All holidays are evocative of the past - it sort of goes with the territory - but each has it's own set of memories, and memories are what Memorial Day is all about, beginning with it's very name. Of course it was originally called Decoration Day, but that's kind of beside the point. It was … Continue reading The Lost Memorial Day Picnic
Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong were busy and successful music pros who wrote a lot of memorable songs for the Temptations. But one that they avoided for a couple of years would end up as a #1 hit for the group and become a signature song. Written in 1969, "just My Imagination" was a ballad, … Continue reading Anatomy Of A Song – A Surprising Super Hit
Who doesn't like circus music? It brings memories of simpler days, when we were young and less jaded, a time before we were drowning in all the entertainment choices now available to everybody. If you didn't live in a big city, which most Americans didn't, the arrival of a traveling circus in your area was … Continue reading The Musical Side Of The Circus
If you're a geezer like me -- or even if you're not -- you might remember how kids would sometimes wrap cellophane around a pocket comb and hum through it. Although we didn't give a lot of thought to it, we were actually demonstrating the principles of a membranophone. Here at the Geezer Music Club … Continue reading Our Favorite Membranophone
Several years ago I began a new feature called Saluting Silly Songs, a series of posts that spotlighted goofy songs and the talented artists who performed them. To name just a few; Weird Al Yankovic, Spike Jones, and Commander Cody come to mind. Today's featured duo built their career on a collection of hilarious parodies … Continue reading Saluting Silly Songs — The Song Butchers
It's always been my experience that you can read about and hear about something in advance, but when you actually do it you will have surprises coming your way. I thought I'd pass along a few of the things I'm discovering. You never know, you might need them. To begin with, leave it to me … Continue reading So Far So Good, But. . .
In addition to being the title of a song by Aerosmith, Tom Waits, Vince Gill and a few others, "Sight For Sore Eyes" sort of relates to what's about to happen to me. Tomorrow morning I'll be undergoing the first of my cataract surgeries, beginning with my left eye -- the weaker of the two. … Continue reading Sight For Sore Eyes
Anyone who stops by the GMC from time to time has probably caught on to my fondness for Westerns, something that began in my childhood. I can remember being a fan of several different movie cowboys, and of course later continuing to follow some of them to TV. But the early film and TV stars … Continue reading How Much Realism Do We Want?
Once again I've discovered that something I'd always more or less ignored is actually a pretty good idea. I have a habit of doing that, unfortunately. When something new comes along I tend to think it's just a fad, and has nothing to offer me. I guess I'm the opposite of an early adopter. . … Continue reading A New Way To Listen
You probably remember Johnny Nash's 1972 number-one hit "I Can See Clearly Now" (you can hear it below), but it has added meaning for me because I hope to sing it myself in the not too distant future. (Well, at least hum it -- my singing voice is something along the lines of the sound … Continue reading In Pursuit Of Seeing Clearly
Geezer Music Club 