Alice Cooper, Neil Diamond, Tom Waits and Darlene Love to be inducted into R&R HoF

[RUR]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11997784

But I especially resonated with this bit:

Cooper, whose hits with his band include School's Out and Poison, said that before they came onto the scene in the late 1970s "there was no spectacle in rock 'n' roll".

"I think what we did was we kind of brought theatre to rock 'n' roll," he added.

We used to see Alice every time he came to the Hollywood Bowl. In a typical show introduction, local car dealer Cal Worthington rode an elephant onto the stage. General mayhem during the shows included Cooper being hanged or guillotined and, for the School's Out tour, a helicopter flew overhead, dropping thousands of womens paper panties (like those found in the LP) on the astonished audience.

Ah, the good old days.....I almost remember them.

 

[Steve Williams]

local car dealer Cal Worthington rode an elephant onto the stage

But did Cal bring his dog Spot?

 

[RUR]

But did Cal bring his dog Spot?

Not that I recall. Believe it or not, Steve, he's still doing commercials 30-odd years on.

 

[Steve Williams]

I remember his commercials well when I lived there. I am amazed he is still around. How old is he now?

 

[RUR]

I remember his commercials well when I lived there. I am amazed he is still around. How old is he now?

Shoot, maybe the elephant was "Spot". Cal just turned 90!

Calvin Coolidge "Cal" Worthington (born November 27, 1920 in Shidler, Oklahoma) is a well-known car dealer throughout the West Coast of the United States. He is best known for his unique radio and television advertisements for the Worthington Dealership Group. He was usually joined by "his dog Spot", except that "Spot" was never a dog. Often, Spot was either a tiger, a seal, an elephant or a bear. Spot was officially retired in the mid 1980s, however he is mentioned in some commercials today.

According to a profile in the Sacramento Bee published in 1990, Worthington grossed $316.8 million in 1988, at the time making him the largest single owner of a car dealership chain. He has sold automobiles since 1945 and owns a 24,000 acre (100 km²) ranch located in Orland, California, north of Sacramento, California. His advertising agency, named Spot Advertising, had Worthington as the only client, and spent $15 million on commercials, the most of any auto dealer at the time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cal_Worthington