(Above: Some of the management team of WLRA/Lewis University, April 1988, just before summer vacation. The author is on the left in clashing Hawaiian shirt and shorts. We all went back to work that fall, and that was it.) I got a chance to see some family members that I haven't seen in a while … Continue reading The last “summer vacation” begins: The Billboard Hot 100, May 28, 1988
Rest in peace, Ed Ames: “Who Will Answer?” (1968)
Ed Ames passed away on May 21, 2023 at the age of 95. He was the lead singer of the Ames Brothers, who were a force in the pre-rock and roll days. Between 1948 and 1954, before the chart we know as the Hot 100 took form, the Ames Brothers charted 23 hits, including three … Continue reading Rest in peace, Ed Ames: “Who Will Answer?” (1968)
Rest in peace, Tina Turner: “Better Be Good To Me” (1984)
Anna Mae Bullock passed away this week after an illness. She was 82. Those sentences technically tell a story, but the story is much more complicated than that. Much has been written - better than I will or could be able to - about the story of Tina Turner, the stage name that Anna used. … Continue reading Rest in peace, Tina Turner: “Better Be Good To Me” (1984)
Rest in peace, Burt Bacharach: A celebration of his greatest songs
(Above: Burt with Dusty Springfield on his television show, 1969) In terms of loss to the Great American Songbook, this is a big one. Burt Bacharach passed away yesterday at the age of 94. Just the numbers on Bacharach's career are staggering. He won a Grammy award six times, which was a much lower number … Continue reading Rest in peace, Burt Bacharach: A celebration of his greatest songs
2022 in review: acts that we lost this year
(Above: The Killer, ironically, passed on in October.) 2022 was, by all accounts, a difficult year once again in terms of popular culture. For the last several years we've been seeing more and more of the acts that we grew up with aging and passing on. During more "normal" workload years for me - when … Continue reading 2022 in review: acts that we lost this year
Pop goes to college: The Billboard Hot 100, September 19, 1987
(Above: Lewis University's Fitzpatrick Hall, where I spent my Saturday afternoons in the fall of 1987. Watch this space for the FitzHall story, coming soon.) September 19, 1987 marked my third Saturday on the radio at Lewis University's WLRA. There's nothing significant about the show. Oh, sure, I have the tape of it somewhere, but … Continue reading Pop goes to college: The Billboard Hot 100, September 19, 1987
Rest in peace, Ramsey Lewis: “Wade In the Water” (1966)
Jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis, perhaps best known for his take on Dobie Gray's "The In Crowd," passed away at his home in Chicago today. He was 87. Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis was born in Chicago and started his musical career at approximately four years old by taking piano lessons in his neighborhood near Cabrini Green. The … Continue reading Rest in peace, Ramsey Lewis: “Wade In the Water” (1966)
Rest in peace, Charlie Watts: The Rolling Stones, “Mixed Emotions” (1989)
Charlie Watts, the drummer for the greatest rock and roll band ever, has died at the age of 80. Just last week Watts decided that he would not be taking part in the Rolling Stones' tour this fall. He had beaten cancer once, but decided that the rigors of the road - and his ongoing … Continue reading Rest in peace, Charlie Watts: The Rolling Stones, “Mixed Emotions” (1989)
The blog is back: Why haven’t there been any updates?
If you're a follower of this blog, your mailbox has been eerily silent for most of the past year. It's time for me to fix that. COVID-19 hit the world like the proverbial ton of bricks. It disrupted just about every activity we know, and for over 600,000 people in the United States, it ended … Continue reading The blog is back: Why haven’t there been any updates?
So long, 2020: Sending off a troublesome year in song
2020 has been one for the books, hasn't it? It seems like a lifetime ago that we were all gathering, making our plans for New Year's Eve, organizing parties and such. This year looks very different. Or does it? The last several years we've spent NYE at home in relative quiet. It's different when it … Continue reading So long, 2020: Sending off a troublesome year in song
45 Ruminations Per Megabyte 