More than just a best-selling artist, respected guitarist, expressive singer, and accomplished songwriter, Bonnie Raitt has become an institution in American music. The release of Souls Alike, her eighteenth album, marks yet another brave, exhilarating step in a legendary body of work. Born to a musical family, the nine-time Grammy winner is the daughter of celebrated Broadway singer John Raitt (Carousel, Oklahoma!, The Pajama Game) and accomplished pianist/singer Marge Goddard. She was ra...
Last night on Fox News' Heartland , John Kasich interviewed Senator Hank Erwin ( R -Al.), starting with this written statement: "New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast have always been known for gambling, sin and wickedness...it is the kind of behavior that ultimately brings the judgement of God." - Weekly Newspaper Column 9/30/05. Kasich: "Don't you think you're driving people away from religion? I know you're not trying to do that, but don't you think it has the opposite effect?"...
It was yesterday. Oops. My bad. Janis Lyn Joplin was born January 19, 1943 and died October 4, 1970. In between she led a triumphant and tumultuous life blessed by an innate talent to convey powerful emotion through heart-stomping rock-and-roll singing. Born and raised in Port Arthur, Texas, a small Southern petroleum industry town, she gravitated to artistic interests cultivated by parents Seth and Dorothy Joplin. Janis broke with local social traditions during the tense days of racia...
The funniest story about Chapman I've heard is one that John Cleese has told. When Monty Python went to Germany, they were invited to tour Dachau. When they got there, it was closed so they couldn't go in. Chapman said, "Tell them we're Jewish." Cleese didn't say if it worked. If anyone thinks Benny Hill was funnier than Python.....maybe your brain hurts.
Agent 86 died of a lung infection at the age of 82. "Would you believe" and "Sorry about that, Chief" became catch phrases. He was also the voice of cartoon character Tennessee Tuxedo.
Describing the style of John Bonham's drumming instantly conjurs up visions of the thunderous power he created. His contributions to rock music were revolutionary, and his talent unmatched and irreplaceable. You can only imagine Jimmy Page's reaction to first seeing him in 1968, ending his search for a new drummer to form a new band, the New Yardbirds (later renamed Led Zeppelin.) A childhood friend of Robert Plant, they played together in the 'Band of Joy', resulting in local gigs and a...
His reign as King of the Blues has been as long as that of any monarch on earth. Yet B.B. King continues to wear his crown well. At age 76, he is still light on his feet, singing and playing the blues with relentless passion. Time has no apparent effect on B.B., other than to make him more popular, more cherished, more relevant than ever. Don't look for him in some kind of semi-retirement; look for him out on the road, playing for people, popping up in a myriad of T.V. commercials, or layin...
Born: August 23, 1946, Willesden, England Died: September 7, 1978, London, England Age: 31 years Cause of death: Drug Overdose Keith Moon said he never had a drum lesson, though he did. He said he drove a Lincoln into a Holiday Inn swimming pool for his 21st birthday; contrary to popular belief, he didn't. He even successfully shaved a year off his life by telling everyone he was born in 1947 when it was in fact 1946. Keith Moon could sure spin a yarn and was the best public relati...
Gracie Allen (1902 - 1964) Biography from Katz's Film Encyclopedia Occupation: Comedienne Birth Name: Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen Born: July 26, 1902, San Francisco, CA Died: August 27, 1964 The daughter of vaudevillians, she began performing as a child. In 1922 she met George Burns and together they formed the comedy team of Burns and Allen, of which she was the scatterbrained half. They married in 1926 and became popular in vaudeville and films and on radio and TV. Of some 20 ...
Blues guitarist extrodinaire of whom Eric Clapton said, "He seemed to be an open channel. The music just flowed through him" was killed in a helicopter crash at the age of 35. October 3, 1954: Stephen Ray Vaughan is born at Methodist Hospital in Dallas, Texas. Brother Jimmie Vaughan is three years older. October 3 or December 25, 1961: Stevie, age 7, gets his first guitar, a Sears toy guitar with western motif. Among the first songs Stevie learns to play are “Wine, Wine, Wine” and “Th...
I still like the Three Stooges, but not as much as I like the Marx Brothers. When I saw "A Night in Casablanca" for the first time, I said, "Three who?" What are your favorite Marx films? Mine is "A Night at the Opera." What are your favorite Groucho lines? I can't remember which movie it was in, but my favorite is when Groucho said to a woman, "Is it true you're getting a divorce as soon as your husband regains his eyesight?" I would like some opinions on the idea of doing articles ...
Robert Johnson: A Biography By Terry Johnson (SHS) Robert Johnson, the songwriter, guitarist, and singer was known as "The King of the Delta Blues." Robert Johnson was born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, on May 8, 1911 to Julia Major Dobbs and Noah Johnson. There was another man by the name of Charles Dobbs, who was Robert's stepfather. Neither his natural father nor his stepfather wanted to help Robert in any way. One source says, "Until his late adolescence, his name was Robert Spenc...
Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977) Biography from Baseline's Encyclopedia of Film Occupation: Singer, actor Birth Name: Elvis Aron Presley Born: January 8, 1935, Tupelo, MS Died: August 16, 1977, Memphis, TN When Elvis Presley's identical twin died at birth, his mother interpreted it as a divine omen of her surviving son's destiny. The family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, when he was 13, and there, in 1953, the 17-year-old Presley went into the recording studio at Sun Records and paid five ...
The blues singer/guitarist whom Eric Clapton called "The best guitarist in the world" is 69 today. May he have many more. Buddy Guy is the greatest living exponent of classic Chicago electric blues. He is a thrillingly inventive guitarist, a passionately soulful singer, and a peerless showman. In the course of a 45-year professional career, he has sold over two million albums; earned four Grammy Awards; and won nineteen W.C. Handy Blues Awards — more than any other single artist. Georg...
Peter Sellers (1925 - 1980) Biography from Baseline's Encyclopedia of Film Occupation: Actor Birth Name: Richard Henry Sellers Born: September 8, 1925, Southsea, England Died: 1980 Protean comic actor who first came to attention on the popular radio series "The Goon Show," a precursor to both "Beyond the Fringe" and "Monty Python's Flying Circus." Sellers made his screen debut in 1951 and demonstrated a remarkable gift for character transformation in films such as THE MOUSE THAT ROAR...