”Isn’t it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?”
David Niven, commenting on the streaker at the Oscars, 4/2/1974
As we turn another page on the calendar, it’s time to tear open a new capsule and journey back to April of 1974, where we’ll meet an infamous streaker, a home run for the ages, and a piano man, while on the spinner racks we’ll encounter a pair of old foes who return to battle both the Legion and the Batman!
News of the Month:
1st - Ayatollah Khomeini calls for an Islamic Republic in Iran
2nd - 46th Academy Awards: "The Sting", Glenda Jackson & Jack Lemmon win, Tatum O’Neal becomes youngest actress to win an Oscar at age 10
3rd – In the “Super Outbreak of 1974”, a system of 148 confirmed tornadoes kills 319 people and injures 5,484 others in 13 U.S. states
5th - Carrie, the debut novel by high school teacher Stephen King, is published by Doubleday, launching his career as the "King of Horror".
6th - 19th Eurovision Song Contest: ABBA for Sweden wins singing "Waterloo" in Brighton, England
8th - President Richard Nixon signs legislation raising the federal minimum wage, effective May 1, 1974, from $1.60/hour to $2.00/hour
15th - Kidnapping victim Patricia Hearst, who had recently announced that she was joining the Symbionese Liberation Army under the alias “Tania”, turns to crime and aids in a bank robbery in San Francisco.
25th - Günter Guillaume, an aide to West German Chancellor Willy Brandt, is exposed as a Stasi spy (East German secret service)
29th - President Richard Nixon says he will release edited transcripts of some of recordings made in the White House that were requested by the House Judiciary Committee.
Newsreel of the Month: “Super Outbreak” (April 3-4, 1974)
Magazine Cover of the Month: Hank Aaron (Sports Illustrated, April 15, 1974)
Music of the Month: Elton had another iconic hit, while a Swedish rock band exploded onto the scene with a huge single of their own
US Top Singles:
1. Bennie & The Jets - Elton John
2. Hooked On A Feeling - Blue Swede
3. TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia) - MFSB ft. The Three Degrees
4. Come And Get Your Love - Redbone
5. Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me - Gladys Knight & The Pips
UK Top Singles:
1. Seasons In The Sun - Terry Jacks
2. Angel Face - Glitter Band
3. Everyday - Slade
4. Remember Me This Way - Gary Glitter
5. You Are Everything - Diana Ross
Further Down the Charts:
A kid from Long Island named Billy Joel had his breakthrough hit with “Piano Man”, which peaked at #25
A Canadian band known as Backman-Turner Overdrive hit it big with “Let It Ride”, which made it to #23
Movie of the Month: “The Conversation” starring Gene Hackman, John Cazale, and Allen Garfield (premiered April 7, 1974)
TV Clip of the Month: The infamous moment that a streaker disrupted David Niven at the Oscar Awards, and his quick-witted response (April 2, 1974)
Sports Moment of the Month: Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth’s mark for career home runs with his 715th home run off of the Dodger’s Al Downing – Vin Scully makes the historic call (April 8, 1974)
Top 10 DC Comics of the Month (as selected by Osgood Peabody, listed in order of their publication):
Justice League of America #112: The World’s Greatest Superheroes attempt to regain their missing powers by duping their old foe Amazo in “War with the One-Man Justice League”! (Cover by Nick Cardy)
Swamp Thing #11: The Swamp Thing battles an invasion of mutants in “The Conqueror Worms”! (Cover by Luis Dominguez)
Kamandi #19: What is the sinister secret behind “The Last Gang in Chicago”! (Cover by Jack Kirby & D. Bruce Berry)
Weird Western Tales #23: Jonah attempts to thwart an assassination attempt on President Grant in “The Point Pyrrhus Massacre”! (Cover by Luis Dominguez)
Shazam! #13: A giant collection of tales featuring the Shazam family and their closest friends! (Cover by Bob Oksner)
Star Spangled War Stories #181: The Unknown Soldier returns to the scene of his origin in the emotional “One Guy in the Right Place”, plus at long last the Enemy Ace and Balloon Buster meet face to face in “Hell’s Angels”! (Cover by Joe Kubert)
Superboy #203: Validus returns to attack the Legion in “Massacre by Remote Control”! (Cover by Nick Cardy)
Action Comics #437: Superman and a group of his JLA buddies battle the sorcerer Effron in “Magic is Bustin’ Out All Over!” (Cover by Nick Cardy)
Adventure Comics #434: An evil mannequin maker wreaks havoc in “The Nightmare Dummies and the Spectre”! (Cover by Jim Aparo)
Batman #257:One of the Masked Manhunter’s deadliest foes returns in “Hail Emperor Penguin”! (Cover by Nick Cardy)
You can find all DC comics published this month right here courtesy of Mike Voiles’ Time Machine!
You can also find a lot of other publishers’ output this month courtesy of Mike’s site right here.
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statistics: Posted by Osgood Peabody — 9:04 AM - Today — Replies 2 — Views 39