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Apr 17, 20233 min read
The Silver Fox
It was a pivotal moment in Pop Music. Charlie Rich was in Memphis auditioning for Sam Phillips, the owner of Sun Records who’d...
Apr 17, 20235 min read
The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll
Sun Records was little more than a storefront studio in a bad part of Memphis, Tennessee. Yet, it was here the first rock-n-roll record...
Feb 27, 202310 min read
Book Review: Ben Hogan -- An American Life
I first learned about Ben Hogan watching the Golf Channel. Oh, I'd heard his name before but other than that, I knew next to nothing...
Dec 4, 20225 min read
An Encyclopedia of Los Angeles
“There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl...
Sep 15, 202211 min read
Eric Clapton--a tribute
Who knew? While the Beatles (raised on American Rock 'n' Roll) were perfecting their sound in the waterfront clubs of Hamburg, Germany,...
Sep 15, 20225 min read
Roger McGuinn—an appreciation
My two sons were surprised. None of their high schools friends had ever heard of the Byrds. They’d heard of the Beatles—of course—and...
Sep 8, 20223 min read
How to Win Friends and Influence People
When I was 12-years old, my brother brought home from the library “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. Judging by...
Aug 22, 20228 min read
Frank Sinatra: My Way
Frank Sinatra was famous for “My Way”— the song and what it said about him. Music was personal for Sinatra. It was the one thing in his...
Aug 21, 20223 min read
The Three-Minute Mozart
Beatles' producer George Martin called him "The Three-Minute Mozart". He was referring to Paul McCartney, of course, and to his gift for...
Aug 16, 20222 min read
Mr. Tambourine Man
How does he do it? Joan Baez wanted to know. How does Bob Dylan write such folk classics as “Masters Of War” and “Only A Pawn In Their...
Aug 6, 20226 min read
The Fifth Beatle
Back in the mid-sixties, when the Beatles were hot, it seemed everyone was claiming to be "The Fifth Beatle"; in New York City, a popular...
Aug 6, 20227 min read
Universal Pictures’ Frankenstein Monster, an appreciation
There’s Frankenstein and there’s Frankenstein. There is a difference. There’s the classic Frankenstein movies of Universal Pictures,...
Aug 4, 20224 min read
One of the Wonders of Major League Baseball--Vin Scully
If you love baseball, and were lucky enough to have lived in Los Angeles some time in the past 60 years, then you are familiar with one...
Aug 4, 20228 min read
The Girl Who Loved Jazz
How can you not love a girl who adores the Beatles, gets Frank Sinatra, loves Jazz, and who enjoys sitting under the stars at the...
Aug 4, 20225 min read
From Liverpool to London to the World Stage, The Beatles Redefined What it Means to be a Pop Star
Over half a century ago, the Beatles made their American debut on the Ed Sullivan Show (February 9, 1964). In one memorable evening they...
Jul 2, 20224 min read
A Tale of Two Bands
This is a story of two successful pop/rock bands, one was English and the other was American. Despite being from different nations,...
Mar 9, 20223 min read
John Lennon's three Odes to Love.
John Lennon was a child of the street, a tough guy who, as a youth, seldom backed down from a fight. But he had a sensitive side, too,...
Mar 9, 20222 min read
One of the Wonders of Pop Music – Ray Charles
Throughout the 1950s, Ray Charles scored big on the rhythm-and-blues chart, and closed out the decade with a number-one hit single, his...
Mar 9, 20222 min read
One of the Wonders of Pop Music – "Answer Me, My Love."
The song opens with a sunburst of orchestra and full-pitched choir, like the opening of heaven itself. The song is "Answer Me, My Love"....
Mar 9, 20223 min read
Abbey Road – Paul McCartney's First Solo Album
Is ABBEY ROAD Paul McCartney's first solo album? In some circles such talk might be thought of as crass, even blasphemous. But consider...
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