Can Boomers Relate to a 17-year Old Singing About Love?
Back in the 50’s, 60's and part of the 70's, dozens of teen singers occupied slots on Top 40 radio. Today, there are far fewer teens but there are still those who break through such as Canadian Shawn Mendes, a 17-year old sensation who had a monster hit last year with...
Happy 70th Birthday, Linda Ronstadt
As a member of the first class of Boomers—born July 15th, 1946—Linda Ronstadt fully embraced the golden era of rock n’ roll, covering songs by The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, and Roy Orbison. Linda was a star right out of the box, her repertory expanding from lead...
A Red Dress. Some Red Wine.
2014’s earworm of the year was from “Rude,” a song performed by Magic, a Canadian group with a reggae pop sound. The song was everywhere: on the radio, at the mall, in the grocery store. It skyrocketed to #1, and still gets plenty of exposure. Will “Magic” strike the...
New Orleans Lives Up To Her Reputation
Once again, the City of New Orleans is contributing a really great song—“Wish I Knew You” by their hometown band the 'The Revivalists,’ proclaimed last March by Rolling Stone magazine as "One of the10 Bands You Need To Know." This song is Just. So. Good. The...
Feminist With A Sense of Humor
“Two songs sung by strong women with strong statements and forceful melodies.” If it’s true that pop music reflects the culture, than here’s a vivid example of “my, how things have changed” in the “guys who stray” department. In 1983, 19-year old Baby Boomer Shannon’s...
Mothers & Children In Pop Music
One of 2016’s defining songs, "7 Years," by the Danish band Lukas Graham, tells of a boy’s relationship with his father, from childhood through adulthood. The band’s follow-up single, "Mama Said," out just now, is also storytelling that’s wise beyond Lukas Graham’s...
Lesley Gore’s ‘You Don’t Own Me” Updated
As a Boomer, I’m pleasantly surprised when a song that we listened to over 50 years ago is updated and re-recorded, so that it sounds similar to the original, but also modern and hip, and then it becomes a hit all over again. Originally by Lesley Gore, in 1963, when...
Twenty One Pilots And The Importance Of New Music
Ohio governor John Kasich, who is is 64-years old, traveled a lot when he campaigned for the Republican Presidential nomination, and on those many airline flights he listened to “Stressed Out” by Twenty One Pilots, a bona fide top tier Top 40/Alternative band...
Fleetwood Mac Flashback!
British magazine “Classic Pop” describes The Rua as "the missing link between Haim and Fleetwood Mac" and that’s so well put -- hearing "Without You," The Rua’s latest top 40 hit, might well have you flashing back to Fleetwood Mac's "Gypsy" All classically...