Jack Doyle
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jackdoyle.bsky.social
Jack Doyle
@jackdoyle.bsky.social
470 followers 1.1K following 180 posts
Writer, website publisher, former policy analyst/lobbyist 20 yrs w/D.C. enviro orgs. Books on auto, oil, chem, ag-biz. PopHistoryDig.com since 2008 >stories on business, politics, music, film & sports. Best viewed on laptop, PC, tablet
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jackdoyle.bsky.social
The story link below on high-rise fires explores some history & the role of plastic & other synthetic materials used in high-rise construction and their role in fires.

“Plastic Infernos: A Short History”
pophistorydig.com/topics/plast...
The June 2017 Grenfell Tower high-rise fire in London that killed 72 was believed to have been aided in its rapid spread by the building’s exterior cladding; panels that incorporated a polyethylene-filled core, and possibly also, a polyisocyanurate insulation foam product installed behind the cladding. More at story link: https://pophistorydig.com/topics/plastic-infernos/ Deborah Wallace’s 1990 book, “In the Mouth of the Dragon,” covers the dangers of plastic-fueled toxic fires. More at story link: https://pophistorydig.com/topics/plastic-infernos/
November 27, 2025 at 6:38 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
RIP Jimmy Cliff - Story at link profiles 1972-73 film & soundtrack, “The Harder They Come,” which brought reggae to U.S. in a big way. Includes 9 full songs w/narrative – e.g., “Pressure Drop,” “Many Rivers to Cross,” title song, & others.

Reggae Breaks Out
pophistorydig.com/topics/regga...
Cover of David Katz’s 2011 book, “Jimmy Cliff: An Unauthorized Biography,” Interlink Books, 229 pp. See link here for story, history, details, songs, book & music links. https://pophistorydig.com/topics/reggae-breaks-out-1970s/ “The Harder They Come,” soundtrack gradually became a breakthrough for reggae in the U.K., the U.S., and beyond... The Jamaican songs – by Jimmy Cliff and several other Jamaican artists – are loaded with political nuance and social commentary, frequently referring to oppression, inequality, and social injustice. Story at link explores the music (offering 9 full songs), the artists, and the times https://pophistorydig.com/topics/reggae-breaks-out-1970s/
November 24, 2025 at 5:48 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
65 yrs ago, Sen John F. Kennedy, 43, won his bid for the White House, beating VP Richard Nixon is a very close Presidential election. Details on his amazing 1960 campaign itinerary, photos, speeches, TV debates, books, etc, at link

“JFK’s 1960 Campaign”
pophistorydig.com/topics/jfks-...
March 30, 1960: Campaigning early a.m. at the Manitowoc Shipyards in Wisconsin ahead of the April 5th Wisconsin Dem Primary, JFK greets arriving workers. One of dozens of campaign photos at story link detailing his 1960 day-by-day primary and general election campaign itinerary, with numerous stops & speeches across many states. ...At an earlier, private planning meeting for the '60 campaign w/ trusted insiders in Oct 1959, JFK shone forth as his own brilliant campaign strategist, giving a 3-hour presentation that was essentially a detailed political survey of the entire country -- without notes -- demonstrating remarkable knowledge of every state, not just party leaders & members of Congress, but also all the political factions and key people in those factions. ...See also '57, '58, '59 campaign stories. https://pophistorydig.com/topics/jfks-1960-campaign/ Toward the end of his campaign, Kennedy drew huge crowds, as shown here with front-page story & photo of Sept 28, 1960: Erie, PA “Daily Times” w/ headline: “40,000 Greet Kennedy in Erie.” Kennedy aide, Kenny O’Donnell, would later note that in Connecticut, late Saturday night November 5th, 1960: “...We landed ...at Bridgeport after midnight and drove from there in a motorcade along Route 8 in the Naugatuck River Valley to Waterbury. All along the road, for more than twenty-seven miles, there were crowds of cheering people waving torches and red lights, most of them wearing coats over their pajamas and nightgowns...” Details, day-by-day campaign stops, book links, etc, at link https://pophistorydig.com/topics/jfks-1960-campaign/
November 7, 2025 at 8:21 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
1959 song, “Sea of Love,” by Phil Phillips, has an interesting history – also covered & charted by Marty Wilde, Del Shannon, Honeydrippers, Cat Power – and used in films, ‘Sea of Love’ w/Al Pacino, and ‘Juno’ w/ Cat Power’s cover.

“Sea of Love” (1959 - 2000s)
pophistorydig.com/topics/sea-o...
Dell Shannon’s cover version of the “Sea of Love” first entered Billboard’s Hot 100 chart on December 6th, 1981. About six weeks later, on January 16th 1982, Shannon performed “Sea of Love” on the ABC teen dance TV program, American Bandstand. A week later, by January 31st, 1982, the Shannon version peaked at No. 33. For Shannon – who had three Top 10 hits in the 1960s, the most notable of which was his 1961 No.1, “Runaway” – it would be his 17th and last recording to enter the Top 100 chart. See link for full song sample & history https://pophistorydig.com/topics/sea-of-love-1959/ Blue-ray disc cover for the 1989 film, “Sea of Love,” starring Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin, and John Goodman, in which the Phil Phillips song, “Sea of Love” is heard repeatedly, offering a possible clue in a series of murders investigated by detective Al Pacino. See link for full song sample & history. https://pophistorydig.com/topics/sea-of-love-1959/
November 1, 2025 at 5:13 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
Trump & ‘Time’ magazine > Link below on history of ‘New York’ & other Trump magazine coverage (1980-2020) includes sections on his ‘Time’ magazine covers (scroll down).

pophistorydig.com/topics/the-t...
This Time magazine cover of August 31, 2015 — showing Trump in a portrait-like pose, with the tag line, “Deal With It,” also ran a generally positive story about his then surprising rise in the Republican ranks — was a “good one,” according to DJT, then being interviewed by the Washington Post. See link for details & more of his magazine & tabloid history. https://pophistorydig.com/topics/the-trump-dump-new-york-magazine-2016/ This Time cover of March 14th, 2016 was likely not among his “good ones.” – which ran a close-up of his face filling the page with ballot-box check-off options displayed across the page, each separately labeled: “bully,” “showman,” “party crasher,” “demagogue” — all checked – plus a remaining box left unchecked for “the 45th President of the United States.” See link for details & more of his magazine & tabloid history. https://pophistorydig.com/topics/the-trump-dump-new-york-magazine-2016/
October 17, 2025 at 5:01 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
...On what would have been his 85th....Some John Lennon music & history at links below:

“Watching The Wheels 1980-1981”
pophistorydig.com/topics/watch...

“In My Life: Lennon, 1965”
pophistorydig.com/topics/in-my...
Story link below profiles John Lennon during his NY city “house-husband” years, rasing his son, taking time away from the music biz, and later recording his somewhat underrated song -- with pointed message & confident, laid-back feel – “Watching The Wheels”... See link for profile, history, song, lyrics & video... https://pophistorydig.com/topics/watching-the-wheels-1980-1981/ Bruce Eder of AllMusic.com, reviewing “In My Life” noted it was “a creative watershed in the Beatles’ songwriting and recording history,” calling it “unique in its musical and lyrical sensibilities,” expanding the horizons of both. “…The song altered the public sensibility not only of what constituted acceptable songwriting in which a rock & roll composer could engage, but also the range of emotions that rock & roll musicians were allowed to express. … In My Life’s lyrics were steeped in a mix of innocent nostalgia and an acknowledgment of distance from those emotions. Essentially, it was a song about maturation and accepting the passage of time, and the loss that comes with it, all attributes that were unusual, if not extraordinary, in mid- 1960’s rock & roll… [E]ven the confession of feelings of nostalgia was totally unexpected in the repertory of a rock & roll band in this period….” More at story link: https://pophistorydig.com/topics/in-my-life-lennon-1965/
October 9, 2025 at 4:09 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
“Let The River Run” – In these Trumpian times of woe, there is a need for inspiration, hope & uplifting song, of which this one, by Carly Simon, surely is... History, details, full song & lyrics at story link...

“Let The River Run, 1988-1989”
pophistorydig.com/topics/let-t...
“Let The River Run” is an energetic, full-of-promise ode that speaks to the ages – whether “working girl” rights or immigrants rising historically, or for any soul struggling to move forward.... Simon became the first artist to win a Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe for a song composed, written, and performed entirely by a single artist. See link for full story https://pophistorydig.com/topics/let-the-river-run-1988-1989/ A portion of the lyrics for Carly Simon’s “Let The River Run” – see story link for full song, lyrics, Simon photos & history... https://pophistorydig.com/topics/let-the-river-run-1988-1989/
October 7, 2025 at 7:09 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
Given Chevron's recent oil refinery explosion in CA, links below – offering oil/petrochem history – may be of interest.

“125 Significant Incidents: U.S. Refineries, 2012”
pophistorydig.com/topics/tag/o...

“Oil/Petrochem History: 1950s-2020s” (20+ story choices)
pophistorydig.com/topics/oil-p...
August 2012. Photo of an earlier Chevron incident – this one, a raging inferno at the Chevron’s oil refinery in Richmond, CA, August 2012. Note group of firefighters at bottom of photo for scale comparison. Photo from U.S. Chemical Safety Board’s subsequent 2014 report. See link for details. https://pophistorydig.com/topics/tag/oil-refinery-history-2010s/
October 3, 2025 at 5:10 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
Descriptions of, and links to, several books on Elon Musk, Twitter, plus Kara Swisher’s digital tech book – all included at link in review of Faiz Siddiqui’s 2025 book, “Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk.” See link.

“Hubris Maximus: Book on Musk, 2025”
pophistorydig.com/topics/hubri...
Faiz Siddiqui’s 2025 book, “Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk,” 336pp, St. Martin’s Press. Details at story link. https://pophistorydig.com/topics/hubris-maximus-book-on-musk-2025/ An earlier book on Musk by Walter Isaacson, published in Sept 2023 by Simon & Schuster (668pp), offers a thorough & probing biography. More at story link. https://pophistorydig.com/topics/hubris-maximus-book-on-musk-2025/
October 1, 2025 at 8:48 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
Advertising history >Madonna’s much-hyped 1989 Pepsi TV ad for “Like a Prayer” song – became target after controversial “Like A Prayer” video aired. See links

The Pepsi Ad: 1989 (video)
pophistorydig.com/topics/pepsi...

Madonna’s Pepsi Ad & Controversy (story)
pophistorydig.com/topics/madon...
[Dance scene from Pepsi ad]. In 1989, Madonna made a rather wholesome & spirited TV dance ad for Pepsi entitled, “Make A Wish,” tinged with some nostalgia and family history. It featured her in a song and dance performance with others that used the music of her then forthcoming new song, “Like A Prayer.” See link for Pepsi ad video (2 minutes). https://pophistorydig.com/topics/pepsis-madonna-video1989/ [Collage of scenes from video] The problem for Madonna and Pepsi came when she released her “Like A Prayer” video for MTV around the time the TV ad was airing. As one observer would describe its controversial imagery, including: “...Interracial relationships, Madonna with stigmata, black Jesus, burning crosses, sexy time with Jesus…it was crazy.” The Catholic Church, and even the Pope, became involved, and Pepsi soon pulled the ad. Sales for Madonna’s album, however, soared... Full story at link https://pophistorydig.com/topics/madonnas-pepsi-controversy-1989/
September 18, 2025 at 10:03 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
Music in Film > Link below features 25+ stories w/ music & songs in film/TV, among them: Dirty Dancing, Glory, Dr. Zhivago, Big Chill, Platoon, Love Story, Rocky, Working Girl, Good, Bad & Ugly, Rock Around The Clock & more.

“Music in Film: Songs & Soundtracks”
pophistorydig.com/topics/music...
“The Big Chill” soundtrack & story is one of those explored at “Songs & Soundtracks” topics page. That film’s music helped bring original rock music to TV advertising in a big way. “Big Chill Marketing: 1980s & 1990s” https://pophistorydig.com/topics/big-chill-music-and-marketing/ Famous Mickey & Sylvia song, “Love is Strange,” that was a 1950s hit, has renewed life & makes a 1980s chart run after its use in “Dirty Dancing” film scene with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. “Love is Strange: 1956-2007” https://pophistorydig.com/topics/love-is-strange-1956-2007/
September 12, 2025 at 4:54 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
Strip mining case studies > during 1970s, citizens battled Big Coal & utilities over fed strip mine law for protecting land, water & communities from ravages of surface coal mining. See links

“Ford Helps Strippers”
pophistorydig.com/topics/strip...

“Coal Stories”
pophistorydig.com/topics/coal-...
Giant Earth Mover > “GEM of Egypt,” on the cover of 'Smithsonian' magazine, February 1973, as the giant machine does its earth-ravaging handiwork strip mining Ohio for coal. Detailed story at link: See, “Giant Shovel on I-70: Ohio Fight: 1973” https://pophistorydig.com/topics/ohio-strip-mine-fight-1973/ April 7th, 1975. UPI photo of a reported 30-mile long convoy of protesting coal trucks from southwest Virginia then heading for Washington, D.C. to protest strip mining legislation then in Congress. Part of story about President Gerald Ford’s 2 vetoes of strip mining bill and subsequent fight by citizen groups and Congress to enact 1977 law that Jimmy Carter would sign. Details at link: See, “Ford Helps Strippers (w/2 vetoes) 1974-75” https://pophistorydig.com/topics/strip-mine-history-1974-75/
September 10, 2025 at 7:17 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
1965's Academy award-winning, “Dr. Zhivago,” set in the Russian Revolution, with Omar Sharif & Julie Christie, remains a much-loved classic to this day, 60 years later – praised for its love story, its music & its cinematography.

“Doctor Zhivago: 1950s-2010s”
pophistorydig.com/topics/docto...
Young medical doctor, Yuri Zhivago in Moscow, examining a slide specimen at microscope & work bench – the calm before the storms of WWI, social upheaval, and personal life changes that will lead him to the love of his life, Lara... Full story w/ photos, music clips & more at link: https://pophistorydig.com/topics/doctor-zhivago-1950s-2010s/ Young Lara Antipova, here at age 17, also in Moscow at her mother’s dress shop – before the world turns upside down – and has her own travails before meeting Zhivago in the heat the Russian Revolution, and again, later when their love fully resumes, yet still amid partisan strife that will set them apart.. Full story w/ photos, music clips & more at link: https://pophistorydig.com/topics/doctor-zhivago-1950s-2010s/
August 30, 2025 at 9:55 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
Given recent sales of 1973's “Dark Side of the Moon” album by Pink Floyd – which holds nearly 1,000 weeks of intermittent charting on Billboard 200 over 50+ yrs – link below tracks history w/ song samples, photos, book & music links

Dark Side’s 40 Years: 1973-2013
pophistorydig.com/topics/dark-...
August 29, 2025 at 5:39 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
Etta James profile > includes her long career as pioneering voice in blues, jazz & early rock; her fame w/ Chess Records; the ‘Cadillac Records’ film; & her brief feud w/Beyoncé over Obamas’ “At Last” dance. Details & song at link

At Last: Etta James, 1938-2012
pophistorydig.com/topics/at-la...
Etta James performing in the 1970s at The Boarding House nightclub in San Francisco. More history & photos at story link. https://pophistorydig.com/topics/at-last-etta-james-1938-2012/ In the 2008 film, “Cadillac Records,” about Chess Records, Beyoncé portrays Etta James. Details at story link: https://pophistorydig.com/topics/at-last-etta-james-1938-2012/
August 14, 2025 at 9:50 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
Case history > 70 years ago, in 1955, Elvis Presley & band were playing somewhere in the south practically every day, logging more than 250 appearances that year at all manner of venues. Details, day-by-day itinerary at story link

“Elvis On The Road, 1955-56”
pophistorydig.com/topics/elvis...
August 13, 2025 at 3:25 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
Prior to atomic bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki in WWII, a preceding American firebombing campaign hit 67 Japanese cities (March-August 1945), killing 50% to 90% of the population in those cities. Details, maps, photos, at link

“Firebombing Japan: 67 Cities, 1945”
pophistorydig.com/topics/fireb...
Story at link includes film clip from award-winning “The Fog of War” Errol Morris film, as Robert McNamara (shown here) narrates statistical ruin of the firebombing campaign – while comparing to similar-sized American cities – and adding the comment: “Killing 50% to 90% of the people of 67 Japanese cities and then bombing them with two nuclear bombs is not proportional, in the minds of some people, to the objectives we were trying to achieve.” More at link: https://pophistorydig.com/topics/firebombing-japan-1945/ James M. Scott’s 2022 book, “Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb,” is one of several books noted & listed in the story on the firebombing of Japan. Details at story link: https://pophistorydig.com/topics/firebombing-japan-1945/
August 5, 2025 at 9:03 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
Among the various films made about Donald Trump in recent years are 3 related to his golf properties in Scotland & elsewhere (scroll down at story link below):

“Trump on Film: A Partial Listing, 1990-2024”
pophistorydig.com/topics/trump...
Donald Trump being filmed in what appears to be a promotional video at the site of his then-planed golf course in Scotland. Source: Anthony Baxter's 2011 film,” You've Been Trumped”. Details and additional Trump film history at story link: https://pophistorydig.com/topics/trump-on-film/
July 26, 2025 at 7:35 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
Happy Birthday, Linda Ronstadt! 1st link below on her 1970s-1980s career (& Jerry Brown) w/4 songs; 2nd link covers her 2021 music rights deal (w/ other artists)

"Linda & Jerry: 1971-1983”
pophistorydig.com/topics/linda...

“Music Rights Deals” (scroll down)
pophistorydig.com/topics/music...
Linda Ronstadt performing in 1978. Details at link. https://pophistorydig.com/topics/linda-ronstadt-jerry-brown/ Poster for 2020 Linda Ronstadt documentary, “The Sound of My Voice.” In March 2021, Ronstadt made a music rights & promotion deal with Iconic Artists valued at a minimum of $50 million. See link for details. https://pophistorydig.com/topics/music-rights-deals-2020s/
July 15, 2025 at 7:24 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
Home Run Derby - some stories...

...Aaron Chasing Ruth
pophistorydig.com/topics/hank-...

Mantle’s 535th
pophistorydig.com/topics/micke...

The M&M Boys: 1961
pophistorydig.com/topics/maris...

The Mazeroski Moment
pophistorydig.com/topics/1960-...

Gehrig vs Ruth
pophistorydig.com/topics/lou-g...
A young Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees, April 17, 1953, holding the home run ball he hit out of Washington, D.C.’s Griffith Stadium, estimated to have gone a distance of some 562 feet – a photo that also appeared on the back 'front page' of the New York "Daily News.” More on Mantle at his story links above.
July 15, 2025 at 12:36 AM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
“Reggae Breaks Out” profiles 1972-73 film & soundtrack, “The Harder They Come,” which brought Jamaican reggae to U.S. in a big way. Story includes 9 full songs w/narrative – e.g., “Pressure Drop,” “Johnny Too Bad,” “Many Rivers to Cross,” title song, etc.

pophistorydig.com/topics/regga...
July 12, 2025 at 6:12 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
Amazed !! Paul is 83 this day! Thanks for all the great music. Some history below:

“McCartney Amazed: The Paul & Linda Story”
pophistorydig.com/topics/mccar...

Beatles History page (14 stories)
pophistorydig.com/topics/beatl...

“Paul-is-Dead Saga 1969-2008”
pophistorydig.com/topics/paul-...
Famous photo from back cover of “McCartney” solo album, April 1970. Photo of Paul and daughter Mary, tucked inside his coat. Photo by his then wife, Linda Eastman McCartney; photo taken in Scotland. More at link: https://pophistorydig.com/topics/mccartney-amazed-paul-and-linda In 1969, a rumor that Paul McCartney had died in an auto crash touched off a media frenzy for “clues” and also that a McCartney “look-alike” had replaced him. Life magazine story and cover photo of November 7, 1969, with Paul & family in Scotland, helped dispel rumors, showing that Paul was very much alive and well. More detail & history at link, including history on the Beatles’ demise: during 1969-1970. https://pophistorydig.com/topics/paul-is-dead-saga-1969-1970/
June 18, 2025 at 4:56 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
Nancy Wilson, of rock group Heart, has called out Donald Trump for unauthorized use of “Barracuda” song at his June 14, 2025 Army parade event – a song with previous unauthorized use & political history – explored at link

“Barracuda Politics 2008”
pophistorydig.com/topics/sarah...
Photo of Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson during their careers. Ann Wilson would describe ‘Barracuda’ as a rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, especially for women – ‘barracuda’ being her intentionally disparaging term for the business. In 2008, the sisters disapproved of the McCain-Palin campaign’s use of the song, and tried to stop it. See story link for details, music, film clip & links. https://pophistorydig.com/topics/sarah-palin-barracuda-2008/ Fake record sleeve for Heart's single, 'Barracuda', that appeared during the 2008 presidential campaign, as high school nickname of “barracuda” for VP candidate Sarah Palin was linked to use of popular 1977 Heart song by the campaign to promote their new political star. “Barracuda” was played at Sarah Palin’s introduction, at the Republican National Convention in 2008, and on the campaign trail, but also spawned “music rights” controversy since the Wilsons did not approve of those uses. See story link for details, music, film clip & links. https://pophistorydig.com/topics/sarah-palin-barracuda-2008/
June 17, 2025 at 3:48 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
For history on Brian Wilson & the Beach Boys, links below may be of interest:

“Early Beach Boys”
pophistorydig.com/topics/early...

(6 Songs)
pophistorydig.com/topics/early...

“Love & Mercy” (film)
pophistorydig.com/topics/love-...

“Music Rights Deals” (w/others)
pophistorydig.com/topics/music...
June 11, 2025 at 5:48 PM
jackdoyle.bsky.social
80+yrs later, WWII’s D-Day of June 1944, remains among world’s most heroic actions. ...And Steven Spielberg’s 1998 film depiction of its horrors remains a moving tribute to those fighters. Story includes map, graphics, film clip, books & more.

“Spielberg’s D-Day”
pophistorydig.com/topics/spiel...
Screenshot from “Saving Private Ryan” showing the Tom Hanks character, Captain Miller, in daze sequence following horrific Omaha Beach landing, as he surveys the ongoing carnage around him at landing. He soon recovers to lead his men off the beach to attack German bunkers. More history & detail at story link. https://pophistorydig.com/topics/spielbergs-d-day-1998/ Cropped version of famous WWII photo titled, “Into the Jaws of Death,” taken on D-Day, June 6, 1944, by Robert F. Sargent, a chief photographers mate in the U.S. Coast Guard. It depicts soldiers from U.S. Army infantry divisions disembarking from landing craft and wading ashore at Omaha Beach. More history & detail at story link. https://pophistorydig.com/topics/spielbergs-d-day-1998/
June 7, 2025 at 7:16 PM