A typical deal was $50 (over $500 in today's dollars) a week, per record, to ensure a minimum amount of plays. The more influential DJs commanded percentages of grosses for local concerts, lavish trips, free records by the box full and some even opened their own record stores.
One of the most famous DJs that got caught up in the scandal, Alam Freed, was the man who coined the term "Rock and Roll" and it ended his career. Cleveland, Ohio DJ Joe Finan later described the decade: “It was a blur of booze, broads and bribes.”
In other shocking news Jerry Lee Lewis, rock 'n' roll's first great wild man, married his 13-year-old 2nd cousin Myra Gale Brown. It was his third marriage. Lewis, who was 22 years old at the time, claimed she was actually 15. The publicity caused an uproar and his Engliah tour was canceled after only three concerts.
Walt Disney Studios killed scores of lemmings for the ‘suicide scene’ in the 1958 movie White Wilderness. Producers pushed and threw them off a cliff while shooting footage and presented it as a natural occurrence for the audience.
Lemmimgs are interesting creatures. In the 17th century, naturalists were perplexed by Norway lemmings when they suddenly appeared in large numbers, seemingly out of nowhere. They came to the conclusion that they were being spontaneously generated in the sky and then falling to earth like rain. Some people even thought that lemmings explode if they become sufficiently angry.
But the biggest lemming myth is that they commit mass suicide by jumping off seaside cliffs. Instinct, it is said, drives them to kill themselves whenever their population becomes unsustainably large.
Lemmings do not commit suicide, but the myth (helped out by Disney's movie scene) is based on the fact that they have large population boom every three or four years. When that happens and the population gets too high a large group will set out in search of a new home. Lemmings can swim, so if they reach water such as a river or lake, they may try to cross it. Naturally, a few don't make it and drown. But it’s hardly suicide.
In other news, actress Lana Turner’s 14-year old daughter, Cheryl, saw her mother being beaten by her boyfriend Johnny Stompanato and killed him with a kitchen knife. Some people think that Lana actually did the killing in self defense. Cheryl was not charged and Stompanato's death was deemed a justifiable homicide.
Cheryl Christina Crane (born July 25, 1943). Lana Turner's only child, is a retired real estate broker, author and former model. Her father was Turner's second husband.
Stompanato was was an ex-Marine who became a bodyguard and enforcer for gangster Mickey Cohen and his crime family. Stompanato was known to have been abusive, extremely jealous of Turner and on a movie set in England he pointed a gun at actor Sean Connery. Connery took the gun from him, beat him up and forced him off the movie set after which Scotland Yard had Stompanato deported.
In other grisly news, between December 1957 and January 1958, in Nebraska and Wyoming 20-year-old Charles Starkweather and his 13-year-old girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate murdered 11 people over an eight-day period. Starkweather was sentenced to death and fried in the electric chair while Fugate served time in prison and was released in 1976.
On January 8, 14-year old Bobby Fischer won the 1957/58 US Championship and Zonal finishing a point ahead of Reshevsky. Raymond Weinstein won the US Junior championship in Homestead, Florida.
The winner of the 1958 US Open that was held in Rochester, Minnesota was the little known and untitled Cuban, Eldis Cobo-Arteaga (1929-1991). He won the Cuban championship in 1950 was awarded the IM title in 1967.
Cobo Arteaga started off inconspicuously with a second round loss to Allen Kaufmann, but ended up scoring +9 -1 =2 to finish a half point ahead of Larry Evans, Robert Steinmeyer and Donald Byrne (9.5 points) and Arthur Bisguier and Kaufmann (9.0 points).
There was also another surprising top place finisher in this tournament. Finishing in places 7-11 with 8.5 points were Robert Byrne, Stephan Popel, Attilio Di Camillo, Edmar Mednis and the almost unknown Francisco Ballbe Anglada of Spain.
In the following game Cobo-Arteaga demonstrated what John Collins described as precision and rare composure in a manner reminiscent of his illustrious predecessor Capablanca. That's not quite correct. Collins superficially annotated the game based on the outcome, but that was not uncommon in pre-engine days. Nevertheless, it was still an impressive performance by Cobo-Arteaga!
[Event "US Open, Rochester, Minnesota"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1958.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Herbert Avram"]
[Black "Eldis Cobo-Arteaga"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "E87"]
[Annotator "Stockfish 15.1"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate ""]
{King's Indian, Saemisch Variation} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5.
f3 O-O 6. Be3 e5 7. d5 Nh5 8. Qd2 f5 9. exf5 gxf5 10. O-O-O Qe7 (10... c5 11.
dxc6 Nxc6 12. Qxd6 Qa5 {Favors white. Franco Raymundo,E-Papapostolou,C Varna
1962}) 11. Bd3 a6 {A versatile move. Black has already obtained chances on the
K-side and in the center and now he seeks play on the Q-side.} 12. Nge2 b5 {
Offering a P.} 13. Bg5 {Safe.} (13. cxb5 axb5 14. Bxb5 {and black has some
vague hope of establishing Q-side counterplay on the open files somewhat like
he does in the Benko Gambit.}) 13... Qf7 14. Rdf1 (14. g4 {White chooses a
rather passive line.} fxg4 15. fxg4 Nf4 16. Nxf4 exf4 17. Rhf1 Be5 18. Bh6 {
and white is quite well off.}) 14... bxc4 15. Bxc4 Nd7 16. h3 {Much too
passive. 16.g4 is still the move.} f4 17. Ne4 Nb6 18. Bb3 a5 19. a4 Ba6 20. Qc2
Kh8 {Black begins a phase of regrouping and feeling out his opponent.} 21. Rd1
Rab8 22. Rhe1 Rb7 23. Rd2 Qg6 24. Qc6 Rfb8 25. N2c3 Qf7 26. Ba2 Ra7 27. Bh4 Bc8
{Threatening to win the Q with ...Bd7} 28. Ng5 Qg8 {Now the threat is to win a
piece with ...Bf6} 29. Bf2 h6 30. Nge4 Qf7 {As an example of so many
annotations in the old days the annotator claimed that with this move the wily
Cobo-Arteaga entices Avram into an unsound tactical continuation. In fact,
this move is, itself, unsound!} (30... Ng3 {with complications seems to be his
best line.} 31. Kb1 {The most solid continuation.} (31. Nb5 {This leads to a
messy position.} Bd7 32. Qc2 Rab7) 31... Nxe4 32. fxe4 Rab7 {with equal
chances.}) 31. Bxb6 (31. Nxd6 {this refutes black's idea!} cxd6 32. Bxb6 Rab7
33. Bxa5 {and white has the better of it.}) 31... Rxb6 32. Nxd6 Qf8 {Snapping
the trap shut says the annotator who noted that white must lose his N on d6 or
surrender his Q for a R+B+P. It's not at all true, but it's still a very fine
move. In fact, it's the only move that keeps the chances equal.} 33. Nxc8 {
After this white has a lost position.} (33. Qe8 {This move was missed by the
annotator and both players, but not the engines which evaluate the position as
almost dead equal...meaning both sides have chances.} cxd6 (33... Qxe8 {would
leave white with a vastly superior position after.} 34. Nxe8 Ng3 35. Nxg7 Kxg7
36. Rxe5) 34. Qxh5 Rc7 {equals}) 33... Rxc6 34. Nxa7 Rxc3+ {This unexpected
counter-blow is the only move to keep the advantage. White's K is now fatally
exposed.} 35. bxc3 Qa3+ 36. Kb1 Qxc3 37. Ree2 e4 {Threatening to win the B
with ...Qa1+} 38. Rb2 Qd3+ {There is a bit of controversy in the game's actual
finish.} 39. Rec2 {This is the finish as given in the tournament book and the
annotated game's republication in Chess Life.} (39. Rbc2 {This is the move
that appeared in the unannotated game as given in an earlier copy of Chess
Life.} Qd1+ {and white, facing mate in 5, resigned.} 40. Rc1 Qxe2 41. Rc2 Qd1+
42. Rc1 Qd4 43. Rc3 Qxc3 {mate next move.}) 39... Qf1+ {White resigned.} (39...
Qf1+ 40. Rc1 Qd3+ 41. Rbc2 (41. Rcc2 Bxb2 42. Kxb2 Qd4+ 43. Kb1 Qxa7 {Black is
clearly winning.}) 41... Qd4 42. Rc3 Qxa7 {Black is winning.}) *
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