Is there a more iconic album cover than this one?
“Abbey Road” came out today in 1969, it was the last recorded album by the Beatles (even though “Let It Be” would be released after it.) Filled with classics like, “Come Together,” “Something,” and “Here Comes the Sun,” the album closed with a 16-minute medley of short songs that ended, fittingly with, “Carry That Weight” and “In the End.” How good were the Beatles? “Here Comes the Sun” wasn’t even released as a single. Frank Sinatra once commented that “Something” was his favorite Lennon-McCartney song and the greatest love song ever written. Of course he was wrong, it was written by George, and it’s the only non John-Paul written Beatles song to ever reach number one.
While it’s no “Abbey Road,” U2 released, “The Unforgettable Fire” 23 years later. While not as critically loved as U2’s first two offerings, the album’s hit song, “Pride (In the Name of Love)” carried them to a much bigger world wide audience. While we cringe to put them in the same conversation as those two bands, Matchbox Twenty debuted today in 1996, with, “Yourself or Someone Like You.” The album sold 15 million copies and set the boys from Orlando up for life.
Today in 1962 was the first episode of, “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” Carson would hold the chair for 29 years before retiring in 1992.
Today in 1975 saw one of the greatest heavyweight boxing matches of all time. “The Thrilla in Manila” started at 10:45 am local time to best coincide with a worldwide audience. It was the third fight between Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier. Ali won the fight by TKO when Frazier’s corner wouldn’t let him continue fighting after the 14th round. It would come out after the fight that Ali had told his corner to cut off his gloves after the 14th round as well, that he was done fighting. Frazier wanted to finish the fight, but his trainer, Eddie Futch, told him, “It’s all over. No one will ever forget what you did here today.” They didn’t.
It’s probably fitting that we list Roger Maris hitting his 61st home run today in 1961 second among our sports items. Maris broke the hallowed home run mark set by Babe Ruth in 1927, much to the dismay of many Yankees fans. Mark McGwire was born two years to the day after Maris set his record. We don’t know when steroids were born.
More baseball history was set today in 2004, when Ichiro Suzuki got his 258th hit of the season, breaking the 84-year old record set by George Sisler.
“Mystery, Alaska” was the one major release that Russell Crowe made in between “L.A. Confidential” and superstardom. It was a decent enough flick if you could get past Crowe’s complete inability to skate. “Three Kings” came out the same day as “Mystery, Alaska,” and it’s too bad that it’s most famous for the fighting between George Clooney and director David O. Russell during filming, because it’s a pretty good movie.
A great movie came out today in 2010. There’s not a chance in hell that all of the characters in, “The Social Network” can actually be as witty and as engaging as Aaron Sorkin wrote them to be, but my god, what a great movie. (I almost wrote that they couldn’t be as smart as he wrote them, which only would have meant that I’m not as smart as he wrote them.) This movie losing best picture to “The King’s Speech” is right at the top of Academy Award injustices. It’s simply one of the best screenplays ever written.
Birthdays of note today include: Jimmy Carter, 88, Julie Andrews, 77, Rod Carew, 67 and Zach Galifianakis, 43. Also listed is someone named, Charlie McDonnell, who turns 22 and is listed as a “YouTube Personality.” God, I’m old.
— Bill Hubbell