Happy Birthday, America.
Three weeks ago, Neil Diamond was awarded the Songwriters Hall Of Fame top distinction, the Johnny Mercer Award, its Lifetime Achievement honor. Diamond wrote the inspiring and uplifting “Coming to America” almost 40 years ago, for the movie "The Jazz Singer,”...
Whitney Houston Sings “The Star-Spangled Banner”
For Memorial Day: One of the finest renditions of "The Star-Spangled Banner," sung by Whitney Houston for Super Bowl XXV, 1991, in Tampa, FL.
Peace, Love, & Understanding Redux (Thank You Jason Mraz)
It’s hard to believe that Boomers considered “peace, love and understanding” a viable worldview vs. today, where the choices are far more bellicose. Often, we look to artists to help us focus, to organize our world and express it in a way we can understand, knowing...
Daryl Hall, John Oates, & The Philly Sound
Philadelphia boy Daryl Hall and partner John Oates, who’ve been around since the 70s, are still selling out arenas, their new song is top 15 on the Adult Contemporary and Pop radio charts, and, thanks to MTV’s "Daryl's House,” Hall is a household name to a new...
It’s April Fools Day! Let’s Have Some Fun!
Back when life was (mostly) fun, sometimes we listened to novelty songs, several of which were sung by Ray Stevens, such as “The Streak," "Gitarzan," and his first major hit, the now politically incorrect "Ahab The Arab." Since tomorrow is April Fools Day, a...
Happy 70th Birthday Elton John
On Saturday—March 25th--Captain Fantastic hits the big 70! To put Elton John’s remarkable career in perspective, “Your Song,” his first hit, came out in 1970—he’s been a pop icon for 47 years and his star is still rising—in addition to almost constant touring,...
Pop Culture on Steroids: The Goddess, The Teen Heart Throb and “50 Shades of Grey”
Taylor Swift, Goddess of Everything, has teamed up with Zayn Malik, one of the world’s biggest pop stars (formerly with legendary boy band One Direction), for a song that is on the soundtrack of “50 Shades Darker” the not-yet-released sequel to “50 Shades of...
An Eye-Opening Song About Love & Life
This song is so great! "Fresh Eyes" by Andy Grammer. Smooth. Irresistible. Uptempo, fun. Both the music and the lyrics "make you you want to move"--a cliche, but.... true. Certainly a song worthy of a listen, even by the high standards of the Boomer...
Going Gaga Over Lady Gaga
Of course I know who Lady Gaga is, and so do you, as does everybody—her wild outfits, the platform shoes; she’s outspoken, she cut an album of standards with Tony Bennett and he said ““she’s the real thing.” And yet…I’m not aware of any of her songs or what she...