In 1966, a lot of music fans thought that "Black Is Black" -- a huge hit attributed to a group named Los Bravos -- was actually recorded by pop star Gene Pitney in an attempt to get around record company restrictions. The story is still bouncing around almost a half-century later, but even though lead … Continue reading Did Gene Pitney Sing For Los Bravos?
Category: Seniors
The Bookended Career Of Joe Venuti
One of the legends of jazz, a violinist who pioneered improvisational play, Giuseppe 'Joe' Venuti had a career that lasted more than a half-century. In the 1920s and early 1930s he teamed up with his buddy, the equally talented guitarist Eddie Lang, to dazzle jazz fans of that era, and in the decade before his … Continue reading The Bookended Career Of Joe Venuti
Country Catalyst – Singing To The Walls
I always enjoy our 'special feature' posts -- you know, like Anatomy Of A Song and Fantastic Foursome -- because they're a change of pace from our usual stuff. Not that there's anything wrong with our regular posts, but I think it's good to have a breath of fresh air once in a while. With … Continue reading Country Catalyst – Singing To The Walls
Digging Deeper Into Victor Young
I thought maybe it was time we dug a little deeper into legendary composer Victor Young, whose timeless music has already been featured in a couple of our Fantastic Foursome posts. In October of last year we spotlighted "When I Fall In Love" and in January of this year it was "Stella By Starlight." Both … Continue reading Digging Deeper Into Victor Young
The Subtle Style Of Chris Connor
A lot of different words are used by music critics when describing a performer, but while gathering info for this piece I was a little surprised to see 'subtle' applied to the singing style of jazz vocalist Chris Conner. On the other hand, it does seem to fit the talented singer, who died in 2009 … Continue reading The Subtle Style Of Chris Connor
Memorial Day Tickles Nostalgia Bone
I was thinking that we often talk about how something tickles our funnybone, so maybe it's acceptable to say that Memorial Day tickles my nostalgia bone. The reason for that is that even though I know it's a holiday with a traditional meaning, it always makes me think of the start of Summer picnic weather, … Continue reading Memorial Day Tickles Nostalgia Bone
Anatomy Of A Song – The Sound Of Pain And Suffering
One of my favorite movies has been on TV a lot lately, and it's the basis for today's Anatomy Of A Song feature. The film -- O Brother, Where Art Thou? -- starred George Clooney and was broadly based on Homer's Odyssey (in fact, Clooney's character was named Everett Ulysses McGill) but took place in … Continue reading Anatomy Of A Song – The Sound Of Pain And Suffering
Remembering The Girls In The Band
A familiar line that has been used in live shows for years is 'let's hear it for the boys in the band'. Additionally, Boys In The Band (albeit with a different meaning) has been the title of both a play and a movie, so it has become a familiar phrase. A new documentary takes advantage … Continue reading Remembering The Girls In The Band
The Musical Side Of Polly Bergen
I don't know about you, but even though I knew Polly Bergen could sing, I have always thought of her as an actress. In fact, I was doing just that -- thinking about her -- not too long ago when I read a story about the odds of Hillary Clinton becoming president, because one of … Continue reading The Musical Side Of Polly Bergen
Strange Creatures Abound
The easy availability of image-editing software has opened the floodgates for lots of people with good imaginations. One specialty seems to be creating imaginary hybrid animals. In the slideshow below you can see some of those strange creatures. They're all imaginary -- I think -- but some of them are still a little creepy. Dominik … Continue reading Strange Creatures Abound
Geezer Music Club 