I had Stan Lee autograph this page in Marvel Super Heroes #1, a one-shot comic book from the summer of ’66. I’m posting it to bring Stan some good luck, and not to jinx him!
Running Legacy
Medical student Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile in 1954. Dr. Bannister, who became Sir Bannister in 1975, has died of Parkinson’s Disease.
A BBC radio feature I catch every so often is called “Desert Island Discs.” In 1992 Bannister talked about his favorite music.
It Was $13,000 Ago Today
Made to order, your very own officially licensed Beatles Sgt. Pepper Jukebox!
Stan the Man With Pneumonia
Stan Lee is having a tough time. Here’s his message for all of us Merry Marvel Marchers. I’m unsettled by Stan’s weak voice and his somewhat downbeat tone.
https://youtu.be/qL91XrZSwq4
ELOquent
Rock music history continues to look very favorably upon the Electric Light Orchestra, and deservedly so. This hour-long feature analyzes, in great detail, the evolution of Roy Wood’s band The Move into ELO. The lion’s share of credit is given to Wood, but the band’s greatest success came from Jeff Lynne after Wood left ELO to start Wizzard.
Big Boys Don’t Cry
I should have been in Belgium the summer of 1975, after my sophomore year of college. Long story, about a girl, of course. Instead, I spent that summer working the night shift at a Cape Cod restaurant called the Hearth ‘n Kettle. I cooked, I bused tables, and I washed dishes. Back then the workers weren’t immigrants. The crew included the year-round locals and the summertime college kids. There was some flirting, and some of that paid off, but mostly we all just worked hard and got along.
A radio was always playing in the back room of the restaurant. The big songs that summer included “Love Will Keep Us Together” by The Captain and Tennille, “Rhinestone Cowboy” by Glen Campbell, and “Listen to What the Man Said” by McCartney and Wings. But the one that I never tired of hearing was, “I’m Not in Love” by 10cc.