by John Johnston United Way of Greater Cincinnati (The Cincinnati Enquirer and United Way of Greater Cincinnati have joined forces for the 38th year to help families in need with the Wish List program. After wishes are granted, remaining funds assist people with similar needs throughout the year.) Barbara Liszniewski, who is 79, harbors a …
Tag Archives: piano
Amazing Facts About Musical Instruments
by interestingfacts.com Each musical instrument has its own amazing facts and stories. Here are astounding facts from the world of musical devices, both familiar and unusual. 1-The Piano Defies Classification What type of musical instrument is a piano? When a piano is played, each key controls a hammer that strikes a tuned string …
Playing Musical Instrument Good For The Brain
by Kevin Burton I’m still hanging on to a notion, planted by a Steely Dan song. If you know some of that Steely Dan imagery, that sounds kind of dangerous. Let me explain. I love Steely Dan and I love “Deacon Blues.” I have judged the United States as a nation because …
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Lieber & Stoller’s “Kansas City” A Classic
by Kevin Burton The musical catalog of lyricist Jerry Lieber and pianist Mike Stoller has been described as “some of the most authentic rhythm and blues that white Jewish guys ever wrote.” Eight years before Norman Mailer published “The White Negro,” these two transplanted easterners submerged themselves in the LA black culture and began …
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Can You Imagine Elton John As A Banker?
by Kevin Burton Elton John turns 76 today. So when I was nine years old listening to Crocodile Rock, he was all of 26. He wasn’t called Sir Elton back then, not hardly. He was a sight to behold. His wild costumes and antics on stage. His huge international hit songs, these …
Happy Wife, Happy Life, Happy Meals
by Kevin Burton The happy whirring has begun. I meant the whirring from our brand new purchased-on-sale, matches-the-oven, shiny, silver refrigerator. My wife may be whirring happily too, not sure. I told the story of our kitchen appliance upgrade last week (“So Long Old Fridge, Good Riddance,” June 1). I said …
A Scientific Study Of Groove In Music
by Kevin Burton As a consumer of popular music for more than 50 years I thought I knew exactly what a groove was, until I tried to define it. I have no trouble feeling the groove in “Ain’t That Peculiar,” by Marvin Gaye for example. But how to define it? The website …
Quick Music Fans, What Is A Groove?
by Kevin Burton One of my beep baseball coaches called me “the answer man.” This time, I struck out. My wife asked me “What is a groove?” I am an amateur musician and somewhat of a historian. You would think that question would be right in my wheelhouse. I gave perhaps the …
Rock Music Followed Where Fats Domino Led
by Kevin Burton There is a case to be made for Fats Domino as the main creator of rock and roll, but he rarely gets that credit, or even gets into that conversation. Yesterday we began to look at why that might be, what causes rock historians to not give him full credit …
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Domino Overlooked, Ain’t That A Shame?
by Kevin Burton The best song I didn’t fit into my Flying Colors series about songs with a color in the title is “Blueberry Hill” by Fats Domino. This is not the first time he has been overlooked. His “Blue Monday” did make number 6 on my list, so I didn’t ignore him …
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