Rant #1,538: The Show Must Go On

As the week ends, there are two notables passings to report from the world of show business.

Marty Ingels, the rubber-faced comedian who starred in the very short-lived "I'm Dickens, He's Fenster" sitcom and was ubiquitous across TV for the past 50 years in a variety of guises, passed this week.

Ingels was part of the crop of new comics who came to the scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s, a group that included Bob Newhart and George Carlin. While he became better known as an actor than as a comic, he would gain lasting fame and notoriety later on as neither an actor or a comic.

But during the first part of his life, he was a comedian, and his most famous episode on TV wasn't really that funny, although most people thought it was.

Ingels was on "The Tonight Show," and he was a frequent guest, as you never knew what this guy was going to say or do.

During one appearance, he appeared to be ill at ease, although the studio and home audiences thought it was part of his act. He ended up crawling on the floor, as the studio audience roared with laughter.

Later, it was announced that Ingels has suffered a nervous breakdown, and was literally going through its paces on national TV.

Nobody knew.

Later, he became an agent and met up with actress Shirley Jones. She had just come off a tempestuous marriage to Jack Cassidy, and somehow, the seemingly very staid and WASP-y Jones got close with Ingels, the overly nervous Jewish boy, and they married.

Although by all accounts this marriage was pretty stormy, too, Jones and Ingels were married for about 40 years upon his death. Her popularity allowed him to stay in the background, and stay somewhat sane, although behind the cameras, Jones supposedly had her hands full with Ingels, but somehow they stayed together for nearly four decades.

Cory Wells, the lead singer of one of the most popular acts of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Three Dog Night, also passed away this week.

Wells, Danny Hutton and Chuck Negron were journeymen singers and performers who joined together to make up the vocal portion of the band.

Their setup was very unique at the time, and still is.

Three lead singers up front, with a backing band, and the three lead singers either handled vocals together or individually. This clicked for Three Dog Night, and they had a spate of hits that were unrivaled during their peak time period, written by some of the best songwriting talent of the time: Laura Nyro, Randy Newman, Paul Williams, and Harry Nilsson penned their most popular songs.

Some of these tunes included "Shambala," "The Show Must Go On," "One," "Never Been to Spain" and many, many others.

They were highly criticized as being ultra commercial, the three lead singers generally didn't write their own material, and their music was trendy, but thought not to be long lasting.

They were certainly guilty of the first two musical "offenses," but as far as the last one, somehow, their music has endured.

They were the first rock act to play the now old Nassau Coliseum, and I saw them in concert a couple of times during the lean years of the 1990s.

Three Dog Night could still sing their hearts out even then, and somehow, this combination of voices continued to work even then, and when you hear those records today, they were among the finest product that the music industry produced during their prime time period, which means they will never be enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

So be it.

Speak to you on Monday.

Classic Rant #190 (February 9, 2010): The Blame Game

Michael Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter yesterday. This sets the stage for a potentially sizzling courtroom drama as prosecutors attempt to proved the good doctor caused the singer's death.

According to the criminal complaint, the doctor "did unlawfully, and without malice, kill" Jackson, by acting "without due cautiion and circumspection."

Murray supposedly administered a powerful general anesthetic and other drugs to the singer in order to help him to go to sleep.

As Murray walked by fans on his way to the courtroom, some were reported to cry out, "Murderer!" as he passed them.

Well, the newest courtroom circus will certainly be this trial. Anything having to do with Michael Jackson, either in life or death, is sort of like a circus, so should this be any different?

Jackson was a brilliant singer, dancer, and all-around entertainer. However, he had massive social problems, even if few people want to admit it now that he is in the ground. He was also a drug abuser before the doctor came on the scene.

So where does Murray fit into all of this?

Well, it was under his watch that Jackson died, supposedly under his care. He gave him drugs that are only used in a hospital, not at home. He supposedly was late to the scene, on a cell phone yaking away, when Jackson's body gave out.

But, even though the Jackson family does not want to hear this--and neither do fans who were blinded by Jackson's talent--how much is Jackson himself culpable for his own death?

Look, we know he had insomnia. But to allow a doctor to administer things to your body that are only used during surgical procedures ... I mean, come on, don't you think Jackson should have said no?

How much was the doctor directed by Jackson--and his money--to partake in this episode?

The doctor was on the payroll, so he was another in the succession of "Yes" men that Jackson had in his employ.

Damn the Hippocratic Oath!

The doctor was an enabler, but you have to have one that governs your actions to be an enabler, and Jackson was it.

And where were Jackson's friends and family during this period? Funny, they seemed to all crawl out of the woordwork when he died.

I am sure the doctor will be penalized in some way, perhaps even lose his license to practice medicine in the state of California.

But I don't believe he was totally at fault here. Jackson had to have known he was getting something out of the realm of what we consider normal to help him go to sleep.

And sleep he did.

Rant #1,537: Meet the Mets

Congratulations to the New York Mets for winning the National League pennant.

They did it in convincing fashion, sweeping the Chicago Cubs, and winning the thing at Wrigley Field.

Yes, this is not the "Back to the Future" moment that many predicted, but this team earned its stripes, and deserves to be where it is.

And that is coming from the keyboard of a tried and true, dyed in the wool Yankees fan, who has never had one iota of enthusiasm for the team from Queens.

But my saving grace is that as you know, I predicted that the Mets and Toronto Blue Jays would meet in the World Series weeks ago, and after yesterday's results--the Blue Jays hung on and beat the Royals, and now are down 3-2 in their series--I am sticking with that.

I just loved how both the Mets and Blue Jays, with their eyes clearly on the prize of winning the World Series, went out and got reinforcements for each and every one of their weak spots during the trading deadline.

The Yankees sat there and did nothing, and consequently, did nothing leading up to the championship.

You will read in other places how the Mets deserve this, that everyone all of a sudden is a Mets fan, how the Mets are now the team to beat in the World Series.

What you won't read much about is how Yankees fans are handling this, so I will tell you.

The Yankees had a terrible team this season, everyone knew it, and somehow, they got as far as they did.

I was among the original people who said the Yankees weren't any good this season, and I stuck to that, even as they did better than they ever should have.

Looking at the Mets in the World Series, I would never jump ship and root for them, and I won't do it now.

In New York, you are either a Yankees fan or a Mets fan, and never the twain shall meet.

Oh, you will have Yankees fans rooting for the Mets now, but they are not true Yankees fans.

They are fair weather fans, which means that they have been Yankees fans for the past 20 years, as the Mets haven't done too much during that time period.

So now, if they are rooting for the Mets, that is fine, but they are not Yankees fans.

You see Mets fans seemingly coming out of the woodwork.

They are not true fans; again, fair weather fans don't count.

But you have the real fans, the Mets fans, and to them, I say congratulations, it has been a long time coming.

For Yankees fans, we are on the outside looking in for once, and while I am not comfortable with that perspective, it is something I have to live with.

But I did not root for the Mets in 1969, nor in 1973, or 1986, and I certainly did not root for them in 2000, when they faced the Yankees and lost in the World Series.

I do wish them well, but that is about it.

They seem to be a team of destiny this season, and at least I can say that I picked them right where they are. Let's see if the Blue Jays hold up their end of the bargain.

Yes, I am not a bettor, but I should have bet some money on this.

I could have made a bundle, and many of those same people who said I was nuts in picking the Mets for the World Series are now part of the team's fair weather fan contingent.

Good luck to the New York Mets.

As a Yankees fan, that is all I am going to say right now.

Classic Rant #189 (February 8, 2010): Hot Dreams

My wife hates the winter.

She absolutely abhors anything and everything to do with the winter: the cold, the wind, the bundling up, and, of course, the snow.

She has lived in New York State her entire life, as I have, but she just hates this season more than the other seasons.

I put up with it; she hates it.

This past weekend, pretty much all of Long Island dodged a huge bullet, as we were at the tail end of that massive blizzard that dumped three feet of snow in some places.

By us, we received a slight dusting, nothing more. We were really lucky.

But now, the weather forecasters are predicting that snow is coming on Wednesday, and this is a bullet that Long Island will have to take this time. We might get a foot, give or take a few inches.

Well, as you can imagine. This makes my wife quite upset. More snow means more headaches.

And she happens to be off from work that day, which makes the situation even more repulsive to her.

When we retire--or whatever we will do when we are in our 60s--she wants us to move to Florida. When we go down there on vacation, moving to that state looks more and more like it might be something that we would do.

But one problem with this: weather patterns are changing.

In December, Tampa saw its first frost and snowflakes in decades. All of Florida has generally had a cooler winter.

By the time we might move there, in the 2020s, we might have to dig ourselves out down there too.

Maybe Hawaii would be a better retirement destination?

Rant #1,536: The World Is Off the Clock

Yes, the world is off its clock, off its axis, call it what you want, but the world we live in is not right lately.

Things are happening that make no sense, but in this PC world, they make lots of sense.

Take that kid we talked about a few weeks back who brought a homemade clock into school.

If you remember, some people thought it looked like a bomb, and police arrested the kid, not realizing that what he had was a clock, not a bomb, even though it sure looked like an explosive device.

He was heralded by everyone from Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg to our own President as a hero, which simply served to mock the school's caution, something that should have been applauded.

The problem here was that the kid thought he was targeted because he is Muslim, and, you know, in this world, we must love everyone until they cut our throats or blow us up.

The kid became an international celebrity, a reason and a symbol to show sort of a subtle hate of America, and he has been meeting dignitaries the world over, who have offered him their congratulations at not only his skill, but his snubbing his nose at the American way.

All of this in spite of the fact that it has come out that this kid is something of a crab, having had trouble in his school system before, a professional victim at an early age, always yelling out that he is being "persecuted" because he is a Muslim. He had been suspended numerous times for this behavior.

Well, the latest turn in all of this is that a day after he finally met with our turncoat President, his family has announced that they are moving to Qatar, accepting an offer from that government for the kid to participate in a program where not only his scientific mind will be exploited, but he will have his future educational pursuits paid for by the government.

Good, please take this kid and his family away from here. If he can design a clock, he can design bombs and missiles and weapons of destruction, too, and he probably will do just that.

I am sure the President is shocked by this announcement. He thought he was going to nurture the next generation of self-hating, angry Americans by using this kid as an example, but now, the kid is off to Qatar.

Personally, I am sick and tired of this Muslim "chip on the shoulder" thing.

True, most Muslims are not terrorists, but it seems that most terrorists that we have to deal with today are Muslim.

The school district, which was trying to protect its kids, was mocked by the President of the United States for their actions. This is the very same President who has asked us all to be vigilant against terrorism, but has fanned the flames by supporting terrorists, such as the Palestinians, who are ruled by Hamas, one of the world's largest terrorist organizations.

He also breaks bread with Iran, the most terrorist-backed country in the world.

And he makes fun of the school district?

One of daughters should have only been sitting next to this innocent clockmaker, and I doubt he would have been so much in praise of the kid, and would have applauded the school's actions.

Yes, the world is really off of its axis.

So, goodbye, you innocent clockmaker and your family.

Even in this PC world, I think most sane people would say that yes, we can live without you very nicely indeed.

Classic Rant #188 (February 5, 2010): The Day the Music Died-Two Days Late

Just the other day, an anniversary passed pretty much without a whimper.

It passed me by too.

It was “the day that the music died,” when the 51st anniversary of the terrible plan crash that took three of the music world’s biggest stars from us—Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper.

The incident was immortalized forever in Don McLean’s song “American Pie,” and for some, it signaled the end of the innocence associated with the 1950s.

I was a little younger than two years old when this incident happened, so I really don’t have any recollection of it at all, except when I later heard about it as I became enamored with rock ‘n roll.

But to some, it is as profound an incident as when President Kennedy was assassinated a few years later.

During their few years entertaining us, Holly, Valens and the Big Bopper—Jiles Perry “J.P.” Richardson—left a huge body of work that, all these years later, has found its way to the newest, high-tech mediums.

The music is out there, one only has to look for it.

Films have been made about the crash, and about Holly and Valens. A film about the Big Bopper was in the works, but I haven’t heard much about it recently.

How does “the day the music died” relate to today’s world?

I don’t rightfully have the answer to that question. I doubt too many kids know about the incident or the people that perished. I doubt that many kids questioned anyone when they heard Madonna’s horrid remake of “American Pie” a few years back.

But the incident—and the song—still have their place in today’s world.

Life is a precious thing, thrown away by people who don't realize this (see Leif Garrett and Gary Coleman rants). The principles involved have grown bigger as our memories of them, as they were, have continued to grow through the latest media.

And if our kids happen to ask us who they were, we can give them the right answers.

The incident is part of history, and kids should know about it too.

Rant #1,535: Car Bopping

Even as an adult who has been driving now for more than 40 years, one of the great pleasures I get is listening to music that I want to listen to in my car while I am behind the steering wheel.

I could be driving in the worst traffic known to man, but as long as the radio is on, and I am listening to music that I like, I am OK.

I have used my car radio as my personal cool-down system for years.

I have taken my car back and forth to work for so many years that even on bad days at work, once I get in the car and drive home, everything just fades away.

And even when I drive to work, listening to the radio kind of gets me going for the rest of my day.

I look over the past 41 years as a driver--as of November--and I see how I have went from the AM band to the FM band, from the FM band to listening to cassette tapes, from those tapes to CDs, and from those CDs to CD-Rs, where I can put more than 100 songs and really kick back and listen to them.

And now, I even have satellite radio, and I listen to that, mainly on the weekend.

But during the week, it is CD-Rs, or even thumb drives, with my favorite music.

What am I listening to most right now?

I am a 1960s person. I was born in the late 1950s--1957--but I grew up in the 1960s, going from a little kid to a very young teenager from 1960 to 1970.

My favorite musical period remains those great years from 1964 to 1971, when everything in our world seemed to be changing at breakneck speed, including what we listened to on the radio.

From the Association to the Zombies, and everything in between, that is the music I love the best, and thus, after a hard day at work, that is the music that I listen to in the car.

Right now, I am listening to a lot of different things on CD-R, stuff that I have accumulated over the past few years.

And even though the music I am listening to is often 50 years old or so, I can discover and rediscover so many different things, given my adult perspective versus when these things originally came out, when I was a kid.

And that brings me to what I am listening to in the car right now.

I have rediscovered one of the faves of my youth, a unique band that had a couple of great singles, some very interesting albums, but pretty much faded from the limelight after just a few years at the top of their game.

I am talking about the original family band, the Cowsills.

Yes, they are best known for "The Rain, the Park and Other Things," "Indian Lake," "Hair," "We Can Fly," and for singing the theme for "Love American Style," but I am discovering, as an adult, that they were much more than that.

Just to refresh your memory, this was a family band--including their mom--who came out of nowhere to become hitmakers beginning in 1967. They came from Rhode Island, and had a revolving group membership--along with mom there were about eight or nine kids, including one girl, Susie--and each one of the kids sang, wrote songs, and played their own instruments.

They were the real life basis for the Partridge Family, and when you listen to the original Cowsills material, it is light years beyond anything that David Cassidy and Co. ever put out.

Beyond the singles, the Cowsills put out some very interesting albums, in particular interesting because these kids were pre-teens and teens when they came out.

Their music was a little pop, a little rock, a little folk, a little psychedelic, and even a little Christian during those hit-making years.

The album tracks are particularly interesting, bursting with flower power and featuring lyrics that were a bit deeper than most teens and pre-teens could probably understand fully. I know that I didn't, but I kind of do now as an adult.

They even put out a very subtle Christian rock LP, "II x II," which really has to be heard to be believed. First off, I am shocked that this thing actually came out as it did back then, even with "Jesus Rock" just beginning its ascendance up the charts. Second, to have this pretty much written, performed and sung by kids so young was really something to behold, then as well as all these years later.

Releasing this LP was a calculated risk, and the risk pretty much failed, as the LP and its singles didn't do very well on the charts. Nonetheless, the album is top notch, as are all of their LPs and singles.

The Cowsills have been well documented both on record and on video. They made dozens of TV appearances during their hitmaking years, and you can find many of them on YouTube.

Just three of the kids survive today, and they have put out subsequent records as adults and still tour to this day. They were on the Happy Together Tour, and it appears they will be on it again in 2016.

But those original singles and LPs are really magic, even though they are all nearing 50 years of their original release date.

And that is what I am listening to in my car.

With all the rap, hip hop, current pop and metal out there, I choose to listen to this music instead.

And why shouldn't I? It is my car and my radio, and the great thing about today is that I can listen to exactly what I want to listen to while driving.

And even on a sunny day, I can listen to the opening bars of a tune that goes like this ...

"I saw her sitting in the rain, raindrops falling on her ..."

And it all makes me happy.

What do you listen to in your car during the workweek? What puts you in a good frame of mind before work, and when you are driving home from a tough day at the salt mine?