January 6, 2023 • 34 mins
EPISODE 107: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN
A-Block (1:43) Kevin "Oceans 11" McCarthy is overshadowed by The Daily Beast report that CPAC lynchpin and MAGA Caucus inspiration Matt Schapp has been accused of "sustained and unwanted and unsolicited" sexual groping by a man working for Herschel Walker's Senate campaign. The Schlapp story overshadowed what should've been the real headline: Congressman Don Bacon floated, on Fox News no less, a plan to offer the Democrats improved committee ratios and other procedural (but not insignificant) goodies in exchange for support for McCarthy because the GOP is going to have to be bipartisan to get anything done and it might as well start now. (6:00) But at least half a dozen other Republicans stepped on rakes. One of them led to the House breaking out in chants of "Ha-keem Ha-keem" and another is as remarkable a diatribe as I've ever heard in politics. (9:30) I don't put much stock in Ali Alexander, but he accused Marjorie Taylor Greene of an unspecified crime in Georgia and went deeply misogynistic to insult her. Get your popcorn.
B-Block (14:20) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Zsa Zsa in Georgia (15:40) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: The January 6 Presidential Citizen Medals vie for news space with a wrongful death suit against Trump, a sexual harassment suit against Rudy, and Prince Harry's Frozen Junk (19:00) IN SPORTS: You can use the word miracle: Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin is moving his limbs and asking for scoreboard updates, and Alex Rodriguez may have gotten caught shoveling about shoveling (21:07) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Conservatives blast Hannity, Bothsidesism in the House, and Joe Rogan is the dumbest guy on the planet. Again. Still. Forever.
C-Block (26:47) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Sunday would've been Elvis Presley's birthday so it's time to play it again: not only did I - at age 18 - actually do a radio commercial for an Elvis Presley Concert that he never lived to see, but the tape of it still exists!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Countdown with Keith Olderman is a production of I Heart Radio.
How many votes to the Republicans hold without electing a
(00:26):
Speaker of the House before a journeying Again, no man
can say, for no mere mortal can count that high.
Four developments of note besides all that crap, one Matt Slap,
one of the evil political scientists behind all of this crap,
(00:46):
organizer of the two thousand Brooks Brothers riot head of Spack,
was accused last night by a staffer from herschel Walker's
Senate campaign of quote sustained and unwanted and unsolicited unquote
sexual contact. The man says Schlap brought him drinks at
two different bars that he was then driving Slap back
(01:07):
from the second of them when Schlap allegedly groped his
crotch and fondled him. This was all reported by The
Daily Beast two around eight o'clock last night. Politico, the
Washington Post, other news organizations reported there was a potential deal.
Politico even quoted Ralph Norman of South Carolina saying there
was a deal on paper, but insisting he still needed
(01:29):
to see how it was written and see what it is,
which is what on paper means. This was also at
least the third time on Thursday alone that reputable news organizations,
citing reputable news sources, reported the possibility of a compromise.
Things were complicated by several reports that at least four
(01:50):
Republican members elect were to leave Washington Friday to attend
to urgent personal business and we don't know where the
hell that stands. And there was an earlier report by
Bloomberg's aptly named House reporter Billy House that the tail
Band twenty had a way of climbing down from the
limb they are out on as opposed to the limb
(02:10):
Kevin McCarthy is out on, via a proposed rules change
which would allow them to not have to vote for
a different candidate, nor to vote merely present to signify
their opposition to McCarthy, but which would permit them to
vote quote hell no ah, which would be considered a
(02:30):
present vote and thus lower the number of votes McCarthy
would need for election. And no, doctor. I know it
sounds crazy, but I'm not making it up. Mr Gates
votes hell no. The third Development Congress and Don Bacon
of Nebraska actually produced what might be the headline of
the day as if he had been listening to this
podcast yesterday, which he was not, proposing that it was
(02:52):
now time for the Republicans to give the Tallepan twenty
an ultimatum get out of McCarthy's way, or McCarthy's best
option is to cut a deal with the Keem Jeffreys
and the Democrats. Bacon must have precipitated a lot of
pants pooping in the control room when he went on
Fox News to say this quote. If these twenty refused
(03:13):
to be part of the team and don't come on board,
we have no other choice but to go across the
aisle and start negotiating. Bacon did not offer prime trading
material like I mentioned here yesterday, the debt limit, bearing
the maga's killing off, the Fauci Gazzi, Biden Ghazi, Laptop
Gazi Gazzi Gazi investigations, etcetera. But nor were his ideas
(03:35):
completely meaningless. Offering to cut committee ratios from four seat
Republican majorities to two seat majorities, negotiating subpoena power and
other rules, and tellingly, Bacon seemed to be aware that
McCarthy's best bet might be, you know, actually governing. Quoting Bacon, again,
(03:55):
see if we can come up with a bipartisan House.
And by the way, we need to do that. If
you think we can pass totally partisan bills out of
the U. S. House and of a Democrats Senate that's
going to pass them with a filibuster and get it
to the President and get his signature, it's not gonna work.
In the end. To get things done, you're going to
have to have some Democrats on board anyway, And maybe
(04:16):
we can build a structure that reflects that. From the
beginning unquote, No, Congressman Bacon has not disappeared near as
I know. Why do you ask? And the fourth development, Yes,
Donald Trump lost another election. He placed last on ballot
number seven, tying with present and finishing with one nineteen
(04:39):
the support of somebody named Byron Donalds. However, peel back
the cover photo of this Republican fiasco and the scene
is quite different. No, it's still a fiasco, but it's
a different fiasco. In clutch time, when it has really counted,
the far right Republicans have been giving incontrovertible evidence that
(05:01):
they are idiots. The match schl up story is obviously
that headline. But Andy Biggs, Dan Bishop Gates, Marjorie Trailer
Park Green, George Santos, and even Senator Kevin Kramer also
each made slaps of themselves yesterday, several of them on
the House floor. Senator Kramer made the mistake of asking
(05:22):
an open ended rhetorical question, what have we become as
a political party when twenty people can rule two others
against their will? Certainly not conservative unquote well, obviously, Senator,
you've become Republicans. Back at the ranch, Andy Biggs of
Arizona decided to boast about being able to boast later,
(05:43):
but he wound up only be clowning himself again. When
this is over and done with, I know which side
of the aisle is going to be laughing, and it's
going to be the side that is unified and taking
on the issues that Americans care about. Yeah, good question, Andy,
Which unified side will be laughing later? I'm guessing it's
(06:03):
the one that's happing now. Also being failed by Dr
Freud was Matt Gates himself. He essentially gave Kevin McCarthy
two options withdraw from the race outright or agreed to
a deal that puts him in a Speaker of the
House quote straight jacket. Unquote. Sorry, if you're Matt Gates,
you do not want to get anywhere near the image
(06:25):
of a straight jacket. Also stepping on a rake, North
Carolina's Dan Bishop. This is a semi spoiler alert for
this SoundBite. The people who start chanting during this are
the Democrats, and what they're chanting is their leader, Jeffrey's
first name. Yesterday we could have elected the first black
(06:47):
speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Let me
(07:08):
Congressman Dan Bishop, Hakim Hakim. Once again, you can try
all you want, but you can't beat the Bishop. I mean,
ask match lap the George Santos rank. There's another hint
that when somebody finally figures out the financial fraud behind
all his other frauds, it's going to be a doozy.
(07:29):
The Daily Beast again reporting that New York court records
show that not only was Santos or as he's also known,
Elmer J. Fudd millionaire, was staying at his sister's apartment
in Queen's in the week before the election, but also
that at that time she was facing possible eviction for
failing to pay the rent on the place. And there's
been a year's long dispute between tenant and landlord and
(07:51):
no rent paid at all. What in the wild wide
world of sports is it going on here? Ask match Lap.
But weirdest of all was what befell Marjorie Taylor Green
stopped the steel organizer. Ali Alexander, who, to go back
to the cartoon motif, has been giving a vibe of
being wildly coyote, standing there having just realized that the
(08:15):
road runner that is the Department of Justice is about
to drop another anvil on him. Ali Alexander did an
audio appearance on his page on the social media site Telegram,
and he accused Congresswoman cave Woman of a crime in Georgia.
No details, but he made vague references to alcohol and
called her just about every misogynistic synonym for sex worker
(08:39):
in the book. This is about a minute long. It's
worth listening to all of it if you can. I
will not suffer this, Harlett. I will not be taught
vows and loyalty commitment from a whore. You have got
(09:01):
me mistaken for some damn fool, and a fool, Ali
Alexander has never been called. In the coming days, I'm
going to reveal that Marjorie Taylor Green in my summation
and the summation of lawyers committed a crime. That crime
(09:21):
is going to be handed to the State of Georgia,
and the State of Georgia will decide whether they adjudicate
that crime or not. The House Ethics Committee and House
Rules must expel Marjorie Taylor Green when this evidence comes
to light. Oh go home, I am done with you.
(09:43):
You are lukewarm. I am spitting you out of my mouth.
You played me and no more. Everyone will know about
your drunken nights because the consultants you have drunk with
you will have to choose whether they fear me or
whether they fear you. Boom, I mean Ali Alexander versus
(10:08):
Marjorie Trailer Park Green. Who you got in that one?
That's one of those jokes with the punchline, Well you
hold it in, ask Matt slap still ahead. Trump sued
(10:36):
for wrongful death in the coup attempt of two years ago. Today,
Juliani sued by an ex employee as a quote sexual predator.
The good news about Tamarrow Hamlin, but the bad news
about Prince Harry's junk and Sunday would have been Elvis
Presley's birthday, which means I have to play the last
(10:58):
known radio commercial for a live Elvis concert and the
commercial was done by me Elvis Presley live with the
War Memorial Auditorium in Syracuse. I'll explain it. That's next.
This is countdown. This is Countdown with Keith Overman still
(11:30):
ahead on Countdown. God is Joe Rogan stupid? And because
of Joe Rogan's stupidity, there is a doctor in Florida
getting harassed. Also Alex Rodriguez A rod may have been
shoveling about shoveling coming up first. In each addition of Countdown,
we feature a dog in need you can help. Every
(11:51):
dog has its day. Ja appears to be a gorgeous
mix husky and perhaps Australian healer. She's ten. She was
surrendered to a shelter in Georgia and as happens to
most senior dogs in that situation, and placed on the
kill list. Pounds in pounds pulled her out and has
now been a fundraiser on giving grid to help Josa.
(12:12):
She had not been cared for in years, to the
point that they had to shave her to get the
knots and mats out of her hair. She also has
cushions syndrome and will need meds for the rest of
her life, and Hounds in Pounds is hoping to pay
for them for a year after they get her a
new home and get her adopted. You can find jo
on my Twitter feed or at giving grid. Anything you
(12:34):
give will help. I thank you, and Josh, I thanks you.
Poscripts to the news, some headlines, some updates, some snarks,
(12:54):
some predictions. Date line, Washington. You already know this is
two years since the January six. You have to hand
it to the White House. President Biden is to give
out a dozen Presidential Citizens Medals on the anniversary, including
to Capitol Police officers Eugene Goodman, Caroline Edwards, Aquilin o'gonell,
Harry Dunn, and posthumously to Brian sick Nick. Also to
(13:16):
d C Police officer Michael Fanone and Metropolitan Police officer
Daniel Hodges. Other medals will go to see if these
names sound familiar. Fulton County, Georgia, election workers, Shame Moss
and her mother, Ruby Freeman, targets of the Trump mob,
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and Philadelphia City Commissioner
Al Schmidt, Dateline Washington related to all that the estate
(13:38):
of the late officer Brian sick Nick is now suing
Trump for wrongful death, seeking monetary damages of at least
ten million dollars. Date Line New York and Rudy Giuliani
has been sued per court filings for three million, one
hundred thousand dollars by a woman who claims that while
she worked for Giuliani from two thousand nineteen through two
(13:59):
thousand twenty one, he sexually harassed her and demanded sexual favors.
Noel Dunfie suit claims Giuliani is quote a sexual predator
and abuser Dateline Washington. The Federal Trade Commission wants to
give us a three billion dollar rays that is the
estimate of the impact on salaries how much they will
(14:19):
go up if the FTC in fact passes its proposed
rule to eliminate non compete agreements for workers in all
fields from podcasting to working at a sandwich franchise and
Dateline London. If Prince Harry seemed a little uncomfortable at
(14:39):
the two thousand eleven wedding of his brother Prince William,
it was not because of the shoving match Harry claims
they had, and his new memoir spare it was because
Harry was just back from an expedition to the North
Pole and a two mile walk for charity, which left
him with frost bitten penis his own we hope. Now
(15:01):
let me read part of that again, as Walter cronkine,
it was because Harry was just back from an expedition
of the North Pole on a two mile walk fraternity,
which left him with a frost button premous. That's why
it is Tuesday, October twelveth throo thousand, eleven more cronkin
CIOs news. Harry could have called his book t m
I anyway. He says his other Arctic related damage had
(15:24):
begun to improve by the time of William's marriage to Kate,
but not the damage to his quote Todger t O
D G. E. R. Todger unquote, Well, you know I've
heard of giving your new sister in law the cold shoulder,
but this is ridiculous. This is Sports Center. Wait check
(15:58):
that not anymore. This is Countdown with Keith Alberman. No
I said coach shoulder in sports. It is nothing short
of amazing. Tomar Hamlin, who collapsed on the field in
the Monday night football game, whose pulse stopped, who had
to be revived, has begun to move his hands and
(16:20):
his feet, and doctors have pronounced him neurologically sound, and
he showed that off yesterday in the hospital when, while
still intubated, he wrote a question to his doctors who
won the game? They attribute his remarkable recovery. There had
been terrible fears of brain damage to Denny Callington, a
Bill's assistant trainer, who began CPR on Tomar Hamlin within
(16:44):
a minute of his collapse. CPR learn it as to
the game. I don't think they told Hamling this, but
it will not be resumed. Most sports news organizations reporting
yesterday the NFL will just call it a tie or
not completed, and it will resolve its playoff considerations by
using winning percentage instead. And that brings us to Alex Rodriguez,
(17:05):
all time leader in tone deaf winning percentage. The new
part owner of the NBA Minnesota Timberwolves, decided to show
off how well he was fitting in with his new
neighbors in the Land of a Thousand Lakes, and just
as many snow drifts, a Rod posted a photo to Instagram,
supposedly showing him shoveling Outers driveway in Minnesota. Problem number one.
(17:27):
The driveway has tire tracks on its small ones length
from a snowblower, and the shovel that a rod is
carrying it still has the big foot long store price
sticker on the scoop itself. You know, you would have
thought Alex would have checked that out first. I mean,
he has been a professional shovel er since I'm jeen
(18:05):
nd four. Still ahead, Elvis, Elvis, Elvis. It is the
birthday Sunday of Elvis Presley, and he still owes me money.
First the daily roundup of the miscreants, morons and Dunning
Krueger effect specimens who constitute today's worst persons in the world.
The Bronze Amy Kramer, Chairman of America First Women. So
(18:27):
she was the one who stood up and cheered during
a Handmaid's tale. Ms Kramer speaks for many fascists who
are angry at Sean Hannity. It is sad, she writes,
to see how he treated Lauren Bobert. She is an
elected member of Congress and she should be shown some respect.
Sean Annity owes Lauren Bobert an apology unquote that's right.
(18:51):
Keep applying those purity tests, fascists. This is how the
French Revolution got rolling. The runner up. Justin Stately a
poly sized student at Utah Valley University, and this is
his read on the clown show the Republicans are putting
on in the house. Quote a lot of shade being
cast at Republicans right now. But if the Democrats vote
(19:12):
in block for Jeffreys, vote after vote instead of finding
a compromise candidate to get on board with, they're demonstrating
equal levels of non seriousness, then proving that they're part
of the dysfunction. Say justin change, Majors Polly Si No
try fizz ed better yet general studies. But our winner
(19:37):
professional moron Joe Rogan. I mean, Joe Rogan is so
stupid that it defies quantification, and we often forget that
he is earnestly stupid. Then he has no idea that
he is stupid. Somebody put out a screenshot of an
obviously fake tweet from an intensive care doctor from Florida.
(19:57):
How obviously fake? Well, for one thing, it was about
forty characters long, the date was formatted incorrectly on the
screenshot of the supposed tweet, and the doctor supposedly wrote,
I will never regret the vaccine, even if it turns
out I injected actual poison and have only days to live.
My heart was and is in the right place. I
(20:21):
got vaccinated out of love, while anti vaxers did everything
out of hate. If I have to die because of
my love for the world, and so be it. But
I will never regret or apologize for so. Rogan A
believed this doctor was allowed to write a tweet that
was a hundred characters long than anybody else's tweet, I
mean even longer than some of Elon Musk's long tweets,
and be Rogan believed that this doctor wrote, in effect,
(20:44):
a suicide tweet. Rogan did a segment on her with
fellow idiot and fellow anti vax slab Brett Weinstein, and
the two of them talked about the fake tweet for
eleven minutes. Rogan called it quote a fascinating perspective, but
he complained, quote the idea you wouldn't be upset that
(21:05):
you were duped into injecting actual poison is so insane. Well,
you know that should have told even Rogan that he
had been duped again. As usual, For days, Joe Rogan's
knitwitted segment about his topic here remained online. The doctor
was harrissed and bullied because Joe Rogan was too stupid
(21:26):
to recognize an obvious fact, and because, like all the
anti vaccine garbage, if they see something that supports their stupidity,
that allows them to avoid the reality that they were wrong,
that they are wrong, and that they will continue to
be wrong. If they see anything, no matter how ludicrous
or obviously fake, that lets them pretend their anti VACS
propaganda did not kill people, they will promulgate that. Let
(21:52):
me spell that for you, Joe p r O m
U l Gate romul gate. Finally, yesterday, Rogan said he
had been quote informed the tweet was fake and that
the segment had been deleted. The reality here is that
Joe Rogan is fake and his show should be deleted. Joe, Actually,
I'm just afraid of Needles Rogan, Today's worst person and
(22:18):
the world. Finally to our number one story and the
countdown back to my favorite topic, me and things I
promised not to tell and Sunday you will see far
(22:41):
and wide would have been Elvis Presley's birthday, it would
have been eighty eight years old, but you know drugs,
so that makes it just about forty five and a
half years since Elvis Presley died a king on his
throne on August seven, not on tour, but on toilet
in Memphis, Tennessee, which led in my life to this
(23:03):
timeless quite shton. Does this mean you don't get paid?
And at the age of sixty three, I get to
reveal this shocking reality yet again. I may be the
youngest person alive who can say the following. I did
a commercial for an Elvis Presley concert, Take it Away,
(23:25):
Nancy Post. In August of nineteen seventy seven, Elvis was
(23:47):
scheduled to do a series of live shows in the Northeast,
and the day he died, he was leaving for Portland, Maine,
and two nights at the then brand new Cumberland County
Civic Center there, then Utica, New York on the Syracuse,
the next night the Nassa County Coliseum on Long Island
on the one, then Rupp Arena in Kentuck, Key Rowan Oake, Virginia,
two stops in North Carolina, and wrapping it up with
(24:08):
two nights at the Memphis Mid South Kyle Seam. Having
lived through the end, I have to say that by
this point Elvis Presley was something of a self parody.
Arriving at one concert he fell out of the limo.
He was enormous, he could barely sing, and when he sang,
he was now essentially a country Western singer, and not
(24:29):
a very good one. We had an album oriented commercial
rock station run by Cornell students in Ithaca, New York,
and I do not remember ever hearing an Elvis song
played during one of the regular shows, maybe on the
Saturday night Oldies show, but the thought of playing hound
Dog or jail House Rock, which our genuine rock and
roll classics, would have provoked laughter or maybe a walk
(24:53):
out by the disc jockeys. So when our advertising sales
manager walked into my office in July and said we
have a one hundred spot by from Elvis Presley's concert promoter,
there was only one possible answer to this. Why. Well,
it turned out we were an hour or so from
the War Memorial Coliseum in Syracuse, where Elvis was to
(25:13):
play on August, and the promoters had bought time on
every radio station that played music between Syracuse and US.
They got out of map, pulled out a protractor and
drew a circle representing a sixty mile radius. There we
were w v B r f M, New York out
at the edge. That summer, I was the operations director
(25:35):
of the station. I was in charge, filling in for
the general manager who had a summer job in Rochester,
New York, Larry Epstein. Why Larry thought I would be
good at this, I will never never know. In any event,
The sales manager next asked me who on earth could
do an Elvis commercial on a rock station that was
known for playing entire Jethro Tull album sides after eleven
(25:58):
at night. I said, I had no idea somebody who
would want the five percent commission for making the ads?
And he said, how you? The buck does stop here, right?
And he handed me the script they wanted and I
swallowed hard and read it out loud. And I don't
still have a copy of that original script, but I
know this is a real close recreation, because you don't
(26:19):
forget something like imagining the impact of this playing on
the coolest FM rock radio station in four adjoining counties.
Here goes Elvis, Elvis, Elvis Live live Live, Elvis Presley,
the One and Only, the Immortal Elvis Live at the
Onondaga County War Memorial Audit Tournament, Syracuse Eldus Elvis Elvis
(26:41):
one night only, Saturday Night, August Elba's elbas Eldest Live
Live Live. Yeah. Turned out, of course it was Elvis, Elvis,
Elvis dead, dead dead anyway. There was something in there
about prices and where he could send a letter and
a self address stamped envelope for tickets, and it was
supposed to be done in full reverb, that old time
(27:04):
am radio echo effect defect, defect defect. I think they
wanted one or two soundful pops from Elvis's greatest hits.
And I wondered if in our library of five thousand
or so records in the back we even had Elvis's
greatest hits. And I'm not exaggerating about that script. There
were at least two dozen exclamation points on that page.
We would not have put on a commercial with that
(27:25):
many exclamation points in it, even if it was for
a Beatles reunion live in our back studio. We can't
run this. I told the sales manager, they want everything
in the A schedule. The sales manager said, meaning they
were paying our top rate. Did you ask korn? I asked,
invoking our program director Glenn Cornelius. He says, we can
(27:46):
run at no Elvis songs in it. But and I said,
not like this. Did you call them? Will they let
us tone it down a little? And he said, the
account is yours. Rewrite it, tone it down if they say, yes,
this is what fifty bucks for you. Now, don't laugh
about the fifty bucks in V seven money in Ataca,
New York, I rent that summer per month was fifty
(28:07):
one bucks. So I toned it down. Turned out the
promoters didn't give a crap if I toned it down.
They just wanted something played about Elvis every hour. I
recorded it, and soon the mystified listeners of the coolest
FM rock station in four adjoining counties, we're hearing my flat,
still slightly nasal, eighteen year old voice saying the same
(28:30):
thing like six seven times a day, and like everything else.
I made a copy of this. I swear I used
to record my broadcast and listen to them later and say,
I've got to get better? Am I getting better? This
doesn't sound better? So I still have this on a cassette,
and I have a cassette player. So here it is Elvis, Elvis,
(28:52):
Elvis Live Live, Live, Toned Down, Toned Down, Toned Down,
Elvis Presley Live at the War Memorial Auditorium in Syracuse, Saturday,
August A DPM. Tickets priced at fifteen dollars, twelve fifty
and ten dollars plus twenty five cents per ticket service charge.
Tickets are on sale now at the Auditorium box office
(29:14):
and by mail. Send a self address Stanton Velowe to
Elvis Auditorium Box Office, five fifteen, Montgomery Straight, Syracuse one
three two o two. That's Elvis Live at the War
Memorial in Syracuse, August A, kid, you have a deviated septum.
Actually it's not bad for age eighteen. Anyway, there were
(29:35):
people I knew then at the station and in town
that lovely summer of nineteen seventy seven who just assumed
who just told me that They assumed that that commercial
was some kind of satire or gag on my part,
So at least we knew they were listening. So this
is how this turns out. We did a nightly half
hour newscast called World Report at five thirty every day,
(29:58):
and it was a good newscast, and that title was
neither ironic nor undeserved. We were affiliated with ABC Radio.
We ran the Howard Cosell sports commentary every night, We
had a stock report, we had local reporters. I did
a sports cast, and our news director and my friend
of forty seven years, Peter shack Now, who was still
on the board of directors of the radio station and
(30:19):
still in the business at CNBC, he did the news.
Pete had just gone into our main announced booth, and
I was just polishing my sports copy when every bell
on our United Press International Wire Service teletype machine went off.
And this is where that timeless question I mentioned several
minutes ago comes into play. The U p I bullet
in five PM, I think, datelined Memphis, Tennessee, urgent music
(30:44):
legend Elvis Presley dead, aged forty two. As the clanging
of the bulletin bells faded in the background, I ripped
the death notice off the wire and sprinted. And I
could still sprint. Then to Pete's announced booth. The sweep
hand of the giant clock right in front of him,
so giant it was twice the size of my head.
Was nearing the twelve. I think this is your new lead, Pete.
(31:06):
I'll run in whatever else they send, and I jammed
the door open and closed. He read the copy, looked
up at me, listened as the dish jockey introduced him,
and pausing only to separate the wise crack from his
actual broadcast, he says, does this mean you don't get paid?
Good evening? I'm Peter shack Now, and this is world report.
(31:27):
Elvis Presley has died, a bulletin report from United Press International, etcetera.
I then raced into our main studio to physically remove
my commercial from the rack of cartridges in which the
ads all sat, because my main concern now was that
it had to be scheduled to play soon on our air,
maybe in the middle of the newscast. And honestly, the
(31:47):
last thing we needed was me on tape suddenly appearing
on the air saying Elvis Presley live at the War
Memorial Auditorium in Syracuse Saturday, August PM. Tickets priced more
like the Elvis Memorial, Am I right? So that was
my concern, It was not Peter shack Now. Well. I
(32:10):
was frantically looking for my Elvis commercial card and we
were playing an ABC News report from cars Bonn at
Russell Spur in Hong Kong. Pete spoke over an intercom
from the announced booth and he asked me again, now, seriously,
does this mean you don't get paid for the commercials?
Guess what, it's sure as hell did mean I wouldn't
get paid to this day now, forty five freaking years.
(32:35):
Maybe Elvis is dead, maybe he's alive. Maybe he can
be found sitting home all alone, age seven. If you
can't come around, at least please telephone. I don't know,
I don't care. All I know is Elvis Presley, you
aw my money. And I should mention my friend Peter
(33:07):
Shack now in there who issued that memorable quote. He
has just retired after twenty five years at CNBC and
many years before that at almost as many places as
I've worked. We worked together at a couple of them, actually,
And how old Peter is. He's two hundred and six.
Countdown has come to you from the studios of the
(33:28):
Alderman Broadcasting Empire World headquarters in the Sports Capsule Building
here in New York. Thank you for listening. If you're
not following or subscribing to the podcast please do so.
Here are the credits. Most of the music, including our
theme from Beethoven's Ninth, was arranged, produced and performed by
Brian Ray and John Philip Channel. There the Countdown musical directors.
All orchestration and keyboards by John Philip Channel, guitars, bass
(33:51):
and drums by Brian Ray, produced by t k O Brothers.
Other Beethoven selections have been arranged and performed by No
Horns Allowed. The sports music is the Alderman theme from
ESPN two. It was written by Mitch Warren Day Miss
Center Pears courtesy of ESPN, Inc. Musical comments from Nancy Faust,
the best baseball stadium organist ever, our announcer today on
(34:12):
this Musical Friday with Stevie Band's Aunt. Everything else is
pretty much my fault. So let's countdown for this the
seven and thirty first day since Donald Trump's first attempted
coup against the democratically elected government of the United States,
the two year anniversary arrest Trump now while we still
can a new edition of Countdown Monday. Until then, I'm
(34:34):
Keith Olberman. Good morning, good afternoon, goodnight, and good luck.
Countdown with Keith Olberman is a production of I heart Radio.
For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i
heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Countdown with Keith Olderman is a production of I Heart Radio.
How many votes to the Republicans hold without electing a
(00:26):
Speaker of the House before a journeying Again, no man
can say, for no mere mortal can count that high.
Four developments of note besides all that crap, one Matt Slap,
one of the evil political scientists behind all of this crap,
(00:46):
organizer of the two thousand Brooks Brothers riot head of Spack,
was accused last night by a staffer from herschel Walker's
Senate campaign of quote sustained and unwanted and unsolicited unquote
sexual contact. The man says Schlap brought him drinks at
two different bars that he was then driving Slap back
(01:07):
from the second of them when Schlap allegedly groped his
crotch and fondled him. This was all reported by The
Daily Beast two around eight o'clock last night. Politico, the
Washington Post, other news organizations reported there was a potential deal.
Politico even quoted Ralph Norman of South Carolina saying there
was a deal on paper, but insisting he still needed
(01:29):
to see how it was written and see what it is,
which is what on paper means. This was also at
least the third time on Thursday alone that reputable news organizations,
citing reputable news sources, reported the possibility of a compromise.
Things were complicated by several reports that at least four
(01:50):
Republican members elect were to leave Washington Friday to attend
to urgent personal business and we don't know where the
hell that stands. And there was an earlier report by
Bloomberg's aptly named House reporter Billy House that the tail
Band twenty had a way of climbing down from the
limb they are out on as opposed to the limb
(02:10):
Kevin McCarthy is out on, via a proposed rules change
which would allow them to not have to vote for
a different candidate, nor to vote merely present to signify
their opposition to McCarthy, but which would permit them to
vote quote hell no ah, which would be considered a
(02:30):
present vote and thus lower the number of votes McCarthy
would need for election. And no, doctor. I know it
sounds crazy, but I'm not making it up. Mr Gates
votes hell no. The third Development Congress and Don Bacon
of Nebraska actually produced what might be the headline of
the day as if he had been listening to this
podcast yesterday, which he was not, proposing that it was
(02:52):
now time for the Republicans to give the Tallepan twenty
an ultimatum get out of McCarthy's way, or McCarthy's best
option is to cut a deal with the Keem Jeffreys
and the Democrats. Bacon must have precipitated a lot of
pants pooping in the control room when he went on
Fox News to say this quote. If these twenty refused
(03:13):
to be part of the team and don't come on board,
we have no other choice but to go across the
aisle and start negotiating. Bacon did not offer prime trading
material like I mentioned here yesterday, the debt limit, bearing
the maga's killing off, the Fauci Gazzi, Biden Ghazi, Laptop
Gazi Gazzi Gazi investigations, etcetera. But nor were his ideas
(03:35):
completely meaningless. Offering to cut committee ratios from four seat
Republican majorities to two seat majorities, negotiating subpoena power and
other rules, and tellingly, Bacon seemed to be aware that
McCarthy's best bet might be, you know, actually governing. Quoting Bacon, again,
(03:55):
see if we can come up with a bipartisan House.
And by the way, we need to do that. If
you think we can pass totally partisan bills out of
the U. S. House and of a Democrats Senate that's
going to pass them with a filibuster and get it
to the President and get his signature, it's not gonna work.
In the end. To get things done, you're going to
have to have some Democrats on board anyway, And maybe
(04:16):
we can build a structure that reflects that. From the
beginning unquote, No, Congressman Bacon has not disappeared near as
I know. Why do you ask? And the fourth development, Yes,
Donald Trump lost another election. He placed last on ballot
number seven, tying with present and finishing with one nineteen
(04:39):
the support of somebody named Byron Donalds. However, peel back
the cover photo of this Republican fiasco and the scene
is quite different. No, it's still a fiasco, but it's
a different fiasco. In clutch time, when it has really counted,
the far right Republicans have been giving incontrovertible evidence that
(05:01):
they are idiots. The match schl up story is obviously
that headline. But Andy Biggs, Dan Bishop Gates, Marjorie Trailer
Park Green, George Santos, and even Senator Kevin Kramer also
each made slaps of themselves yesterday, several of them on
the House floor. Senator Kramer made the mistake of asking
(05:22):
an open ended rhetorical question, what have we become as
a political party when twenty people can rule two others
against their will? Certainly not conservative unquote well, obviously, Senator,
you've become Republicans. Back at the ranch, Andy Biggs of
Arizona decided to boast about being able to boast later,
(05:43):
but he wound up only be clowning himself again. When
this is over and done with, I know which side
of the aisle is going to be laughing, and it's
going to be the side that is unified and taking
on the issues that Americans care about. Yeah, good question, Andy,
Which unified side will be laughing later? I'm guessing it's
(06:03):
the one that's happing now. Also being failed by Dr
Freud was Matt Gates himself. He essentially gave Kevin McCarthy
two options withdraw from the race outright or agreed to
a deal that puts him in a Speaker of the
House quote straight jacket. Unquote. Sorry, if you're Matt Gates,
you do not want to get anywhere near the image
(06:25):
of a straight jacket. Also stepping on a rake, North
Carolina's Dan Bishop. This is a semi spoiler alert for
this SoundBite. The people who start chanting during this are
the Democrats, and what they're chanting is their leader, Jeffrey's
first name. Yesterday we could have elected the first black
(06:47):
speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Let me
(07:08):
Congressman Dan Bishop, Hakim Hakim. Once again, you can try
all you want, but you can't beat the Bishop. I mean,
ask match lap the George Santos rank. There's another hint
that when somebody finally figures out the financial fraud behind
all his other frauds, it's going to be a doozy.
(07:29):
The Daily Beast again reporting that New York court records
show that not only was Santos or as he's also known,
Elmer J. Fudd millionaire, was staying at his sister's apartment
in Queen's in the week before the election, but also
that at that time she was facing possible eviction for
failing to pay the rent on the place. And there's
been a year's long dispute between tenant and landlord and
(07:51):
no rent paid at all. What in the wild wide
world of sports is it going on here? Ask match Lap.
But weirdest of all was what befell Marjorie Taylor Green
stopped the steel organizer. Ali Alexander, who, to go back
to the cartoon motif, has been giving a vibe of
being wildly coyote, standing there having just realized that the
(08:15):
road runner that is the Department of Justice is about
to drop another anvil on him. Ali Alexander did an
audio appearance on his page on the social media site Telegram,
and he accused Congresswoman cave Woman of a crime in Georgia.
No details, but he made vague references to alcohol and
called her just about every misogynistic synonym for sex worker
(08:39):
in the book. This is about a minute long. It's
worth listening to all of it if you can. I
will not suffer this, Harlett. I will not be taught
vows and loyalty commitment from a whore. You have got
(09:01):
me mistaken for some damn fool, and a fool, Ali
Alexander has never been called. In the coming days, I'm
going to reveal that Marjorie Taylor Green in my summation
and the summation of lawyers committed a crime. That crime
(09:21):
is going to be handed to the State of Georgia,
and the State of Georgia will decide whether they adjudicate
that crime or not. The House Ethics Committee and House
Rules must expel Marjorie Taylor Green when this evidence comes
to light. Oh go home, I am done with you.
(09:43):
You are lukewarm. I am spitting you out of my mouth.
You played me and no more. Everyone will know about
your drunken nights because the consultants you have drunk with
you will have to choose whether they fear me or
whether they fear you. Boom, I mean Ali Alexander versus
(10:08):
Marjorie Trailer Park Green. Who you got in that one?
That's one of those jokes with the punchline, Well you
hold it in, ask Matt slap still ahead. Trump sued
(10:36):
for wrongful death in the coup attempt of two years ago. Today,
Juliani sued by an ex employee as a quote sexual predator.
The good news about Tamarrow Hamlin, but the bad news
about Prince Harry's junk and Sunday would have been Elvis
Presley's birthday, which means I have to play the last
(10:58):
known radio commercial for a live Elvis concert and the
commercial was done by me Elvis Presley live with the
War Memorial Auditorium in Syracuse. I'll explain it. That's next.
This is countdown. This is Countdown with Keith Overman still
(11:30):
ahead on Countdown. God is Joe Rogan stupid? And because
of Joe Rogan's stupidity, there is a doctor in Florida
getting harassed. Also Alex Rodriguez A rod may have been
shoveling about shoveling coming up first. In each addition of Countdown,
we feature a dog in need you can help. Every
(11:51):
dog has its day. Ja appears to be a gorgeous
mix husky and perhaps Australian healer. She's ten. She was
surrendered to a shelter in Georgia and as happens to
most senior dogs in that situation, and placed on the
kill list. Pounds in pounds pulled her out and has
now been a fundraiser on giving grid to help Josa.
(12:12):
She had not been cared for in years, to the
point that they had to shave her to get the
knots and mats out of her hair. She also has
cushions syndrome and will need meds for the rest of
her life, and Hounds in Pounds is hoping to pay
for them for a year after they get her a
new home and get her adopted. You can find jo
on my Twitter feed or at giving grid. Anything you
(12:34):
give will help. I thank you, and Josh, I thanks you.
Poscripts to the news, some headlines, some updates, some snarks,
(12:54):
some predictions. Date line, Washington. You already know this is
two years since the January six. You have to hand
it to the White House. President Biden is to give
out a dozen Presidential Citizens Medals on the anniversary, including
to Capitol Police officers Eugene Goodman, Caroline Edwards, Aquilin o'gonell,
Harry Dunn, and posthumously to Brian sick Nick. Also to
(13:16):
d C Police officer Michael Fanone and Metropolitan Police officer
Daniel Hodges. Other medals will go to see if these
names sound familiar. Fulton County, Georgia, election workers, Shame Moss
and her mother, Ruby Freeman, targets of the Trump mob,
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and Philadelphia City Commissioner
Al Schmidt, Dateline Washington related to all that the estate
(13:38):
of the late officer Brian sick Nick is now suing
Trump for wrongful death, seeking monetary damages of at least
ten million dollars. Date Line New York and Rudy Giuliani
has been sued per court filings for three million, one
hundred thousand dollars by a woman who claims that while
she worked for Giuliani from two thousand nineteen through two
(13:59):
thousand twenty one, he sexually harassed her and demanded sexual favors.
Noel Dunfie suit claims Giuliani is quote a sexual predator
and abuser Dateline Washington. The Federal Trade Commission wants to
give us a three billion dollar rays that is the
estimate of the impact on salaries how much they will
(14:19):
go up if the FTC in fact passes its proposed
rule to eliminate non compete agreements for workers in all
fields from podcasting to working at a sandwich franchise and
Dateline London. If Prince Harry seemed a little uncomfortable at
(14:39):
the two thousand eleven wedding of his brother Prince William,
it was not because of the shoving match Harry claims
they had, and his new memoir spare it was because
Harry was just back from an expedition to the North
Pole and a two mile walk for charity, which left
him with frost bitten penis his own we hope. Now
(15:01):
let me read part of that again, as Walter cronkine,
it was because Harry was just back from an expedition
of the North Pole on a two mile walk fraternity,
which left him with a frost button premous. That's why
it is Tuesday, October twelveth throo thousand, eleven more cronkin
CIOs news. Harry could have called his book t m
I anyway. He says his other Arctic related damage had
(15:24):
begun to improve by the time of William's marriage to Kate,
but not the damage to his quote Todger t O
D G. E. R. Todger unquote, Well, you know I've
heard of giving your new sister in law the cold shoulder,
but this is ridiculous. This is Sports Center. Wait check
(15:58):
that not anymore. This is Countdown with Keith Alberman. No
I said coach shoulder in sports. It is nothing short
of amazing. Tomar Hamlin, who collapsed on the field in
the Monday night football game, whose pulse stopped, who had
to be revived, has begun to move his hands and
(16:20):
his feet, and doctors have pronounced him neurologically sound, and
he showed that off yesterday in the hospital when, while
still intubated, he wrote a question to his doctors who
won the game? They attribute his remarkable recovery. There had
been terrible fears of brain damage to Denny Callington, a
Bill's assistant trainer, who began CPR on Tomar Hamlin within
(16:44):
a minute of his collapse. CPR learn it as to
the game. I don't think they told Hamling this, but
it will not be resumed. Most sports news organizations reporting
yesterday the NFL will just call it a tie or
not completed, and it will resolve its playoff considerations by
using winning percentage instead. And that brings us to Alex Rodriguez,
(17:05):
all time leader in tone deaf winning percentage. The new
part owner of the NBA Minnesota Timberwolves, decided to show
off how well he was fitting in with his new
neighbors in the Land of a Thousand Lakes, and just
as many snow drifts, a Rod posted a photo to Instagram,
supposedly showing him shoveling Outers driveway in Minnesota. Problem number one.
(17:27):
The driveway has tire tracks on its small ones length
from a snowblower, and the shovel that a rod is
carrying it still has the big foot long store price
sticker on the scoop itself. You know, you would have
thought Alex would have checked that out first. I mean,
he has been a professional shovel er since I'm jeen
(18:05):
nd four. Still ahead, Elvis, Elvis, Elvis. It is the
birthday Sunday of Elvis Presley, and he still owes me money.
First the daily roundup of the miscreants, morons and Dunning
Krueger effect specimens who constitute today's worst persons in the world.
The Bronze Amy Kramer, Chairman of America First Women. So
(18:27):
she was the one who stood up and cheered during
a Handmaid's tale. Ms Kramer speaks for many fascists who
are angry at Sean Hannity. It is sad, she writes,
to see how he treated Lauren Bobert. She is an
elected member of Congress and she should be shown some respect.
Sean Annity owes Lauren Bobert an apology unquote that's right.
(18:51):
Keep applying those purity tests, fascists. This is how the
French Revolution got rolling. The runner up. Justin Stately a
poly sized student at Utah Valley University, and this is
his read on the clown show the Republicans are putting
on in the house. Quote a lot of shade being
cast at Republicans right now. But if the Democrats vote
(19:12):
in block for Jeffreys, vote after vote instead of finding
a compromise candidate to get on board with, they're demonstrating
equal levels of non seriousness, then proving that they're part
of the dysfunction. Say justin change, Majors Polly Si No
try fizz ed better yet general studies. But our winner
(19:37):
professional moron Joe Rogan. I mean, Joe Rogan is so
stupid that it defies quantification, and we often forget that
he is earnestly stupid. Then he has no idea that
he is stupid. Somebody put out a screenshot of an
obviously fake tweet from an intensive care doctor from Florida.
(19:57):
How obviously fake? Well, for one thing, it was about
forty characters long, the date was formatted incorrectly on the
screenshot of the supposed tweet, and the doctor supposedly wrote,
I will never regret the vaccine, even if it turns
out I injected actual poison and have only days to live.
My heart was and is in the right place. I
(20:21):
got vaccinated out of love, while anti vaxers did everything
out of hate. If I have to die because of
my love for the world, and so be it. But
I will never regret or apologize for so. Rogan A
believed this doctor was allowed to write a tweet that
was a hundred characters long than anybody else's tweet, I
mean even longer than some of Elon Musk's long tweets,
and be Rogan believed that this doctor wrote, in effect,
(20:44):
a suicide tweet. Rogan did a segment on her with
fellow idiot and fellow anti vax slab Brett Weinstein, and
the two of them talked about the fake tweet for
eleven minutes. Rogan called it quote a fascinating perspective, but
he complained, quote the idea you wouldn't be upset that
(21:05):
you were duped into injecting actual poison is so insane. Well,
you know that should have told even Rogan that he
had been duped again. As usual, For days, Joe Rogan's
knitwitted segment about his topic here remained online. The doctor
was harrissed and bullied because Joe Rogan was too stupid
(21:26):
to recognize an obvious fact, and because, like all the
anti vaccine garbage, if they see something that supports their stupidity,
that allows them to avoid the reality that they were wrong,
that they are wrong, and that they will continue to
be wrong. If they see anything, no matter how ludicrous
or obviously fake, that lets them pretend their anti VACS
propaganda did not kill people, they will promulgate that. Let
(21:52):
me spell that for you, Joe p r O m
U l Gate romul gate. Finally, yesterday, Rogan said he
had been quote informed the tweet was fake and that
the segment had been deleted. The reality here is that
Joe Rogan is fake and his show should be deleted. Joe, Actually,
I'm just afraid of Needles Rogan, Today's worst person and
(22:18):
the world. Finally to our number one story and the
countdown back to my favorite topic, me and things I
promised not to tell and Sunday you will see far
(22:41):
and wide would have been Elvis Presley's birthday, it would
have been eighty eight years old, but you know drugs,
so that makes it just about forty five and a
half years since Elvis Presley died a king on his
throne on August seven, not on tour, but on toilet
in Memphis, Tennessee, which led in my life to this
(23:03):
timeless quite shton. Does this mean you don't get paid?
And at the age of sixty three, I get to
reveal this shocking reality yet again. I may be the
youngest person alive who can say the following. I did
a commercial for an Elvis Presley concert, Take it Away,
(23:25):
Nancy Post. In August of nineteen seventy seven, Elvis was
(23:47):
scheduled to do a series of live shows in the Northeast,
and the day he died, he was leaving for Portland, Maine,
and two nights at the then brand new Cumberland County
Civic Center there, then Utica, New York on the Syracuse,
the next night the Nassa County Coliseum on Long Island
on the one, then Rupp Arena in Kentuck, Key Rowan Oake, Virginia,
two stops in North Carolina, and wrapping it up with
(24:08):
two nights at the Memphis Mid South Kyle Seam. Having
lived through the end, I have to say that by
this point Elvis Presley was something of a self parody.
Arriving at one concert he fell out of the limo.
He was enormous, he could barely sing, and when he sang,
he was now essentially a country Western singer, and not
(24:29):
a very good one. We had an album oriented commercial
rock station run by Cornell students in Ithaca, New York,
and I do not remember ever hearing an Elvis song
played during one of the regular shows, maybe on the
Saturday night Oldies show, but the thought of playing hound
Dog or jail House Rock, which our genuine rock and
roll classics, would have provoked laughter or maybe a walk
(24:53):
out by the disc jockeys. So when our advertising sales
manager walked into my office in July and said we
have a one hundred spot by from Elvis Presley's concert promoter,
there was only one possible answer to this. Why. Well,
it turned out we were an hour or so from
the War Memorial Coliseum in Syracuse, where Elvis was to
(25:13):
play on August, and the promoters had bought time on
every radio station that played music between Syracuse and US.
They got out of map, pulled out a protractor and
drew a circle representing a sixty mile radius. There we
were w v B r f M, New York out
at the edge. That summer, I was the operations director
(25:35):
of the station. I was in charge, filling in for
the general manager who had a summer job in Rochester,
New York, Larry Epstein. Why Larry thought I would be
good at this, I will never never know. In any event,
The sales manager next asked me who on earth could
do an Elvis commercial on a rock station that was
known for playing entire Jethro Tull album sides after eleven
(25:58):
at night. I said, I had no idea somebody who
would want the five percent commission for making the ads?
And he said, how you? The buck does stop here, right?
And he handed me the script they wanted and I
swallowed hard and read it out loud. And I don't
still have a copy of that original script, but I
know this is a real close recreation, because you don't
(26:19):
forget something like imagining the impact of this playing on
the coolest FM rock radio station in four adjoining counties.
Here goes Elvis, Elvis, Elvis Live live Live, Elvis Presley,
the One and Only, the Immortal Elvis Live at the
Onondaga County War Memorial Audit Tournament, Syracuse Eldus Elvis Elvis
(26:41):
one night only, Saturday Night, August Elba's elbas Eldest Live
Live Live. Yeah. Turned out, of course it was Elvis, Elvis,
Elvis dead, dead dead anyway. There was something in there
about prices and where he could send a letter and
a self address stamped envelope for tickets, and it was
supposed to be done in full reverb, that old time
(27:04):
am radio echo effect defect, defect defect. I think they
wanted one or two soundful pops from Elvis's greatest hits.
And I wondered if in our library of five thousand
or so records in the back we even had Elvis's
greatest hits. And I'm not exaggerating about that script. There
were at least two dozen exclamation points on that page.
We would not have put on a commercial with that
(27:25):
many exclamation points in it, even if it was for
a Beatles reunion live in our back studio. We can't
run this. I told the sales manager, they want everything
in the A schedule. The sales manager said, meaning they
were paying our top rate. Did you ask korn? I asked,
invoking our program director Glenn Cornelius. He says, we can
(27:46):
run at no Elvis songs in it. But and I said,
not like this. Did you call them? Will they let
us tone it down a little? And he said, the
account is yours. Rewrite it, tone it down if they say, yes,
this is what fifty bucks for you. Now, don't laugh
about the fifty bucks in V seven money in Ataca,
New York, I rent that summer per month was fifty
(28:07):
one bucks. So I toned it down. Turned out the
promoters didn't give a crap if I toned it down.
They just wanted something played about Elvis every hour. I
recorded it, and soon the mystified listeners of the coolest
FM rock station in four adjoining counties, we're hearing my flat,
still slightly nasal, eighteen year old voice saying the same
(28:30):
thing like six seven times a day, and like everything else.
I made a copy of this. I swear I used
to record my broadcast and listen to them later and say,
I've got to get better? Am I getting better? This
doesn't sound better? So I still have this on a cassette,
and I have a cassette player. So here it is Elvis, Elvis,
(28:52):
Elvis Live Live, Live, Toned Down, Toned Down, Toned Down,
Elvis Presley Live at the War Memorial Auditorium in Syracuse, Saturday,
August A DPM. Tickets priced at fifteen dollars, twelve fifty
and ten dollars plus twenty five cents per ticket service charge.
Tickets are on sale now at the Auditorium box office
(29:14):
and by mail. Send a self address Stanton Velowe to
Elvis Auditorium Box Office, five fifteen, Montgomery Straight, Syracuse one
three two o two. That's Elvis Live at the War
Memorial in Syracuse, August A, kid, you have a deviated septum.
Actually it's not bad for age eighteen. Anyway, there were
(29:35):
people I knew then at the station and in town
that lovely summer of nineteen seventy seven who just assumed
who just told me that They assumed that that commercial
was some kind of satire or gag on my part,
So at least we knew they were listening. So this
is how this turns out. We did a nightly half
hour newscast called World Report at five thirty every day,
(29:58):
and it was a good newscast, and that title was
neither ironic nor undeserved. We were affiliated with ABC Radio.
We ran the Howard Cosell sports commentary every night, We
had a stock report, we had local reporters. I did
a sports cast, and our news director and my friend
of forty seven years, Peter shack Now, who was still
on the board of directors of the radio station and
(30:19):
still in the business at CNBC, he did the news.
Pete had just gone into our main announced booth, and
I was just polishing my sports copy when every bell
on our United Press International Wire Service teletype machine went off.
And this is where that timeless question I mentioned several
minutes ago comes into play. The U p I bullet
in five PM, I think, datelined Memphis, Tennessee, urgent music
(30:44):
legend Elvis Presley dead, aged forty two. As the clanging
of the bulletin bells faded in the background, I ripped
the death notice off the wire and sprinted. And I
could still sprint. Then to Pete's announced booth. The sweep
hand of the giant clock right in front of him,
so giant it was twice the size of my head.
Was nearing the twelve. I think this is your new lead, Pete.
(31:06):
I'll run in whatever else they send, and I jammed
the door open and closed. He read the copy, looked
up at me, listened as the dish jockey introduced him,
and pausing only to separate the wise crack from his
actual broadcast, he says, does this mean you don't get paid?
Good evening? I'm Peter shack Now, and this is world report.
(31:27):
Elvis Presley has died, a bulletin report from United Press International, etcetera.
I then raced into our main studio to physically remove
my commercial from the rack of cartridges in which the
ads all sat, because my main concern now was that
it had to be scheduled to play soon on our air,
maybe in the middle of the newscast. And honestly, the
(31:47):
last thing we needed was me on tape suddenly appearing
on the air saying Elvis Presley live at the War
Memorial Auditorium in Syracuse Saturday, August PM. Tickets priced more
like the Elvis Memorial, Am I right? So that was
my concern, It was not Peter shack Now. Well. I
(32:10):
was frantically looking for my Elvis commercial card and we
were playing an ABC News report from cars Bonn at
Russell Spur in Hong Kong. Pete spoke over an intercom
from the announced booth and he asked me again, now, seriously,
does this mean you don't get paid for the commercials?
Guess what, it's sure as hell did mean I wouldn't
get paid to this day now, forty five freaking years.
(32:35):
Maybe Elvis is dead, maybe he's alive. Maybe he can
be found sitting home all alone, age seven. If you
can't come around, at least please telephone. I don't know,
I don't care. All I know is Elvis Presley, you
aw my money. And I should mention my friend Peter
(33:07):
Shack now in there who issued that memorable quote. He
has just retired after twenty five years at CNBC and
many years before that at almost as many places as
I've worked. We worked together at a couple of them, actually,
And how old Peter is. He's two hundred and six.
Countdown has come to you from the studios of the
(33:28):
Alderman Broadcasting Empire World headquarters in the Sports Capsule Building
here in New York. Thank you for listening. If you're
not following or subscribing to the podcast please do so.
Here are the credits. Most of the music, including our
theme from Beethoven's Ninth, was arranged, produced and performed by
Brian Ray and John Philip Channel. There the Countdown musical directors.
All orchestration and keyboards by John Philip Channel, guitars, bass
(33:51):
and drums by Brian Ray, produced by t k O Brothers.
Other Beethoven selections have been arranged and performed by No
Horns Allowed. The sports music is the Alderman theme from
ESPN two. It was written by Mitch Warren Day Miss
Center Pears courtesy of ESPN, Inc. Musical comments from Nancy Faust,
the best baseball stadium organist ever, our announcer today on
(34:12):
this Musical Friday with Stevie Band's Aunt. Everything else is
pretty much my fault. So let's countdown for this the
seven and thirty first day since Donald Trump's first attempted
coup against the democratically elected government of the United States,
the two year anniversary arrest Trump now while we still
can a new edition of Countdown Monday. Until then, I'm
(34:34):
Keith Olberman. Good morning, good afternoon, goodnight, and good luck.
Countdown with Keith Olberman is a production of I heart Radio.
For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i
heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Host
Keith Olbermann
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