Good morning, today is Jan. 7, 2026, assuming that the core of the planet spinning in the wrong direction hasn't slowed us down too much.
Today in History:
1610: Galileo Galilei discovers the first three moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa, and Ganymede.
1904: The Marconi Co. establishes "CQD" (Seeking You. Distress!) as 1st international radio distress signal — not adopted universally
1920: The New York State Assembly denies five duly elected Socialist assemblymen.
1953: U.S. President Harry Truman announces the United States’ development of the hydrogen bomb.
1999: President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial begins in the U.S. Senate after the House voted to impeach him for lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky.
Birthdays today include: Sen. Mack Mattingly, Eldee Young, (Ramsey Lewis Trio, 1956-66 'The In Crowd"; Young-Holt Unlimited - "Soulful Strut"), Paul Revere (Paul Revere and the Raiders) Dave Cousins (The Strawbs) Kenny Loggins, Drummer Ricky Marotta, David Caruso (NYPD Blue), Sen. Rand Paul, Nicolas Cage, Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Raves QB)
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Another fun piece this morning. Chris Queen did his “Desert Island Discs,” and I promised I’d follow suit sometime this week. So these are record albums I'd want at a minimum when marooned on a desert island, in no particular order.
1: Santana’s self-titled LP. Released in August 1969, it was, without question, one of the two most powerful LPs out that year. Even after all these years, it’s a favorite. There was a fire in that Early lineup.
2: Boston’s first LP. Released in 1976, it was impossible to get away from. For the first six months it was out, we all wondered how they got as tight as they did. I saw them live some years later when they were promoting Don’t Look Back, their second LP. Amazingly enough, they were nearly as good live.
3: Blood, Sweat, and Tears self-titled LP. Released the second week of December 1968, it’s the other most powerful album I mentioned. As “Duck” Dunn used to say, they had a horn section that could turn goat pee into gasoline. Canadian singer David Clayton-Thomas, on vocals, was a strategic move as far as I could tell. He was super in the role. Heard them play live once. I can’t think of any other vocalist who could possibly have stood up to that horn section.
4: The Moody Blues, To Our Children’s Children’s Children Released in 1969. Only one single was released from this album, but it didn’t chart. Still went gold, though. No shock; it wasn’t a singles album. It was always intended to be taken as a whole. In fact, I place this one in the top echelon of concept albums, right up there with Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Made in the shadow and spirit of the moon shot, all the songs look at space travel from a different angle. I see they’ve released this disk on a five-CD set. Remastered for stereo, surround, ATMOS, and Blu-ray. It’s expensive, but I may just try to get one of those collections.
5: The Association, Insight Out. This one’s got both “Windy” and Don and Dick Addreisi’s “Never My Love” on it, both huge singles, but frankly, there’s not a bum track on this thing. Produced by Bones Howe, the whole Album just sparkles, both technically and in performance. Some really great, simply straightforward Pop music. It’s actually something of a guilty pleasure for me.
6: The Eagles Greatest Hits. The band was music from the ‘70s to the ‘90s, and this is a touchstone to that era. Last I looked, it was the third most purchased LP in history.
7: Electric Light Orchestra, Out of the Blue. I’ll tell you point-blank that Jeff Lynne is a bloody genius. This double-album set was the finest example of his work before he started leaning more heavily on digital techniques. Don’t get me wrong, his more recent stuff is enjoyable as well, but this album and those prior had a slightly different sound compared to his later work. I suspect that difference has to do with the amount of work required to get the sound. I sometimes think that for all we’ve gained with recording technology, we started losing something after 1980, as well.
8: Jim Croce’s greatest hits. Jim was very much a part of my high school life. I knew all of this stuff, hits or no, simply because I couldn’t get enough of his music. I still remember when he died in that plane crash. Two days after that, a touring show came to the school. The show had been planned for a couple of months. One of the show’s elements was a film of Croce in the studio, cutting "I Got a Name." The entire school watched that portion in what is perhaps best described as respectful silence. If they were like me, their hearts were breaking. It was a long while before I could bring myself to listen to his stuff after that. But I still do.
9: Gordon Lightfoot, Gord’s Gold. Living as close as I do to Canada, I have always been very much aware of Gord’s work. He’s a Canadian treasure, even now. A song for just about every mood is on that two-album set, all done as nobody else could.
10: Doobie Brothers Greatest Hits: Compiled before about half of the chart-busting stuff that they went on to release afterward, this has all their earlier stuff. Not a bum in the lot.
Also-rans: Rush’s Caress of Steel, The Turtles' Happy Together, AC/DC's Back in Black, Chicago X, Bob James' Touchdown, Dave Grusin's Night Lines, Beatles' Abbey Road, Peter White's Glow, Hiroshima’s Thirds, Jackson Browne’s Lawyers in Love.
Thought for the Day: “Visualize your success; your mind is a powerful tool.”
I'll be here tomorrow, I hope you will be, too.
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