By Brad Gallagher:
New York City has always been known to be a high crime city. From the 1960’s through the 1980’s the New York City crime rate increased consistently year after year through 1990, which would be recorded as the year New York City saw the greatest number of crimes ever. A few years later, Rudy Giuliani was elected Mayor of New York City, and his “Tough On Crime” policies proved successful in bringing the crime rates back down. But, not before the December 8, 1980 murder of John Lennon, and the October 4, 1986 assault of news anchor Dan Rather. Both of which had a profound influence on the world of rock and roll.
Lennon was one of the greatest singer/song writers in rock history, and even though I was not his biggest fan I appreciated his talent and his work. The world of rock lost an icon that day. But believe it or not, in 1986, with the assault of Dan Rather the world of rock gained a song which would go on to become a major rock hit.
As The Story Goes:
Dan Rather was an iconic news anchor who started his carrier in Texas where he hit the national limelight in 1961 when his reporting saved thousands of lives during hurricane Clara. He was also well known for his reporting of the assassination of John F Kennedy in 1963. During the 1960’s and 1970’s he served as White House correspondent and also as a foreign correspondent in both London and Viet Nam. And, in 1981 he was promoted to news anchor on the CBS Evening News, where he remained for 24 years.
It was during this time at CBS that the assault took place. Rather was living in an apartment in Manhattan during those years, and would frequently walk home along Park Avenue. On one particular evening while he was walking home, a man approached him from behind and punched him in the head. Rather attempted to get away from the man, but another man chased him down and beat him and kicked him repeatedly. Fortunately for Rather, there was a doorman at a building near by who saw what was happening and rushed to his aide. The assailants got away that night, and the assault went unsolved for a number of years.
Fast forward to August of 1994, when an NBC employee was shot and killed by a man who was trying to enter the “Today Show” studio. The man’s name was William Tager. He was quickly caught by the police that day and during the investigation they discovered Tager’s motivation for wanting to enter the studio. It turns out that Tager was under the impression that the television industry was monitoring him, while at the same time beaming messages into his head.
Tager was sentenced and sent to prison, and during the crime investigation it was determined that he was the same man who had assaulted Rather eight years earlier. You see, during the Rather assault, the assailant kept repeating the same question. “Kenneth, What’s the frequency?” “Kenneth, What’s the frequency?” He said that he was just trying to find out what the frequency was that they were using to beam those messages into his head so that he could block it. Apparently Tager thought that Dan Rather knew the frequency, and when he failed to get the frequency from Rather he decided to break into a studio in hopes of finding the frequency there. Tager was sentenced to 15 to 25 years for the murder of the NBC employee, and was released on parole in 2010.
After the story of the attack on Dan Rather got out, the Phrase “Kenneth, What’s the frequency” became a pop-culture reference. And in case you have not yet guessed, that is the story, and phrase, that inspired the 1994 “R.E.M.” hit song, “What’s The Frequency Kenneth”. The song hit #21 on the Billboard Top 100 charts in 1994, and #1 on the Billboard Alternative charts.
And, if you have ever wondered why the tempo slows at the conclusion of the song on the original release on the album “Monster”, it is quite simple. During the recording, bassist Mike Mills started playing slower toward the end of the song and the rest of the group just followed suit. But it wasn’t until lead guitarist, Peter Buck, glanced over at Mills that they realized that he looked a little strange. As it turns out, Mills slowed his tempo because he was suffering from appendicitis. They quickly rushed him to the hospital, but they never went back and rerecorded the take. And that is the take that went on the album.
So now you know. Come back and see me really soon right here on As The Story Goes.
What’s The frequency Kenneth official video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWkMhCLkVOg
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AS THE STORY GOES 