60s Flashback — Making Mary With Uncle Walt
On an August night in 1964, 1,200 people packed Hollywood’s legendary Grauman’s Chinese Theater for the premiere of what would become Walt Disney’s biggest film success to date: “Mary Poppins.”
Read MoreTag Archives: Randal Hill
It Was 50 Years Ago — ‘Midnight Train To Georgia’ Was Knight’s Signature Song
For superstar Gladys Knight, recording “Midnight Train to Georgia” was probably like singing poignant lines from a diary.
Read More
It Was 50 Years Ago — ‘Delta Dawn’ A Gift To Songwriter’s Mother
When we hear certain songs, we may wonder what the event was that inspired a songsmith to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.
Read More
Sixties Flashback — Paul McCartney Confessed ‘It Wasn’t Fun Anymore’
On the chilly, foggy Tuesday of Dec. 27, 1960, several hundred British teenagers sardined into the spacious Litherland Town Hall in north Liverpool
Read More
It Was 50 Years Ago — ‘Monster Mash’ A Halloween Novelty Tune
In summer 1973, Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s original “Monster Mash” (released this time on Parrot Records) reached the Top 10 for a second time.
Read More
Sixties Flashback — Exploding Ducks, Enormous Knives
When World War II began, Julia McWilliams tried to join the American military but was rejected because of her height.
Read More
It Was 50 Years Ago — ‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy’
The once-ubiquitous Andrews sisters — Patty, Maxine and Laverne — premiered “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” in the 1941 Abbott and Costello comedy film “Buck Privates.”
Read More
Sixties Flashback — The Coolest Dive In Town
In 1960, Chubby Checker’s multi-million-selling “The Twist” spent four months dominating the Top 40 airwaves.
Read More
It Was 50 Years Ago — ‘Kodachrome’ Began As ‘Goin’ Home’
Paul Simon’s “Kodachrome” began as “Goin’ Home,” but the poetic perfectionist soon felt that sounded too ordinary.
Read More
Sixties Flashback — What’s It Like, Mike?
Getting the green light from Hollywood movie studios can be difficult, especially when nobody wants the project they’re being offered.
Read More
It Was 50 Years Ago — ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’
Even before he became a successful and respected musician, Gerry Rafferty had developed a loathing for the often underhanded machinations of the pop music industry.
Read More
Sixties Flashback: A Breaking Board, A Witch Cackle, Stardom
“Surf music is one of those things that makes people happy when they hear it,” declared Bob Berryhill, at age 75 the lone surviving member of the group responsible for the best-known surf instrumental in history.
Read More
It Was 50 Years Ago — ‘The Cisco Kid’
By Randal Hill Guest Columnist War Inspirations for a hit song can sometimes spring from a most unusual source. Members of the California septet War hailed from different neighborhoods in and around Long Beach and Compton, both burgs part of the Los Angeles suburban sprawl. Of disparate backgrounds … Read More
Sixties Flashback — When Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ Became Real
It was a scene of pure pandemonium, a flock of birds crashing into houses in a quiet California beach town, the crazed creatures smashing windows and attacking the residents whose frantic screams matched the agonizing shrieks of the interlopers themselves.
Read More
It Was 50 years ago — ‘Rocky Mountain High’ Became Controversial
John Denver and his wife, Annie, moved to Aspen, Colo., in December 1970, hoping to purchase a home in the couple’s favorite part of their favorite state.
Read More
Sixties Flashback — When The Greatest Met The Greatest
“Gorgeous George” was born George Raymond Wagner in 1915.
Read More