Her uncle Bill Owens recognized her extraordinary talent, gave her a guitar, helped her obtain early performing opportunities.
Dolly Rebecca Parton was born on January 19, 1946, in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, near the Great Smoky Mountains, the fourth of twelve children born to Robert Lee Parton Sr., a sharecropper and laborer, and Avie Lee Owens Parton, who sang and played music for the family. The Partons lived in severe poverty in a small cabin, without many of the comforts that most families took for granted, but Dolly later
Maxwell also entertained American troops during the Korean War as part of Bob Hope’s USO tours.
Marilyn Maxwell was an American actress and singer whose glamorous screen presence and versatile talents made her a familiar face in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. Although she never quite achieved the superstar status of some of her contemporaries, she enjoyed a long and successful career in motion pictures, radio, television, and live entertainment.
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
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”.
Their songs crossed musical boundaries, becoming hits in pop, rhythm and blues, adult contemporary, jazz, and even country music.
Few songwriting partnerships have left a larger imprint on twentieth-century popular music than the collaboration between Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Together they created a body of work distinguished by elegant melodies, sophisticated harmonies, conversational lyrics, and an emotional depth that elevated popular songwriting to an art form. Their songs crossed musical boundaries, becoming hits in pop, rhythm and blues, adult contemporary, jazz, and even country music,
The film concentrates on the tense seventy-two hours leading up to the D-Day landings, when Allied commanders had to determine whether weather conditions would permit the largest amphibious invasion in history.
Pressure (2026) is a British-French historical war drama directed, co-written, and edited by Anthony Maras. Adapted from David Haig’s acclaimed 2014 stage play of the same name, the screenplay was written by Haig and Maras, expanding the original theatrical work into a more cinematic account of one of the most consequential decisions of the Second World War. Rather than focusing on the combat itself, the film concentrates on the tense seventy-two hours leading up to the D-Day landings,
Jaafar Jackson, Michael Jackson’s real-life nephew, makes his feature-film acting debut in the title role.
Michael (2026) is an American biographical musical drama about the life and career of Michael Jackson, directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter John Logan. The film was produced by Graham King, John Branca, and John McClain through GK Films and Optimum Productions, with Lionsgate handling distribution in the United States and Universal Pictures releasing it internationally. Jaafar Jackson, Michael Jackson’s real-life nephew, makes his feature-film acting debut in the title role, with Juliano Krue Valdi portraying Michael as a child.
Here, on the Semiquincentennial of America, I found it fitting to write about Ken Burns, the filmmaker known for his documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States history and culture.
Ken Burns was born Kenneth Lauren Burns on July 29, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York, into a family that experienced both cultural richness and early tragedy, as his mother, Lyla Smith Burns, died of cancer when he was just eleven years old, an event that would later shape his sensitivity to themes of memory,
This is a series of posts that will talk about my favorite songs with female vocals. See if you agree with any of these!
“Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” is a 1941 World War II–era jump blues/swing novelty song written by Don Raye and Hughie Prince and introduced by The Andrews Sisters in the Abbott and Costello film Buck Privates, with the trio’s tight harmonies and upbeat, horn-driven arrangement capturing a fictional story about a top boogie-woogie trumpet player
Reporting on several guys that have recently passed.
These guys were a cartoonist and author of the comic strip Dilbert; musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead; film director, screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist and playwright, best known for his Disney work; and the bass guitarist of German rock band Scorpions.
