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A busy day in the world, this April 24th in 1998. Fourteen years ago on this day you probably woke up and heard the news that Boris Yeltsin, after a month of political wrangling and arm-twisting, finally succeeded in installing his pick for Prime Minister, Sergei Kiriyenko. Opposed by the Communist minority in the Russian Parliament, Kiriyenko was touted by Yeltsin as part of his plan for economic rejuvenation of the sagging Russian economy.

In other parts of the world. A festive atmosphere greeted the public execution of the first four convicted of perpetrators of the horrific genocide in Rwanda. The Soccer Stadium in Kigali filled to capacity to witness the firing squad take aim at the three men and one woman who were part of wave of mass killings that had gone on for so long in the beleaguered African nation.

With the recent death of James Earl Ray, convicted assassin of Martin Luther King, plans were still underway to open an investigation on the murder of the Civil Rights leader. Despite a 1978 Senate Subcommittee hearing that concluded Ray acted alone, there was pressing evidence that Ray had been funded by a group of St. Louis bigots who reportedly offered Ray $50,000.00 for the assassination.

Mergers and Unions in the Airline Industry were big news on this day. With talk of a merger between United and Delta Airlines, promises of a potential windfall, similar to the promises of a windfall from the previous days merger of American Airlines and U.S. Airways had many expressing doubts about how much of a windfall this really was and an investigation of this new merger was called for.

Meanwhile, over at Northwest Airlines - The labor dispute was deepening with Northwest reportedly firing two mechanics, one for wearing a clown costume to work, and suspending four others for a reported work slowdown at its Minneapolis hub. Six other unions were prepping for a confrontation with stockholders and NWO's annuan meeting in New York. A federal mediator called for resumption of talks before the ugliness got started.

Whitewater figure Susan McDougal was sitting it out in a Little Rock jail on this day, as the result of refusing to answer questions for the Grand Jury hearing.

The cost of Health Insurance premiums were going to be going up, with a reported increase of as much as 15% in some cases.

The Senate narrowly approved legislation on Tax-free savings accounts for school expenses. President Clinton threatened a veto.

And daughter of OJ Simpson, Arnell was arrested for Drunk Driving in Beverly Hills.

Some day.

That and lots more via the CBS World News Roundup for a Friday, April 24th, 1998.

As a reminder that media coverage of Political conventions hasn't really changed all that much since broadcasting got started, here is a one hour snapshot from June 26, 1936 at the Democratic National Convention.

On this evening there were seconding speeches, and pleas from the Chairman to keep the hyperbole down to five minutes apiece. On this evening too, there was sufficient boredom going on in the broadcast studio that such journalistic greats as H.V. Kaltenborn and Edward R. Murrow were reduced to interviewing delegates to find out which was the youngest at the convention - and in Murrow's case, interviewing the on-site barber to get the "scoop" on "just what goes on in a barber shop during a convention". Pretty weighty stuff, but no less strange than the endless trivia and human interest stories we deal with now.

So here is the last hour of the convention day for June 26th 1936, the seconding speeches, as presented by CBS Radio, hosted by Robert Trout.

With a burst of support from so many of you overnight, we've been able to reach 1/3 of our goal. I can't tell you what this means to me and to the continuation of Newstalgia. We still have a ways to go, but our goal is in sight. And thanks to the incredible outpouring of donations and kind words from all of you, we're able to slowly get there. We can make it - and with your help we will. Any amount is gratefully appreciated. No matter what you may think is an insignificant amount, it's huge to us right now. I cannot thank you enough for your support. And if you haven't made a donation yet, and are able to (I know these times are rough - if they weren't, I wouldn't be asking for your support), please consider any amount in order to keep Newstalgia alive and keep the Archives (from which all these posts come from) from disappearing. With your help, we can do it.

Since April 23rd in 1979 also came on a Monday, it was the start to what promised to be a busy week for Jimmy Carter, and for Capitol Hill in general.

First off - with Carter back at the White House from his 11 day Easter vacation, he was gearing up for the onslaught of cameras and microphones as he went into lobbying mode for this Windfall Profits Tax and SALT Treaty legislation. SALT was thought to be a hard sell because of the verification agreement in the Treaty. While the Windfall Profits Tax proposal, aimed at the Oil Producers, had a "wait and see" cloud hanging over it. Obviously a welcome piece of legislation from the voters, there was "Big Oil" to deal with, and that could pose a big problem.

Meanwhile - as Congress came back from Easter recess, the Senate were gearing up for testimony from Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh and others over the recent 3-Mile Island Nuclear Power plant disaster. Looking for answers amid a sea of finger pointing. Also at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearings was more testimony regarding the SALT Treaty and questions over CIA Chief Stansfield Turner's appearance at the Hearings, resulting in Carter's blast of Turner for leaks an distortions during his previous testimony.

On the Union front - Negotiations resumed between the Machinists Union and United Airlines, attempting to end a strike that got started late March. Also pending was a tentative agreement between Teamsters and the Steel industry.

In the rest of the world - Heavy fighting was reported in Cambodia with an estimated 40,000 civilians and fleeing troops loyal to Pol Pot fleeing over the border to Thailand. The Thai government were tight-lipped and clamped a black-out on Press inquiries.

Senator Frank Church, while visiting Tokyo, warned the Japanese government that a strong feeling of Protectionism was brewing in the U.S. over the trade imbalances between Japan and the U.S.

Deposed Ugandan Dictator Idi Amin turned up in Iraq, flying in from Libya, presumably seeking asylum in Baghdad.

And flooding continued in Mississippi, with protests launched at the Feds for the reported 7% interest rate being handed flood-ravaged victims.

And on and on it went, that Monday April 23rd in 1979. As reported on the CBS World News Roundup.

Sticking with the Americana theme this week. Here is one of the first, if not the first, broadcast performance of the Symphony Number 2 by the American composer David Ward, as performed in this 1948 radio concert by the CBS Radio Symphony Orchestra and conducted by the eminent Black American conductor Dean Dixon.

(Stan Getz offers the usual magic)

I haven't done any live Jazz posts in a while, and for absolutely no good reason. So I thought I would make up for that by offering a very special Club date featuring the Shelly Manne Quintet and The Stan Getz Quartet, recorded live by CBS Radio at the Basin Street in New York City on April 21, 1956.

As far as I know neither of these performances have been made commercially available (or even as bootlegs), so this should be a special treat for both Shelly Manne fans and Stan Getz fans. Both groups are in top form and feature an all-star cast of sidemen.

Good way to close out the week.

Enjoy.

(Clifford Brown - one of the brightest lights in Jazz, gone all too soon)

I originally ran this in 2009 as a Nights At The Roundtable special. But it's such a special and rare recording I thought I would re-run it again in case you missed it the first time around. A live broadcast from CBS Radio on May 6, 1956 featuring The Max Roach/Clifford Brown Quintet and The Errol Garner Trio performing at The Basin Street in New York.

As I mentioned several months ago in a previous post, the 1940s and 1950s were a heyday for live broadcasting of Jazz throughout the U.S. Almost every night and on almost all the networks, some club or some concert was being broadcast from just about every section of the country.

It's certainly a lost art now. And just to show how significant these live broadcasts were, this particular broadcast was one of the last Clifford Brown did before his untimely death on June 26th of that year, quite possibly the last. I don't know if this has been reissued or has made the collectors circles - that is certainly something Clifford Brown fans will know about.

At any rate - enjoy the moments, around thirty of them.

This day in 1982 was about shooting wars. British troops landed on The Falkland Islands and the shooting war started. Amid reports of casualties and both sides claiming the upper hand, the propaganda wheels were in motion. The diplomatic wheels however were not, and even though Pope John Paul II appealed to Britain to show restraint and seek a peaceful solution, Margaret Thatcher said "thanks, but no thanks". And the war was on.

Likewise in the Middle East, only this time it was Iran who boasted major gains in territory over the Iraqi's, but it didn't look as though this thing would be over anytime soon. Terrorist bombs went off in Beirut, this time at the French Embassy and with scores of casualties.

Meanwhile, in other parts of the world. Successor to the ailing Leonid Brezhnev was looking more and more like Yuri Andropov, head of the Secret Police.

On Capitol Hill - Pres. Reagan's Fiscal spending plan for 1983 goes to battle at the House. Reagan also pushed for The Department of Energy to be merged with the Department of Commerce. The Supreme Court ruled people on Nixon's Enemies list did not need to be revealed. The Abortion question was also back on the docket, this time via State's rulings on abortions.

The DeLorean Auto plant in Ireland was ordered closed by the Irish government, citing no buyers in the foreseeable future.

All that, and a lot more on this May 24th in 1982 from the CBS World News Roundup and the 9:00 am (PDT) network news.

May 14, 1978 saw the world in a state of threatened discontent. There were grumblings of a war developing between Ethiopia and Somalia. Border clashes between China and Russia brought a call from Beijing for intense training of its armed forces, citing a war between the two Communist powers was inevitable. Three Cambodian soldiers were killed in a clash with Thai Border police. And Yassar Arafat let everyone know Cuba offered to send troops to Lebanon if the PLO asked.

Meanwhile, a group of military experts was slated to accompany National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski on his upcoming trip to China. It was viewed as a slap in the face to Taiwan and further evidence the Taipei government was losing favor with the White House.

Speaking of Capitol Hill; the big push was on to win over votes in the Senate for Jimmy Carter's F-15 Fighter jet sales package to Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The bill was in threat of being vetoed and Carter pledged to override the veto if push came to shove.

A Russian language newspaper published in Manhattan was bombed by a Pro-Israeli group calling themselves The Jewish Resistance. No injuries, but a lot of damage, and phone calls claiming credit also demanded Russian Jews be allowed to emigrate to Israel.

In Zimbabwe Rhodesia. Abel Muzorewa threatened to pull out of the bi-racial transitional government of Ian Smith over the recent dismissal of a Black judge.

And American companies operating in Iran were told to restrict the movements of their employees because of intensified anti-government violence against the Shah.

Supposedly a quiet news day, since May 14th in 1978 was a Sunday.

All that, as reported by Neil Strawser on the 7:00 am (PDT) CBS Hourly News.

April 10, 1979, and if you were living in the infamous Mid-West belt known as "Tornado Alley" you'd be dazed and counting your blessings that you weren't one of the 59 who lost their lives in this worst series of Tornadoes to hit the area in years.

And if you were on the other side of the planet, around Kampala Uganda, and you were Idi Amin, you'd be planning your escape in the wake of advancing troops from Tanzania, who were spelling the end of your regime.

That's the kind of day it was.

If you were a Union Trucker, you'd be looking at a tentative settlement in one of the longest strikes in history, and if you were a Steel Worker your employment would still be hanging in the balance.

In other news on this day - Israel's Menachem Begin did a personal reach-out to Egypt's Anwar Sadat in the form of a phone call to discuss points in the Peace Plan. Iran was busy executing 13 more of its citizens by firing squad on charges ranging from murder to "warring against God".

In the aftermath of the 3-Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant disaster, tests for radioactive contamination in the area around the reactor turned up negative, which spelled some relief for anxious residents.

And after 41 days of testimony, the infamous Marvin vs. Marvin case was heading off to the jury.

All that, and a bunch more for this day, via the CBS World News Roundup and the 9:00 am (West Coast) News for April 10, 1979.

Something unusual tonight. Not really part of the off-the-air musical numbers, but a rare demo done by one of the immortals of Jazz. A solo demo, presumably for the publisher of a song Nat "King" Cole would record in March of 1949 in New York. I Wake Up Screaming After Dreaming Of You features Cole at a small recording studio on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Studio & Artists was a hotbed of demo recordings as well as off-the-air recordings for clients during the heyday of Radio. The Studio was located less than a block away from the famed CBS Broadcasting Studios in Hollywood and about three blocks east of the NBC Studios on the corner of Sunset and Vine.

Like a lot of the small studios in business in Hollywood at the time, it was centrally located to all the Network Operations. And some studios, like the famous Radio Recorders, were going 24 hours a day between sessions with such notables as Elvis Presley and recording daily Soap Operas off the Network line for clients and Advertising agencies.

When Radio became a thing of the past, so did the studios. And even though Radio Recorders is "kind of" still in business (only as a location which had a fire a couple weeks ago), the other studios closed up shop and tossed their goods. With gems like this relegated to the dumpster, it begs the question of what else was lost and what else is still lurking around.

But for now, here's a sample of what got rescued. Nat "King" Cole at his always best.