.....yah, not an unusual thing. For all of my years, living life as a Cubs fan has been a test of loyalty and optimism. I don't know how many times I watched Mister Cub, Ernie Banks ---- one of the most genuinely nice men of all time, brimming with positive vibes, and THAT was in an era when NONE of the game's superstars made anything CLOSE to what today's prima donnas earn, and that's allowing for the vast (20x) cost of things today ---- pop out with that sweet golf swing of his, with Cubbies on all three bags, in the bottom of the 9th.

But Ernie Banks epitomized the sport of baseball, and always was ready to hop out of the dugout and go nine innings, even into his 40s. Also, he had a slogan for each year, ready during spring training. If he'd been on the squad this year, it would've been "The Cubs will be Heavenly in 2007-ly." For sure.

......that is, Mister Lennon and Mister Entwistle (photo), AKA "The Ox," were born on October 9th....in 1940 and 1944, respectively. Also sharing the birthday is Leland Sklar's elegant singer/songwriter compadre Jackson Browne. The photo here is a close-up of one section of the long-fabled "Grand Scientific Musical Theatre," where it all began 15 years ago.......and, MUCH more to come, there. Of course, Jon Anderson from Yes with The Ox and Captain Trivs, sharing a mutual shoulder-touching moment. (Note the Boris The Spider necklace.)

I guess my preferred Whistle Tale is this: maybe an hour after this picture was taken, we were visiting about something and I happened to use the word "God" in whatever I was yakking about. Entwistle made this great face, squinching his features somewhat downward, and asked, "UHHH....whadja hafta go an' bring HIM up for????" Not being sure where he was coming from, but noting his apparent disgust, I replied, "Yah....like, God WHO?? What's His LAST name???" and Entwistle, not missing a beat, paused for a half-second and said, "HELP US!!!" HAH....little dreaming my trip to Las Vegas would result in the certain knowledge of God's last name, I felt much better.

"IT WAS 40 YEARS AGO TODAY"........and, of all the historically notable events of the week, I'd have to i.d. the death of Brian Epstein on August 27, 1967 as being the most significant: The Beatles had ceased touring the previous year, so there was less and less for Epstein to do. After five years of managing literally every element of the band's lives, Epstein was despondent and found dead, seemingly from an overdose of Carbitol. (For the record, every reference I've found describes Carbitol as, essentially, an industrial solvent. That being the case, "just a little is enough," as Towser said...it doesn't seem accurate, though, somehow.)

.......all have birthdays, this rather interesting week in July.

Most intriguingly, perhaps, Ramblin' Jack Elliott was born Elliott Charles Adnopoz in 1931....a major influence on Robert Zimmerman, AKA Bob Dylan, who had his near-fatal motorcycle accident on virturally the same date, in 1966, near his home in Woodstock, NY....lots of contentious stuff, this week in TotoHistory....

See if you can find that one that most closely matches our own Totoneers, especially our NewMBC boss-man!!!

enjoy~TT

HYSTERICAL DATA

1938, born in Nashville to blind musicians, Bobby Hebb is best known for his 1966 hit "Sunny" … Hebb wrote the song following the death of his older brother Harold in a knife fight outside a Nashville nightclub … devastated by the death of his former song-and-dance act partner, he later recalled writing the optimistic tune because, "All my intentions were just to think of happier times—basically looking for a brighter day … " … the popularity of the song won Hebb a slot on a Beatles tour and has since been covered by hundreds of artists …

......and man-oh-man, how sweet that Soul Music is: here in Chicago, "The Stax Records Story" will air at 9pm/Central Time, on WTTW/Channel 11. And, while I rarely plug any other-media stuff, I URGE you to check your local listings, and watch, record, TiVo, and otherwise immerse yourself in the music and stories that will fly through the air, and various wires, this Wednesday night, August 1st.

For those who don't know, the history of this record label called "Soulsville U.S.A." extends from the earliest Booker T and the MGs (which stood for Memphis Group) recording of perennial instrumental fave "Green Onions" on to the immortal sounds of the Memphis Horns, backing up Otis Redding, Rufus Thomas (and his daughter Carla), the "Wicked" Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Arthur Conley, Joe Tex, the Staples Singers, Al Green, and Black Moses himself, Isaac Hayes.

...interesting, that Elvis recorded "That's Alright Mama" the same week in history in which both Big Mama Thornton (who, of course, first recorded Lieber and Stoller's "Hound Dog") and his greedalicious manager Col. Tom Parker (born Andreas Cornelius Van Kuijk in the Netherlands) died, years later.

Meanwhile, in addition to the above-noted, my favorite birthdays this week include Chicago's own Verdine White of Earth Wind & Fire, and late/great folkie Steve Goodman, plus Tony Joe White ("POKE....salad...."), Yardbirds drummer Jim McCarty ---- if you have never done so, please do pick up any of about 43 compilations that are out there, to see just how great that band really was ---- Flying Burrito Bros/Eagles lead guitarist Bernie Leadon, Parlia-Funkadelic George Clinton (who still maintains he is no relation to either former or future Presidents), jazz/fusion guitar great Al Di Meola, and Cleve Duncan of The Penguins, doo-wop's finest.

...........can be read in its entirety, at
http://www.midwestbusiness.com/news/viewnews.asp?newsletterID=17693

SEE...Captain Trivs, Mash-Captured, For The Very First Time (Again)!!!!
THRILL....To The Exciting, Globe-Hopping Adventures Of Leland Sklar!!!
YAWN...As You Try To Stay Awake, Slagging Your Way Through The
Interview!!!

PHOTO OF LELAND SKLAR BY RICK SUCH - INSIDEMUSICAST (JUST LIKE THE OTHER ONE, WHICH

............see front page for details.

My email is jkatt@ix.netcom.com and my phone is 773-745-1348.

Third caller wins. ::))

NO, FIRST ONE~TT

.......all have birthdays over the next week.

One of my all-time faves, the seemingly (and apparently) immortal Lalo Schifrin, turned 75 yesterday. He is without-a-doubt known to much of our TOTO family, most especially Scott Page and David Paich (WHOSE BIRTHDAY IS NEXT WEEK). Lalo, and David's dad Marty, were among the first crop of rarified Hollywood composer-arrangers to bring a heretofore nonexistent air of hip, slick, and cool to the recording studio in the 1960s by fusing Jazz, Rock, and Symphonic music seamlessly in countless TV show and film scores.

Lalo was only 34 years old in 1966 when he composed his best-known work, the classically jazzy 5/4 TV theme to "MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE" which, believe it or not, was #19 THIS WEEK on BILLBOARD's Ringtone charts! Peaking at #11, it has spent 125 weeks on the chart. Talk about "Mission: Impossible!" Can you imagine being that popular at age 75? Gives me Hope! Or how about Henry Mancini, who would've been 83 this year, and whose "PINK PANTHER" theme was #16 THIS WEEK on the BILLBOARD ringtone charts, having peaked at #3, and on the chart for 137 weeks. That's just shy of THREE YEARS by about 4-1/2 months. WOW...!!!??!!

HYSTERICAL DATA

1957, "Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On" hits the C&W charts for Jerry Lee Lewis … the recording will ease on over to the pop charts within a week …

1958, Jerry Lee Lewis’ producer, Sam Phillips, forces Lewis to sign an apologetic letter he then posts as a full-page ad in Billboard … the letter is a futile attempt to bolster Lewis’ plummeting reputation in the fallout from his divorce and subsequent marriage to 14-year-old second-cousin Myra … though marriage to a second cousin of that age isn’t such a big deal in the ’50s southern U.S., the sanctimonious British press has turned it into a huge scandal for the Killer …