Something of a rarity this weekend; Marvin Gaye, live at Budokan Hall in Tokyo. Recorded by NHK-Japan and broadcast November 13, 1979.

Time to take a Soul break and get back to basics.

I don't have to tell you about Marvin Gaye - you know. And if you don't - you need to check this concert out. One of the true legends of Soul and one of the world's most gifted songwriters.

'Nuff said.

Update: Thanks to everyone who donated, we've hit our goal and we've saved the Archive. The Lien is off, the locks are back on and I can breathe a momentary sigh of relief. It's been a nail-biter and frankly, I think I've aged several years these past two weeks. But it's been your help, your kindness and your belief in what Newstalgia has been trying to do that has made all the difference and has energized my spirit and renewed my faith that there really is an audience out there for this kind of material. At four years, Newstalgia has only scratched the surface, and with your help and encouragement, there will be many more days months and hopefully years of relevant, pertinent and occasionally wacko historic material to offer. I'll be here as long as you're here. Thank you - thank you everyone.

This May 2nd in 1979 saw Britain on overload during the last day of campaigning just before the election. Projected to win, via recent polls, was incumbent Prime Minister James Callahan and the Labour Party. Dropping in the polls and not expected to win was challenger Margaret Thatcher and her Conservative Party. The last day of criss-crossing Britain, Thatcher promised that, if elected she would clamp down on the power of Labor Unions. Harbinger of things to come, for sure. But on this day, Callahan was expected to remain in power and the Thatcher promises were regarded as empty threats.

Not such empty threats was the assassination of Ayatullah Motahari in Tehran. A newly discovered group calling themselves Forghan claimed responsibility. The group, it was thought, was purported to be made up of supporters of The Shah and promised a lot more.

Seven bombs went off in and around Paris overnight. No injuries or loss of life, but the perps remained a mystery.

The United Nations flag was flying over Pyongyang for the first time since anyone could remember. It signified a visit from UN Secretary Kurt Waldheim for talks regarding unification of the two Koreas.

And speaking of talks - discussions on the trade imbalance between the U.S. and Japan got underway between President Jimmy Carter and visiting Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira.

In other Capitol Hill news - President Carter was readying to announce his replacement for Army Chief of Staff General Rogers, who was leaving to replace Gen. Alexander Haig as NATO Commander in Europe.

The endless War on Drugs was heating up again. This time in Southern Floria where it was announced 14 people were so far under indictment for Drug Smuggling in Miami with many more to come.

Boston Pops Icon Arthur Fiedler celebrated his 50th season with the orchestra in a gala celebration.

And John Wayne was back in the hospital with a not-so-good prognosis.

All this and much more via The CBS World News Roundup for May 2, 1979.

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.

1979 was not a watershed year for the Jimmy Carter Presidency. A lot was going wrong and a lot that had gone right just the year prior was in danger of sliding off the rails.

Iran was proving to be a bigger problem than originally thought with signals the Soviet Union were contemplating an overture or two towards Tehran. Our presence in the world was not on the best of terms. Embassy's in Iran and Afghanistan were attacked. Our Middle East policy, pointed with such optimism and accomplishment via the Camp David Peace Accords only a year earlier, was in danger of being derailed. The SALT II Treaty with the Soviet Union was on shaky ground if the Senate had anything to say about it and our agreement with The People's Republic Of China at the cost of our relationship with Taiwan had many in and out of government wondering if damage control would do any good.

And so Walter Cronkite, the Most Trusted Man In America, weighed in on the issue of our Foreign Policy and where we stood in the midst of all this. Here is his commentary for February 20, 1979 as broadcast by CBS Radio.

While Music was going through it's realignment and recovering from the shock of the Punk movement, a new genre was creeping into the lexicon; New Wave. Spearheaded by bands like The Knack, New Wave sought to bridge the gap that existed between hardcore Punk and 70's Rock. It created something of a safe and commercial middle ground from all the disparate movements at the time. Blondie fit into that category nicely and were wildly popular through the late 70's and into the 1980's.

Here they are, just about at their peak in a BBC Radio concert recorded live in Glasgow on New Years Eve 1979.

A full hour's worth for you to catch up on what you probably haven't heard in a while.

Enjoy.

April 25th 1979. Israeli troops in Lebanon and terrorist attacks by the PLO bring strong condemnation from Egypt of Israeli handling of the situation. Egypt on the outs with just about every Arab nation because of the Peace signing. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are the latest in a long line of nations breaking diplomatic ties with Anwar Sadat's Egypt. Meanwhile, Jimmy Carter commemorates the day (April 25th) the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising took place in 1943. Rhodesia has its first Black Prime Minister with the election of Abel Muzorewa to the post and Iran's President Mehdi Bazargan is the object of an assassination attempt which Iranian News refuses to acknowledge. Gotta love 'em.

And so went another day with completely interchangeable historic parts.

We're still plugging away for donations to keep Newstalgia up and running. If you don't we may not . . .unfortunately.

Jumping into the 70's this Sunday with a concert originally broadcast in 1979 from the late and very much lamented Jazz Alive! series from NPR.

This one was recorded September 1st, 2nd and 3rd 1979 at the, what is now the Lewiston Jazz Festival in New York. It opens with a nice set from Jazz vocal legends Jackie & Roy and then jumps into a very nice set from Lee Konitz. A little under 90 minutes - I didn't break it up between two players because, well . . .who wants to break up the flow, right?

I know you don't.

Enjoy.

("Nothing serious . . . .really . . .honest!)

Around four in the morning on March 28, 1979, a series of events would eventually turn into one of the biggest Nuclear Power Plant disasters in U.S. History. Initial reports indicated nothing much had gone wrong. In fact, as the situation slowly came to light, officials still vehemently denied anything was other than routine. Attempts at spin and passing the accident off as "nothing to be concerned about" hid the reality that this was much more serious than previously thought.

For example, this exchange from a Spokesman for Metropolitan Edison:

"The plant is in a safe condition. The radiation levels at the site boundary are really only a tenth of the general emergency level where we usually get concerned. We do have our crews out. We're monitoring for airborne contamination. The amount we've fond is minimal. Very small traces of radioactivity has been released from the plant"

The tune would change dramatically by the next day.

John Amato:

Gordon Skene has a great series up on Newstalgia covering the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear power plant disaster. I love history and Gordon has been doing a "bang up" job so far.

If you want to hear more news reports, here are Parts II, III, and IV of the series.

With a Guilty verdict for Voluntary Manslaughter, rather than the hoped for Guilty of Murder, convicted killer of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, Dan White, triggered a night of violence that saw scores of arrests and some 60 Policeman injured as San Francisco's Gay community vented its outrage at what was considered almost an acquittal. The fallout from the verdicts and the damage done, primarily to relations between the City and the Gay Community, would have long term and lasting affects.

Another set of protests went on in the wake of executions of convicted killers John Spenkelink and Willie Darden in Florida - the first to be held in that state since 1964. At the time of this broadcast, appeals were still pending.

Also pending was the outcome of elections in Canada which, according to polls, was a neck-and-neck race between incumbent Pierre Elliot Trudeau and challenger Joe Clark.

Secretary of State Vance went on a meet-and-greet with members of newly elected Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's government while on a visit to London.

On Capitol Hill - Ethics hearings were continuing for Herman Talmadge and a Grand Jury were meeting to determine what would happen next in the brewing scandal of Bert Lance.

And California may become the first state to relax it's odd-even Gas rationing since it was being better-than-good about reduced driving and consumption, resulting in more plentiful gas supplies. Like the oil companies really cared.

And so went this particular May 22 in 1979 - an Even Day, if you were sitting at a gas station on Empty. All reported on The CBS World News Roundup.

A huge thanks to those who have chipped in so far. With a nice start, we're inching closer to our $5,000.00 goal - with any luck, and with your amazing help, we can get there.

In the meantime, here is a live session from the inimitable and legendary Buzzcocks recorded for the John Peel Program at the BBC. This one is from May 21, 1979 and features song mostly from the A Different Kind Of Tension album released that September.

1. I Don't Know What To Do With My Life
2. Mad Mad Judy
3. Hollow Inside
4. ESP

Stay tuned for a Levon Helm tribute with a concert by The Band, coming up this Saturday on Backstage Weekend. Just sayin' - and don't forget to make any kind of donation you can.