TIMELINE 1971: The Year of Charles Manson, Jim Morrison, Attica and Imagine

The 70s got off to a rough start. 1971 was still bogged down with tragedy, civil unrest, and sinister omens of the years to come. But there was still plenty of time for some classic records, some unlikely new television heroes, and the second coming of the happiest place on Earth. We're going to talk about the news, culture, sports and entertainment, and all that was weird in the 70s. This is Timeline. Get ready for the end of one crime of the century and the beginning of another, because this episode, we're talking 1971. But before we get started, be sure to subscribe to the Weird History channel. Then let us know in the comments below why the 1970s got your mojo rising. Now time to give all those other years the hairy eye and get down with 1971. It marks, as we like to say, the end of an era. The ban on television and radio ads for cigarettes, signed by President Nixon the previous year, went into effect on New Year's Day, bidding a fond farewell to the days of Fred Flintstone taking long, flavorful drags off a carton of Winston's. I got a better idea. Let's take a Winston break. Winston's got that filter flint. Four days later, former heavyweight champ Sonny Liston was discovered in his home by his wife, Geraldine. Although his death was ruled an accidental overdose, there were signs of a possible struggle, and questions about what may have really happened remain to this day. A legendary figure in boxing, ironically, Liston's most famous fight was a seventh round loss in 1964, when the heavily favored champion lost his title to an up-and-comer named Cassius Clay. They might be stopping it. That might be all, ladies and gentlemen. Get up there, Joe. Get up there. Get up in the ring. From Television City in Hollywood. Boy, the way Glenn Miller played. Songs that made the hip hooray. Guys like us, we had it made. Those were the days. Charles Manson and three girl members of his so-called family all were found guilty of murder in the first degree. The end of January closed the book on one of the 20th century's most notorious crimes, when Charles Manson was convicted of his involvement in the Tate-LaBianca murders on January 25. Manson and three of his followers, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten, were sentenced to death for the brutal slayings that took the lives of six people. But their sentences were reduced to life in prison, following a temporary ban on capital punishment in the state of California. Manson famously modeled part of his twisted worldview on the lyrics to the Beatles song, Helter Skelter. Wonder how hard he took the Fab Four's breakup. A similar fate awaited Manson's fourth co-conspirator later that year, when Tex Watson was convicted of seven counts of first degree homicide on October 12th. Watson had been tried separately after fleeing to Texas and fighting extradition for several months following his arrest. Tex is currently serving a life sentence. Elsewhere in crime and punishment, NYPD officer Frank Serpico was shot during a bust on February 3rd. Despite being severely wounded, his fellow officers refused to radio for help. And a random civilian called the ambulance that ultimately saved his life. Serpico had gained notoriety as a whistleblower calling out police corruption. And his shooting became a national news story as details came out suggesting Serpico's fellow officers tried to off him in retaliation. It became such a story that it was made into a movie two years later, starring Al Pacino as the hero cop. I'm a law officer. I'm a police officer. Jesus, Frank, how was I supposed to recognize you? Believe it or not, JC Penney was a real guy. And he kicked off the affordably priced bucket on February 12th. James Cash Penney founded the department store chain in 1902 in Kemmerer, Wyoming, and stayed involved with the company until his passing at the ripe old age of 95. According to popular legend, he once personally trained a young employee the most efficient way to gift wrap packages. The employee's name? Sam Walton, the future founder of Walmart. Vice president and future Nixon fall guy, Spiro Agnew injured two people after hitting two tee shots into the crowd during a golf game the day before Valentine's Day. Agnew was playing a foursome with pro golfer Doug Sanders, screen legend Bob Hope, and baseball great Willie Mays. More on Willie later. The vice president sliced his first shot of the day and struck an elderly man and his wife. Then he teed up his second shot and sliced again, this time hitting a woman in the ankle and sending her to the hospital. Agnew managed to play the rest of the game without injuring anyone else. But nailing three spectators with two consecutive tee shots is admittedly kind of impressive. This incident of weaponized vice presidents wouldn't be topped until 34 years later, when Dick Cheney shot a 78-year-old lawyer in the face during a hunting trip. Luckily, the man's injuries weren't serious, because no one could agree on how much beer had been present at the time of the incident. Butterfield, are you aware of the installation of any listening devices in the Oval Office of the president? A day after the golfing incident, Nixon had a secret taping system installed in the White House. Nixon had grown increasingly paranoid and demanded constant surveillance of every conversation that took place in the Oval Office, his executive office, and his office at Camp David, as well as several phone lines. It was the beginning of the Watergate scandal, which will continue to play out in the next episode. No spoilers. The Watergate scandal became a whole new ballgame. Moving into March, the Doors front man, Jim Morrison, left the United States for the last time on March 11. Morrison packed his bags and left for Paris. The Lizard King was trying to avoid a Miami jail sentence stemming from his indecent exposure conviction the previous September. The story of one of rock's most iconic performers would end just a few short months later when Morrison passed away in the City of Light on July 3 at age 27. The 1970s had another member to the infamous 27 Club. Morrison's official cause of death was heart failure, although no autopsy was performed. Two weeks after Morrison left on his ill-fated trip, late night King Ed Sullivan aired the final episode of his hugely influential variety show. All right, the reception here, you've been fine. Now get home safely. Good night. The final episode of The Ed Sullivan Show went out over the airwaves on March 28. Sullivan helped launch the careers of some of the 20th century's biggest entertainment legends, including Elvis, The Beatles, and Michael Jackson. Not a bad run if you can only have held out for Billie Eilish. When did you people start getting so interested in black folks? How many men were in the ambush? You all were pretty good news to me slapping up on some white cops. I want them, do you hear? And I want them now. We'll be right back. What are you doing here? I want to take your picture. I can't come down. I'm studying. Well, that's OK. I can take it from here. The new Kodak tele-instamatic camera. National Public Radio, or NPR, aired its first broadcast a month later on April 27. The not-for-profit radio news organization was created by Congress's Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, which determined that it was in the public interest for the government to encourage the growth and development of nonprofit informational, educational, and cultural broadcasting. Just a few weeks later, NPR broadcast the first episode of its flagship newscast, All Things Considered, which still airs to this day, Monday through Friday. You know what I think I'm going to do then? Just for the hell of it. Tell me. I'm going to take this right foot, and I'm going to whop you with that side of your face. Really? Really. On May 21, Marvin Gaye released his landmark album, What's Going On? The soulful concept album is told from the point of view of a veteran returning home from the Vietnam War to a country rife with intolerance and injustice, and featured hit songs like Mercy Mercy Me, Inner City Blues, and the title track, What's Going On? The album was partially inspired by letters Gaye received from his brother Frankie, who was drafted at age 25. What's Going On? has been hailed by both critics and musicians alike as one of the best albums ever recorded. Just a few short months after watching the vice president devastate some unsuspecting voters at a golf game, baseball legend Willie Mays hit his 638th career home run with the San Francisco Giants. As the swing of the left flag, the defense fouls it. And it's a kill it, 5-5, baby! Setting the National League record of 1,950 runs scored on May 30. Mays had turned 40 earlier that month and had started playing for the Giants back in 1951. But his time in San Francisco and in Major League Baseball was winding down. Mays would be traded to the New York Mets, where he finished out his iconic career a year later. Returning to the world of music, about 1,000 Grateful Dead fans drank apple cider spiked with LSD during a concert on May 31. Whoopsies! And presumably took a long, strange trip to the venue's bathroom. A little over 30 concert goers got themselves checked out at a nearby hospital. But no one was hospitalized by the incident. So if Ben and or Jerry is watching, they might get an idea for a new ingredient to spice up Cherry Garcia. Hi, I'm Ben. I'm Jerry. And LSD ice cream is very powerful stuff. Where are my manners? I didn't even introduce myself to you gentlemen. My name is John Shaft. Freeze. The day after Independence Day, President Nixon ratified the 26th Amendment, which lowered the legal voting age from 21 to 18. The amendment was partially in response to criticism of the Vietnam War, in which the average American serviceman was 19 years old. The slogan, old enough to fight, old enough to vote, became a popular chant for activists leading up to the amendment. The following day, music legend Louis Armstrong passed away at age 69. After a career spanning nearly 50 years, the jazz trumpeter's trademark gravelly singing voice remains one of the most recognized in the history of popular music. And his signature hit, What a Wonderful World, is still in regular rotation. Ironically, often in depressing movie montages. Moving into August, the summer came to a close with the death of SeaWorld's flagship performer, Shamu the Killer Whale. In case you never did the math yourself, SeaWorld's famed mascot Shamu isn't one impossibly elderly killer whale, but actually a name given to several different orcas over the years. The original Shamu was a female captured as a juvenile and sold to SeaWorld in 1966. But Shamu experienced a rapid and shocking decline in the months leading up to her death. On April 20th, Shamu attacked a SeaWorld employee named Anne Godsey during a televised stunt, grabbing the woman in her jaws and repeatedly dragging her underwater. It was a harrowing incident that would be echoed decades later. In February 2010, when SeaWorld trainer Don Brancho was attacked and killed by a 12,000 pound orca named Tilikum during a performance. The attack was the basis for the 2013 documentary, Blackfish. Just over two weeks later, prisoners seized control of the maximum security Attica Correctional Facility outside of Buffalo, New York. Over 1,200 inmates captured an exercise yard and held 39 guards and prison employees hostage for four days until Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller finally instructed state police to retake the prison by force. When the dust settled, of the 39 inmates and hostages who died, all but four were slain by police gunfire and 89 others were injured. The four day insurrection of New York's Attica State Prison came to a tragic end this morning. Negotiations gave way to force, making this the bloodiest prison incident the country has seen in four decades. On the same day as Attica, former Beatle John Lennon released his album, Imagine. The album was both a critical and commercial hit, earning the number one spot on the Billboard charts and a double platinum certification, selling over 2 million copies. The title track would go on to become Lennon's best selling song as a solo artist and one of the most celebrated pop songs of the past half century. Two days later, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev passed away. As the leader of the Soviet Union during the first decade of the Cold War, Khrushchev attempted to adopt a policy of peaceful coexistence with the United States, which did not earn him much love back home. Although he did famously bang his shoe on a table at a meeting of the United Nations to get everyone's attention, surely that deserves some love. Khrushchev was forced to resign in 1964 after the embarrassment of the Cuban Missile Crisis and spent the rest of his life in disgrace and isolation. No, usually we meet in the lobby. We discuss the film there and I record their comments. That's all. Oh, you do it in the lobby? Yes. Oh, fine. Heading into October, the happiest place on Earth opened its doors for a second time when Walt Disney World officially admitted its first guest in Orlando, Florida on October 1st. The resort opened with just the Magic Kingdom. But half a century later, the assorted parks and attractions cover almost 25,000 acres of Florida swampland. The very first guests to be admitted to Walt Disney World were the Windsor family, who were given a lifetime pass for a free admission. The cost of a ticket back then was $3.50 for adults and $1 for kids under 12, compared to $109 per day in 2022. Those lifetime passes turned out to be a pretty sweet deal. Hey there, and welcome aboard. You're right on time for another super slick ride on this old train. We'll get rolling with the exciting stylistics right after this communication. We'll be right back. Now, from Milton Bradley, a weird game, Voice of the Mummy. Press the button. From within the tomb, the mummy speaks. Check out. All right, Popeye's here. Get your hands on your heads. Get off the barn. Get on the wall. Come on, move out. Face the window. Move. Face the wall. Turn around now. Turn around. Move. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's famous musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, debuted on Broadway October 12th. The musical is a loose retelling of the gospel as a tongue-in-cheek rock opera, so it didn't generate any controversy whatsoever. Before they became the two biggest names in musical theater, Webber and Rice were unable to secure funding to produce Jesus Christ Superstar as a show. So they released it as a concept album that generated enough buzz to finally land them on Broadway. The show was a smash hit and held the record for the longest running musical in London's West End until it lost the title to Webber's 1981 musical, Cats. Game four, the first night game in World Series history. In a surprising first, the first ever night game of the World Series was played on October 13th between the Baltimore Orioles and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium. Night games had been a thing for several decades at that point, so why did it take so long to bring the World Series to prime time? In short, like with most decisions in Major League Baseball, it was a question of tradition. Bucking that tradition paid off. The game drew an estimated 63 million viewers, the largest audience ever for a nighttime sporting event. The end of October sadly claimed another rock and roll icon when Dwayne Allman of the Allman Brothers Band tragically perished in a motorcycle crash on October 29th. Sky Dog was driving along a highway in Macon, Georgia when he lost control and collided with a truck. The title and artwork of the Allman Brothers Band's 1972 album, Eat a Peach, is both a reference to a quote from Dwayne Allman and the circumstances of his tragic accident. In an eerily ironic twist, just over one year later, the band's bass player, Barry Oakley, would fatally crash his own motorcycle into the side of a city bus in Macon, not far from the site of Dwayne Allman's accident. The Los Angeles Lakers began their historic 33-game winning streak November 5th, defeating the Baltimore Bullets, now the Washington Wizards, 110 to 106. Led by NBA greats like Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West, the team went on an epic two-month tear that remains both a league record and the longest undefeated streak in American professional sports. Pop icon Cher scored her first solo hit when Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves reached number one on the Billboard charts November 6th. Although she's gone on record in recent years as not thinking much of the song herself, it was an undeniable smash that revived her career as a solo artist. Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves shipped over one million copies in the US, earning it a gold certification and making it the best-selling single in the history of MCA records at the time. Sticking with music, British rock group Led Zeppelin released their fourth untitled album, generally referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, two days later. In addition to being the band's highest-selling album, Led Zeppelin IV is notable for containing Stairway to Heaven, the group's signature hit, and one of the most famous classic rock songs of all time. So famous, Mike Myers wasn't allowed to play it. No stairway, denied. Three days later, counterculture icon and godfather of gonzo journalism, Hunter S. Thompson published the first part of his signature work, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, in Rolling Stone magazine. The serialized novel, which follows Thompson on a drug-fueled bender while attending a race on assignment for Sports Illustrated, is a chaotic blend of fact and fiction that also serves as a postmortem of the hippie movement of the 1960s. The book was a hit, and while several attempts were made to adapt it into a film over the years, a movie wouldn't be released until 27 years later, when surreal filmmaker and Monty Python alumnus Terry Gilliam successfully adapted Thompson's work into the 1998 film of the same name, starring Johnny Depp as Thompson. Wait, we can't stop here. This is bat country. One of the most enduring mysteries of American crime went down the night of November 24th, when a man calling himself D.B. Cooper hijacked Northwest Orient Airlines flight 305, heading from Portland to Seattle. Shortly into the flight, Cooper gave flight attendants a note, claiming he had a bomb and would detonate it if he didn't receive a hefty ransom. After briefly landing the plane to collect $200,000 in ransom money, Cooper parachuted out of the rear of the plane mid-flight and was never seen again. More than half a century later, he has never been conclusively identified. Maybe he was just really freaked out about going home for Thanksgiving. We'll be right back. The French have their Roquefort. The Dutch, their Edam. But in America, the cheese is Cracker Barrel. Cracker Barrel brand cheddar from Kraft. Moving into December, the Soviet space probe Mars 3 became the first spacecraft to soft land on the surface of the Red Planet on the 2nd of December. For reference, a soft landing is essentially the opposite of a crash landing. The probe touched down on December 2nd in the middle of a massive dust storm, nine days after its sister probe, Mars 2, crash landed on the planet. Although the lander failed shortly into the mission, the Mars 3 orbiter continued to circle the planet and transmit data and images back to Earth for the next eight months. Eight days later, musician Frank Zappa failed to achieve orbit when a deranged fan shoved him off the stage during a performance at London's Rainbow Theater on December 10th. Zappa was in the middle of a cover of the Beatles I Want to Hold Your Hand when the fan rushed on stage and threw him off. He suffered serious injuries that left him confined to a wheelchair for over a year. Recalling the incident in his 1989 autobiography, The Real Frank Zappa Book, Zappa wrote, the band thought I was dead. Just a few days earlier, a fan fired a flare gun during one of Zappa's performances and set fire to the Montreux Casino in Geneva, Switzerland. The fire inspired Deep Purple, who were performing with Zappa that night, to write their signature song, Smoke on the Water. On the same day as the Zappa attack, an unknown filmmaker named George Lucas unwittingly made history when he founded his production company Lucasfilm in San Rafael, California. Before it became known as a workshop of dreams beloved by every adolescent action figure collector, Lucasfilm was a decidedly small operation. At the time, the creator of Star Wars and Indiana Jones had only the dystopian sci-fi film THX-1138 under his belt and was still a few years away from changing movies forever with his blockbuster space opera. Flash forward to 40 years later, when Lucas would sell Lucasfilm to the Walt Disney Company to the tune of $4 billion. That's a lot of power converters. Stop it, stop it, please, I beg you! And that's how 1971 came to a close, with a droog and a Jedi giving us a glimpse of the new wave of movies about to strike Hollywood. 1972 was on its way with an exciting new hobby from a video game company and the most infamous political scandal of the 20th century. Also, a certain marble-mouthed leading man would make us all an offer we couldn't refuse. But that's for next year. Coming soon, 1972. So what do you think? What did you like about 1971? Let us know in the comments below. And while you're at it, check out some of these other Timeline videos.