National Doctor’s day was established to recognize and honor the contributions of physicians to the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities. The first observance of Doctor’s Day in the US was held on March 30, 1933 in Winder, GA. Dr. Charles B. Almond’s wife, Eudora Brown Almond, wanted to set aside a day to honor doctors. The day included mailing cards to physicians and their wives, flowers placed on the graves of deceased doctors, and a formal dinner in the home of Dr. and Mrs. William T. Randolph. March 30th was chosen in tribute to the first ether anesthetic for surgery being ..read more

For Marvel fans far and wide, one of your Avengers, Hawkeye, has recently released an album that is making waves from Asgard to Wakanda and is worthy of a listen. Jeremy Renner, back from the dead, has crafted a set of songs inspired by the biggest fight of his superhero career, the fight to recover from life-threatening injuries sustained just over a year ago when his body was crushed when his snowcat rolled on top of him, fracturing over 30 bones in his chest and legs. In Renner’s own words: There was a lot for me to fight for, and recovery was just a one-way road in my mind. My recovery ..read more

On January 21, 1978 Saturday Night Fever, the defining soundtrack of the disco era, began a 24-week run at the top of the US album chart. The double LP was released 2 months earlier, a few weeks prior to the opening of the movie featuring John Travolta. The Grammy Award winning double album included several No.1 hits, including “Night Fever,” “Stayin’ Alive,” and “If I Can’t Have You.” With additional Bee Gee contributions “How Deep Is Your Love,” “More Than A Woman,” “Jive Talkin”, and “You Should Be Dancing.”  Prior to the release of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, it was the best selling ..read more

What better theme for a New Year’s Eve music blog than the word year. As we usher out the old year, and in the new, may listening to great music perhaps be one of your resolutions, and compared to many we make, an easy one to achieve. Caesar instituted January 1 as the first day of the year, partly to honor the month’s namesake: Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, whose two faces allowed him to look back into the past and forward into the future. Romans celebrated by offering sacrifices to Janus, exchanging gifts with one another, decorating their homes with laurel branches, and attending rau ..read more

On December 15, 2021 American singer Wanda Young died at the age of 78. She was a member of the all-female singing group the Marvelettes. They gave Motown their first No 1 Pop single on December 11, 1961 with “Please Mr. Postman.” The Beatles later covered the song on their second studio album With The Beatles, and the Carpenters’ remake of the song in 1975 also hit No. 1. On December 16, 1972 Billy Paul started a tree week run at No. 1 on the US singles chart with “Me and Mrs Jones.” These seemingly disparate songs and facts provide the theme for this week’s blog, songs featuring Mr. or Mrs ..read more

On December 8, 1980 John Lennon was shot and killed outside his and Yoko’s NYC apartment. I remember where I was when I heard the news – in my morning Geometry class, freshman year of high school. How the word spread that quickly without electronic media I’m still not certain. We were all stunned, in a state of disbelief that a Beatle was dead. In “The Ballad Of John & Yoko” he sings the somewhat prophetic words: Christ, you know it ain’t easy You know how hard it can be The way things are goin’ They’re gonna cruify me john lennon – the ballad of John & Yoko The song provides the th ..read more

On November 17, 1962, 61 years ago, The Four Seasons, featuring Frankie Vallie, started a 5 week run at No. 1 on the US singles chart with “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” the group’s second No. 1 of the year. Their other No. 1 that year was “Sherry”, with “Walk Like A Man” and “Ain’t That A Shame” topping the charts the very next year. I remember Billy Joel at a concert I attended stating his confusion listening to Frankie, wondering should he “walk like a man” but “sing like a girl”? He felt that in the 50s the media machine tightly controlled a safe, sterile pop presentation of music to youth, with ..read more

The following is a compilation of a 20 day Facebook daily challenge thrown down at me by my good friend Jim during the first months of the COVID pandemic.  I had anticipated his request and had given the challenge great thought.  To clarify, my interpretation of the challenge was to daily post an album that has had impact in my life.  They are not necessarily my most favorite albums of my most favorite artists, though many may be that.  There are many albums I absolutely love and think are among the best albums recorded that are not included in my 20.  And there are n ..read more

AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Songs – The 100 Greatest American Movie Music The American Film Institute recently released their list of 100 greatest songs in movies (check out their web link:https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-songs/?fbclid=IwAR32Nm2idohe_clwZbkczGY3HRpNAX2B3wtFjjzWJ81Sq5rPQGOoGQPtyZc (I can’t imbed the link in the blog, but you can copy and paste to view) That inspired me at the suggestion of a friend to make a Spotify playlist of the same. Some analysis of the list led to some interesting observations: Artists having the most songs on the list include (with # songs):    ..read more

June is national accordion awareness month. So before the month’s end, following my past reviews singling out instruments from harmonica, flute, base, piano, and keyboard, I thought I’d give accordion it’s due. The accordion, also called the “concertina,” is primarily used to accompany traditional polka music but has been featured in many classical and modern musical works, from jazz and zydeco to folk, gospel, blues, and even rock and pop. The oldest name for the accordion is derived from the Greek word ‘harmonikos’, which means ‘harmonic’ or ‘musical’. The handaoline, believed to be the ear ..read more