Musical Appreciation

Ian Whitcomb ► Monday Musical Appreciation

Born on this day in 1941: Ian Whitcomb, still performing to this very day. Ian Timothy Whitcomb was born in Woking, Surrey, England, to a family that already had show biz in its blood. His grandfather Jack founded British Screen Classics, an early entry in the motion picture business, which eventually bankrupt him. Before that, Ian’s father Pat worked there, and even co-starred in the 1929 flick, Mr. Nobody (not to be confused with the 2009 SciFi film), a movie ...

A Musical Appreciation ► Louis Armstrong

Dateline August 4, 1901 – A Black boy is born into a world of extreme poverty and Jim Crow laws in New Orleans, Louisiana. By the time Louis Armstrong died ...

Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela ► Dance Music To Change The World

Set your non-violent revolution to dance rhythmsand you can change the world. Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela!!! As always, crank it up!!!

Desmond Dekker ► A Musical Appreciation

Desmond Dekker, who passed away just 6 years ago, had the prettiest voice in all of Reggae music. On what would have been his 71st birthday, let’s take a moment ...

Musical Appreciation ► Woody Guthrie’s Centennial

If ‘Merka ever had a national troubadour, it would have been Woody Guthrie. Among his legacy of hundreds — some say thousands — of songs include “This Land Is Your ...

Musical Appreciation ► Live Aid

He was a member of The Boomtown Rats, an Irish Punk band from the late ’70s. At the time no one could have predicted that Bob Geldolf, writer of everyone’s ...

Brian Jones ► A Musical Appreciation

Let’s face facts: The Rolling Stones was his band. After hanging around London in the early ’60s with musicians like Alexis Korner, Jack Bruce, and Paul Jones, Brian Jones decided ...

Musical Appreciation ► Georgie Fame

I first heard Georgie Fame as did many other ‘Merkins, as the singer of “The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde” in 1967. It was one of those out-of-the-box hits that ...

Day In History ► Day In Music ► June 21st

Dr. Goldmark examining creation of a 33 1/3 record. Pic used by Fair Use, even tho’ Corbus thinks it owns it. Dateline June 21, 1948 – Dr. Peter Goldmark, of CBS, demonstrated ...

How Jamaica Conquered The World ► An Update

Back on April 20 I wrote about my small part in “How Jamaica Conquered the World.” Every once in a while producer Roifield Brown sends out an email, telling me ...

Happy Birthday, Brian Wilson: Genius ► A Musical Appreciation

There’s no point in writing a Brian Wilson biography; every one knows the high points of his life. What started as a love of the four-part harmonies of The Four ...

Musical Appreciation ► Paul McCartney

There is no denying that Paul McCartney has written a wealth of music that will stand the test of time. As we listen to Beethoven and Bach long after their ...

Musical Interlude ► A Detroit Jukebox

I always have music on in the background when I’m writing. When I’m writing about Detroit, I listen to music from Detroit and Detroit Music is more than just Motown. ...

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