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Give me your music, your art, your huddled masses of words and rhythms, yearning to breathe free.
Give me your music, your art, your huddled masses of words and rhythms, yearning to breathe free.
the
Give me your music, your art, your huddled masses of words and rhythms, yearning to breathe free.
“What did you do in the war, Daddy?” That’s a question most kids eventually get around to asking when they learn their fathers served in the armed forces. Almost all of my childhood friends had dads who served in either World War II or the Korean War. In those days it wasn’t uncommon for veterans to keep their war stories…
Every year when I watch the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's new inductees deliver their acceptance speeches, I'm moved to hear the titans of the music business thank their mothers. Just last week it was new Rock Hall of Fame member Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers who got me all choked up when he gave an emotional shout-out to his mom. So, like the rockers who inspire me, I thank my mom for allowing me to develop my rock persona. On this Mother's Day, I thank her for all the things she never did.
"What I don't like about office Christmas parties is looking for a job the next day." That's just one of the many funny lines made famous by trailblazing comedian Phyllis Diller, who would have turned 98 today. Did this keen observation of corporate life qualify the flamboyant Phyllis to perform for managers in training? It's debatable. But every year on her birthday I recall the time in 1969 when Westinghouse Electric Corporation sent a group of newly promoted supervisors, including my father, to watch her nightclub act.
Some of my fondest memories are of the times spent carpooling to work with my dad in the early 80s, gauging his reaction to the hits of the day and the humor of the morning DJs. "Those dirty bastards," he'd chortle at the double-entendres of the radio hosts. Here's a little ditty about Daddy for his birthday.