Category Archives: American

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SERGE GAINSBOURG’S “HARLEY-DAVIDSON” SUNG BY BRIGITTE BARDOT ON FRENCH TV, 1967

Brigitte Bardot singing on a Harley-Davidson built by Parisian custom motorcycle pioneer Maurice Combalbert. The H-D Flathead was used by Bardot as she performed her wacky love proclamation to the iconic motorcycle on her 1967 French television special— Brigitte Bardot Show. Serge Gainsbourg was watching her performance of his “Harley-Davidson” song from the wings. She included “Harley-Davidson” as one of 15 songs on her 1968 album Brigitte Bardot Show.

Do not miss the video below of Brigitte Bardot’s performance, and the cool stage set.

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THE MORMON METEOR III | THE JENKINS BOYS OF BONNEVILLE RACING ON A RIBBON OF SALT

The newly completed Mormon Meteor III at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1938. Note the original exhaust manifold that was later replaced by individual stacks.

“This is the story about two men, father and son, their racing cars, their lives and the salt flats where they ran their most famous trials. Ab Jenkins was the son of Welsh immigrants, first a carpenter by trade and then a prominent building contractor, who grew up with the automobile and found a new career in driving cars fast but safely.”

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CAROL DODA DOUBLE D | THE LEGENDARY TWIN PEAKS OF SAN FRANCISCO STRIPPING HISTORY

THE LEGENDARY SAN FRANCISCO STRIPPER CAROL DODA, WHO PASSED IN 2015.

Carol Doda was a powerful pioneer that took the profession of stripping out of the shadowy margins of American society and gained worldwide fame as a topless dancer in the 1960s and ’70s. “San Francisco history is made up of characters, and Carol certainly was one of those, ” said Charlotte Shultz, chief protocol for San Francisco. “She changed Broadway and made news around the world. People said, ‘Only in San Francisco,’ and we didn’t mind people saying that.” ~VIA SFGATE

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BO DIDDLEY “THE ORIGINATOR” OF ROCK WITH DRIVING-RHYTHM, AND HARD-EDGED GUITAR!

Bo Diddley was so important and influential to early rock ‘n’ roll music that The Animals covered his song ~ “The Story of Bo Diddley!”

Bo Diddley was a singer and guitarist who invented his own name, his own guitars, his own beat and, and with a handful of other musical pioneers, rock ’n’ roll itself. In the 1950s, as a founder of rock ’n’ roll, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and a few others reshaped the sound of popular music worldwide, building on the template of blues, Southern gospel, R&B and postwar American vernacular culture.

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COOL HAND LUKE BEHIND THE SCENES 2 | “MY SWEET LUCILLE,” THE CAR WASHING GODDESS

In an interview aired on TCM, George Kennedy discussed how Joy Harmon’s iconic car washing scene was originally scheduled for half a day, and how that shoot ended up taking 3 days. Kennedy laughed and said, “Somewhere…there’s 80,000 feet of film with Joy Harmon washing that car!”

When Joy Harmon filmed the scene in which the men watch her wash her car, she had no idea how suggestive it was. It never occurred to her until she saw it in the theater. “I just figured it was washing the car. I’ve always been naive and innocent,” she said. “I was acting and not trying to be sexy. Maybe that’s why the scene played so well. After seeing it at the premiere, I was a bit embarrassed.”

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THE BIG NAMES OF 1972 AMA RACE AT SALEM 1/2 MILE FLAT TRACK | VIA WORLD OF SPEED

KENNY ROBERTS

Kenny Roberts (#80) in action at the 1972 AMA National race in Salem; Salem AMA Motorcycle Slides Collection

In 1972, Kenny Roberts was a youthful 21 years old AMA Rookie of the Year. An immensely talented and thoroughly analytical rider, Roberts was already three years into his professional racing career, and two years into a factory Yamaha contract. However, he was still not much known outside of the USA. Roberts went on to finish 2nd in the AMA Grand National Championship that year, his first season as an expert class rider.

Kenny Roberts on the grid for the AMA National race at Salem, OR in 1972 with man wearing local Oregon Sidewinders club jacket in the background / Salem AMA Motorcycle Slides Collection

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KATE BUSH RUNNING UP THAT HILL… AGAIN | STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED.

Here’s what I remember about Kate Bush as a teen back in the ’80s. She definitely stood out as an individual and an artist that was not interested in following the trends. Kate Bush had her own sound, a and softly stirring voice. She thoughtfully crafted her music that stood out in the trendy 1980s, and it still stands the test of time. There was strength and vulnerability in her songs, She was beautiful, graceful, captivating, and unique.

Now a whole new world is discovering Kate Bush, as her song, “Running Up That Hill” was picked-up by the Netflix drama, “Stranger Things.” It’s a song and mood that connects strongly with viewers of her era, now sitting in front of the TV alongside their children, hearing a song from long ago that conjures memories of their own youth that still sounds earnest, fresh and magical.

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HOW RITA MORENO USED ELVIS TO MAKE CHEATING MARLON BRANDO JEALOUS

“Rita Moreno knew how to make her cheating boyfriend jealous long before the age of social media. The task is simple; just a three-step process. First, date screen legend Marlon Brando. Second, find evidence of his affair (what would be the first of many). Third, get asked on a date by Elvis Presley and accept. While this seems like a page of Old Hollywood fan fiction, this was, in fact, Moreno’s life.” –From the pages of Vanity Fair.

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HOW “JUMPING THE SHARK” WAS BORN | WHO KNEW FONZIE WAS ONE HELLUVA WATER SKIER

In a 2019 interview with NPR, Henry Winkler (AKA Arthur Fonzarelli, The Fonz, Fonzie) told host Terry Gross that the origin of the stunt began with the fact that he had been a water-skiing instructor as a teenager at a summer camp. Winkler’s father used to say to him “every day for years—tell Garry Marshall that you water ski. Dad, I don’t think I’m going to do that. No, no. Tell him you water ski. It’s very important. I finally tell Garry, my father wants you to know I water ski.” Winkler did all of the water skiing for the scene himself, except for the actual jump.

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BACK WHEN BETTIE PAGE WAS ALL THE RAGE | THE EARLY IRVING KLAW DAYS

In 1949, Bettie Page moved to New York with aspirations of becoming an actress. It was there she met one of America’s first ‘fetish’ photographers, Irving Klaw. From 1952 to 1957, Page worked as a model for Klaw for both his photographs and films, earning her the media nickname, “The Queen of Bondage.”

“For years I had my hair parted down the middle in a ponytail, tucked down around the sides Well, I went and cut the bangs, and I’ve been wearing them ever since. They say it’s my trademark.”
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