Give me your music, your art, your huddled masses of words and rhythms yearning to breathe free.
Singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson died 22 years ago today at the age of 52. I couldn’t let this anniversary pass without a short tribute to one of my most beloved artists. His first blip on the radar came when John Lennon and Paul McCartney both named him their favorite American artist during a 1968 press conference … Read more
Most columnists have had to squeeze one out now and then, so to speak. You have a tight deadline, you rack your brain for a topic that doesn’t require a lot of research or thoughtful analysis, and you dribble out a little essay that you pray won’t be perceived as lightweight or desperate. Yes, a … Read more
If you think everyone’s making too big a fuss over what would have been Frank Sinatra’s 100th birthday today, then you might have been born too late or you aren’t aware that he was the original bad-ass rock star. Here’s my favorite Frank moment, from the 1957 film “Pal Joey.” I know it’s staged, but … Read more
“Turn the station to Letterman. That guy you like, the one who wears the do-rag, is on the show.” That’s my mom calling to tell me that Steven Van Zandt is sitting in the guest seat talking to Dave. Good ol’ mom…always keeping me abreast of rock star sightings. She may not have remembered the … Read more
“I’m sittin’ in the railway station, got a ticket for my destination.” Paul Simon was indeed sitting in a railway station when he wrote – or was inspired to write – those words to “Homeward Bound,” an early Simon and Garfunkel single that peaked at #5 on the Billboard charts in December 1965. Paul had … Read more