When It Was Cool Dark

It was shocking, it was tragic, and it was immortalized in song. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper (and almost Waylon Jennings), are killed in a plane crash during a concert tour. Cut down even before their prime the shocking truth is that this was even a bigger tragedy than it seemed due to the potential these young men had. One of our 100 darkest moments in pop culture.

We continue our 100 darkest moments in pop culture history with a look back at what some have described as Woodstock gone wrong. In 1969 west coast concert promoters wanted to do a Woodstock for the west coast headlined by The Rolling Stones, the Grateful Dead, Cosby, Stills, and Nash, and others. After moving the location several times, it finally ended up at the Altamont Motor Speedway with around 300,000 people on hand. The security force was led by the Hell's Angels motorcycle club and things turned deadly.

Two people end up charged with assault for being in a professionally sanctioned boxing match. How can this happen? This is the seedy story of Luis Resto and Billy Collins, Jr. Resto and his manager conspired not only to remove padding from his gloves but also to wear casts underneath. Collins never fought again and ended up dead less than a year later. Resto's life was destroyed and the manager who helped him? Well... this is their story which was documented in the award winning documentary Assault in the Ring. It's one of our 100 darkest moments in pop culture history.

We continue our look at 100 of the darkest moments in pop culture history. In 1977, at the height of their popularity, the Lynyrd Skynyrd rock band was struck down in a plane crash in Louisiana. Overshadowed in history by the death of Elvis two months earlier, the death of Lynyrd Skynyrd made a bigger impact on music than most realize. And that wasn't the end of it. Two of the members killed in the crash, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant couldn't even rest in peace.

Our continuing series of 100 of the darkest moments in pop culture history continues with the tragic death of 27 year old Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. Kurt Cobain was obviously several things- talented, influential, likable, and troubled. Some have suggested more sinister motives behind his death to the degree there have been documentary films made on the subject, but in the end, it was a sad ending to an creative musician.

We continue our look into the 100 darkest moments in pop culture history. This week we look into the fatal accident of Dale Earnhardt, Sr. in Daytona Beach, FL at the NASCAR Daytona 500 in 2001. 17 million people witnessed the death of the most popular driver in NASCAR. Some say this crash changed NASCAR forever. The sport became much safer though the popularity plummeted. This week we look at one of the darkest moments for auto racing with the death of Dale Earnhardt, Sr.

The 100 darkest moments in pop culture history continues with a look at one of the darkest days in pro wrestling history. In May 1999 WWE was holding one of it's monthly pay per views in Kansas City, MO when 34 year old Owen Hart fell to his death while performing an ill advised and unnecessary stunt and it almost happened on live TV. 

We begin a new series this week on DragonKing Dark looking at 100 of the Darkest Moments in Pop Culture History. These aren't ranked in any particular order because, how could you? But when this series is completed it will comprise a new "The 100" list at WhenItWasCool.com. The 1955 Le Mans race in France stands as the most deadly crash in auto racing history, killing 84 people, decapitating 14, and ended Mercedes-Benz involvement in motor racing for decades. The horrific story of the 1955 Le Mans Racing disaster is our first of the 100 Darkest Moments in Pop Culture History.

It sounds like urban legend. Surely the details of the story must be exaggerated. But as it turns out, in California, there was, in fact, a lady named Gloria Ramirez who showed up to the Emergency Room very sick, who appeared to have a crystal type substance in her blood, who then radiated fumes which caused multiple hospital employees to pass out, one even ended up in ICU. Turns out, it's true.

It's finally here! Karl and Tonya review Godzilla vs Kong (2021) from the comfort of our own home on HBO MAX. Did it live up to the hype? Who won? (SPOILERS) Was it any good? Did Kong get transported to fight Godzilla via helium balloons again (no, but close). And the glory that is 2021 Mechagodzilla! This movie was, in many ways, exactly what we expected and in many ways it wasn't. Join Karl and Tonya for a spoiler filled review of Godzilla vs Kong!

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