Police kill man, rock 'n' roll, Dodgers win, August 21, 1958

 

Hula Hoops and Dick Clark at the Hollywood Bowl (with Rod McKuen!) Jan and Arnie ("Jennie Lee," "The Beat That Can't Be Beat")? The Six Teens ("A Casual Look")? These are not names that are familiar to me. Hey Sheb Wooley! "Purple People Eater!"

Here's a story that's particularly curious. Police officers kill an ex-convict identified as Nathaniel Calvin Spates during a robbery. We run it on Page 1 with a big headline and the next day--nothing. In fact, not a word ever appears as a follow-up. Very suspicious. I would have to look at the other papers to be sure, but I wonder whether he was African American. As usual, only the front page got into the microfilmed edition. The jump is missing so we don't have most of the story. It would be interesting to see what the California Eagle and the Los Angeles Sentinel did with this story. The 10 Arab nations in the U.N. announce that they have a peace plan for the Middle East ... A 10-day-old Teamsters strike shuts down trucking throughout the West ... President Eisenhower announces that he will enforce desegregation orders. In sports, the Dodgers beat the Braves ... The Cubs and the Pirates split a double-header. After losing, 4-2, the Cubs take the second half, 5-1, when the game is called in the fifth inning on account of rain and darkness. Times Sports Editor Paul Zimmerman writes a tribute to the late columnist Ned Cronin, imitating his stuttering: "III'm the orororatorical eeqquivalent ttto ttthe bbblocked pppunt."

Comments

[Steve Williams]

Wow, Jan Berry & Arnie Ginsburg 1958. Both of the boys had graduated from Uni Hi out in West LA in June and their first record “Jennie Lee” had been released on the Arwin label three months earlier. Private Dean Torrance was then stationed @ Fort Ord. Here’s an excerpt from ‘The Jan and Dean story:’ “Their live appearances that summer culminating in a performance at the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday, August 24th in an ABC-TV American Bandstand sponsored “hop.” Both Jan and Arnie were thrilled to share the stage with such musical luminaries as The Blossoms, Duane Eddy, Jack Jones, Sheb Wooley and the great Bobby Darin. They performed Jennie Lee to a crowd of 11,800 enthusiastic teenagers…” Jan and Arnie broke up four months later. By 1959 Dean was out of the Army. Jan and Dean had their first hit “Baby Talk” in June of that year on the Dore label and (as they say) the rest is rock 'n' roll history.

[Steve Williams]

Also, just above Dick’s head is Carmen Dragon, the father of Daryl Dragon of Captain & Tennille. Wonder if then 16-year-old Daryl was in the audience watching Jan & Arnie?