet Seasons--Carole King
9 Heart of Gold--Neil Young
10 Let's Stay Together--Al Green

Singles entering the chart were Rockin' Robin by Michael Jackson (#63); Tiny Dancer by Elton John (#68); Heartbroken Bopper by the Guess Who (#71); Sweet Sixteen by B.B. King (#80); If We Only Have Love by Dionne Warwicke (#84); Julianna by Five Man Electrical Band (#85); Nice to Be with You by Gallery (#86); We Got to Have Peace by Curtis Mayfield (#88); You Were Made for Me by Luther Ingram (#89); Louisiana by Mike Kennedy (#92); All His Children by Charley Pride with Henry Mancini (#95); Taxi by Harry Chapin (#97); Keep on Doin' What You're Doin' by Bobby Byrd (#99); and The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Robert Flack (#100). You Were Made for Me was the B-side of Missing You, which had dropped off the chart after peaking at #72 two weeks earlier.

Canada’s Top 10 (RPM)
1 Love Me, Love Me, Love--Frank Mills (2nd week at #1)
2 Hurting Each Other--Carpenters
3 Without You--Nilsson
4 Stay with Me--Faces
5 Down by the Lazy River--The Osmonds
6 Everything I Own--Bread
7 Precious and Few--Climax
8 Cotton Jenny--Anne Murray
9 Never Been to Spain--Three Dog Night
10 Day After Day--Badfinger

Singles entering the chart were Oh My Love by the Bells (#64); I Gotcha by Joe Tex (#70); Fly Away by Crowbar (#72); Mercedes Benz by Goose Creek Symphony (#75); Don't Ever Take Away My Freedom by Peter Yarrow (#87); Suavecito by Malo (#89); That's the Way I Feel About Cha by Bobby Womack (#91); A Salty Dog by Procol Harum and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (#94); The Day I Found Myself by the Honey Cone (#96); and Poor Folks by Joshua (#100). This version of A Salty Dog was recorded at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on November 18, 1971. Procol Harum's original version had reached #44 on the U.K. pop chart in 1969. The other side of the 1972 single, Conquistador, eventually became the bigger hit.

Calgary's Top 10
1 Mozart Serenade No. 13--Manuel de Falla Orchestra, conducted by Waldo De Los Rios
2 Never Been to Spain--Three Dog Night
3 Without You--Nilsson
4 Down by the Lazy River--The Osmonds
5 Life in the Bloodstream--The Guess Who
6 One Monkey Don't Stop No Show, Part 1--The Honey Cone
7 I am a Preacher--Tony Kingston
8 My Love Sings--Joey Gregorash
9 Country Wine--Raiders
10 Mercedes Benz--Goose Creek Symphony
Pick hit of the week: Hurting Each Other--Carpenters

Boxing
Carlos Monzon (75-3-9) retained his world middleweight title with a technical knockout of Denny Moyer (82-23-4) at 1:50 of the 5th round at Palazzetto dello Sport in Rome.

30 years ago
1982

Edmonton's top 10 (CFRN)
1 Open Arms--Journey
2 I Believe--Chilliwack
3 Sweet Dreams--Air Supply
4 Should I Do It--Pointer Sisters
5 When All is Said and Done--Abba
6 You Could Have Been with Me--Sheena Easton
7 Breaking Away--Al Jarreau
8 My Guy--Sister Sledge
9 Through the Years--Kenny Rogers
10 Key Largo--Bertie Higgins

Abominations
Bertha Wilson was named to the Supreme Court of Canada. It was expected that she might bring a "liberal slant" to the court, but what she brought was a radical feminist slant. It was Bertha Wilson who ruled that people who had just arrived in the country were to be granted many of the same rights as citizens. It was Bertha Wilson who wrote the majority judgement in the court's ruling on abortion, which struck down Canada's abortion law (Alberta Report editor Ted Byfield accurately refrerred to her "so-called judgement...which reads like something you'd be handed on a street corner"). And it was Bertha Wilson who, in 1993, chaired the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, which included heart-rending "testimony" from "victims" of the "forced" relocation of Inuit from Quebec to the Northwest Territories in the 1950s. The "victims" weren't testifying under oath to tell the truth (and they didn't tell the truth), no cross-examination was allowed, and some of the hearings were conducted in secret. Chairhag Wilson nonetheless offered her opinion on the relocation before all sides of the issue had been heard--which was typical of her.

25 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden: Caravan of Love--The Housemartins (4th week at #1)

Edmonton’s Top 19 (CHED)
1 Livin’ on a Prayer—Bon Jovi
2 Jacob’s Ladder—Huey Lewis and the News
3 Respect Yourself—Bruce Willis
4 Will You Still Love Me?—Chicago
5 C’est la Vie—Robbie Nevil
6 Keep Your Hands to Yourself—Georgia Satellites
7 You Got it All—The Jets
8 At this Moment—Billy Vera and the Beaters
9 Big Time—Peter Gabriel
10 The Final Countdown—Europe
11 Ballerina Girl—Lionel Richie
12 Brand New Lover—Dead or Alive
13 I Wanna Go Back—Eddie Money
14 Love You Down—Ready for the World
15 I’ll Be All Right Without You—Journey
16 You’re what I Look For—Glass Tiger
17 Mandolin Rain—Bruce Hornsby and the Range
18 Let’s Wait Awhile—Janet Jackson
19 Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now--Starship

Crime
Jonathan Pollard, convicted in 1986 of spying for Israel against the United States, was sentenced to life in prison, and his wife was sentenced to five years in prison as an accessory.

Religion
As part of Christian Awareness Week at the University of Alberta, speakers from Probe Ministries began three days of lectures and debates. Kerby Anderson spoke on the topic of sex ethics in a noon hour talk at SUB Theatre, and drew a large audience.

20 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): You--Ten Sharp

Died on this date
Art Babbitt, 84. U.S. animator. Mr. Babbitt, born Arthur Babitsky, worked with the Walt Disney studio in the 1930s and '40s; he developed the character Goofy, and worked on such movies as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Fantasia (1940). Mr. Babbitt joined United Productions of America (UPA) in 1951, and later joined Hanna-Barbera; he won more than 80 awards.

Allan Roth, 74. Canadian-born U.S. baseball statistician. A native of Montreal, Mr. Roth worked with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League before convincing the Brooklyn Dodgers of baseball’s National League that the use of statistics would improve the team’s performance. Mr. Roth edited the annual publication Who’s Who in Baseball for many years.

Mary Osborne, 70. U.S. musician. Miss Osborne was a jazz guitarist who played with artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Art Tatum, Coleman Hawkins, and Thelonious Monk from the 1940s through the 1960s. She and her husband founded the Osborne Guitar Company in Bakersfield, California in 1968, and she played at jazz festivals until her death from chronic leukemia.

Hockey
NHL
Toronto 5 @ Edmonton 2

This blogger attended the game at Edmonton Coliseum. A highlight was a fight between Wendel Clark of the Maple Leafs and David Maley of the Oilers. Not only did Mr. Clark win the fight handily, but Mr. Maley suffered a knee injury.