How talented would a 16-year-old musician in the early 1940's have had to be to grab the attention of Benny Goodman? And not only that, but to then have the King of Swing offer him a job as pianist, singer, and arranger with the biggest of the big bands? That teenager was Buddy Greco, and … Continue reading Buddy Greco’s Benny Goodman Moment
On this edition of the Squeaky Wheel, the GMC Special Feature that allows me to grumble about whatever is currently bugging me, we're going to tackle the question of why they keep trying to speed up the game of baseball. You can't help but see it discussed everywhere these days, and you might think it's … Continue reading Squeaky Wheel Says: Leave Baseball Alone!
Today we're going to focus on British rock guitarist/singer Tony Newman, but don't confuse him with the drummer of the same name, a contemporary of his who had a long career that included stints with bands like T. Rex and Boxer, and also accompanied David Bowie, Eric Clapton and others. Our Tony Newman's career didn't … Continue reading Tony Newman And The Crazy 60’s Music Scene
Your first thought when reading the title of this post might be: wait -- aren't all politicians con artists? Well of course they are, but today we're going to get specific and tell the story of Dudley Joseph LeBlanc (aka 'Coozan Dud'), a huckster who became a Louisiana legislator and then made a fortune selling … Continue reading Politician + Con Artist = Super Showman
Something a little different today. (Although if you haven't been here lately you might have already noticed that the GMC itself is kind of different these days.) Regular visitors might remember that I've mentioned several times in the past that I spent a few years in the 60's working as a radio DJ. (Here's the … Continue reading Old Radio Dog Finds New Bone
How head-spinning would it have been for an unsophisticated Belgian nun in the 1960's to see herself portrayed on the movie screen by superstar Debbie Reynolds, after already experiencing the wonder of having a huge #1 hit record? We can only guess, but Soeur Sourire (Sister Smile) as she was known, would soon leave the … Continue reading The Sad Story Of The Singing Nun
I have a confession to make. I have big feet. REALLY big feet, as in size 15EEE shoes. Of course I'm used to them by now because I'm pretty sure I always had big feet, but I don't remember when they first began to attract notice. My dad wore a size 12 so there were … Continue reading In Search Of Bigfoot
I found a new word the other day that I've really taken a liking to because it seems to fit me so well. An ultracrepidarian is someone who babbles on endlessly about things that they know very little about. That's me. . .just ask Mrs. BG. At the very least, it's good to know that … Continue reading Stay Away, Sleep Monster!
As someone who grew up tinkering with old electrical contraptions, I was always fascinated by some of the odd properties they displayed. For example, I learned pretty early on that you couldn't put a microphone too close to a speaker without creating all kinds of squeals and squawks, known as feedback. And I naturally tried … Continue reading Theremin Is Not A New Wonder Drug
I've written plenty of articles in the past that I started by stating that the featured artist was not a household name, but today might be the least householdy name of them all. Bandleader Ernie Heckscher found plenty of success over his half-century career, but it was mostly as the leader of orchestras playing in … Continue reading Maestro Of The Hotel Ballroom
Geezer Music Club 