DAILY DIRT: Maggie May or not, I would have had absolutely no desire to be at that event

Daily Dirt for Sunday, June 16, 2024

I wonder of Quincy resident John Potts was in attendance at that 1991 concert in Moscow? Potts loves him some good Motley Crue … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 981 of The Daily Dirt.

1. The numbers you will examine in a few paragraphs are staggering, simply staggering.

First of all, the largest outdoor concerts I can ever remember attending probably had around 30,000 people each. One featured the Oak Ridge Boys at the height of their popularity and another featured Alabama during its run of 32 consecutive No. 1 songs in the 1980s and early 1990s.

To have been at any of the following, however, is … well, simply staggering to even try and comprehend. These are the five largest concerts in history:

1. New Year’s Eve Copacabana Beach Concert, 1994, Rio de Janeiro: 4.2 million. Rod Stewart was the headliner. Thirty years later, this gathering still holds the record. This is also regarded as the ninth-largest gathering of human beings — ever. Anyone who knows me is well aware of my long-time devotion to the music of Rod Stewart, but there is no way in the world of “Wake Up Maggie” I would have been at this concert.

2. Moscow Concert, September 1997: 3.5 million. Composer and musician Jean-Michel Jarre performed as the central figure in the celebration of the 850th anniversary of the Russian city.

3. Bastille Day Concert, 1990, Paris, 2 million: The free public concert also featured Jean-Michel Jarre. Apparently, Rod Stewart was already booked elsewhere.

4. Rio de Janeiro Copacabana Beach, May 2024, 1.6 million: Madonna gets the record for the largest stand-alone concert. The Material girl turned that massive Copa beach in Rio into an even more massive dance party. 

5. Monsters of Rock Concert, 1991, Russia (Moscow), 1.6 million: AC/DC, Metallica, Motley Crue were the headliners.

2. Did you know (Part 39)

• That by the age of 60 most people will have lost about half of their taste buds. I think I’m an exception to that rule. A lot of stuff still tastes pretty good to me.
• That a baby is born on its predicted due date just 4 percent of the time.
• That 60,000 plastic bags are used in the U.S. every five seconds. Many of those can be found in one or more of our kitchen drawers.
• That in the 1940s the Idaho Fish and Game Department relocated beavers in the wilderness by dropping then out of airplanes using parachutes.
• That the Beatles’ classic “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” turns 60 years old this year.

3. What if the following choices for key roles in popular films had come to fruition?

• Paul Rudd’s big-brother rule in “Clueless” was originally intended for Ben Affleck.
• Kirstie Alley was considered for the lead role in “Fatal Attraction” before it was awarded to Glenn Close.
• Tom Hanks was the original pick for the lead role in “Jerry Maguire” instead of Tom Cruise.
• Speaking of “Jerry Maguire,” Regina King’s role had been intended for Janet Jackson and Cuba Gooding’s character had been designed for Jamie Foxx.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — The late 50s through the late 1960s is more or less regarded as the golden era of TV westerns. My picks for the best three such programs during that period are: 1. “Maverick,” 2. “Rawhide” and 3. “Gunsmoke” (the black and white years).

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. Have pen, will travel (but will probably get lost on the way).