Like many other Jewish comics of the 1950’s, Alan King started his career doing stand-up at night clubs in Manhattan and on the so-called “Borscht Belt” (a string of resorts in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York popular with Jewish vacationers from the 1920’s to the 1970’s). When King began appearing on popular TV shows such as The […]
Elvis Presley, who will always be known as the “King of Rock and Roll,” first caught the attention of millions of fans worldwide when he appeared on The Ed Sullivan show on September 9th, 1956. By the time of his first appearance on Ed Sullivan, Presley was riding high on the success of his song […]
In memory of Dorothy McGuire who passed away last Friday at 84 years of age, we wanted to take a moment to pay homage to the popular 1950’s singing trio The McGuire Sisters. Dorothy, along with her sisters Christine and Phyllis McGuire, began singing as children in the church where their mother was a minister. […]
We were truly saddened by the news that Phyllis Diller passed away on Monday at the age of 95. Who would have thought that the one-time 37 year old housewife and mother of 5 would become an entertainment legend and share stages with the likes of George Burns, Jack Benny and Bob Hope? Phyllis Diller […]
In the late 60’s and early 70’s, Sly and the Family Stone burst onto the music scene with a unique sound which combined R&B, soul, funk and rock. Sly and the Family Stone were one of the first racially integrated bands in music history. In 1966, Sly Stone formed the band the Stoners in San […]
The Friends of Distinction are often underrated in the retrospectives of the late 60s and early 70s popular music. Despite the group’s short life, The Friends of Distinction made some of the most notable pop/soul music of all-time and were one of the most endearing and vocally coordinated singing groups of that era. The group […]
One of the most frequent guests on The Ed Sullivan Show was Italian tenor Sergio Franchi. Sergio Franchi was born in Codogno, Italy in 1926, and made his singing debut at only 10 years old in a school play. In Italy, he sang with jazz groups and in 1947 he moved with his family to […]
Known for her powerful and husky voice, Dusty Springfield is considered to be one of the most successful British female singers. Over the course of a long, episodic career, she experimented with music genres like pop, R&B, Motown-style soul, traditional folk, country, and contemporary dance music. She has been called “one of the five mighty […]
There is no better time to pay tribute to Irving Berlin and his patriotic classic God Bless America than on the 4th of July. Irving Berlin is without question one of America’s most important composers and songwriters. It is admirable that although Berlin was an immigrant (he was born in Belarus and came to New […]
June 20th is Beach Boy Brian Wilson’s 70th birthday. Last week, the band’s latest album, “That’s Why God Made The Radio,” made its debut on the Billboard Top 200 at #3, the first time the band has hit the top 10 with an album of all new material since 1976. In addition to the hit […]