Everyday Creation

Decades after the fact, Roberta Flack still is recognized as the only solo artist to win Record of the Year for two consecutive years, 1973 and 1974. She won the initial award for "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." Here, you can listen to a 2006 remastered version from Rhino Atlantic. 

Also on YouTube, there's a compelling live music video posted by AI Videoworks. It's from Flack's 1975 performance recorded with the Edmonto...

Jerry Butler may not be a household name, but he had a long and fruitful career as a singer and songwriter, first with the Impressions and then as a solo artist. 

Butler was part of the creation of the Philadelphia Sound, had hit songs that included "Only the Strong Survive," and later earned bachelor and master's degrees. In the mid-'80s, he was elected to the Cook County Commission in Illinois and held that seat until his ret...

You may not recognize his name, but Snowy Fleet was one of the most popular drummers that Australia ever produced. He was an early member of the Easybeats, whose song "Friday On My Mind" was No. 1 for eight weeks on Australia's singles chart. Also popular in the United States, the single reached No. 16.

To see Fleet on the drums, watch this previously lost 1966 footage of the Easybeats performing "Friday On My Mind" for the...

Marianne Faithfull was part of the swinging London scene in the 1960s. She recorded Keith Richards' and Mick Jagger's song "As Tears Go By" before the Rolling Stones did. She and Jagger had a three-year relationship before it ended after a drug raid at Richards' house in 1967. Addicted to heroin, she lost custody of her child and lived on the street for two years. 

You can learn more about Faithfull and "As Tears Go By" in this...

Tenor Sam Moore and baritone David Prater Jr. made beautiful music together, but they fought like cats and dogs. Still, they had more success as a duo than they did when they went their separate ways as solo artists. As Sam & Dave, they had 10 consecutive Top 20 R&B hits and two Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits.

In this tribute to Moore, you can learn the story behind the Sam & Dave partnership including how they de...

Lenny Lipton was studying electrical engineering at Cornell University when he wrote a poem that turned into a song. That song eventually became a hit, thanks to Lipton's roommate who later became Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary fame. Find out how all that came about in this short story by Sheldon Zoldan. 

Here, you can watch a 1965 recording of Peter, Paul and Mary performing "Puff the Magic Dragon." 

The thumbnail photo of ...

Human beings are complicated and, as a result, life stories can include some not-so-shining moments. This is certainly true of this obituary for Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary fame. 

Sheldon Zoldan's story about Yarrow covers the highs and lows of the singer's career. Yarrow was a member of 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, who were the voices of the civil rights and anti-war movements. They had 11 top 40 singles, mul...

Brenton Wood offered these final words to his fans: "Catch you on the rebound," referencing one of his songs.

Brenton Wood wasn't his given name. In this episode, learn the inspiration behind the stage name, and also the moment that piqued his interest in pursuing a musical career.

In 1967, after a career peak with three hits: "Gimme Little Sign," "The Oogum Boogum Song" and "Baby You Got It," he continued writing, recording and perf...

What began as a book about the Vietnam War evolved into a candid memoir about a self-centered life of thrill-seeking adventure transformed into one focused on service and meaning.

"Quest: Risk, Adventure and the Search for Meaning" by John Graham is available in print, on Kindle and as an audio book. To watch a brief video that promotes the book, go here.

In this episode, you'll hear about John's close brushes with death; one...

Garth Hudson agreed to join the Hawks, a precursor to The Band, on two conditions: that he'd be paid a little extra to be the group's music teacher, and that he'd have a Lowery organ to play. 

This tribute to Hudson includes a reference to The Band's song "Chest Fever." Hudson wasn't a singer or a songwriter, but he contributed mightily to the song's success with an intro based on J.S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. You c...

For fans of historical fiction and anyone who loves a great story, here's a recommendation: Maria Tureaud's gothic novel "This House Will Feed." It's set during Ireland's Great Hunger, also known by its Irish name, An Gorta Mór. 

The author was born and raised in a part of Ireland that was devastated by the Great Hunger during the mid-1800s, yet she barely learned anything about the area's tragic history when she was gr...

For these two calming techniques, all that's involved is breathing in and out and focusing one's mind. They take maybe a minute or so to do both of them. I've found that they help me a lot when I'm feeling stressed, and I really like doing them proactively too — just to get into the right mindset at the beginning of the day or anytime. 

Please try them out to see whether they also help you manage stress and feel more clea...

I recorded this short video after the fatal shooting of U.S. citizen Renée Nicole Good, a mother and poet, and before Veterans Administration nurse and U.S. citizen Alex Jeffrey Pretti died, also at the hands of ICE. Each was shot at what has been reported as a peaceful protest.

These are tense times and, more than ever, we need to follow the examples set by Good and Pretti by being more kind, not less so. Kindness is a for...

Summary: Kate Jones offers two affirmations in this video.The first focuses on letting go, releasing any tense hold we have on people, places, events and things.The second centers on forgiving everything, everyone and all experiences needing forgiveness.

Background: This is Kate. When I was in my 20s, I started doing two amazing affirmations thanks to my first husband. That was a long time ago, so the details of their origin...

Each one of us can spread a little love in the world with just a smile or a kind word. And when we join together with other like-minded individuals, our positive influence grows exponentially. That's the effect that Impact100 has in communities throughout the U.S. and in England, Australia and New Zealand.

You can learn about Impact100 in this interview with Brooke Potrzeba, who first got involved with the nonprofit organization in ...

"THE LIGHT" is an 18-page illustrated board book designed to empower youngsters with themes of self-connection, self-trust and self-love. Author Scarlett Lam and illustrator Mindy Lee have found that adults also are moved by the book's uplifting message.

This short excerpt is from an interview that Scarlett and I recorded in early 2024 not long after the book was published. I highly recommend "THE LIGHT" and have revisited the inter...

This is the sixth and last excerpt from a longer conversation (Episode 121) with philanthropist and author Iris November and two of her daughters: the Rev. Rachel Hollander, also an author, and Anita Hollander, an actress, singer and songwriter who joined us on Zoom from New York City.

In previous excerpts, we talked about Iris' two books; Anita's long professional career as well as her activism on behalf of performers with disabili...

In this fifth excerpt from a longer conversation, Iris November and daughters Anita Hollander and Rev. Rachel Hollander, talk about how the family struggled in the aftermath of the sudden passing of Iris' husband, Bernard "Bud" Hollander. Father of Anita, Rachel and their sisters, Celia Hollander Lewis and Lisa Hollander, he was the "cornerstone of our family," Rachel says.

Iris was 42 at the time of her husband's fatal heart attack...