1960s – Now I've Heard Everything

Motown’s Mary Wilson And Her Supreme Faith

November 13, 2024November 11, 2024Bill Thompson

She was the little girl from Detroit with big dreams And along with some friends with similar dreams, Mary Wilson became a founding member of the greatest Motown girl group ever: the Supremes.

Originally the Primettes in 1959, they became the Supremes in 1961 when they signed with Berry Gordy.

It took three years before their first #1 hit record, but the Supremes racked up nearly a dozen more in the ‘60s.

By 1970 the Supremes were a different group. Florence Ballard was gone, so was Diana Ross. Mary Wilson kept the Supremes going into the ‘70s.

But perhaps her biggest success was yet to come.

It was immense success as an author. Her 1986 book Dream Girl became a smash bestseller.

And in 1990 Wilson followed it up with another book, Supreme Faith. I met her that fall to talk about it.

So here now, from 1990, Mary Wilson.

The Supremes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

Mary Wilson died in 2021. She was 76.

Honoring Vietnam War Heroes: Col. David Hackworth’s Most Important Book

November 11, 2024November 10, 2024Bill Thompson

Veteran’s Day was originally known as Armistice Day, marking the end of World War I on November 11th.

So perhaps it was fitting that a baby born on Armistice Day in 1930 would be destined for an illustrious military career,

David Hackworth joined the Army shortly after World War II, and was decorated for his service in the Korean War.

By the late 1960s Hackworth had become the youngest Army colonel in Vietnam.

He helped form what became known as Tiger Force.

After the war Hackworth became a journalist and author, and in 2002 wrote a book about the ragtag battalion he was sent to lead in 1969. He called the book Steel My Soldiers’ Hearts. He and I talked about the book that spring, including his wife’s essential role in writing it.

So here now, from 2002, Col. David Hackworth.

David Hackworth died in 2005 at age 74. He’s buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Ultra Violet: Her Life With Andy Warhol

October 9, 2024October 6, 2024Bill Thompson

Pop art icon Andy Warhol once said, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” Don’t know about you but I can think of lots of people on social media who have proven that to be true.

Famous For 15 Minutes is also the title of a 1988 book by French-American artist and actress Isabelle Dufresne,one of Andy Warhol’s “superstars” who went by the name Ultra Violet.

Dufresne was introduced to Warhol in 1963 by Salvador Dali. She spent the next several years at Warhol’s Factory before they went their separate ways in the 1970s.

I met Ultra Violet when she was on her book tour about a year and a half after Warhol’s death.

So here now, from 1988, Ultra Violet.

Isabelle Dufresne, Ultra Violet, died in 2014 at the age of 78.

Do We Owe ’69’s Woodstock To Elliot Tiber?

August 14, 2024August 10, 2024Bill Thompson

It was this week 55 years ago – starting on August 15, 1969, to be exact – that organizers put on what they called an “Aquarian Exposition” in White Lake, New York.

It was a three day music festival that is now widely known simply as Woodstock.

But by one man’s account it almost didn’t happen – if not for him.

Elliot Tiber and his family operated a small, rundown motel in Bethel, New York. And Elliot also owned a permit to hold a music festival.

As he told in his 1994 book Taking Woodstock, that permit, coupled with his friendship with dairy farmer Max Yasgur, helped make Woodstock possible.

I met Elliot when he was on a book tour, which happened to coincide with the Woodstock ‘94 festival.

And if you thought you were about to hear a quiet, sedate conversation with a nearly-65-year-old has-been, get over it. And buckle up, because here’s my 1994 interview with Elliot Tiber.

Elliot Tiber died in 2016. He was 81.

Chris Kraft: The Father of NASA’s Mission Control

July 19, 2024July 13, 2024Bill Thompson

This weekend marks 55 years since human beings first set foot on the surface of the moon

The Apollo 11 mission put astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon Good 3rd crew member, Michael Collins, remained in the orbiting And module .

It was the fulfillment of an ambitious goal set at the beginning of the 1960s by President John F Kennedy .

During the 1960s tens of thousands of talented engineers and experts working at warp speed, if you will, help the U.S. reach that goal

At the heart of it all was a brilliant aerospace engineer named Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr. It was largely Chris Kraft created, pioneered, or invented many of the things that we now regard as standard elements of the NASA space program

From Mercury to Gemini to Apollo, Kraft was there, helping shape what the space program became .

In 2001 Chris Kraft wrote a memoir of his life and career, mirroring that of NASA.it was called flight comma and that’s….few minutes with this iconic figure.

So here now, from 2001 Chris Kraft.

Chris Kraft died in 2019, just days after the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing he had helped make possible.

Barry Goldwater: 1964 GOP Nominee’s Optimism

July 12, 2024July 6, 2024Bill Thompson

The 2024 Republican National Convention begins Monday in Milwaukee. Donald Trump will be formally nominated as the GOP standard bearer, and we expect to learn who his running mate will be.

Sixty years ago, convening in San Francisco, Republicans nominated firebrand Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater as their party’s nominee against incumbent Democrat Lyndon Johnson.

But ,many Republicans in 1964 saw Goldwater as too extreme. And Goldwater himself didn’t do much to calm those concerns, with his acceptance speech.

After being trounced by LBJ that fall, Goldwater remained in the Senate for another 22 years, helping shape the conservative policies of the GOP.

After his retirement, he wrote a memoir called simply Goldwater. And when I met him in 1988, the country was in the thick of the George H.W. Bush vs Michael Dukakis race. And as you’re about to hear, Goldwater had some very specific ideas about that contest.

So, here now, from 1988, Barry Goldwater.

Barry Goldwater died in 1998. He was 89.

Phyllis Newman: Tony Winner’s Winning Cancer Battle

July 5, 2024June 28, 2024Bill Thompson

Phyllis Newman made her Broadway debut in 1952, when she was 19. Just a few years later she won a Tony award for Best Featured ACtress in a Musical. More awards came her way, and she was soon in demand on Broadway and in television.

She was frequently on the TV game shows “What’s My Line?”, “To Tell The Truth,” and “The Match Game: and guest starred on dozens of popular series.

But off screen, in the mid-1980s, she faced her biggest life challenge: she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

After her recovery, she wrote a memoir called Just In Time. I met her while she was on tour promoting that book.

So here now, from 1988, Phyllis Newman.,

Phyllis Newman, breast cancer survivor, lived for another 31 years after our interview. She passed away in 2019 at the age of 86.

Mamie Van Doren: The Untamed Youth of Hollywood’s Blonde Bombshell

May 29, 2024May 26, 2024Bill Thompson

In 1950s America there were two famous women named Mamie. One, of course,was the First Lady, Mamie Eisenhower.

The other was blonde bombshell Mamie Van Doren, whose career put her in the same stratosphere as Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield.

And Mamie was not shy about her sexiness. She had many male acquaintances, shall we call them.

Joan Lucille Olander was born in 1931 in South Dakota. Her family moved to Los Angeles when she was 11. And, one thing leading to another, she married for the first time at age 17, in a union that ended quickly.

By age 19 she had a movie contract, launching the career that catapulted her to star status. In the ‘50s and ‘60s she was rarely out of work.

In 1987 Mamie wrote her autobiography, Playing the Field. That’s when I met her and interviewed her – and then we talked again a year later when the book came out in softcover.

So here now, from 1988,. Mamie Van Doren.

Mamie Van Doren.is 93 now, having outlived Marilyn, Jayne, Suzanne, and Farrah.

Remembering the Ia Drang Valley: The Battle That Changed Vietnam

May 27, 2024May 26, 2024Bill Thompson

It’s been almost 50 years since the last American soldier came home from Vietnam. But the memories of the 10-year war that tore the nation apart still color the U.S. today.

On this Memorial Day I wanted to bring you an interview I did in 1993 with retired Army Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and war correspondent Joe Gallowaty. They had recently returned from a visit to Vietnam.

They had gone back to the Ia Drang Valley, scene of the first major battle of the war in 1965, with Gen. Moore in command. On their visit, they met with some Vietnamese veterans who, nearly 30 years earlier, had been determined to kill them.

Get your copy of Joe Galloway & Hal Moore’s book

Moore and Galloway wrote a book about the historic battle, called We Were Soldiers Once… And Young. When it was made into a movie in 2002 the title was shortened to “We Were Soldiers.” Mel Gibson portrayed Gen. Moore.

So here now, from the fall of 1993, Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and Joe Galloway.

Gen. Hal Moore died in 2017, three days before his 95th birthday.

Joe Galloway died in 2021 at age 79.

Tom Hayden: From Freedom Rider to Chicago Seven

March 27, 2024Bill Thompson

The political turbulence of the 1960s has been well documented. and one name that appears prominently in that story is Tom Hayden.

One of the founders of the Students For a Democratic Society, Hayden was also a Freedom Rider in the south, fighting for civil rights, but also became one of the leading young voices against the Vietnam War.

Chicago Seven in 1970. Photo by Don Casper

In the historically tumultuous 1968, Hayden was among several high profile demonstrators at the notorious Democratic National Convention in Chicago. They were eventually brought to trial and became known as The Chicago Seven. Abby Hoffman and Jerry Rubin were also among them

Hayden was also married for many years to another high-profile anti-war activist, actress Jane Fonda.

In subsequent years, Hayden entered politics. He was elected to the California State Assembly and the California State Senate.

And in 1988, some 20 years after the Chicago Seven experience, Hayden wrote a memoir called Reunion. That’s when I met him.

So here now, from 1988, Tom Hayden.

Tom Hayden died in 2016. He was 76.