The 5th Dimension's "Up, Up and Away" win 6 Grammy Awards 1968

The 5th Dimension's 1967 recording of Up, Up and Away took home 6 Grammy Awards at the 10th annual ceremony held February 29, 1968.  Producers Johnny Rivers and Marc Gordon took home Record of the Year.  Jimmy Webb, songwriter, received Song of the Year.  The 5th Dimension won Best Performance by a Vocal Group, Best Performance by a Chorus, Best Contemporary Group Performance (Vocal or Instrumental), and Best Contemporary Single. 

Boris Karloff (horror movie icon) won a Grammy for Best Recording for Children, for his work on Dr. Seuss: How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Elvis Presley won Best Sacred Performance for his recording of How Great Thou Art.

The Beatles won 4 Grammys for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: Album of the Year; Best Album Cover, Graphic Arts; Best Contemporary Album; and Best Engineered Recording - Non-Classical. 

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Mark Polansky!

Mark Polansky, born June 2, 1958 in Paterson, New Jersey, is a veteran of three space shuttle missions.

His first mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-98) as pilot to the International Space Station in February 2001.  The crew delivered the Destiny Laboratory Module, the first NASA lab to be permanently used since Skylab.

His second mission was aboard Discovery (STS-116) as commander to the ISS in December 2006.  His wake up song was Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles.

His third and final trip was aboard Endeavour (STS-127) as commander to the ISS in July 2009.  He must really love Here Comes the Sun.

Styx releases "Kilroy Was Here" 1983

Styx released their eleventh studio album, Kilroy Was Here, February 22, 1983.  The concept album, which is based on a dystopian future where rock music is outlawed, was in part a mocking reponse to fundamentalist Christian groups, who managed to persuade the Arkansas State Senate to pass a bill requiring that all albums containing "back-masking" be labeled.  Styx was among other groups such as the Beatles, ELO, Pink Floyd and Queen.

According to wikipedia.com, the fifth track Heavy Metal Poisoning, contains the two mottoes found on the U.S. one-dollar bill back masked.

This is the last album of original material to be released by the "classic" lineup of Dennis DeYoung, Tommy Shaw, James Young, and twins John and Chuck Panozzo. 

The biggest hit from teh album was Mr. Roboto, which reach #3 on the Billboard charts.

Happy birthday, Alan Parsons!

Alan Parsons, born December 20, 1948 in London, England, is the mind behind The Alan Parsons Project and engineer extraordinare behind The Beatles' Abbey Road and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.

It is his partnership with Eric Woolfson, better known as The Alan Parsons Project, that I enjoy most.  Got all their albums!  Parsons has been nominated for a Grammy 11 times, two times each in 1976 and 1979. 

This month is the 33rd anniversary of Vulture Culture's release in 1984.  The first Alan Parsons Project tune I remember hearing on the radio was Damned if I Do, Damned if I Don't from Eve.  Several years later, I heard Time from Turn of a Friendly Card.  We all remember that one!