A strange day, this February 7th. Born this day were Charles Dickens, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Sinclair Lewis and Gay Talese, legendary writers all, and yet perhaps the two most indelible February 7th debuts in pop culture come from the releases of “Blazing Saddles” (1974) and 2 Live Crew’s, “As Nasty as They Wanna Be” (1989).
While “Saddles” satarized racism and old Westerns, “Nasty” satarized pretty much everthing, becoming the first album ever deemed legally obscene (later overturned).
To more musicians who just didn’t give a fu**, The Clash played their first ever U.S. gig tonight in 1979. They played at the Berkeley Community Theatre outside of San Francisco. Their opening number was, what else, “I’m So Bored With the USA.”
Today in 1940, Walt Disney released their second animated feature, “Pinocchio.” It won two Oscars, Best Score, and Best Original Song, “When You Wish Upon a Star.”
The king of all board games, Monopoly, made its debut today in 1935. Parker Brothers called it, “The Fast-Dealing Property Trading Game.” It’s where most of us learn how to cheat.
Believe it or not, there’s an NHL scoring record not held by Wayne Gretzky. Tonight in 1976, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Darryl Sittler notched 10 points in a 11-4 win over the Boston Bruins. Sittler scored six goals and had four assists.
Birthday wishes to Garth Brooks (51), Chris Rock (48) and Steve Nash (39).
Brooks’ Top Ten:
- Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)
- Friends In Low Places
- The Dance
- Standing Outside the Fire
- Unanswered Prayers
- The Red Strokes
- Callin’ Baton Rouge
- Ain’t Goin’ Down (Til’ the Sun Comes Up)
- Two of a Kind, Workin’ on a Full House
- Every Now and Then
— Bill Hubbell