Rock Star

Two amazing people. Two amazing stories. Sometimes the most curious tales are found in everyday lives.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Aaron Benky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is
full of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book,
all of these amazing tales are right there on display,
just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet

(00:27):
of Curiosities. George Washington is often remembered as a fierce general,
commanding his army of trained soldiers from one battle to
the next, from the Battle of Trenton to the Siege
of Yorktown to the Battle of Princeton. History books have
painted the American army at that time as a collection

(00:50):
of the finest soldiers ever assembled. However, reality couldn't have
been farther from the truth. Washington was indeed a powerful
force during the war. He was calm, organized and intelligent.
He was also soft spoken, not relying on loud outbursts
to corral his troops. In fact, thanks to several illnesses
contracted throughout his life, Washington most likely had a high pitched,

(01:12):
breathy voice due to his weakened lungs. But that didn't
stop him from leading his troops to victory. Of course,
they weren't always successful. The American Army was made up
of young men, many of whom had never served in
the military before. They were inexperienced and scared, a combination
that led to a rocky start for the war. One
battle in particular happened to be the biggest of the

(01:33):
entire revolution, and it has largely been forgotten for one
big reason. The battle occurred in late August of seventeen
seventy six, weeks after the Declaration of Independence had been
signed in Philadelphia. The British had been in Boston but
were run out of town back in March. They traveled
up to Canada as they waited for a backup to arrive.

(01:53):
Washington started moving his troops to New York a few
weeks later, arriving in the Big Apple by mid April.
His focus was on building up defenses in and around Brooklyn,
as he believed New York would be the British Army's
next target. His forces were thin, only several thousand. He
had several forts built, each with an array of cannons
and surrounded by a large ditch. The British came to

(02:16):
town from Canada with more than thirty thousand troops ready
to put an end to a war that had just begun.
Their goal was not only to take over New York,
but to take down Washington himself and destroy the Continental
Army once and for all. British soldiers and Hessian mercenaries
took over Brooklyn with ease. General William Howe moved nearly

(02:37):
five hundred ships into the East River while his men
stormed the beaches of Long Island. American forces paled in comparison,
with a paltry nine thousand soldiers to keep up the
entire defense. The British all but wiped out Washington's defenses
as he rearranged his regiments and moved half of his
troops from Long Island to Manhattan, partly to salvage the situation,

(02:58):
partly because he that the British were more interested in
the main island than they were in using Brooklyn as
a distraction. Unfortunately, on August it was too late. British
loyalists in the area helped General Howe and his men
navigate the hills of the Jamaica Pass. Late that night,
along with the assistance of a local tavern owner and
his son, the British managed to capture the five Continental

(03:20):
soldiers guarding the past without incidents before coming up behind
the Americans In a surprise attack, Hessians rushed Washington's troops
while Red Coats surrounded them. A brave four hundred Maryland
soldiers stayed behind to fight them head on in order
to let their fellow men escape, but over half of
those four hundred were killed. Washington saw the writing on

(03:41):
the wall. There was no way his army could outlast
or outfight the British onslaught, but he refused to surrender. Instead,
during a bad rainstorm, he orchestrated an evacuation of nine
thousand American soldiers, moving them across the East River under
the cover of night. He worked for hours putting his
men on boats, but by the next morning there was
still many left to go and the British weren't far behind.

(04:04):
Washington was worried that he'd be found out before everyone
had gotten away. Luckily, a heavy fog moved into the area,
hiding his actions from the enemy long enough for every
last soldier to get out of harm's way. Washington was
the last person to get on a boat. He and
all nine thousand of his men reached Manhattan by seven
o'clock that morning. When House forces finally reached the American fortifications,

(04:27):
they were stunned to find them empty. So why has
the Battle of Brooklyn gone relatively unnoticed by the history books?
Well because we lost, and history tends to remember the winners.
The Battle of Brooklyn went down as the largest battle
of the war. Roughly three hundred American soldiers lost their
lives compared to the sixty three or so British casualties

(04:48):
that day. But their defeat in New York taught Washington
and his men a valuable lesson and how to organize
an army, and in December of seventeen seventy six they
put what they learned to good use. The Battle of
Trenton became a turning point in the Revolution. It was
a much needed win for America, and it inspired others
to join the fight. Had it not been for Washington's

(05:10):
quick thinking back in Brooklyn, though, the war might have
ended a lot differently, and a lot sooner. Sometimes the
best way to win a fight is not to fight
at all. He was insanely talented even as a young child.

(05:37):
A prodigy, he entertained local audiences, not just with his
gift for music, but with his distinctive stage performance. While
the press initially ridiculed him for his facial expressions and
animation as he played, the crowd ate him up. As
he grew older, he perfected that technique, developing a certain swagger.
He'd tossed his shoulder length hair over his shoulders as

(06:00):
he moved to the beat and pounded out tunes unlike
anyone else in his genre. His good looks helped with
his popularity. His dark hair, handsome face, and his physique
spurred one writer to say how powerful and shattering he
was to see in person. When his father passed away,
grief overtook him. He stopped performing and taught piano lessons.

(06:21):
For a short while, he fell in love with Marie,
a students and the wife of an affluent aristocrat. When
the affair was discovered, Marie left her husband and family
to join her young lover. The two went on to
have two children together, but marital bliss didn't last long.
Relations between them became strained, and she returned to her
homeland while he joined a tour to help fund a

(06:42):
charitable cause. The separation from Marie took its toll, and
for a short time he considered dedicating his life to
the church instead of music. Three things changed his mind.
His undying love of music, his mother's insistence that he
followed his dreams, and attending a charity concert where he
became so moved that he out to be as good
or better than his idols. He wrote new music and

(07:04):
practice his showmanship techniques designed to set him apart from
his peers. His efforts at redefining his music and stage
performances paid off. Royalty treated him like one of their own.
Women practically threw themselves at his feet. The press always
had a story about his escapades, the length of his performances,
and the feverish audiences who couldn't get enough when he

(07:26):
took to the stage. Crowds of women screamed and cried.
On more than one occasion, they rushed the stage to
be near him, to rip off a shred of clothing
or cut off a lock of his hair. As a souvenir.
Women tore at each other's hair and fought bitterly for
a glass that he might have touched. The audiences bordered
on downright delirious. Female fans held him in their dreams

(07:48):
and fantasies. He'd reached fame far beyond his musical heroes.
Europe had never seen anything like the mania that surrounded him.
He was bold, charismatic, and deliver the style of playing
the piano unlike anyone before him. He turned the piano
sideways to allow the audience to better view. Sometimes he sat,

(08:09):
other times he stood, pounding so hard on the keys
at times that one reporter dubbed him the smasher of pianos.
It was common for him to play so powerfully that
pianos required repair after his shows. Though he continued to
spend holidays with Marie and their children, the couple soon
called it quits for good. He threw himself fully into
his work, some say his best work. Over eight years,

(08:33):
he visited one d fifty cities and played in over
a thousand concerts. His work influenced other musicians and sparked
new trends. Performing became as much showmanship as talent. Though
he was financially stable, he never forgot his poor beginnings
and gave away large portions of his wealth and performed
for fundraisers. After a fire destroyed much of one city,

(08:55):
he played several venues to raise money for the homeless.
To this day, some consider him one of the most
talented pianists to have ever lived. So who was the
superstar who brought audiences to their feet like Jerry Lee
Lewis and had women screaming and swooning as they did
when The Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Hungarian concert pianist Ron's list who passed away in eighteen

(09:18):
forty seven, ten years before Lewis and a hundred and
thirteen before the Beatles ever took the stage? Rock on France,
Rock On. I Hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of
the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts,
or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast

(09:42):
dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Manky
in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award
winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series,
and television show, and you can learn all about it
over at the World of Lore dot com. And until
next time, stay curious. Yeah