1967: Britain’s new Marine Broadcasting Offenses Act goes into effect, effectively forcing a shutdown of all of the “pirate stations” that had been broadcasting from ships or platforms off the British coast. The pirates, patterned after American Top 40 stations, started because of the BBC’s reluctance to program rock & roll. The BBC did not take kindly to having their monopoly interfered with. 
We're all about the history of rock & roll at BoomtownAmerica.com!
Every week, we present “ROCK REMEMBERED,” a deep dive into the hidden history of rock & roll, the stories behind the artists and songs that changed the world. Join host, “Boomtown Bill” Cross each Wednesday at 7 pm (Eastern) with an encore broadcast on Saturday at noon (Eastern).
Join us this Saturday as we reveal the hidden history of "Eddie Cochran - The Forgottreen Pioneer of Rock 'n' Roll!"
This is the film that started it all!
Teen exploitation movies! A nationwide craze for surfing! The slang phrase “Big Kahuna!” Sandra Dee’s brief career as a movie star!
Before Gidget, there had been movies aimed at teenagers, but they were mainly bad horror and science fiction films whose stars were still adults. Gidget was the first movie for the Baby Boomers to make the kids and their personal lifestyle the focus.
The movie was based on a book written in 1957 by Frederick Kohner. The book was based on the real life adventures of the author’s daughter, Kathy who was the first female to successfully infiltrate the small California sub-culture of surfers a few years before that. The males really did call her “Gidget” (a contraction of “girl” and “midget”).
In addition to Ms. Dee in the title role, Columbia Pictures cast future Oscar-winner Cliff Robertson as the head of the surfers (the Big Kahuna) and actor-singer James Darren as Gidget’s would-be boyfriend Moondoggie. While Gidget would change from film to film, Darren is, was and always will be Moondoggie.
The film was actually shot in the winter at Leo Carillo State Park in California. Sandra Dee reports that she had a major crush on Darren during filming and would have gladly surrendered her real virginity to him (mirroring one of the film’s plot threads), but Darren was married at the time and says he did all he could not to give into temptation (sort of like what ultimately happened in the film)!
The movie earned Columbia a big glassy wave of cash and directly spawned two sequels (Gidget Goes Hawaiian and Gidget Goes to Rome), a TV series (Sally Field's first big break) and three made-for-TV movies (Gidget Grows Up, Gidget Gets Married, and Gidget’s Summer Reunion) as well as brief attempt at an updated TV series, The New Gidget in 1986. It was also directly responsible for inspiring American International to launch the Beach Party movies.
For whatever reason, no actress played the part twice. Sandra Dee was followed by Deborah Walley, Cindy Carol, Sally Field, Karen Valentine, Monie Ellis, and Caryn Richman.
If you watch it today, Gidget is a cut above the Frankie & Annette movies with much better production values and much less gratuitous footage of young girls shaking their bikini bottoms for the camera.
BTW the real Gidget is still around.
As school starts, a reminder to stay safe!
As we celebrate the 57th anniversary of the most famous rock concert ever, you may wonder why certain acts weren’t there.
After all, the intention of the promoters was to assemble the greatest bands and artists in rock at that moment. Here are 3 of the acts they tried to get, but couldn’t.
The Beatles: Of course, you would always start at the top. So, the guys behind Woodstock got in touch with John Lennon. Reportedly, Lennon told them the Beatles WOULD perform live if the promoters also agreed to an appearance by the Plastic Ono Band. The promoters allegedly said no to the Plastic Ono Band, so John said no for the Beatles.
The Rolling Stones: If you can’t get the Beatles, get the Stones, right? Alas, Mick Jagger was busy filming the movie Ned Kelly in Australia, so the Stones couldn’t appear.
Led Zeppelin: In 1969, Led Zeppelin was just starting to break and on their first American tour. Why didn’t they appear? Peter Grant, their manager, thought if Zeppelin appeared as just one of a bunch of other acts, the band would seem less important. So, Grant turned the promoters down.
Good news! There are some healthy foods that actually taste good and you’ll want to eat. It’s nuts!
No, not a crazy kind of idea, but the actual food category of nuts. They’re loaded with nutrients and, as more and more research is showing, many kinds of nuts also have additional benefits to our mental as well as physical well-being.
Here’s just a small sample:
Almonds – Almonds are an incredible source of vitamin E, which has been shown to reduce the risk of dementia.
Pistachios – Pistachios help the brain generate what’s known as gamma waves, which boost cognition and memory.
Walnuts – In addition to being rich in fiber and protein, walnuts are also believed to help improve mood.
Roasted or Raw?
That’s up to your personal taste. Research indicates that there's no difference in the health value between roasted and raw, provided the nuts are roasted without oil.
What if You’re Allergic to Nuts?
If you are one of the unfortunates who are allergic to tree nuts, some of the same benefits can be yours by upping your consumption of seeds such as pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds.