Oscar Snubs: The Beatles' Songs from A Hard Day's Night (1964)

 (This Post is Part of the "Oscar Snubs Blogathon" hosted by Silver Scenes and The Midnite Drive-In)

When most classic film buffs discuss movies that have been snubbed at the Oscars, they tend to focus on only a few categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and so on. While I have to admit that over the years these categories can be ripe for debate, at least since the Sixties, it has always been the "Best Original Song" category that has provided contention for me. Year after year my favourite original song from a film either loses to another song (often my least favourite song nominated) or it is not even nominated at all.

This was true even when I was only about a year old. At the 37th Academy Awards ceremony held on April 5 1965, there were two composers whose songs are still popular today whose names were not read when they announced the nominees for "Best Original Song". Quite simply, John Lennon and Paul McCartney were not nominated for any  of the songs from A Hard Day's Night (1964). A Hard Day's Night did receive two nominations ("Best Original Screenplay" and "Best Adaptation or Treatment Score"), but received nothing for what were among its most obvious assets: its songs.

At least for Beatles fans today the fact that The Beatles were not nominated for "Best Original Song" must seem incredulous. Indeed, the songs that John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote for the film remain among The Beatles' best remembered: "A Hard Day's Night", "I Should Have Known Better", "If I Fell", "Can't Buy Me Love", and "And I Love Her". What is more, both "A Hard Day's Night" and "Can't Buy Me Love" would be hits. Both "A Hard Day's Night" and "Can't Buy Me Love" hit no. 1 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere.  In fact, with regards to the Billboard Hot 100, "Can't Buy Me Love" set the record for the biggest jump to number one at the time (it went from number 27).  Nearly all of the songs from A Hard Day's Night are still played frequently today. Indeed, the title track remains one of the songs with which The Beatles are most identified. I think a very good argument can be made that The Beatles were snubbed with regards to the "Best Original Song" category.

Of course, in the Academy's defence it can be said that 1964 was a fairly good year for original songs from movies. After all, Mary Poppins was also released that year. In fact, the winner of "Best Original Song" was from Mary Poppins: "Chim Chim Cher-ee". It was also the year that Robin and the 7 Hoods was released. From that film came another nominee for "Best Original Song", "My Kind of Town". While I don't think anyone could make a good argument that neither of these songs should have been nominated (they are both great songs), I do have to question some of the other songs that were. Quite simply, they are not as memorable as The Beatles' songs from A Hard Day's Night, any of the songs from Mary Poppins, or "My Kind of Town". Don't get me wrong. "Dear Heart", "Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte", and "Where Love Has Gone" are all fine songs, but they aren't exactly memorable. I have to confess I have trouble remembering what they sound like, and one rarely hears them today.

Indeed, I think one could make an argument that not only were The Beatles snubbed for "Best Original Song", but to a degree so were the Sherman Brothers. More than one song from Mary Poppins deserved to be nominated in the category. Indeed, I don't even think "Chim Chim Cher-ee" is the best song from the movie! I would have probably nominated  "A Spoonful of Sugar"  or "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" as well as or even instead of "Chim Chim Cher-ee".

Of course, the question is if The Beatles had been nominated for their songs from A Hard Day's Night, which songs would have been nominated. Given the Academy's tastes in songs over the year, I suspect it would have been one of the love songs. I rather think then that they would have nominated "And I Love Her" or perhaps "If I Fell". Given the Academy's preference for love songs, I suspect that they would not have even considered the song from A Hard Day's Night that deserved the most to be nominated: "A Hard Day's Night" itself. As I said before, the song was a number one record and it remains one of The Beatles' best remembered songs ever.

That brings me to the reason that none of the songs from A Hard Day's Night were probably nominated for "Best Original Song". Quite simply, even in 1964 rock music was a fairly new music genre and one that was identified primarily with teenagers. It was not particularly respected in many quarters and would not be for several more years. It is notable that prior to 1964 not even one rock song was ever nominated for "Best Original Song", not  even Elvis Presley's classic "Jailhouse Rock". Given how conservative the  Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has always been, it was not very likely that they would nominate a song by any rock artist at the time, no matter how deserving it might be, not even The Beatles.

Here I have to point out that the fact that The Beatles were British probably did not play a role in none of their songs being nominated. The 37th Academy Awards was the first time ever that not one of the winners in the "Acting" categories were from the United States. Best Actor Rex Harrison (My Fair Lady), Best Actress Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins), and Best Supporting Actor Peter Ustinov (Topkapi) were all British, while Best Supporting Actress Lila Kedrova (Zorba the Greek) was Russian/French. The way the 37th Academy Awards went, the fact that The Beatles were British probably would have worked in their favour! Sadly, as a rock group they really didn't have a chance.

If I had my way, in the end the "Best Original Song" nominees would have been very different. "Chim Chim Cher-ee" and "My Kind of Town" would still be nominated, but the other three songs would have been "A Hard Day's Night", "A Spoonful of Sugar", and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious". As to the winner, I don't think anyone will be surprised when I say it would be "A Hard Day's Night". Of course, in the end it perhaps doesn't matter. Just as 42nd Street is remembered today while only classic film buffs know of 1933 Best Picture winner Cavalcade, The Beatles' songs from A Hard Day's Night are remembered today while most of the nominees for "Best Original Song" at the 37th Academy Awards have been forgotten.

Jackie Gleason's Centennial

It was 100 years ago today, on February 26 1916, that Jackie Gleason was born. He might well be most famous for The Honeymooners,  a series of sketches on Cavalcade of Stars and later The Jackie Gleason Show that would be its own series for a short time. As popular as The Honeymooners was, Jackie Gleason played a number of other characters besides bus driver Ralph Kramden on his variety show. He also saw a good deal of success in film, appearing in such movies as The Hustler (1961), Don't Drink the Water (1969) and Nothing in Common (1986).

Jackie Gleason was born in Brooklyn, New York on 364 Chauncey Street (the address he would later use for Ralph and Alice Kramden on The Honeymooners). His father deserted his family when he was only nine years old and his mother died when he was only 19.  Having to make his own way in the world, Jackie Gleason gravitated towards comedy. He played a number of small clubs before eventually landing at Club 18 in New York City. It was there that  Jack L. Warner discovered him and signed him to a contract with Warner Bros.

Jackie Gleason would make his film debut in 1941 in Navy Blues. Unfortunately Mr. Gleason would not have a huge impact in the films he made for Warner Bros., despite playing opposite such stars as Ann Sheridan and Humphrey Bogart. After appearing in such films as Lady Gangster (1942), Larceny Inc. (1942), and Escape from Crime (1942) at Warner Bros., he appeared in Orchestra Wives (1942) and Springtime in the Rockies (1942) at Twentieth Century Fox. With his film career going nowhere, he returned to performing in nightclubs. Having first appeared on Broadway in the revue Keep Off the Grass in 1940, he returned to Broadway with Artists and Models in 1943 and then Follow the Girls in 1944. In 1949 he appeared again on Broadway in Along Fifth Avenue.

While Jackie Gleason had little luck in films, he would become a star in television. That having been said, his first taste of television would not exactly be a success. In 1949 he played Chester A. Riley in the television version of popular radio sitcom The Life of Riley. The show received sterling reviews, but its ratings were not particularly strong. Perhaps the role of Riley was too strongly identified with William Bendix, who had originated the role on radio and even played him in a feature film (The Life of Riley in 1949). Regardless, while William Bendix would assume the role for the next television version of The Life of Riley (which debuted in 1953 and ran five years), Jackie Gleason would find phenomenal success in his next television project, Cavalcade of Stars.

Cavalcade of Stars had debuted on June 4 1949 on the Dumont Television Network. It was a variety show originally hosted by Jack Carter, who left to star in The Jack Carter Show on NBC. Jack Carter was replaced by Jerry Lester. When Jerry Lester left the show he was replaced by Jackie Gleason. It was on Cavalcade of Stars that Jackie Gleason originated many of the characters for which he would be best known. Among the earliest was Reginald Van Gleason III, a stereotypical millionaire with a taste for the good life. Others were the convivial Joe the Bartender, the loudmouth Charlie Bratton, and the Poor Soul (a silent character who always came to grief wherever he went). Perhaps the most popular character Jackie Gleason created while with Cavalcade of Stars was bus driver Ralph Kramden, the centre of the show's "The Honeymooners" sketches. With Art Cartney playing Ralph's best friend Ed Norton, the sketches soon became the most popular part of the show.

The success of Cavalcade of Stars would not go unnoticed, much to the misfortune of the struggling Dumont Television Network. In 1952 William S. Paley offered Jackie Gleason a considerably higher salary to move to CBS. It was then on September 20 1952  that The Jackie Gleason Show debuted on the network. While it had a new name and was airing on a new network, the show as more or less still Cavalcade of Stars. On perpetually number one network CBS, The Jackie Gleason Show became even more successful, entering the top ten shows in its second season on its new network.

Just had been the case when the show as Cavalcade of the Stars on Dumont, "The Honeymooners" sketches continued to be the most popular part of The Jackie Gleason Show. It was then in 1955 that the half hour sitcom The Honeymooners debuted. As wildly popular as "The Honeymooners" had been on The Jackie Gleason Show, the sitcom The Honeymooners initially did not see a lot of success. The show did not perform particularly well in the ratings. At the same time Jackie Gleason worried that they were starting to run out of original ideas. After only 39 episodes, then, Jackie Gleason and CBS agreed to cancel The Honeymooners.

It was then in September 1956 that The Jackie Gleason Show returned. "The Honeymooners" series of sketches continued on the show. Unfortunately ratings for The Jackie Gleason Show were not what they once were, with the show only coming in at no. 29 for the season.  The Jackie Gleason Show was then retooled. It was shortened to only a half hour and Buddy Hackett was added as a sidekick. This version of The Jackie Gleason Show failed and went off the air rather quickly.

Jackie Gleason's fortunes would be somewhat varied for a time after the original run of The Jackie Gleason Show ended. His game show You're in the Picture, which debuted in January 1961, proved so catastrophic that after the show's debut Jackie Gleason spent the next episode of the show apologising for it. Its title was then changed to The Jackie Gleason Show and it lasted out its short life as a talk show. It was in 1962 that Jackie Gleason returned to the variety show format with a new show initially titled The Jackie Gleason Show: The American Scene Magazine. By 1966 it would simply be The Jackie Gleason Show. The show proved to be a hit and saw Jackie Gleason playing many of his old characters. As might be expected, "The Honeymooners" sketches were once more part of the show.

The Jackie Gleason Show was still popular when it went off the air in 1970. CBS wanted Mr. Gleason to do more segments with "The Honeymooners", drop the all-variety segments of the show entirely, and deliver 24 to 26 shows per season. Jackie Gleason did not want to stop doing the all variety segments and did not want to do more than 20 shows per season. Since Mr. Gleason and the network could not come to an agreement, the show came to an end.

With the end of The Jackie Gleason Show, Jackie Gleason did not disappear from television entirely. He continued to do specials in the Seventies, first for CBS and later for ABC. These specials featured many of his classic characters, as well as "The Honeymooners" sketches. There were also several Honeymooners specials. Of course, in many respects Jackie Gleason has never left television. The 39 episodes of the 1955-1956 show The Honeymooners have persisted in syndication for decades. In the Eighties Jackie Gleason released kinescopes of many of his live shows from the Fifties, including "The Honeymooners" sketches. These kinescopes would air on Showtime and were later added to The Honeymooners syndication package. Jackie Gleason's last appearance on television was in 1985 in the TV movie Izzy and Moe. He played opposite his old friend Art Carney.

While Jackie Gleason's film career in the Forties was unimpressive, he would eventually see success in film. Following his success on television, Jackie Gleason appeared in one of his best known roles, Minnesota Fats, in The Hustler (1961). He was nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for the role. In 1962 he starred in Gigot, a movie based on his own original story. The Sixties saw Jackie Gleason appear in such well known films as Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962), Soldier in the Rain (1963), How to Commit Marriage (1969), and Don't Drink the Water (1969).

Jackie Gleason's film career would slow in the Seventies, although he would appear in one of his best known roles in Smokey and the Bandit (1977) as Sheriff Buford T. Justice. For better or worse Jackie Gleason would play the role two more times, appearing in the films Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983). Mr. Gleason appeared more frequently in films in the Eighties, appearing in such films as The Toy (1982), The Sting II (1983), and Nothing in Common (1986).

Nothing in Common would be Jackie Gleason's last film. On June 24 1987 he died at the age 71 from colon cancer.

Even if the only thing Jackie Gleason had done was The Honeymooners. The Honeymooners was a sharp break from anything on television at the time. In the Fifties most characters on sitcoms were middle class. The Kramdens and the Nortons were most certainly working class, and the two couples often struggled to make ends meet. The apartment building in which they lived was decidedly run-down. It was the relative poverty in which the two couples lived that led to Ralph and Ed's many get-rich schemes, none of which ever paid off. Set in a world that television viewers rarely saw in the Fifties, with characters who were three-dimensional and plots that were absolutely hilarious, it should be little wonder that The Honeymooners continues to be popular nearly 65 years after the characters first appeared.

Of course, Jackie Gleason did much more than The Honeymooners.  Mr. Gleason had a talent for creating characters, and many of them are nearly as memorable as Ralph Kramden. And like Ralph Kramden they were generally based on real life. Reginald Van Gleason III could easily have been many millionaires in the 20th Century, while Joe the Bartender might be encountered at any number of establishments in New York City. Jackie Gleason had a talent for drawing upon real life to create characters who were not only funny, but could actually exist.

While Jackie Gleason's fame is mostly due to his work on television, he did have a good career in film. He certainly deserved his Oscar nomination for playing Minnesota Fats in The Hustler. Arguably he should have received a nomination for Gigot as well, playing a lonely, mute French janitor. Jackie Gleason would give impressive performances in other films, including Requiem for a Heavyweight and Soldier in the Rain. While Jackie Gleason's comedy films were generally of a lesser quality than his dramas, they are worth watching for his performances alone.

While the word "legend" is often tossed around today, it certainly applies to Jackie Gleason. He emerged on broadcast network television in its infancy and remained a part of it for literally decades. His variety show was not only one of the most successful of all time, but is still one of the most highly regarded. What is more, he created The Honeymooners, perhaps the most famous characters to emerge from television in the Fifties outside of those on I Love Lucy. If anyone can be called a legend, particularly with regards to television, Jackie Gleason could.

George Harrison's 73rd Birthday

George Harrison has always been my favourite Beatle after John Lennon. I also think he was the second best songwriter after John Lennon. With but a few exceptions, if one of my favourite songs wasn't written by John, it will have been written by George. In fact, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is quite possibly my favourite Beatles song that George ever wrote and one of my favourite Beatles songs of all time. In honour of what would have been George Harrison's 73rd birthday, then, here is "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".



The Beatles - While My Guitar Gently Weeps by TheBeatles-Channel

The Late Great Umberto Eco

Scholar and novelist Umberto Eco died on February 19 2016 at the age of 84. The cause was pancreatic cancer.

Umberto Eco was born on January 5 1932 in Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy. Mr. Eco developed a love for literature while still young. His grandfather had a diverse collection of books, including works by Charles Darwin, Marco Polo, and Jules Verne. He was educated by the Salesians of Don Bosco. Following World War II he became a national leader of a Catholic youth organisation. He left his position in 1954 during protests against Pope Pius XII's rather conservative policies. He received a Laurea degree from the University of Turin in 1954. His 1956 doctoral thesis was on  St. Thomas Aquinas.

For a time Umberto Eco worked as cultural editor for Radiotelevisione Italiana. He lectured at the University of Turin and went onto teach philosophy and later semiotics at the University of Bologna. He wrote columns on both pop culture and politics for Italian weekly news magazine L’Espresso.  Mr. Eco wrote over 20 nonfiction books, starting with his doctoral thesis Il problema estetico in San Tommaso in 1956.  As a semiotician Umberto Eco's subjects dealt with a wide range of subjects. His 1965 book Le poetiche di Joyce dealt with the works of James Joyce. His 2004 book Storia della bellezza dealt with the meaning and nature of beauty in Western Civilisation.  His 2013 book Storia delle terre e dei luoghi leggendari dealt with legendary lands from the works of Homer to the works of Tolkien.

It was in 1980 that Umberto Eco's first work of fiction was published, the novel Il nome della rosa. It was published in 1983 in English as The Name of the Rose. The novel was a mystery set in the 14th Century in which a  Franciscan friar must solve a murder at a Benedictine monastery in Northern Italy. The novel proved to be an international sensation, ultimately being translated into 30 different languages and selling 10 million copies. A film adaptation was released in 1986. Umberto Eco would write six more novels following the success of The Name of the Rose. His 1988 novel Il pendolo di Foucault (Foucault's Pendulum) dealt with a conspiracy theory invented by three unemployed editors that takes on a life of its own. His 1994 book L'isola del giorno prima (The Island of the Day Before) dealt with a man in the 17th Century who was marooned on a ship. Baudolino, from 2000, centred on the travels of the title character, a young Italian peasant in the 12th Century.

Umbero Eco's 2004 novel, La misteriosa fiamma della regina Loana (The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana) dealt with an antiquarian book dealer who lost his episodic memory due to a stroke and his efforts to regain those memory. 2010's Il cimitero di Praga  (The Prague Cemetery) dealt with the rise of modern day anti-Semitism. His final novel, published last year, was Numero Zero. It centred on a hack journalist.

 As a scholar Umberto Eco was remarkable. He managed to do what many have never tried or tried and failed. Quite simply, he made the field of semiotics (the study of signs and symbols and how they are used) and made it accessible to the average person. What is more, he did not limit his studies to such highbrow subjects as Homer or Shakespeare, but extended them to pop culture as well. While he certainly did not place the works of Disney on the same level as the works of Homer, but he did deem popular subjects worthy of study. As far as I am concerned this gave him more academic clout than many scholars who tend to look down their nose at anything emerging from popular culture.

What is more, Umberto Eco infused his novels with his academic interests, from semiotics to philosophy. Teh Name of the Rose dealt a good deal with Christian theology in the Middle Ages. Foucault’s Pendulum dealt a good deal with semiotics. And while Umberto Eco's books could be challenging for readers, at the same time they were very accessible. Umberto Eco managed something that very few authors can, balancing a good story with discussions of some very deep, scholarly topics.

Beyond infusing his novels with subjects most people might not encounter outside of a text book, Umberto Eco was also able to create worlds with a good deal of depth in his novels. Many who have read The Name of the Rose feel almost as if they have actually visited a 14th Century Benedictine monastery. In Baudolino the fantastic lands the characters encounter in Asia seem no less real than such historical places as the court of Emperor Frederick. Umberto Eco was able to create three dimensional characters whose worlds always seemed have they could actually exist, even when historically they did not. Umberto Eco was unique in being able to combine academic subjects with well-told stories set in realistic places with three-dimensional character. There had never been an author like him before and it seems doubtful there ever will be again.

Godspeed Harper Lee

Harper Lee, author of the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird, died today at the age of 89.

Harper Lee was born Nelle Harper Lee on April 28 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama. Her first name was her maternal grandmother's name (Ellen) spelled backwards. She did not use it on To Kill a Mockingbird out of fear that it would be mispronounced "Nellie". Her father was Amasa Coleman Lee, a prominent attorney who served in the  Alabama State Legislature from 1926 to 1938. She had an older sister, Alice, who would follow their father into law. Among her childhood friends was a young boy Truman Parsons, who would go on to become famous as writer Truman Capote. The character of Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird was based on him. In turn, Mr. Capote based the characters of Idabel Thompkins in the novel Other Voices, Other Rooms and Ann "Jumbo" Finchburg in the short story "The Thanksgiving Visitor" on Harper Lee.

Harper Lee attended Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama, where she wrote articles for the school newspaper and fiction for the school's literary magazine. After a year at Huntingdon College Miss Lee transferred to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. There she studied law with the intention of following her father and older sister into the field. She wrote for the school's newspaper, as well as the school's humour magazine, Rammer Jammer. She became editor in chief of Rammer Jammer in 1946. It was in her senior year that she spent a summer at Oxford University in England. It was while she was at Oxford that she decided to leave school to pursue a career as a writer.

It was then in 1949 that Harper Lee moved to New York City. She worked at a book store and then as a reservations agent, initially for Eastern Airlines and later for British Overseas Airways Corporation. It was on Christmas in 1956 that her friends Michael and Joy Brown presented her with a cheque that equalled a year's pay at the British Overseas Airways Corporation and told her to take a year off from her job and write whatever she wanted. Michael Brown was a lyricist whose work included the song Lizzie Borden from the Broadway production New Faces of 1952 and "Indoor Girl" in the musical House of Flowers. He had just made a good deal of money working on a musical fashion show for Esquire magazine.

Harper Lee wrote several short stories with which she was able to get an agent, Maurice Crain. Mr. Crain suggested that she try to write a novel. She began work on a novel titled Go Set a Watchman. She submitted it to J. B. Lippincott Company, who paid her an advance and assigned her to the editor Tay Hohoff. Miss Hohoff thought that Go Set a Watchman read more like a series of anecdotes than an actual novel . It was Tay Hohoff who guided Harper Lee for the next two years into transforming Go Set a Watchman into the novel we now know as To Kill a Mockingbird.

J. B. Lippincott Company did not expect To Kill a Mockingbird to sell well and even Harper Lee said, "I was hoping for a quick and merciful death at the hands of the reviewers, but, at the same time I sort of hoped someone would like it well enough to give me encouragement." As it turned out, To Kill a Mockingbird became a phenomenal success. It topped best seller lists and was included in the Book-of-the-Month-Club.The classic film adaptation of the novel was released in 1962.

Following the completion of To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee accompanied Truman Capote to Holcomb, Kansas to research the murder of a farm family. Harper Lee helped with much of the research, interviewing investigators and local people. All of this work would eventually go into Truman Capote's book In Cold Blood. Unfortunately in the book Truman Capote only acknowledged Harper Lee's work with a short "thank you" on the book's dedication page.

Despite the success of To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee never wrote another book. She worked for a time on another novel titled The Long Goodbye, but she never finished it. In the mid-Eighties she became fascinated by murders committed by a serial killer and part-time preacher in Alexander City, Alabama. She did research into the crimes with the intent of writing a true crime book titled The Reverend. She would not finish it either.

For many years Harper Lee spent a solitary life in her hometown of Monroeville. It was last year that the manuscript Go Set a Watchman was published. The novel caused considerable controversy.  Some thought that because of her advanced age Harper Lee had been taken advantage of, and the Alabama authorities even investigated to see if she had been the victim of elder abuse. Ultimately, they concluded that she had not. Even more controversial was the portrayal of Atticus Finch, the protagonist of To Kill a Mockingbird. Counted as one of the greatest literary heroes of the 20th Century, in Go Set a Watchman Atticus Finch is a racist who has attended a Klan meeting and supports segregation. Many fans of the original novel were very upset. Regardless, Go Set a Watchman sold very well.

There can be no doubt that To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most successful novels of the 20th Century. It would go from being a bestseller in 1960 to a literary classic that is required reading in many high schools and universities. Much of the reason for the novel's success is that it captured a world that was largely fading by the time of the book's publication. Quite simply, To Kill a Mockingbird was a portrait of life in a small Southern town. It was a world that was rarely seen before in literature. Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind dealt with plantation life in a time and place in such a romanticised way that must have seemed far removed to most Southerners in the 20th Century. Erskine Caldwell's Tobacco Road was set in the present, but dealt with sharecroppers at opposite end of the class spectrum from the O'Haras of Gone with the Wind. To Kill a Mockingbird was one of the earliest novels to deal with middle class life in a small Southern town.

While Harper Lee painted a vivid picture of life in the Thirties in a small Alabama town, she also gave To Kill a Mockingbird several layers. At the centre of the novel is racial inequality and racial injustice. While much of the novel deals with small town life, much of it also centres upon a trial in which Atticus Finch must defend a black man accused of rape. The portrait of bigotry painted in To Kill a Mockingbird is not pretty and is not easy to read, but like the portrayal of small town life rings all too true.  

To Kill a Mockingbird not only dealt with race, but also class as well. Class plays a central role in To Kill a Mockingbird, with characters ranging from the upper class Dolphus Raymond to the middle class Finches to the lower class Ewells. To Kill a Mockingbird was sophisticated in its approach to class in the South in two ways. First was Atticus Finch's insistence that no one be judged according to their class. Quite simply, Harper Lee placed the person as an individual above their social standing. Second, while other works set in the South would generally attribute racism to only the poorest of whites, in To Kill a Mockingbird racism can be found in every social class. Quite simply for Harper Lee one's social class does not determine how good or bad a person may be or what they might believe.

Beyond the subjects of race and class To Kill a Mockingbird touched upon many other subjects, including the destruction of innocence, the nature of courage, and even traditional gender roles (as a tomboy Scout hardly conforms to traditional expectations of a little girl).  Ultimately To Kill a Mockingbird was a much more sophisticated novel than it might appear on the surface.

Given what she accomplished with To Kill a Mockingbird it is perhaps sad that Harper Lee did not write more books. While I rather doubt any other novels written by Harper Lee would have measured up to the success of To Kill a Mockingbird (very few novels ever have), it seems possible that she could have produced several classic novels. As it is, the fact that she produced a book of the quality of To Kill a Mockingbird is an accomplishment in and of itself.

"Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys

It was 50 years ago yesterday that Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys began recording "Good Vibrations".  According to Mr. Wilson the inspiration for the song came from his mother, who would talk of "vibrations" when he was a child. She told him about dogs "that would bark at people and then not bark at others, that a dog would pick up vibrations from these people that you can't see, but you can feel." Brian first turned to Tony Asher, who had written lyrics for The Beach Boys' classic album Pet Sounds for help with the song and later his new writing partner Van Dyke Parks. Ultimately it would be fellow Beach Boy Mike Love who put together the final lyrics for the song.

While Brian Wilson began recording "Good Vibrations" on February 17 1966, it would not be finished for another six months. Ultimately work would be done on the song in four different studios and at a cost of  $50,000. All the work proved to be worth it, as "Good Vibrations" hit no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the UK singles chart, the Australian singles chart, and many other singles charts around the world. It became The Beach Boy's first million selling record

The Nat King Cole Show

Nat King Cole was one of the most successful recording artists of the 20th Century. He began his career as a jazz pianist and vocalist with the Nat King Cole Trio. The Nat King Cole Trio saw a good deal of success, producing several hit records and appearing on their own radio show. Nat King Cole would shift from jazz towards traditional pop music and strike out on his own in the late Forties, but he continued to have phenomenal success. He set a record at Capitol Records for having 150 singles reach the Billboard Pop, R&B, and Country charts, a record that has never been broken. During his career he sold 50 million records. In fact, Nat King Cole was so successful that the Capitol Records Tower at Hollywood and Vine in Los Angeles has been called, "the House that Nat Built".

Given Nat King Cole's success, it would perhaps be no surprise that he would make the move into television.  In 1956 Nat King Cole signed a contract with CBS to host a show of his own. Unfortunately plans for a show starring Nat King Cole never moved forward at CBS. It was later in the year that Nat King Cole signed a contract with NBC. This time around a show did emerge. The Nat King Cole Show debuted as a 15 minute programme on Monday night, November 5 1956 at 7:30 Eastern/6:30 Central.

While The Nat King Cole Show was definitely a major milestone for black performers on television, contrary to popular belief, it was not the first variety show to be hosted by a black person. In 1950 singer Hazel Scott hosted the short-lived Hazel Scott Show on the ill-fated Dumont Television Network. In 1952 singer Billy Daniels hosted the short lived Billy Daniels Show on ABC. Since Hazel Scott was from Trinidad, Billy Daneils was then the first African American to host a variety show. That having been said, The Nat King Cole Show was the first time that a variety show was hosted by an African American as successful as Nat King Cole. In fact, Nat King Cole was more successful than many of the white singers who hosted variety shows.

Unfortunately, Nat King Cole's success as a recording artist would not guarantee the success of The Nat King Cole Show.  NBC had agreed to finance the show in the hope that a national sponsor would pick it up. Sadly NBC found it difficult to find national sponsors for the show. Many advertisers were fearful of the reaction the South might have if a company sponsored a show hosted by an African American. An individual representing the cosmetics company Max Factor even insisted that an African American could not sell lipstick for them. Carter Products (who manufactured  Carter's Little Liver Pills and Arrid deodorant) bought time on The Nat King Cole Show occasionally, but it was not enough to support the show. To help support the show NBC sought out local sponsors, so that Coca-Cola sponsored the show in Houston, Rheingold Beer sponsored the show in New York City, and so on.

In addition to NBC's problems in finding a regular sponsor for The Nat King Cole Show, the programme also suffered from low ratings. That having been said, the network still believed in the show and in July 1957 they revamped the programme. The Nat King Cole Show was given a bigger budget and expanded to a half hour. It was also moved to Tuesday night at 10:00 Eastern/9:00 Central. In the fall of 1957 it would remain on Tuesday night, but it was moved to 7:30 Eastern/6:30 Central. At the same time Nat King Cole's fellow performers worked for industry scale or even nothing at all in order to save the show. Such legendary performers as Pearl Bailey, Harry Belafonte, Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis, Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Frankie Laine, Peggy Lee, Eartha Kitt, and Mel Tormé all appeared on the show.


Sadly, expanding the show to a half hour and high profile guests were not enough for The Nat King Cole Show get a national sponsor or improve dramatically in the ratings. Unwilling to give up on the show entirely, NBC offered to move The Nat King Cole Show to 7:30 PM  Eastern/6:30 PM Central on Saturdays. Nat King Cole declined the network's offer of a new time slot and decided to end the show.  The Nat King Cole Show ended its run on December 17 1957.

Ultimately Nat King Cole said of the failure of The Nat King Cole Show, "The network supported this show from the beginning. From Mr. Sarnoff on down, they tried to sell it to agencies. They could have dropped it after the first thirteen weeks" As to the advertising agencies and sponsors who were too nervous about supporting the show, Nat King Cole said, "Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark."

While The Nat King Cole Show ended its network run in 1957, it would not disappear entirely. The show would later air on PBS stations in the Eighties and Nineties (I remember watching it on our local PBS station, KMOS). It would eventually be available as a digital download on iTunes and editions of the show have popped up on YouTube. In 2002 White Star released the DVD The Incomparable Nat King Cole, Vols. 1 & 2, which included clips from the show. Sadly, an official DVD release for the entire Nat King Cole Show has not yet emerged.

While The Nat King Cole Show only aired for a little over a year, the show would have a lasting impact. The show paved the way for further variety shows hosted by African Americans, including The Sammy Davis Jr. Show on NBC in 1967 and The Flip Wilson Show on NBC in 1970. Ultimately African Americans would become increasingly visible on American television in the Sixties, with black actors in major roles on such shows as Star Trek, I Spy, Mission: Impossible, and Julia. While blacks are still under-represented on American network broadcast television (particularly in lead roles), there has been a vast improvement since the Fifties when the vast majority of actors in dramas and comedies were white. The Nat King Cole Show then proved to a be a pioneering effort with regards to blacks on television.