Beech Tree News Network

Against The Grain by: Andy Sullivan

The following are a few things I’ve learned from one of my favorite shows on AXS TV, Top Ten Revealed as well as heard on Little Steven’s Underground Garage.

The classic Punk Rock band The Ramones were not brothers.  They adopted pseudonyms ending with the surname “Ramone”, although they were not actually related.  They were inspired by Beatle Paul McCartney, who would check into hotels as “Paul Ramon”.  I’d say they did pretty well with the name.  They performed 2,263 , touring virtually nonstop for 22 years.  Before they formed the Ramones, Thomas Erdely and John Cummings (who’d later become Tommy and Johnny Ramone) met at Forest Hills High School in Queens, New York.

Most everyone knows that the 1969 movie Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid had the title roles played by Paul Newman (Butch Cassidy) and Robert Redford (The Sundance Kid).  Did you know, however, that Newman and Redford were not the original choices to play the title characters? In fact, Dustin Hoffman and the late Jack Lemmon were considered to play the roles.  A few more fun facts about the movie: it was the film debut of Sam Elliot.  The real Butch Cassidy (real name Robert LeRoy Parker) got his nickname because he once worked in a butcher shop.  The Sundance Kid, real name Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, got his nickname because he was once arrested in the Wyoming town of Sundance.  (www.wikipedia.com) 

Here’s one that surprised me.  Do you know the very first album in American history to debut at #1? That honor goes to Elton John’s May 1975 album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy.  Across his career, John has yielded 57 top 40 hits in the United States, second only to Elvis.  He had 27 of those hitting the top ten and 9 achieving #1 status.

For our final fact, we focus on best sellers.  This tidbit came from AXS as well.  I double-checked, of course.  I actually got the confirmation from SiriusXM’s ‘80’s on 8 countdown.  They’re very extensive in their research.  Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 album Rumours was the best-selling album of all time until 1982.  That album that would surpass Rumours? Michael Jackson’s 1982 release. Thriller.  As of 2018, that fact still held true.  Right behind Jackson is the Eagles’ 1976 release, greatest hits.

I hope you enjoyed reading these entertainment facts as much as I did learning them.