This is a flash sheet for a fictional Western Swing band that I call The Pearl Snaps Band. Yes, those pearl looking buttons commonly found on Western shirts. They may…
Tag: Music
Ska is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae music. Ska skillfully combined the elements of traditional Caribbean mento and calypso with…
For less than $25 you can construct a compact cabinet to house your youngster’s hi-fi and record collection.
This is an album by Peter Sellers which was released in 1959. It reached #3 on the U.K. charts. Although Sellers is known as a very funny person, his choice…
Stereophonic sound is a method of sound reproduction that creates an illusion of a multi-directional audible perspective. This effect is most often achieved by using two or more independent audio…
Now, you can be a real musician in no time. Professional musicians can make several dollars just playing the drums. Don’t delay! Just 15 minutes a day could get you…
The Pussycat a’ Go Go in Denver hosted the Fantabulous Jags for a 16 week gig in 1964. Originating from Wellington, Kansas The Jags eventually ended up headlining on the…
The pounding beat … the vibes … the far-out sound … These are all that matter! They’re my entire life!
Her: “You must choose between your records and me.” Him: “Just let this song finish and I’ll help you pack.”
Elvis stayed up all night on the day of August 16, 1977. This was not unusual behavior for the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, for earlier, Elvis had entertained some…
I want an ocean and some sunscreen lotion. Take me to the beach with a thousand pretty girls in reach. Hardly any clothes, sand between my toes and white stuff on my nose. Sitting…
Stop Making Sense is a highly praised concert film that features the Talking Heads live on stage in 1983. The film was directed by Jonathan Demme and was shot over…
Alton Ellis, the Godfather of Rocksteady music, was born in 1938 in Trenchtown, Kingston, Jamaica. Along with his younger sister Hortense, who was born in 1941, the two created singles…
Many women over the years have been called the “Queen of the Blues.” Bessie Smith (1894-1937), Dinah Washington (1924-1963), Memphis Minnie (1897-1973), Mary Ann Fisher (1923-2004) and Koko Taylor (1928-2009)…
Mille, a/k/a Millie Small, born in Clarendon, Jamaica, is the 1960s ska, bluebeat, and rocksteady singer who is most famous for her 1964 smash hit “My Boy Lollipop.” Her fourth recording,…
Michael Campbell, better known as Mikey Dread, is a Jamaican singer, producer, and broadcaster. He was born in 1954 in Port Antonio, Jamaica, West Indies. Mikey Dread displayed a natural…
The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including Guns of Navarone.…
What is a rude boy? What is a rude girl? What does ‘to be rude’ mean? Today, it simply means that you’re a dedicated member of the ska scene. If…
Back in the 1980s, in the early days of MTV and the music video, there was an obscure one-hit wonder that was actually a novelty song from the comedy rock…
There has been a new beat lurking around the music scene for about 10 years in North America. The new beat, or sound, is called reggaeton (pronounced reggae-tone) and it…
