BEACH BOYS 1983 SPIRIT OF AMERICA TOUR WITH CHUCK AKA BB1, SHARRIE AND GENE.

The Beach Boys 50 year reunion tour
 is under way and will be playing at
 the Santa Barbara Bowl May 28th. 
 With all the excitement going on,
 I just can't help but reflect on 
their 1983, Spirit of America Tour
           30 years ago.        

Chuck Williams aka BB1, Sharrie and Gene
 at The Beach Boys Spirit of America
 tour in 1983. The reason we didn't have to wear
 our backstage passes, is because
 when we're with Chuck, we didn't need to.

 The Capitol Years, was a Beach Boys box set, only available as an import in the United States for $99.99. However, Chuck aka BB1, called his old friend, Mike Love, who arranged for him to be the first to have it. 

The Spirit of America Tour  came to the Orange County Fair Grounds in August of 1983 and since Gene and I lived in Laguna Beach at the time, Mike sent 3 backstage passes to Chuck...  It was an intimate setting after the concert, with a catered dinner and drinks and I have to say that when Mike Love took my hand and looked at me with those intense blue eyes, I developed a little

crush on him.   

Chuck and Gene each bought a Beach Boy cap at the concert and from what I remember, wore it everywhere.

Gene in his classic 1983 Spirit of America 

Beach Boy cap, singing, Caroline No.

I don't know what ever happened to Gene's t-shirt, but I know Chuck still has his in pristine condition and pulls it out for special occasions.

This one too, is a classic, still hanging around and I bet if you live in Santa Barbara you might

 catch Chuck wearing it while cruising in his Cobra.

I will never forget Dennis Wilson singing FOREVER, that warm California August night and tears filled my eyes, truly believing Gene felt the same way about me.

Mike Love and Bruce Johnston really getting down .

Four months after the Spirit of America concert... on December 28th, 1983, Dennis Wilson drowned while diving from a friend's boat, trying to recover items he had previously thrown overboard in fits of rage.  We were shocked and heart broken to say the least. His solo project Pacific Ocean Blue was released a couple of years ago and now a movie is being made. 

With the upcoming 50th Anniversary tour and album, it's appropriate to pay tribute to one of the founding members of the band.  R.I.P. Dennis!

    Dennis Wilson singing Forever, on the bottom, 1971.

The Drummer. A new movie being made about Dennis Wilson  follows the last six years of his life, leading up to his death in 1983. 

I know Chuck will be at the Santa Barbara Bowl concert next week and will take pictures for me to post, so stay tuned for more fun, fun, fun stories about Chuck aka BB1 and the Beach Boys live.

Check out a couple of posts I have done on Dennis Wilson and the Beach Boys, just click on links below.

http://www.maybellinebook.com/search/label/Dennis%20Wilson%27s%20death
http://www.maybellinebook.com/search/label/Dennis%20Wilson%20surfboard

MAD MEN'S NEW CLIENT IS MAYBELLINE.

I was watching Mad Men last night and noticed what looked like a Maybelline ad up on the 1966 bulletin board at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. 

I paused the TV and yes it was in fact a very recognizable ad from 1962 before Ultra Lash was presented in 1964. 

Here is the actual Maybelline ad used on the show. Maybelline's advertisements were handled by a Chicago based agency called Post Garner Keys and the agent's name was Rory Kirkland.  There is quite a bit written about Kirkland and the agency in my book, The Maybelline Story.

Here is another similar Maybelline ad. Tom Lyle Williams, Maybelline's owner, sold Maybelline to Plough Inc. in December of 1967.  I was just amazed to see this ad on Mad Men and am so happy I just happened to catch a glimpse.

Mad Men is set in the 1960s, initially at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency on Madison Avenue in New York City, and later at the newly created firm Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. The focal point of the series is Don Draper (Jon Hamm), creative director at Sterling Cooper and a founding partner at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, and the people in his life, both in and out of the office. As such, it regularly depicts the changing moods and social mores of 1960s America.

Mad Men season 6 starts March 7 2013.

CARROLL SHELBY'S 1965 FORD MUSTANG SHELBY GT350

Here I am with my little cousin John Stroh standing next to his father, Bill Stroh's, 1965, GT350 Cobra racing car.  I have said so much about Bill Stroh and this car that the best thing I can do is post all the links for you to punch up and review. 

http://www.maybellinebook.com/search/label/car%20guys

This is the final day of posting a farewell to Carroll Shelby..... The last great American automotive Legend.

TRAVOLTA - ALI - THE BEACH BOYS - DONNA SUMMER - CARROLL SHELBY - CHUCK WILLIAMS AKA BB1

On New years Eve, 1980, Gene, Georgia and I drove to

Santa Barbara to visit my cousin Chuck for the weekend.  Chuck was well known around Montecito..... not just because he was from the Maybelline family, but because he managed the Santa Barbara bowl and was personal friends with the Beach Boys.  He also had a charisma that gravitated celebrities and always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.  Here is one of my favorite memories of him in action.

This is what  John Travolta looked like on New Years Eve, 1980.
Seen here with Catherine Deneuve and Gerard  Depardieu.

We met Chuck at The Old World Cafe, in Santa Barbara for a quick burger, before heading to his house to bring in 1981.  After dinner Chuck got up to go to the bathroom while we finished up and got ready to leave.  When he returned he was with this really cute guy, who I thought was one of his buddies, by the way they were joking around.  But It turns out the cute guy was no other than..... 
John Travolta, who was starring in
Urban Cowboy that year and having dinner with
Muhammad Ali and his family in a private room,
 right next to us. 

John Travolta, in Urban Cowboy, 1980.

Chuck introduced him to us, saying they just met for the first time in the bathroom. Travolta seemed taken with three year old Georgia and said, "what a beautiful child," than asked if he could take her to meet Ali, (who just happened to be Chuck's all time idol.)

Muhammad Ali in 1980.

Travolta took Georgia's hand and led her into the private room, where Ali and his wife and children were dining.  We didn't go in, but stood at the door and watched as Ali said,  "My My, what a purtty little girl you are" and asked her if he could pick her up.  She shook her head yes and he lifted her up onto his lap and looked at her big blue eyes up close.  It was a thrill for Gene, Chuck and me to see the world's greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, 
make over our baby girl. 

Another time, at a Beach Boy concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl, Chuck introduced Georgia to Brian Wilson and he posed for a picture with his arm on her shoulder.  Chuck still has the picture hanging in his office 30 years later. 

Chuck with his fan club.

My cousin Chuck aka BB1, or Beach Boy 1.....meaning number one Beach Boy Fan, according to his friend Mike Love, lead singer of the Beach Boys, is still a celebrity in Montecito..... but when he bought his Factory 5, Cobra in 2009 his status shot to the moon.

Chuck Williams Factory 5 Cobra.

There is no other car that can rival the King Cobra or turn heads, give double takes or draw chicks like Carroll Shelby's blue and white striped convertible racing car.  The Cobra will go down in history.....Like Muhammad Ali and the Beach Boys.....as "the greatest" car ever!!!!

Carroll Shelby's personal $5,500,000.00

427 Cobra, at Barrett Jackson classic car auction.  

The Beach Boy's 2012, 50th Anniversary tour. If you're at the Santa Barbara Bowl, May 28th for the 6:00 Beach Boy concert look for Chuck and his entourage near the front row and say hi.....

************************************************************************
                          Carroll Shelby, RIP you will be missed!!!

************************************************************************

   DONNA SUMMER YOU WILL BE MISSED!!!

                         QUEEN OF THE 1970'S DISCO, 
              DONNA SUMMER, PASSED AWAY TODAY.
                                        "LAST DANCE."

1968 SHELBY GT 500 COBRA MUSTANG RULED THE ROAD.

Sharrie and Georgia
with the Shelby 1978

I had owned my Shelby GT 500 for 11 wonderful years after my dad gave it to me for my 24th Birthday, but when someone in Laguna Beach offered to buy it, my husband Gene and cousin Chuck convinced me to sell it for $4,000.   

I called my dad and told him about the offer and he said, "Honey, since the car is rusting out at the beach, it's not worth putting any money into it so go ahead and try to get something out of it." 

Years later,  he said, he regretted his decision at the time, because it was now worth $50,000, even in the shape I sold it. I still kick myself for listening to Gene, Chuck and my Dad because it was best car I ever drove. 

Gene's mother gave me her 1969, competition orange and white Camaro for my Birthday, but it was a sad compensation for my Shelby GT500..... with the extra-big  engine, chrome wire wheels, whitewall tires, rag top and the Cobra emblem. The Shelby was a real muscle car and would remain top in it's class forever. 

Every time I saw my Shelby cruising around Laguna Beach, I felt someone kicked me in the stomach, but it was even more painful when it was shipped off to Hawaii and I never saw it again. The Shelby represented an era for me that was over. I was now in a new phase of my life and driving a hot rod wasn't practical anymore. Or so I convinced myself evermore.

Carroll Shelby at Barrett Jackson in Las Vegas, 09.

CARROLL SHELBY - A FAMILY ICON.

AUTO LEGEND, Carroll Shelby Dead at 89

Shelby helped tune a variety of Ford products, including the original GT40 race car, but soon lent his name to the most powerful Mustang models, such as the Shelby GT500 and 427 Shelby Cobra, some of the fastest muscle cars of their era. Read the whole story at..... http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2012/05/carroll-shelby-dead-at-89/

I first heard the news that Shelby died while reading my tweets Friday around one in the morning.  Besides feeling a personal loss, I knew my sister Donna, my brother Preston and my cousin Chuck Williams aka BB1, would be impacted by the loss of this automotive legend.  Here are the emails between the four of us on Mother's Day weekend.

Preston Williams

He had a good run though.....  Carroll Shelby made it to 89 years of age and was responsible for an exceptional big block Hot rod!!  That will live on forever.....well as long as we are here.  Shelby will be missed by family, friends and an industry that he truly influenced.  His memory will live well beyond his life as he has inspired generations of car designers.

We all should be so fortunate..... to be able to do what we love, inspire others to follow their dreams and realize our God given talent has made a mark!

That is a life of purpose and dimension and I hope that is who Carroll  was.  If so He really did it right !! 

I can just see him cursing in his Cream white Convertible Shelby 500, with those twin blue racing stripes, pulling up to those pearly Gates,..... he gives his Shelby-500 a couple of Rev's, just to let Saint Peter know he is home and to open up the gates..... as he passes on by, Saint Pete slaps him a high five and says "nice ride bro!! Welcome Home."

As Carroll pulls up to his Mansion, he's welcomed by all those who love him.  He steps out of his 500 and is embraced by God, who says..... Well done good and faithful servant, enter unto your rest.

But first let's take a ride.....  can I drive?

Carroll  Shelby RIP.

Donna Williams

Good one Preston!  Daddy will enjoy seeing him and showing him his Shelby Cobra..... which he probably has with him.

Chuck Williams aka BB1.

He was 89 and caught a cold that turned into pneumonia, his lungs were failing, they were filling up with fluid, he had a heart and lung transplant a while ago.....

He was the only American Manufacturer to beat the pants off of Enzo Ferrari 1964,1965, 1966, with his little Cobra with an American V8 "Ford."  The rest is history  that won't repeat itself in our lifetime anyway. 

Hey Cuz, Hearing about Shelby was a real bad day for the REEEEEL car guy------ME!.....  The Rip Chords circa: 1964 had one special song about  "The King Of All Cars."..... The Cobra, like the Beach Boys are sittin on top of the world  for ALL TIME!!!!!   FUN,FUN,FUN,   BB1     Love You Cuz.

Bill Williams Shelby GT 500
 after it crashed.

My dad gave me his 1968, GT 500 Shelby Mustang in 1971 for my 24th Birthday. I too have very special memories of Carroll Shelby and the best car I ever had.  Rest in Peace Shelby, you will be missed.  Check out the crashed Shelby story under archives on the side of this page.

Me with my dad's cousin, Bill Stroh's, 1965 racing Cobra while I was in Chicago in 1966.  Read the whole story under Bill Stroh in my archives.  

MAYBELLINE'S RACE CAR DRIVER - PHOTOGRAPHER - CARLYLE BLACKWELL..

Tribute to Hollywood Photographer, Carlyle Blackwell Jr and his collection of spectacular racing photos. 

The whole photograph (below,) first appeared on the
cover of Sports Car Illustrated in February 1957 with a
masthead that reads "Carlyle Blackwell shot this
Ektachrome of a pair of competition Jaguars booming 
through the night." Read the whole story at..... ArtTidesco blogs on all things motoring.

This photograph appears to have been taken in the 
studio by Carlyle Blackwell around 1956/57, when he 
was the owner of the red #18 C-Type XKC 007 which he 
raced between 1955 and 1957. The #54 D-type is thought 
to be XKD 531 owned and raced by J Douglas......Art 
Tidesco Blogs all things motoring.

Photo taken by Hollywood photographer and racing driver Carlyle Blackwell known to take pictures of both track action and unusual 'studio action. http://psychoontyres.blogspot.com/20...-531-c_11.html

Bill Devin and his 1953 Farina bodied 3-liter Ferrari Coupe....."This Ferari was Road & Track's cover car for July 1955. Although an attractive girl appeared with the car on the cover, I had asked Carlyle Blackwell (the photographer) if he wouldn't mind taking one with me standing next to it. This same car was driven by Phil Hill and myself at I believe the Maderia Race Meet in 1953. I held my own in the event I had raced, but Phil took a first in the Main Event."  Read the whole story at Bill Devin's Early Ferraris

Top sale of the event went to the 1956 Jaguar D-Type
Sports Racer at $3,740,000. Recently restored by Cavallo
Motorsports, chassis XKD-528 was driven by Ken Miles
and Carlyle Blackwell to victory at the 1958 Ponoma Six-
Hour Enduro and it retains its original, matching
numbers engine. The sale of the D-Type marks the third
consecutive year that Gooding & Company sold the
top-selling car of Scottsdale Auction Week.
Read all about it at Sports Car Digest.

Bill Polack seen in this photograph by Carlyle
Blackwell, confirmed as having to be at Pebble Beach by 
Bill himselfis known to have driven the car at least 
twice in 1956 during which time chassis acquired the 
nome de course ‘Stovebolt Special’. 
Read it all at http://www.psychoontyres.co.uk/about/

West Coast Spyder – Porsche 550
Posted on January 23, 2011 by psychoontyr5

My thanks go out again to Ed Arnaudin & Son for today’s photograph, Ed purchased this photo by Carlyle Blackwell of Jack McAfee in his John Edgar owned 550 most likely being driven to victory at Pebble Beach, a track I know very little about, on 22nd April 1956. Check out psychoontyres for whole story.

Piccoli Ferrari – Siata 208S

Posted on February 5, 2011 by psychoontyres (check out the whole story!

11Today’s photograph by Carlyle Blackwell comes from Ed Arnaudin’s collection and I’d like to thank his son Steve for sending it to me. Probably the most famous owner of a 208S was Steve McQueen who apparently replaced the badges on his car with Ferrari badges and called it Little Ferrari

It looks like Carlyle Blackwell Jr. loved fast cars, gorgeous women...and was himself quite a Renaissance man in the 1950s.  All I know is, he photographed some beautiful Maybelline ad's in 1949 and his style will forever be remembered in the Maybelline archives.

I feel a special bond with Carlyle Blackwell Jr, because my father Bill Williams, my cousin Chuck Williams aka BB1, my cousin Jerry Westhouse and my great uncle Tom Lyle Williams all owned, collected or raced some of the most outstanding automobiles in the world. Check out my past posts on these amazing men and their cars. 

                                                               
                                                                BEACH BOYS 409