Old-school news, just in time
by Dictionary Scoop We all have nursery rhymes etched in our memory, verses that take us straight back to our childhood. But behind some of those catchy, cheerful tunes lie surprisingly dark and mysterious origins rooted in real-life history. Join us to discover the hidden stories behind the most popular nursery rhymes. 1-The …
Continue reading “Some Nursery Rhymes Not Exactly Kid Stuff”
by Kevin Burton The shirt I had just bought said “Sweet Home Kansas’ or “Down Home in Kansas,” something like that, and it was supposed to make a statement. With decidedly mixed emotions I had just taken a job in Kansas and left my homeland, Ohio, behind. The shirt was one way of …
by Kevin Burton Did you know the 1975 smash “Love Will Keep Us Together” by Captain and Tennile is actually a breakup song? Hey, I was there. Yes it is, a breakup song! Well, sort of. Fifty years ago today it was in the beginning of a four-week run at the …
Continue reading ““Love Will Keep Us Together” Is Pop Perfection”
by Kevin Burton It’s been 40 years and I haven’t forgotten. But it would appear that my limited affection for Simple Minds begins and ends with Ally Sheedy and The Breakfast Club. Both the band and the Brat Pack were white hot in 1985, 40 years ago this week, when “Don’t You …
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by Kevin Burton When you bite the hand that feeds you, chances are you won’t get fed anymore. Or you could say it this way: “no more fun and games.” That’s the story of the Houston-based, late 60s sunshine pop band The Fun And Games, according to published accounts. Not very …
by Kevin Burton Bob Seger’s highest charting song is not the song closest to his heart, nor, I’m guessing, is it foremost in the esteem of his true-blue fans. The beloved singer-songwriter from Ann Arbor, Michigan turns 80 today. So I looked up his chart history to see if he had ever had …
Continue reading “Happy 80th Birthday To The Great Bob Seger”
by Kevin Burton Roberta Flack had an ear for music as good as her legendary voice, and she knew she was on to something. The vocalist-composer-arranger was on a cross-country flight when she first heard “Killing Me Softly With His Song” over headphones on the plane’s sound system. Flack would re-shape the song …
Continue reading ““Killing Me Softly” Singer Roberta Flack Dies”
by Kevin Burton It is very much like me that I saved a fortune cookie message which reads: “share your musical talents generously, for they are a gift to others.” Saved it even though I know sayings in cookies from my favorite Chinese restaurant can be amusing, but they are not messages. …
by Tim Ott interestingfacts.com The ubiquity of holiday songs on television, radio, and social media from Thanksgiving through Christmas ensures that we’ll be able to sing these anthems in our sleep. But lesser known are the backstories behind these famous tunes, which share common themes but draw from vastly different sources. From centuries-old …
Continue reading “The Origins Of Six Classic Christmas Songs”
by Kevin Burton When there is a Dave Barry book on your front porch, you’re having a good day. Every writerly thing in me, now wants to write, “nothing else matters.” But we both know that isn’t entirely true. Nothing else? Tell you what though Sugarbear, nothing else matters for the next …
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