Arts and Entertainment

We had our 50th high school reunion last night, and it was really great. Everything I'd hoped for, and more. 'Get Back' was the #1 song nationally on the day…

Laura Nyro, one of my favorite songwriters from this era, wrote both songs.  She originally released an over-produced version of 'Save The Country' in 1968 (Columbia Records was pushing for…

Yep, 1969 was the year of 'Tommy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AKbUm8GrbM Hey, might as well toss in... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRD_gIoVOmY And one of the greatest rock finales ever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqmC1T9rukk          

This was #1 on the soul/r&b charts for 1969. Feel free to sing and dance along:   OK, I can't resist. Here's my fave cover of the song. Not from…

Fewer songs this month,  some more mellow than usual, likely the result of my having been away for two weeks and not obsessing daily over music.  I think you'll enjoy…

Creedence Clearwater Revival put out three albums in 1969, each one featuring at least one all-time classic. From Bayou Country: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hid10EgMXE From Green River (a great song in its own…

As my classmates and I celebrate our 50th High School Reunion this month (Brandywine HS, Class of '69), I'm gonna present a month of great songs from one of the…

From 2005's "Plans" LP, this is Ben Gibbard's elegy for summer, youth and innocence. It was never released as a single, but it's one of the strongest tracks on an…

Nothing says "we're copying Bob Dylan!" quite like calling your folk-pop duo The Changin' Times, and reinforcing it by using "masquerade" in the first line of the lyrics of your…

Jackson C. Frank was an American folk singer who, like Paul Simon and a few others, moved to London shortly after the "British Invasion." He met Simon there and impressed…

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings released this song on her second album, "Time (The Revelator)," and the sparse arrangement and their muted harmonies perfectly captures the sad ending of a…

Ken Burns' multi-part documentary on country music, still airing on PBS stations, hasn't reached the end of the '60s yet, so I don't know if it's going to address what…

Jim Pepper was a tenor saxophonist of Native American heritage who played in a group called the Fresh Spirits, considered the first jazz-rock fusion band, but he's best remembered for…