Dana Spiardi

Southside Johnny Lyon: Foot Soldier of the Jersey Music Mafia

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When tickets went on sale this past spring for the Rod Stewart/Stevie Nicks July 28 “Heart and Soul” show at Pittsburgh’s Consol Energy Center, I took pause. I’ve adored Rod since his earliest days in the music biz, when he sang his heart out with Brit bands like Long John Baldry’s Hoochie Coochie Men, The … Read more

The Beatles vs The Rolling Stones: Some Sound Opinions, 50 Years On

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“My brother’s back at home with his Beatles and his Stones; we never got it off on that revolution stuff.” So lamented Mott the Hoople in their 1972 “All The Young Dudes,” a David Bowie-penned anthem about aimless glam-rockers and their disdain for the values of the past. Oh, those boogaloo boys in their eyeliner, … Read more

When Johnny Cash Made ABC Censors Walk The Line

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The Smothers Brothers – Dick and Tom – are hailed as freedom-of-speech heroes for their battles with CBS network executives who censored, and eventually cancelled, their trippy 1967-69 “Comedy Hour.” But few followers of music and TV history are aware that Johnny Cash also stood up to the company men who attempted to police his … Read more

The Gift of Anne Frank: Writing Till the Stoney End

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Anne Frank, the Jewish teen diarist who documented her experiences hiding from the Nazis during World War II, would have turned 87 today. She has long been an inspiration to me. I believe I first learned of her story as a kid after watching the movie The Diary of Anne Frank, which starred Millie Perkins. … Read more