On this day in music, May 15, 1994, Blur earned their first No.1 album in the UK with Parklife, a defining title in the Britpop canon. Featuring such hits as “Girls & Boys,” “End of a Century,” and the title track, the band’s third studio album marked their commercial breakthrough, remaining on the UK charts for 90 weeks. Elsewhere, Parklife helped the band find new audiences across Europe (where it landed in the Top Ten) as well as in the US. Today, it remains Blur’s best-selling studio album in the UK, while in 2010, Britain’s Royal Mail included Parklife in its set of ten “Classic Album Cover” stamps.
In 1965, Bob Dylan scored his first Top 40 hit in the US with “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” The song, which served as the lead single off his fifth studio album, Bringing It All Back Home, peaked at No.39 on the Billboard Hot 100 and landed in the UK Top 10. John Lennon reportedly found the tune so captivating that he wasn’t sure how he could write a song that could compete with it.
In 1976, The Rolling Stones topped the Billboard 200 with Black And Blue, their first studio album with guitarist Ronnie Wood. Although Wood had previously contributed to the Stones’ 1974 hit, “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It),” he was only a touring member of the band until 1976. The Stones’ second self-produced LP, Black And Blue blended the band’s traditional rock and blues stylings with reggae and funk influences.
In 2008, Neil Diamond topped the Billboard 200 for the first time in his career with his 27th studio album, Home Before Dark. The accomplishment made the 67-year-old singer-songwriter the oldest recording artist in chart history to hit No.1, a record previously held by Bob Dylan.
In 2003, singer, songwriter, and actress June Carter Cash died in Nashville at age 73. The five-time Grammy winner was a member of the legendary Carter family and the second wife of Johnny Cash, with whom she would frequently collaborate. Among her most notable works was “Ring of Fire,” which would become a country standard and a 1963 hit for her husband.
In 1968, George Harrison and Ringo Starr attended the world premiere of Wonderwall at the Cannes Film Festival. The directorial debut of Joe Massot featured a soundtrack composed by Harrison, while the film later inspired the title of Oasis’ 1995 hit single.
BORN ON MAY 15
1918: Eddy Arnold
1932: Baba Oje (Arrested Development)
1948: Brian Eno (Roxy Music)
1953: Mike Oldfield
1959: Andrew Eldritch (Sisters of Mercy)
1970: Prince Be (PM Dawn)
ABATE of South Central Minnesota has its Spring Fling Motorcycle Show and Vendor Swap Meet on Saturday and Sunday at the Meeker County Fairgrounds. It will be at the 4H Building on May 17th from 10-to-6 and May 18th from 10-to-3.
John Dietel says admission is $10 and there will be food trucks which you can patronize even if you do not attend the bike show. He says there’s a $20 fee for those entering their bikes in the show.
Dietel says the judges will hand out awards and there’s also a people’s choice award, and the vendors will have parts, apparel and other items. He says they plan to be back at the Litchfield Civic Arena for next year’s show, after the construction project there is complete.
Dietel says there’s going to be a fun run on June 21st which will begin and end at the LaPlante farm, north of Darwin. He says you can find more information on the South Central Chapter of ABATE Facebook page.
The Litchfield Area Mentorship Program is getting ready for a busy summer with a couple of new fundraising activities. The Program is also wrapping up Lunch Buddies this week for the current school year.
Judy Hulterstrum says Lunch Buddies will start up again in the fall at Lake Ripley Elementary School in Litchfield where 12 children have been involved and in Dassel Elementary where 13 students have participated. She says it’s a way for an adult to have lunch and do some other activities over the noon hour with a child who could use a little extra support and they will be starting it at ACGC this next school year.
Hulterstrum says Lunch Buddies is for students in K-through-6th grade so it will take place in the Elementary School in Atwater. She says she is also meeting with the CARE program in Grove City to explore some intergenerational activities between youth and senior citizens.
Hulterstrum says she will be coordinating a Battle of the Businesses bean bag tournament as a fundraiser this summer, and the Light the Way for LAMP fundraiser is also underway where certain individuals have been challenged to collect donations for the mentorship program. She says LAMP is also partnering with the Litchfield Blues baseball team and the Kiwanis Club for a special baseball night at Optimist Park on June 13th. For more information about LAMP, call Judy at 320-699-1616 or email her at info@lampkinship.org.
On Wednesday afternoon at 12:42 p.m., the Renville County Sheriff’s Dispatch received a 911 call from a 22-year-old man reporting that he had been chased by a 26-year-old man armed with a knife. The suspect subsequently retreated into a residence located in the 600 block of East Maple Avenue, where he was believed to be alone.
In response to the unfolding situation, multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Olivia
Police Department, the Renville County Sheriff’s Office, the Brown Lyon Redwood Renville
Emergency Response Team, the Minnesota State Patrol, and the Olivia Ambulance
Service, mobilized to ensure public safety and bring the incident to a peaceful resolution.
Negotiators were deployed to engage with the suspect, and after strategic communication,
he exited the residence and was taken into custody without further incident at approximately
3:30 p.m. The investigation is on-going.
