The Monkees attempt (for the third time!) to record the Harry Nilsson song "The Story Of Rock And Roll" but again nothing suitable for release comes out of these sessions. (Nilsson himself was there in the studio today, playing piano and contributing backing vocals.) Michael Nesmith believes in this track and in January of the following year, they will attempt to record it a fourth time (again with Nilsson onboard.)
Producer Chip Douglas believes in it, too, and convinces his old band The Turtles to have a crack at it. Their single is finally released in June of 1968 and ultimately peaks at #36 on the national charts.
Locally a series of SEVENTEEN tornadoes rip thru the Chicago area, killing 33 and injuring over 500, causing upwards of $50 million in damages. I remember driving thru Oak Lawn with my parents a few days later to view the damage.
After defecting from The Soviet Union back on March 6th, Joseph Stalin's only daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva, finally arrives in the United States seeking political asylum. (She first approached the United States Embassy in New Delhi, India, and stated her desire to defect in writing. US Ambassador Chester Bowles offered her political asylum and a new life in The United States. Fearing repercussions from The Soviet Union, the Embassy sent her to Rome. From Rome she was sent immediately to a six week tour of Switzerland prior to coming to The United States.) When she arrived in New York City on April 21, 1967, she denounced both her father and The Soviet Union during a prearranged press conference.
