In the late 60’s and early 70’s, Sly and the Family Stone burst onto the music scene with a unique sound which combined R&B, soul, funk and rock. Sly and the Family Stone were one of the first racially integrated bands in music history. In 1966, Sly Stone formed the band the Stoners in San […]
The Friends of Distinction are often underrated in the retrospectives of the late 60s and early 70s popular music. Despite the group’s short life, The Friends of Distinction made some of the most notable pop/soul music of all-time and were one of the most endearing and vocally coordinated singing groups of that era. The group […]
One of the most frequent guests on The Ed Sullivan Show was Italian tenor Sergio Franchi. Sergio Franchi was born in Codogno, Italy in 1926, and made his singing debut at only 10 years old in a school play. In Italy, he sang with jazz groups and in 1947 he moved with his family to […]
Known for her powerful and husky voice, Dusty Springfield is considered to be one of the most successful British female singers. Over the course of a long, episodic career, she experimented with music genres like pop, R&B, Motown-style soul, traditional folk, country, and contemporary dance music. She has been called “one of the five mighty […]
There is no better time to pay tribute to Irving Berlin and his patriotic classic God Bless America than on the 4th of July. Irving Berlin is without question one of America’s most important composers and songwriters. It is admirable that although Berlin was an immigrant (he was born in Belarus and came to New […]
June 20th is Beach Boy Brian Wilson’s 70th birthday. Last week, the band’s latest album, “That’s Why God Made The Radio,” made its debut on the Billboard Top 200 at #3, the first time the band has hit the top 10 with an album of all new material since 1976. In addition to the hit […]
In the 1960’s, The Ed Sullivan Show served as a platform for one of the most important music revolutions of the 20th century…The British Invasion. The invasion fully took off with The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show U.S. television debut performance in 1964. The British led this new wave of music. However, it became […]
For years, the National Basketball Association has been notorious for producing funny commercials and television spots involving NBA players, commentators and mascots. Among their most popular ones are their trademark bobblehead spots, which incorporate the heads of the biggest stars in the league. This season, the NBA turned to The Ed Sullivan Show to produce […]
Almost sixty years ago, rock ‘n’ roll was something fresh, exciting and controversial (thanks in part to Elvis Presley on The Ed Sullivan Show with his sexy hip swivels). By the beginning of the 1960’s, rock n’ roll music was becoming more accepted and rock legends like Elvis, Buddy Holly and the Crickets had opened the […]
Joan Rivers is known for being a fashion critic, covering the red-carpet of the biggest award shows and for hosting Fashion Police, but how did her career originally take off? Joan Rivers started out in show business as a writer and stand-up comedian in the 1960’s. By 1965, Joan Rivers had made a name for […]