Canadian-American roots rock group “The Band,” consisting of J.R. “Robbie” Robertson (guitar), Richard Manuel (piano, drums, vocals), Garth Hudson (organ, horns) Rick Danko (bass, vocals) and Levon Helm (drums, mandolin, vocals), came together under the guidance of American Rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins at the end of the 1950’s. Hawkins first hired Levon Helm before he […]
“For All the World to See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights” is an award-winning exhibit created by University of Maryland, Baltimore County (“UMBC”) professor Maurice Berger at the university’s Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, which focuses on the vital role of visual imagery in America’s Civil Rights movement. The exhibit has […]
Although based in southern California, Steppenwolf evolved out of a Toronto act, “The Sparrow.” Joachim “John Kay” Krauledat (vocals), Michael Monarch (lead guitar), John “Goldy McJohn” Goadsby (keyboards), Rushton Moreve (bass) and Jerry “Edmonton” McCrohan (drums) assumed their new name in 1967, inspired by the famous novel “Steppenwolf” by German author Hermann Hess. One of […]
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 […]