He sang in his church choir, learned to play harmonica, piano, and drums without formal instruction, and quickly demonstrated an uncanny ability to master nearly any instrument placed before him.
Stevie Wonder, born Stevland Hardaway Judkins on May 13, 1950, in Saginaw, Michigan, is one of the most extraordinary musical talents in popular music history. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Detroit, where he was raised by his mother, Lula Mae Hardaway, after his parents separated. Wonder was born six weeks premature, and the high concentration of oxygen used in
“Track” originally referred to footprints, trails, or paths left by people or animals.
The expression “back on track” is one of the most familiar idioms in the English language, used to describe returning to the correct course after a delay, mistake, distraction, or setback. Whether referring to a business recovering from financial problems, a student resuming productive study habits, or a sports team regaining its winning form, the phrase conveys the idea of getting back to a desired path or direction. Although it sounds perfectly natural today,
I’ll never forget the wicked witch and her hourglass in the Wizard of Oz.
The hourglass is one of the most recognizable instruments ever devised for measuring the passage of time, yet its origins are far more mysterious than those of the sundial or the water clock. Unlike those earlier devices, whose histories can be traced back to ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, and China, the hourglass appears relatively late in the historical record. Despite frequent claims that the Romans or ancient Greeks invented it, no convincing archaeological or written evidence supports those assertions. Historians generally agree that the hourglass emerged in medieval Europe sometime between the eighth and fourteenth centuries,
The album takes its title from Edgar Allan Poe’s famous collection Tales of Mystery and Imagination and transforms many of Poe’s best-known poems and short stories into musical compositions.
Tales of Mystery and Imagination (Edgar Allan Poe) was the debut album by The Alan Parsons Project and remains one of the most ambitious concept albums of the progressive rock era. Released in the United Kingdom on June 25, 1976, the album marked the beginning of the creative partnership between producer, engineer,
Four more losses to reflect on here, summer of 2026…
These guys were the long time drummer for the rock band ZZ Top; an actor, often cast as a mafioso, best known for his role in The Sopranos; an actor/politician best known as Cooter in the Dukes of Hazzard; and a soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, known as the tenor saxophone soloist on Henry Mancini’s “The Pink Panther Theme”.
Roosa worked as a smokejumper for the U.S. Forest Service.
Stuart Allen Roosa was born on August 16, 1933, in Durango, Colorado, and was raised in the small logging community of Clairemont, New Mexico, where his family was involved in the forestry and lumber business. Growing up in the rugged landscape of the American Southwest fostered an appreciation for aviation, the outdoors, and hard work that would shape his future career. He attended public schools in
This “Stand Out Single” was a work by Tony Carey. The project’s name was inspired from the fictional “Planet P” in Robert A. Heinlein’s book Starship Troopers.
“Why Me?” was the second U.S. single released from Planet P Project’s self-titled 1983 debut album, a project created by American keyboardist, singer, songwriter, and producer Tony Carey. Carey was already well known among rock fans for his tenure with Rainbow during the mid-1970s before relocating to Germany, where he developed both a solo career and the more experimental Planet P Project.
Unlike many civic slogans that commemorate a famous resident or historical event, this one is rooted in a humorous accident rather than any longstanding tradition or official title.
Galena, Kansas, a small city in Cherokee County along the historic Route 66 corridor, has become known in recent years for an unusual and intentionally puzzling slogan: “Home of the Sea Slug King of Kansas.” Travelers crossing the Missouri-Kansas state line are greeted by a welcome sign bearing the phrase, which naturally prompts the question of what it means.
Tony, the Tiger’s Frosted Sugar Flakes character was born with the pipes of Dallas McKennon, who was Tony from 1952 to 1953.
Dallas Raymond McKennon was born on July 19, 1919, near La Grande, Oregon. His childhood was marked by hardship when his mother died while he was still young, after which he was raised by an aunt and uncle on their farm. Growing up in rural northeastern Oregon fostered a lifelong fascination with nature, history, and storytelling that would later influence both his educational work and his entertainment career. Information regarding his formal education is limited, as he entered the workforce at a
In May 2026, Pabst Brewing Co. announced it was placing the iconic Schlitz brand “on hiatus,” effectively ending the production of the beer that was once the best-selling lager in the world.
Schlitz Beer occupies a unique place in American brewing history as both one of the nation’s greatest commercial success stories and one of its most famous business cautionary tales. For much of the twentieth century, the Schlitz name was virtually synonymous with American lager, and its celebrated slogan, “The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous,” helped establish Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the country’s brewing capital.
