This is the follow up to my previous blog about a 1983 album Paul Anka released. My Way was published in 2013. This blog is about his memoirs, naturally titled, My Way, an obvious reference to the song he wrote for Frank Sinatra. Frank looms large in this story. My intention was to only read … More Paul Anka, My Way (book review)
I am a fan of film credits/opening sequences. In film history, they served to give the audience information and set the story, often in a very creative way. Three of my favorite opening sequence designers are Saul Bass (Alfred Hitchcock, Otto Preminger), Maurice Binder (James Bond) and Pablo Ferro (Stanley Kubrick, Steve McQueen). Film title … More Film Titles: Classics
Jimmy Webb wrote a tremendous song, very poignant and oozing with romantic imagery. Glen Campbell’s version is the most famous version of the song, but he is not the only one to cover it. Campbell was not the first one to record the song, Johnny Rivers was in 1965. The 1967 Glen Campbell version was … More By the Time I Get to Phoenix
Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin made six feature movies together. These guys were like Newman and Redford or Clooney and Damon as a film duo. Frank and Dino were kool kats, and from the mid 1950s to the late 1960s, Hollywood was their playground. The films they made together between 1958 and 1965, ranged from … More Frank and Dean: At the Movies
Let’s journey back to the 1960s to see what music your parents were listening to on their hi-fi. That piece of furniture with a turntable and radio; maybe even a built-in television. How many of these tunes do you remember? Not all of these were huge hits, but iconic songs of the era. You know … More Your Parents’ Playlist
Twelve films. A few classics, some that are very good, and the rest that are fun to watch. I reached far back for a few of these. I will explain the film and why it makes my list. The Lady From Shanghai (1948) Orson Welles swung and missed, he failed to get a box … More A Dozen Forgotten Films
Musical variety shows were the bread and butter of television from the earliest days in the 1950s, a carryover from radio and vaudeville. Music and comedy were a natural match. As television sets began to populate households across the country, families embraced the format, it was great, inexpensive entertainment. Mostly produced in New York, it … More 1970s Musical-Variety Shows
Dean Martin appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson nine times. Nine is not a large number, but he made the most of these appearances. I’ve not seen all nine but I’ve seen most of them and they are crazy good. Frank and Dean even appeared on The Tonight Show with fellow Rat Pack … More Dean Martin: Tonight Show Appearances
In a decade where the Beatles, Twiggy and Steve McQueen were regarded as hip and cool, Dean Martin was the rare middle aged personality that achieved success in a culture rapidly becoming taken over by a younger generation. His popularity was huge. At a time when rockers were dominating the charts, his recording of “Everybody … More Dean Martin: 1960’s Cool
Ticket 2 Ride 
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