Welcome
to another exciting (well, exciting to me anyway) edition of the Tuesday Timeline. It's the day where I go back
in time a few years or centuries and pick out a topic of interest to discuss.
It's
just too bad that August 2 is one of those dates where not a whole lot happened
- or if something was of interest, I already did a blog on it. But like any other day where I have had
issues with finding topics, I just had to think outside the box for this one.
I
believe I've succeeded in that. But
before we have a look at that, let's have a look at the topics that I didn't
select.
1274 - Edward I of England returns from the Ninth
Crusade and is crowned King seventeen days later on August 19, 1274
1610 - Henry Hudson discovers the body of water
that would come to be known as Hudson Bay
1776 - The Declaration of Independence is signed
1790 - The first U.S. Census is taken
1870 - The first underground tube railway opens
in London, England
1873 - The first of many cable cars is launched
in San Francisco, California
1914 - German troops invade the nation of
Luxembourg during World War II
1916 - Italian battleship "Leonardo da
Vinci" sinks off the coast of Taranto as a result of sabotage from the
Austrians
1918 - The first general strike in Canadian history
occurs in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia
1922 - A large typhoon strikes Shantou, China,
killing over 50,000 people
1923 - Following the death of President Warren
Harding, Vice-President Calvin Coolidge becomes President of the United States
1924 - Actor/director Carroll O'Connor (d. 2001)
is born in Manhattan, New York
1932 - British actor Peter O'Toole (d. 2013) is
born
1934 - Following the death of Paul von
Hindenburg, Adolf Hitler becomes the Fuhrer of Germany
1937 - Marijuana is declared an illegal substance
in the United States following the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937
1939 - Director/screenwriter Wes Craven (d. 2015)
is born in Cleveland, Ohio
1943 - Future President of the United States John
F. Kennedy manages to save all but two people on his crew after a Japanese
destroyer sinks the torpedo boat they are on
1951 - Singer-songwriter Andrew Gold (d. 2011) is
born in Burbank, California
1959 - Singer-songwriter Johnny Kemp (d. 2015) is
born in the Bahamas
1973 - 51 people are killed at the Isle of Man's
Summerland Amusement Centre after a flash fire occurs
1980 - A bomb detonates in the middle of a railway
station in Bologna, Italy which kills 85 and injures more than 200
1985 - 137 people lose their lives when Delta Air
Lines Flight 191 crashes at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
1990 - Iraqi troops invade Kuwait, leading to the
commencement of the Persian Gulf War
1998 - Puppeteer and ventriloquist Shari Lewis
passes away at the age of 65
2005 - A plane bursts into flames shortly after
landing at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, but fortunately no
fatalities were reported
And
celebrating a birthday today are the following famous faces; John McCormack, Garth Hudson, Joanna Cassidy, James Howe, Dennis Prager, Lance Ito, Joe Lynn Turner, Butch Vig, Victoria Jackson, Apollonia Kotero, Linda Fratianne, Mary-Louise Parker, Kevin Smith, Jacinda Barrett, Phil Williams, Michael Weiss, Sam Worthington, Edward Furlong, Kerry Rhodes, and Hallie Kate Eisenberg.
So
after all the struggling of trying to come up with a topic for today, what date
did I eventually settle on?
Well, I went back in time thirty years.
To August 2, 1986.
And,
in mid-1986, there were two events that took place in pop culture history that
lead to today's event taking place.
Do
any of you remember the 1984 film "The Karate Kid"? It was a fantastic movie starring Ralph
Macchio and Pat Norita that had a lot of heart, warmth, and brought us the
catchphrase "Wax on, wax off" that people chanted well into 1986!
That
movie became so successful that a sequel was commissioned, "The Karate Kid
Part II", released on June 20, 1986.
And, I'll be the first to admit that the sequel to "The Karate
Kid" was not quite as good as the original - though it was still a million
times better than the remake of the original that featured Jaden Smith. But still, it did fairly well at the box
office (it made more than its predecessor) and was an okay film plotwise.
At
the same time, rock band Chicago was undergoing some major changes as
well. From the beginning, Peter Cetera
was one of the band's lead singers, and with the accidental suicide of former
lead singer Terry Kath in 1978, Cetera really stepped up in his absence. It's Cetera's voice that you hear on such
songs as "If You Leave Me Now", "Hard Habit To Break" and
"You're The Inspiration". All
classic hits by the group.
Well, in 1986, Peter Cetera decided that he wanted some Solitude and went
Solitaire in the next chapter of his career.
He left Chicago behind and released a solo album
"Solitude/Solitaire" that same year.
Cetera tried to work out a deal with the band to launch a solo career
while still being a member of the band - similar to what Phil Collins did with
Genesis when he was embarking on his own solo projects. But when the band and the band's management
declined Cetera's suggestion, he decided that his time with Chicago would come
to an end.
So, how do the stories of Peter Cetera leaving the band Chicago and the release of "The Karate Kid Part II" intertwine, giving us our Tuesday Timeline date for today?
So, how do the stories of Peter Cetera leaving the band Chicago and the release of "The Karate Kid Part II" intertwine, giving us our Tuesday Timeline date for today?
Well, as it turns out, the producers of "The Karate Kid Part II" were looking for a song to act as the main theme for the movie. And Peter Cetera had a song that was readily available. Truth be told, the song was actually written and recorded a year earlier for use in another film, "Rocky IV". But the producers of "Rocky IV" decided that they go a different route with the film's soundtrack, and opted not to use it.
And
here is that song...a song that hit the top of the Billboard charts exactly
thirty years ago today.
ARTIST: Peter Cetera
SONG: Glory of Love
ALBUM: Solitude/Solitaire
DATE RELEASED: June 1986
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #1 for 2 weeks
SONG: Glory of Love
ALBUM: Solitude/Solitaire
DATE RELEASED: June 1986
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #1 for 2 weeks
Ah..."Glory
of Love". This was a song that was
very dominant throughout my early childhood.
Every radio station played this song at least once a day until I was
around ten or eleven, and I must admit...I probably watched the Karate Kid
movies at least half a dozen times when I was younger.
Perhaps one final note to mention. It can be argued that Peter Cetera left Chicago under not the most friendliest of circumstances and that he really tried to make an effort to balance a solo career with his commitment with Chicago but was turned down. Well, the same year Peter Cetera left Chicago, the band debuted their new lead singer Jason Scheff with their single "Will You Still Love Me" - which I readily admit is another song that I absolutely adore.
Here's the kicker. Cetera's first solo hit after leaving Chicago became a #1 single. Chicago's first single without Cetera only peaked at #3. I'm sure Cetera got a little bit of a kick out of that one.
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