Fingertips Part 2
With Stevie Wonder set to appear at Caesars Casino across the border in Windsor, Canada at the end of this month, I couldn’t help wondering where all the time has gone. I checked out a 1963 video on YouTube of Stevie performing at the Motortown Revue at the Apollo...
I’m a Traveling Man
From Ricky Nelson to Bob Seger with many more references to traveling in between, before and after, the subject of traveling has been written about and sung about forever. John Steinbeck penned a gem called Travels with Charley. Steinbeck traveled the United States...
How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?
Patti Page recorded the song, "How much is that doggie in the window?" in 1952. Probably from time immemorial humans’ attractions to dogs have been very strong. Anyone who has visited an animal shelter or pet store gets the urge to rescue one of those irresistible...
Back to School
The cycle of life can be realized by referencing the questions: what grade are you in now? when did you graduate? what class reunion will you be celebrating? We have this common bond of the experience of school. Much has been written and sung about this experience...
Glory Days
Whether it is our old Aunt Nellie or our dear Grandmother telling us about the “good old days” or Bruce Springsteen rocking about “glory days,” one thing is in common. As Bruce puts it, “Glory days, well, they’ll pass you by like the wink in a young girl’s eye.” Of...
Stormy Daniels (no, not that one)
“Put that down before you hurt someone or yourself.” “Get out of the bathroom and stop unrolling the toilet paper and drinking out of the toilet.” “Did you have to eat all the hamburger buns that were put ‘safely’ on the counter?” “You were supposed to play with the...
Playing Under the Table and Dreaming
Dave Matthews, a prolific song writer and entertainer, had a smash song called "Ants Marching” in 1994. I was struck by his conjuring up of memories as a boy at his mother’s house. “And remembers being small, playing under the table and dreaming.” This song,...
Huey, Dewey, and Louie
“Sufferin’ Succotash!” Mel Blanc, Daffy Duck’s cartoon voice, must have splattered himself with saliva every time Daffy used this expletive. Since 1937, that duck family has been entertaining us in comic books, television shows, and even full-length movies. Due to the...
Hit Me with Your Best Shot
In 1988, Pat Benatar released her smash, albeit angry, “Hit Me with Your Best Shot.” There is no wonder why listeners back then and even today have gravitated to these lyrics: You’re a real tough cookie With a long history Of breaking little hearts Like the one in me....
One Piece at a Time
For those of us of the older, let’s just say a more mature generation, having a Cadillac was IT. It is hard to understand what a Cadillac meant back then due to the many choices in today’s luxury car market. Very few if any other choices existed back in the day if...