Countdown to Kickoff II: The Final 24 Days

[Homebrewcock]

 

[Homebrewcock]

 

[Homebrewcock]

 

[Homebrewcock]

 

[Homebrewcock]

Former Gamecock David Pitchko.  Did not realize he had passed.

 

[kingofnerf]

 

[kingofnerf]

 

[kingofnerf]

One of the key influences of the Beach Boys.

 

[kingofnerf]

 

[kingofnerf]

 

[kingofnerf]

 

[kingofnerf]

Led Zeppelin IV

After the lukewarm, if not confused and sometimes dismissive, critical reaction Led Zeppelin III had received in late 1970, Page decided that the next Led Zeppelin album would not have a title, but would instead feature four hand-drawn symbols on the inner sleeve and record label, each one chosen by the band member it represents. The record company were strongly against the idea, but the group stood their ground and refused to hand over the master tapes until their decision had been agreed to.

Page has also stated that the decision to release the album without any written information on the album sleeve was contrary to strong advice given to him by a press agent, who said that after a year's absence from both records and touring, the move would be akin to "professional suicide". Page thought, "We just happened to have a lot of faith in what we were doing." He recalled the record company were insisting that a title had to be on the album, but held his ground, as he felt it would be an answer to critics who could not review one Led Zeppelin album without point of reference to earlier ones.

Releasing the album without an official title has made it difficult to consistently identify. While most commonly called Led Zeppelin IV, Atlantic Records catalogues have used the names Four Symbols and The Fourth Album. It has also been referred to as ZoSo (which Page's symbol appears to spell), Untitled and Runes. Page frequently refers to the album in interviews as "the fourth album" and "Led Zeppelin IV", and Plant thinks of it as "the fourth album, that's it". The original LP also has no text on the front or back cover, and lacks a catalogue number on the spine.

"When the Levee Breaks" comes from a blues song recorded by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy in 1929. The track opens with Bonham's heavy unaccompanied drumming, which was recorded in the lobby of Headley Grange using two Beyerdynamic M 160 microphones which were hung up a flight of stairs; output from these were passed to a limiter.

A Binson Echorec, a delay effects unit, was also used. Page recalled he had tried to record the track at early sessions, but it had sounded flat. The unusual locations around the lobby gave the ideal ambience for the drum sound. This introduction was later extensively sampled for hip hop music in the 1980s. Page and Plant played the song on their 1995 tour promoting No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Led_Zeppelin_IV

Best song on the album in my opinion as time as worn on.

 

[Swayin]

6 minutes ago, kingofnerf said:

Led Zeppelin IV



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Led_Zeppelin_IV

Great album. I'm a "Misty Mountain Hop" guy, myself. And though I'm a HUGE Zep fan, I *do* think that Stairway is an overrated tune.

 

[kingofnerf]

The contemporary jazz group Fourplay.

Fourplay is a contemporary American smooth jazz quartet. The original members of the group were Bob James (keyboards), Lee Ritenour (guitars), Nathan East (bass), and Harvey Mason (drums).

In 1997, Lee Ritenour left the group and Fourplay chose Larry Carlton as his replacement. In 2010, Larry Carlton left Fourplay and was replaced by Chuck Loeb, who died on July 31, 2017. During Loeb's illness, saxophonist Kirk Whalum joined the group for performances.

The group has enjoyed consistent artistic and commercial success by grafting elements of R&B and pop to jazz, appealing to a broad mainstream audience. Their debut album, Fourplay (1991), sold over a million copies and remained at the number one position on the Billboard contemporary jazz chart for 33 weeks. 

Their next album, Between the Sheets (1993), reached number one, went gold, and received a Grammy Award nomination. In 1995, their third gold album, Elixir, also reached the number one position and remained on the chart for more than 90 weeks. In 2015 the band celebrated its 25th anniversary with the release of the album Silver with former members Ritenour and Carlton.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourplay

Never a bad song by these guys.

 

[kingofnerf]

 

[kingofnerf]

"Unchained" from Van Halen's fourth studio album Fair Warning

 

[kingofnerf]

"Shout It Out Loud" from KISS' fourth studio album Destroyer.

 

[kingofnerf]

USS Vestal (AR-4)

The Pacific Fleet was shifted to a new base at Pearl Harbor following Fleet Problem XXI in the spring of 1940. Vestal also made the move and served there until the outbreak of war following the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.

After returning to the west coast for an overhaul at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California, Vestal steamed back to Pearl Harbor, resuming her vital, but unsung, duties. On 6 December 1941, she was moored alongside USS Arizona, at berth F 7, off Ford Island, to provide services to the battleship during her scheduled period of tender upkeep between 6 and 12 December. Unfortunately, one day later, she would go into service yet again.

Pearl Harbor

The next day the ordered routine of a peacetime Sunday in port was shattered shortly before 08:00 as Japanese carrier-based aircraft swept down upon Pearl Harbor. At 07:55, Vestal went to general quarters, manning every gun from the 5-inch (127 mm) broadside battery to the .30 cal. Lewis machine guns on the bridge wings. At about 08:05, her 3-inch (76 mm) gun commenced firing.

At about the same time, two bombs – intended for the more valuable battleship inboard on Battleship Row – hit the repair ship. One struck the port side, penetrated three decks, passed through a crew's space, and exploded in a stores hold, starting fires that necessitated flooding the forward magazines. The second hit the starboard side, passed through the carpenter shop and the shipfitter shop, and left an irregular hole about five feet in diameter in the bottom of the ship.

Maintaining anti-aircraft fire became secondary to the ship's fight for survival. The 3-inch (76 mm) gun jammed after three rounds, and the crew was working to clear the jam when an explosion blew Vestal's gunners overboard.

At about 08:10, a bomb penetrated Arizona's deck near the starboard side of number 2 turret and exploded in the powder magazine below. The resultant explosion touched off adjacent main battery magazines. Almost as if in a volcanic eruption, the forward part of the battleship exploded, and the concussion from the explosion literally cleared Vestal's deck.

Among the men blown off Vestal was her commanding officer, Commander Cassin Young. The captain swam back to the ship, however, and countermanded an abandon ship order that someone had given, coolly saying, "Lads, we're getting this ship underway." Fortunately, the engineer officer had anticipated just such an order and already had the "black gang" hard at work getting up steam.

The explosion touched off oil from the ruptured tanks of the Arizona which in turn caused fires on board Vestal, aft and amidships. At 08:45 men forward cut Vestal's mooring lines with axes, freeing her from Arizona, and she got underway, steering by engines alone. The naval tug Hoga, whose tugmaster had served aboard Vestal just a few months before the attack, pulled Vestal's bow away from the inferno engulfing Arizona and the repair ship, and the latter began to creep out of danger, although she was slowly assuming a list to starboard and settling by the stern. At 09:10, Vestal anchored in 35 feet (11 m) of water off McGrew's Point.

With the draft aft increasing to 27 feet (8 m) and the list to six and one-half degrees, Commander Young decided upon another course of action. "Because of the unstable condition of the ship", Young explained in his after-action report, "(the) ship being on fire in several places and the possibility of further attacks, it was decided to ground the ship." Underway at 09:50, less than an hour after the Japanese attack ended, Vestal grounded on 'Aiea Bay soon thereafter. Commander Young was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions that day.

USS Vestal beached and listing, after being hit in the Pearl Harbor Raid, 7 December 1941. (below)

The U.S. Navy repair ship USS Vestal (AR-4) beached on Aiea shoal, Pearl Harbor, after the Japanese raid. She is listing from damage caused by two bombs that hit her during the attack.

Although damaged herself, Vestal participated in some of the post-attack salvage operations, sending repair parties to the overturned hull of the battleship Oklahoma so that welders could cut into the ship and rescue men trapped there when she capsized.

Over the ensuing days, Vestal's men repaired their own ship because yard facilities in the aftermath of the Japanese surprise attack were at a premium. Within a week of the raid, Vestal's crew had pumped out the oil and water that had flooded the compartments below the waterline and cleared out the damaged and gutted holds – all work that had to be completed before the rebuilding process could begin.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Vestal

 

[kingofnerf]

USS Ranger (CV-4) Part Two

This is some AP footage I found covering her design, construction, and launching.  Lots of good stuff here.

Her distinctive six smokestacks could be pivoted down 90* for flight ops.

She was launched on 25 February 1933 in the middle of the Great Depression to give you an idea of the time period. 

She was the Navy's first purpose-built carrier and a very beautiful ship.

 

[kingofnerf]

USS Ranger (CV-4) Part Three

Shipboard Life

Sailors queued up for ice cream and other treats at Ranger's Gedunk on 22 March 1938. (below)

The Admiral conducts an inspection aboard USS Ranger (CV-4) on 19 June 1942. (below)

Sailors "stripping ship" aboard Ranger in anticipation of action off Morocco, circa early November 1942. Paint has been chipped from the bulkheads and overheads as a precaution against fire. (below)

The paint on interior surfaces turned out to be very flammable as the Navy learned in the early sea battles of WW2.  The tile on interior decks were flammable and also very toxic once they were set on fire.  This is the first documentation that I have seen of the stripping that was done for safety reasons later on in the war.

Aviation Machinist Mates work on one of Ranger's TBF Avengers in the ship's cavernous hangar as she steams towards North Africa in preparation for Operation Torch. (below)

Testing machine guns of Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat fighters aboard Ranger while en route from the U.S. to North African waters, circa early November 1942. Note the special markings used during this operation, with a yellow ring painted around the national insignia on aircraft fuselages. (below)

This is a photo, since the individual squadron markings (VF-9 and VF-41) have been retouched out of the photo.