Sunday, January 23, 2022

THURSDAY BACKTRACK: Music and news from 60 years ago - week ending 21 January 1961

At #2: Elvis' 'Are You Lonesome Tonight':



Giles cartoon for this week: the UK Professional Footballers' Association Strike


For 60 years in the UK, there had been an earnings cap for professional soccer players - maximum £20 a week in 1961, when the average male manual wage was £14.
    Jimmy Hill, a Fulham player about to retire from the game, organised a threatened nationwide players' strike which would have taken effect on Saturday, 21 January; the Football Association caved in on 18 January and so ushered in the modern era of very highly paid footballers.


Some memorable events (via Wikipedia):

16 January: 'The United States banned travel by its citizens to Cuba, except in cases where a special endorsement was included on a passport.'

17 January: 'President Dwight Eisenhower gave his farewell address on nationwide television, with the warning, "We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex"..We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes."
    Also, 'Patrice Lumumba, 35, former leader of Republic of Congo, was secretly executed by a firing squad.'

19 January: 'In New Zealand, the filling of Lake Ohakuri began. Within two weeks, a reservoir of nearly five square miles was created and a supply of hydroelectric power was created. At the same time, two of the world's largest geysers—the 295-foot-high Minquini and the 180-foot-high Orakeikorako—were covered over and made extinct.'

20 January: 'John F. Kennedy took the oath of office as the 35th president of the United States. For the first time, the event was shown on color television, pioneered by the NBC network.'

21 January: 'Loaded with 16 nuclear tipped Polaris A-1 missiles, the submarine USS George Washington completed its first "deterrent patrol", after having remained submerged for a record 66 consecutive days.'

UK chart hits, week ending 21 January 1961
Htp: Clint's labour-of love compilation https://www.sixtiescity.net/charts/61chart.htm

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