What if you drove a truck for a living? And what if you went from driving a truck to singing in a band. And what if your band did so badly that you were told to go back to driving a truck? That’s probably happened more than once in America. But most of them weren’t this famous truck driver. Maybe you already know which … The rest of the story…
Category Archives: music history
Income tax brackets. Now, those three words should never go together. Because when they do, they inevitably invite confusion, envy, and thievery. And even knucklehead, one-track-mind musicians can figure that out. In fact, income tax brackets influenced the name of a #1 album. That album was called “Atlantic Crossing.” And it was number one on the UK charts on this day (August 30) back … The rest of the story…
49 years ago, today (August 28) there was a hit song on the radio about the joy of school being out for the summer. And I remember listening to it that summer. It definitely struck a chord with a lot of people. In fact, it was #1 on the UK singles chart, 49 years ago, today, for Alice Cooper. Alice was a different guy … The rest of the story…
If you’ve followed my blog or podcast for a while, you know I’m not a country music fan. And I could share a long list of songs that illustrate why I say that. But sure enough, somebody’s feelings would get hurt because I mentioned one of their favorites. So, I’ll skip the list. All that being said, I don’t dislike all country music. And … The rest of the story…
I read about a guy, named Andreas Cornelius van Kujik, who promoted the occasional medicine show, or carnival, or other cheap entertainment. One of those interesting shows was called “The Great Parker Pony Circus.” And another was called “Tom Parker and His Dancing Turkeys.” Now, that’s not just a medicine show, folks. That’s entertainment! Andreas Cornelius van Kujik was a Dutch immigrant. And if … The rest of the story…
Doubt and worry. Yeah, they show up, a lot, when guys and girls first experience “love.” Because, when you’re young, with a brain full of crazy ideas, and a body full of hyped-up hormones, you don’t tend to make the best choices. Of course, there’s a better way to deal with doubt and worry and love. But I’ll get to that in a minute. … The rest of the story…
I wasn’t even a teenager, and rock music, for the most part, wasn’t played in my Dad’s house. How’s that for an icebreaker? Well, that scenario sets up something that happened back in 1966. A band, named Cream made their live debut in Manchester, England. Just three guys. But they put out some heavy, hard-hitting music. And they had the distinction of having the … The rest of the story…
At the end of the summer, in 1972, I drove my ’65 Plymouth Fury back to Texas from Kansas. And a lot of the drive was on highways 69 and 75 through Kansas, into Oklahoma, and then from Tulsa, Oklahoma on down to Houston. It was a long, 12 to 14 hour drive. And I passed the time listening to Honky Chateau, Harvest, and … The rest of the story…
🎶 People get ready. There’s a train a-coming. You don’t need no baggage. You just get on board. All you need is faith to hear the diesels humming. Don’t need no ticket. You just thank the Lord. 🎶 Yeah, those are lyrics to the old Curtis Mayfield song, “People Get Ready.” And there’s a lotta word power goin’ on in that song. When The Impressions had a hit with that … The rest of the story…
54 years ago, today, something stupid happened. And a few people made a bunch of money because of it. Yeah, apparently there were lots of people in America and England who played a part in this event. In fact, I’m sure there were plenty of them who celebrated it. And it wasn’t the only time something stupid happened like that. But I’m not gonna … The rest of the story…