Monthly Archives: July 2010

First Large Caculator Maker… Pop. Culture. History.

July 30, 2010

From Suzanne F – When did small electronic calculators first come out? And, who was the first notable company to make these new devices?

Mr. Pop History – They came out around 1971 and a year later, a company called the Bowmar Instrument Company had 50% market share. Other manufacturers included Commodore Business Machines and Rapid Data.

Prices were around $400.00 at first, but fell to about $120.00 a year later. I’m talking about small, hand-held electronic calculators that used LED’s in the numbers window.

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Comedy Show About Venereal Disease… Pop. Culture. History

July 28, 2010

From Ron N – Mr. Pop, Someone told me there was a TV show – a sort of comedy about venereal disease. Was this on cable?

Mr. Pop History – No, but it was back in 1972, when VD was all the rage (everyone talked about it). The PBS show was called “VD Blues” with host Dick Cavett. According to the log-line, “VD is now reaching epidemic proportions throughout America.” “VD isn’t funny. Catch VD Clues before it catches you.”

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The Original Hawaii Five-O… And The Weirdest Radio Spot I’ve Ever Heard… Pop. Culture. History.

July 26, 2010

From Steve R – Mr. Pop – On the “Grunge” music time line – what started it all?

Mr. Pop History – Although Grunge had been around since the Psyche ’60′s – Mainstream Grunge began with 1990′s “Louder Than Love,” the debut album for Soundgarden.

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Movie Studios Output Question. Pop. Culture. History

July 25, 2010

From EG – About how many movies are made per year? Compare that with a point in time?

Mr. Pop History – My guess is around 150 movies are released to theaters each year. Compare that with 500 during the late 1940′s.

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First Great Guitar Lick In Rock… Pop. Culture. History.

July 24, 2010

From Joel J – In your opinion, who layed down the first impressive rock lick on a popular song or popular album track. Hendricks? Clapton?

Mr. Pop History – No, it was Dan Cedrone on a song called “Rock Around The Clock” back in 1954. The guitar lick in the middle of this song is great by any standards, let alone 1954 when this kind of thing was unheard of.

Dan Cedrone, just 33 – died shortly thereafter then he fell down a flight of stairs and broke his neck. He was paid $21 for the recording.

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Bruce Springsteen Question: Pop. Culture. History.

July 23, 2010

From Pat Z. What was the biggest Bruce Springsteen-penned song as performed by another singer or band?

Mr. Pop History – The biggest was a first. “Fire” – written by Springsteen, was a huge hit for a new girl-group, “The Pointer Sisters” back in 1979. It got to number 2 on the national charts and began a string of hits for the Pointers including “He’s So Shy,” Slow Hand,” and “I’m So Excited.”

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Early Madonna Question… Pop. Culture. History.

July 22, 2010

From Eric L – Mr. Pop – Back when Madonna began making a splash – who was she linked to – romantically?

Mr. Pop History – Let’s take you back to November 1984 when her “Like A Virgin” album was released. She was dating mixer/producer John (Jellybean) Benitez. At the time, she was putting together a band for her first U.S. tour.

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Question On Gary Coleman. Pop Culture History.

July 21, 2010

From Paul S – Didn’t the late Gary Coleman attempt several TV comebacks?

Mr. Pop History – Yes. One of them was a pilot for “Lookin’ Up at the Nightly News.” It was to be a daily syndicated series focusing on the bright side of the news. Produced and hosted by Coleman, the pilot was produced in 1995, but never sold.

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Beatles Question. Pop Culture History – Week-By-Week.

July 20, 2010

From Adam G – What was the only Beatles album released with nada a Beatles single?

Mr. Pop History – It was intentional – and another reason why this album was so unique. It was 1967′s “Sgt. Pepper.” Not one single was released. It was a total album concept. For all those who remember – “All You Need Is Love” was the summer 1967 by the Beatles.

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Music Popularity – The Biggest Trend? Music Pop Culture Trivia.

July 19, 2010

From SP – Mr. Pop History – What would you say is the biggest trend in determining how music sales are calculated or determined?

Mr. Pop History – SoundScan turned the music industry on its ear back in 1991. All of a sudden, you couldn’t hype music charts – something that always prevailed in the business. SoundScan uses a computerized system that registers a sale every time an album is passed through the bar code scanner. The first thing it discovered? Less mainstream acts actually sold more music than previously reported. Those acts included N.W.A. and Garth Brooks. Did SoundScan propel Rap Music? Probably – especially early on.

The record industry at first, hated SoundScan. They had to change the way they did business – in many ways. The two people behind SoundScan are Mike Shalette and Mike Finn.

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