Breathe deep the gathering gloom
Watch lights fade from every room
Bedsitter people look back and lament
Another day’s useless energy spent
The Moody Blues were formed in Birmingham, England, in 1964, emerging from the fertile Midlands beat scene that had already produced The Spencer Davis Group and other rhythm-and-blues-inflected acts. Originally conceived as a harmony-driven R&B band, the group took its name from the Duke Ellington composition “Mood Indigo,” reflecting both their jazz awareness and their desire for a slightly more sophisticated image than many contemporaries.
During World War II, she joined the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA, serving in Washington, D.C., Ceylon, and China.
Julia Child was born Julia Carolyn McWilliams on 8-15-1912 in Pasadena, California, into a comfortable, socially prominent family that valued education and culture. Her father, John McWilliams Jr., was a Princeton-educated banker and land manager, and her mother, Julia Carolyn Weston, came from a Massachusetts paper company fortune. Tall, athletic, and spirited, Julia attended Smith College, graduating in 1934 with a degree in history.
Four more losses to reflect on here in early 2026.
These individuals include a singer, songwriter and pianist responsible for several big hits; the adorable “Kitten” for 201 episodes of Father Knows Best; a college football coach, winning the National Championship with Notre Dame; and a rock and roll guitarist described as an “instrumental genius”.
Neil Sedaka was born in Brooklyn, New York on March 13, 1939, into a working-class family with deep musical roots; his Lebanese-Jewish taxi-driver father and Russian- and Polish-Jewish mother encouraged his early talent, and he won a piano scholarship to the Juilliard School’s preparatory division as
a child before abandoning a potential classical career for pop music as a teenager. After forming a doo-wop group in high school and earning a contract with RCA Victor, Sedaka became one of the defining singer-songwriters of the late 1950s and early 1960s with hits such as “Oh! Carol,” “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen,” “Calendar Girl” and “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” teaming up with lyricist Howard Greenfield.
Later he would enjoy a second wave of success in the 1970s with “Laughter in the Rain,” “Bad Blood” and “Love Will Keep Us Together,” and writing or co-writing over 500 songs for himself and others; his career earned him a place in the Songwriters Hall of Fame and multiple accolades, and he continued performing and recording for decades.
#Number indicates position in US Billboard Hot 100 – Top 40 Only
He even recorded during the pandemic era. He married Leba Strassberg in 1962, and their long marriage produced two children and later grandchildren; Sedaka also became known for his engaging live shows and enduring influence on pop music. Sedaka died on Friday, February 27, 2026, at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 86, leaving behind his wife, two children, and grandchildren.
Lauren Chapin, born May 23, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, was an American actress who rose to national prominence as a child playing the youngest Anderson child, Kathy “Kitten” Anderson, on the beloved 1950s sitcom Father Knows Best, appearing in nearly every one of the series’ six seasons and
earning multiple Junior Emmy awards for her work. Off-screen, she was educated in Hollywood and appeared in early films such as A Star Is Born before her television breakthrough, but like many childhood stars, she faced significant personal struggles in adulthood that she later recounted in her 1989 autobiography Father Does Know Best: The Lauren Chapin Story.
She reinvented her life through evangelism, mentoring young talent and managing beauty pageant enterprises. Chapin’s personal life included family ties to two actor brothers and, later in life, devotion to charitable causes and her faith. After a long battle with cancer, she died on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at the age of 80 in Miami, Florida, and is survived by her children and her brother.
Louis Leo “Lou” Holtz was born January 6, 1937, in Follansbee, West Virginia, and became one of America’s most respected college football coaches and commentators, serving as head coach at institutions including William & Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame and South Carolina; his Notre Dame team won the consensus national championship in 1988.
Over his long coaching career he compiled a remarkable collegiate record and earned numerous coach-of-the-year awards while becoming the only coach to lead six different programs to bowl games and achieve top-fifteen rankings.
Holtz played college football at Kent State before moving into coaching, and after retiring from the sidelines he became a well-known television analyst, motivational speaker and influential figure in the sport. He was married to Beth Barcus from 1961 until her death in 2020,
and together they raised four children, several of whom pursued collegiate athletics. After entering hospice care in early 2026, Holtz died on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at the age of 89; he is remembered by his surviving children and extended family.
Travis Lavoid Wammack Sr., born in November 1944 in Walnut, Mississippi, was an American rock and roll guitarist, singer and songwriter celebrated as a child prodigy who recorded his first record at age 11 and scored an early hit with the instrumental “Scratchy,” which reflected his innovative guitar
style that incorporated early fuzz-tone and distortion; he became a key figure in the Memphis and Muscle Shoals music scenes, recording and performing across genres and later serving as bandleader for Little Richard in the 1980s and 1990s, and he was honored by institutions such as the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame for his contributions to American music.
From Wikipedia
Wammack’s enduring career spanned nearly seven decades, and he remained active in performance and recording until health challenges curtailed his playing later in life. He died on Friday, February 27, 2026, at the age of 81, and is survived by his wife Mitzi Wammack and his son, Travis “Monkee” Wammack Jr.
Two Irish brothers, Ian and Robert Macken settled down in Decatur with their amazing wives, Kathryn and Stef. The Macken’s opened their own place with the goal of being THE neighborhood hangout.
The story of Wheelhouse Craft Pub and Kitchen begins in a historic corner of Decatur, Georgia, at 1479 Scott Blvd., Decatur, GA 30030, where a once-vacant neighborhood space was transformed into a welcoming pub and restaurant anchored in casual comfort and community spirit.
This British Invasion band was formed by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in the early 1960s.
The Kinks emerged from the working-class neighborhoods of Muswell Hill, North London, in the early 1960s, a period when British youth were reshaping popular culture through the rise of rock and rhythm and blues. The band was formed by brothers Ray and Dave Davies,
An unprecedented run that made Anderson the most frequent Playboy cover model in the magazine’s history.
Pamela Denise Anderson’s association with Playboy magazine stands as one of the most enduring and recognizable relationships between a celebrity and a publication in modern popular culture. Born on July 1, 1967, in Ladysmith, British Columbia, Anderson’s entry into the public eye was sudden and unexpected. In 1989 she was shown on a stadium video screen during a British Columbia Lions
The name “Piasa” is commonly said to derive from an Illini word often translated as “the bird that devours men”.
The Piasa Bird occupies a unique place in American folklore, poised between Indigenous tradition, early European exploration narratives, and nineteenth-century romantic reinvention. Associated with the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River near
A colossal robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess of liberty.
The Statue of Liberty, formally titled Liberty Enlightening the World, emerged from the political idealism and transatlantic friendship of the nineteenth century. Conceived in 1865 by French political thinker Édouard René de Laboulaye as a monument to American independence and the abolition of slavery following the Civil War, the statue was envisioned as a gift from the people of France to the United States.
More to report on here in early 2026.
These guys were a mosaic artist based in Philadelphia who completed more than 200 murals; a songwriter that composed for Madonna, Bangles, Cyndi Lauper, etc; an actor in movies like Revenge of the Nerds series, The Tommyknockers, Escape from L.A, and TV like Kung Fu, Bonanza, etc; and a hairdresser, disco musician and performer.
I’ve never smoked, but have been exposed to the cigarette advertising all my life.
Vintage cigarette art traces a long, revealing arc through modern visual culture, beginning in the late nineteenth century when cigarettes first became mass-produced consumer goods and packaging itself emerged as a primary artistic surface. Early cigarette art was rooted in the traditions of Victorian illustration, chromolithography, and ornamental typography, with packs and cartons designed to convey luxury, exoticism, and credibility.
