After winning a talent contest in 1962, Martha Reeves was asked to perform at Detroit’s Twenty Grand nightclub, where Motown A&R man William “Mickey” Stevenson heard her sing and scheduled a meeting. Although she was not signed to a record contract during that meeting, she was hired to be his secretary. A few months later, Stevenson […]
Before achieving success in the late 60’s and 70’s on the pop/rock and country charts, B.J. Thomas started out singing in church during his youth. In the early 1960’s, Thomas joined the musical group The Triumphs in Houston, Texas, who released a number of songs under small labels. After a brief period with The Triumphs, […]
January 17th marks the 71st birthday of arguably the most famous boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali. Born Cassius Clay, Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky, Ali started boxing at the age of 12. From the very beginning, Ali took his boxing training very seriously. Within weeks of taking up the sport, he was winning local boxing championships. […]
On January 1st 2013, almost 2 months after her 85th birthday, 1950’s and 60’s pop-country recording star Patti Page passed away. Born Clara Ann Fowler in Oklahoma, Patti Page joined the Jimmy Joy Band in 1946, which led her to Chicago and ultimately a record deal with Mercury Records. Her first Top 10 solo hit, […]
On December 5th, 2012, pianist, composer and Jazz legend, Dave Brubeck sadly passed away one day before his 92nd birthday. We would like to take a moment to look back on his Brubeck’s great career as well as his performances on The Ed Sullivan Show. In the mid-1950’s, Dave Brubeck successfully burst onto the Jazz […]
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 […]