This Week In History - Mar. 19-25
By: David Ball
Posted: March 19, 2010
On March 19, 1957, Elvis Presley bought Graceland and 53 years later, it remains one of the most famous houses in the world. Located on HWY 51 South just outside downtown Memphis, the rural white mansion and former home of commercial printing magnet, C.S. Toof, was bought by Presley for $100,000. Built in 1939, Graceland sits on nearly 14 acres of prime Tennessee farmland and was named after Toof's daughter, Grace, who inherited the property. More than just a place to crash, Elvis used Graceland as his refuge from the madness that was his everyday life. Graceland was also home to many legendary Elvis moments including: his marriage to Priscilla Beaulieu in 1967; several albums were recorded in the "Jungle Room" (his custom recording studio); and The King was found dead in one of the mansion's eight bathrooms... although if you believe the film Bubba Ho-tep a biopic rather than a cult-horror comedy, then Elvis died a few years ago while defending his old-age home from a soul-sucking mummy wearing a cowboy hat; he really should have gone out this way too, instead of being found dead whilst squatting on a toilet. Like millions do every year, I too have made the pilgrimage to Graceland (he's also buried on the grounds) and I can tell you that if Elvis came back to life today and decided to move back, he'd put the house up for sale immediately. Graceland is surrounded by the tackiest suburban blight the world has EVER produced and downtown Memphis is freaking empty, Beale Street excluded.
Much to the chagrin of Paul, George, Ringo and the millions of fans of great music everywhere, John Lennon married Yoko Ono on March 20, 1969; and rightly or wrongly, their union would signify the beginning of the end of the greatest rock band of all time. Whether it was Yoko's doing or not, she was been blamed for Lennon's decision to leave the Fab Four six months after their marriage—and he "curiously" released two albums with Yoko around the same time the Beatles broke-up. As good as some of the Ono/Lennon collaborations are, she wasn't gifted with a George, Paul or even a Ringo kind of singing voice. In fact, a bag full of wailing banshees would sound better than Yoko. The pair remained blissfully married up until Lennon's murder in 1980; although they did separate for two years (1973-75) where Lennon had an "indiscretion" with his personal assistant, May Pang. But I digress...
The last Pink Floyd album, The Final Cut, was released on March 21, 1983. Huh????? Do you actually think the final two post-Roger Waters efforts are legit Pink Floyd? No fucking way!!! The Waters-less albums, 1987's A Momentary Lapse of Reason and 1993's The Division Bell, are bloated, ill-conceived, snooze-inducing abominations and tarnish the legacy of this once great band. However, The Final Cut isn't great Floyd, but even sub-par Waters Floyd is better than what would follow (Waters, the band's main songwriter, co-vocalist, bassist, leader and visionary, lost his much publicized court battle versus his former bandmates, who were permitted to tour and record under the Pink Floyd banner). The Final Cut was originally conceived as the soundtrack to their 1982 film, Pink Floyd The Wall, but after the Falkland Islands conflict broke out later that same year, Waters switched the album's focus to WWII, inspired by his late father, who died in WWII. Waters quit Pink Floyd and pursued a solo career not long after The Final Cut was released.
This probably was good news to their legion of haters back in the day, but the 58th and final episode of The Monkees television show aired on March 25, 1968. The program's creators, filmmakers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider, were inspired by the Beatles' film, A Hard Day's Night, and decided to develop something similar for TV. NBC took the bait, and green-lit their idea for a TV series based on a rock band. Several ads ran in Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter looking for: "Folk & Roll Musicians-Singers for acting roles in new TV series". Beating out the 400 audition hopefuls were Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Peter Tork and the only real musician of the four, Michael Nesmith. The silly, off-beat sitcom was harmless fun and it effectively showcased the Monkees' music—each episode had scenes with the band performing their songs; most were penned by talented songwriters such as Neil Diamond, who wrote two of their biggest hits, "I'm A Believer" and "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You". The TV show had a successful two year run and won a couple of Grammies, and it also turned the band into one of the most successful pop bands of the 1960s, even if they were a Beatles knock-off.
Next week: Ezy-E and a bunch of #1 chart-toppers.
Video: "I'm A Believer" by The Monkees
