Monthly Archives: May 2026

Music Monday: May 25, 2026

Posted in Music Monday by

Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

This year will mark 85 years since the attack on the Pearl Harbor Naval Base in Oahu, Hawaii on December 7, 1941. Because of that devastating event, Congress voted to expand the draft from men between the ages of 21 and 45 to those aged 18 to 64. A teenage boy named David Yoho stepped up. This past Saturday, the soon to be 98 year old former Merchant Marine spoke at the National WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C. to remind the country that nearly 417,000 U.S. military members never made it home.

“Tell your friends about this place”.  

“Tell your friends about the fact that you stood in the rain to hear us today”  

“Tell the friends about your dedication and then tell them about us. Tell them about veterans and say to them:

“We gave up our yesterdays for your tomorrows.”

“And if they say to you then, who did you hear speak these words, tell them it was a 16 year old boy in the heart and mind and body of a 98 year old veteran of WWII”.

Former Merchant Marine David Yoho, 97, speaking at the National WWII Memorial on Saturday, May 23, 2026. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I grew up on Long Island. I cheered for the NY Islanders every chance I got. And watching what they did for 105 year old WWII veteran Dominick Critelli last December made me cheer again. Respect to my hometown, respect to this man for his service to our country and respect to all those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. May their memory be a blessing.

Staff Sergeant Dominick Critelli at the NY Islanders game December 27, 2025 at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Staff Sergeant Dominick Critelli: “The Star Spangled Banner” (Performed live on Saturday, December 27, 2025 at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. Written by Francis Scott Key).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: May 18, 2026

Posted in Music Monday by

Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

#musicmonday #musicblog #musicandlyrics

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

What Now My Love, the sixth album by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, was released 60 years ago on May 9, 1966. It reached the #1 spot in the country that year for eight consecutive weeks, from May 28-July 22 & returned to the top spot for one more week on September 3. It was Alpert’s third #1 album for the year, added to 1965’s Whipped Cream & Other Delights in the top spot for the first week of 1966 & again for two weeks in February. The follow up album to that one-Going Places, also released in 1965-was #1 for one week in March 1966 and again for five consecutive weeks from April 16-May 20. The only other act that had three #1 albums in 1966 were The Beatles with Rubber Soul, Yesterday And Today and Revolver.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Sticky Fingers by the Rolling Stones was released 55 years ago in April 1971. By May 22, it hit the top of the Billboard 200 chart where it stayed for four consecutive weeks. One of their biggest albums not only for its musical content (“Brown Sugar” was the #1 song in the country for two consecutive weeks in the spring of 1971) but for the cover art as well. It featured a photo by artist Andy Warhol of a man’s crotch area clad in jeans with an actual working zipper. And the album’s inner sleeve introduced the world to what would become the band’s signature lips & tongue logo.

A year before the album’s 45th anniversary, a deluxe & a super deluxe edition was released, with the later disc featuring the band’s live 1971 performance at University of Leeds.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

On January 21, 1971 the song, “What’s Going On”, was released as a single. By April, it reached the #2 spot in the country. It was the title track of the album released 55 years ago on May 21, 1971. It would peak in the #6 position two months later. More than five decades later, it is still considered the pinnacle of Marvin Gaye’s career. I featured this album & its impact on Gaye’s life & his musical direction five years ago on Day 431 of my Lockdown Countdown:

“Fifty years ago today-May 21, 1971-Marvin Gaye released his masterpiece, What’s Going On. This album was an expression of the angst he was feeling between 1969 & 1970 due to the state of the world-the Vietnam War, the effect of pollution on the environment, racial injustice, poverty-and what was happening in his own world: the break-up of his first marriage, the death of his friend, Tammi Terrell, the trials his brother, Frankie, faced in service to our country & as a veteran returning home from the war to little support in how to rejoin society; Gaye’s inability to break free of the confines of his Motown contract to make the music he wanted to make, his strained relationship with label owner Berry Gordy and Gaye’s money troubles with the IRS due in part to his cocaine addiction.

He co-wrote all nine songs on the album & produced it as well, his first time in that role. Motown’s house band, The Funk Brothers, helped Gaye find the perfect sound for each song. Upon its release, it was hailed as a landmark album not only for the singer but for music as well. It was critically acclaimed as a concept record, a first for Motown, and was considered an important statement for black music, too. The album produced three Top Ten hits.

If Marvin Gaye only gave us his recording of “Grapevine” what a contribution that would have been all by itself. But the legacy of What’s Going On defines not only his talent but his heart, soul, intellect, empathy, strength & compassion for the world around him as well. His was one of the first voices I remember hearing and I have absolutely adored it ever since. The soulfulness, the passion, the intensity & the four octave range of his deep rich baritone to tenor voice, it is a truly beautiful & remarkable instrument. I miss him every single day. Happy anniversary to one of the greatest records ever made by one of the greatest artists who ever lived.“

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass: “Spanish Flea” (1965, written by Julius Wechter).

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass: “It Was A Very Good Year” (1966, written by Ervin Drake).

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass: “The Shadow of Your Smile” (1966, written by Johnny Mandel and Paul Francis Webster).

The Rolling Stones: “Brown Sugar” (1971, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards).

The Rolling Stones: “Wild Horses” (1971, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards).

The Rolling Stones: “Street Fighting Man” (Live performance in 1971 at the University of Leeds. Originally released in 1968. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards).

Marvin Gaye: “What’s Going On” (1971, written by Renaldo Benson, Al Cleveland and Marvin Gaye).

Marvin Gaye: “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)” (1971, written by Marvin Gaye).

Marvin Gaye: “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)” (1971, written by written by Marvin Gaye and James Nyx Jr.).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: May 11, 2026

Posted in Music Monday by

Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

#musicmonday #musicblog #musicandlyrics

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Singer, songwriter & musician Bill Withers released his debut album, Just As I Am, 55 years ago on May 1, 1971. Only four months later the record-produced by Stax star musician Booker T. Jones & featuring Stephen Stills on guitar-reached #39 on the Billboard 200 while the first single peaked at #3 at the same time. It became Withers’ signature song, a classic R&B staple and put him center stage in the genre. The then 32 year old airline mechanical assembler wrote 10 of the 12 songs with two covers included, a Beatles track (“Let It Be”) and a song from a movie (“Everybody’s Talkin'” from 1969’s “Midnight Cowboy”).

Withers’ second album, Still Bill, was released a year later in May 1972. It gave him his first #1 song, “Lean On Me”, which reached the top spot for three consecutive weeks two months later.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Elvin Bishop’s sixth studio album, Struttin’ My Stuff was released at the end of 1975. Fifty years ago, it peaked at #18 in May 1976, the same month the first single peaked at #3 on Billboard’s Hot 100. It became an instant classic rock powerhouse and introduced us to vocalist Mickey Thomas who sang lead on the song. I have been enthralled with this track from the first note and my obsession shows no signs of waning any time soon. I first outlined my adoration for this song on Day 36 of my Lockdown Countdown:

“It was written by Elvin Bishop, a guitarist who was an original member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the 1960’s.  He left to form his own group in 1968 and played alongside such notable acts as the Allman Brothers Band, the Grateful Dead and John Lee Hooker.  Bishop also sang but when he was recording his 1975 album, Struttin’ My Stuff, he did not think his voice was polished enough to record today’s song.  So he asked one of his backup singers, Mickey Thomas, to do it.  The result was epic.

His vocal delivery, the soul in his voice and the power behind it were as close to perfect as one could hope for.  And added to Bishop’s guitar riffs, great lyrics and sublime arrangement, it turned this song into a powerhouse hit of the 1970’s.  It went on to become a rock classic and earned Thomas the lead singer spot with Jefferson Starship after original member Marty Balin’s departure.  Thomas may not be as well known as other blue eyed soul greats like Michael McDonald and Daryl Hall, but there is no denying the contribution he made with this song.  I truly believe a great soulful rock vocal does not get much better than this.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Elvin Bishop (L) and Mickey Thomas (R) in an undated photo. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

In March 1991 another singer, songwriter & musician-Marc Cohn-released his self-titled debut album. The first single is a wonderful autobiographical tale of a pilmigrage he made to one of Tennessee’s most famous cities. It became a Top 20 hit that remains a popular track 35 years after its debut. It was nominated for Song Of The Year & helped earn Cohn the Best New Artist Award at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards in 1992.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Bill Withers: “Ain’t No Sunshine” (1971, written by Bill Withers).

Elvin Bishop: “Fooled Around And Fell In Love” (1975, written by Elvin Bishop).

Marc Cohn: “Walking in Memphis” (1991, written by Marc Cohn).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: May 4, 2026

Posted in Music Monday by

Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

#musicmonday #musicblog #musicandlyrics

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Last week marked the 90th birth anniversary for one of the most provacative & distinctive voices in early rock & roll ballads. Singer, songwriter & musician Roy Kelton Orbison was born April 23, 1936 in Hendersonville, Tennessee. He was signed to Sun Records in 1956 by the label’s owner, Sam Phillips. But it was Orbison’s move to Monument Records in 1960 that brought him success beginning with his first single, “Only The Lonely”, released in May 1960. It reached #2 two months later. It was included on his debut album, Lonely and Blue, which premiered in January1961. Ten Top 10 songs followed in his career including two #1 records: “Running Scared” for one week in June 1961 and “Oh, Pretty Woman” for one week in September 1964.

Roy Orbison from his official Facebook page. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The 1970’s proved to be challenging for him both personally and professionally. The next decade was better thanks to a couple of successful covers of his songs (including Don McLean’s version of “Crying” which reached the Top Ten in 1981, a full 20 years after Orbison released it in 1961). He also re-recorded the song as a duet with country singer k.d. lang for the movie, “Hiding Out”, released in 1987.

Earlier that year he was inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. I wrote about that on Day 22 of my Lockdown Countdown:

“When Bruce Springsteen was inducting today’s singer into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1987, he said, “I wanted to sing like Roy Orbison. Now, everybody knows that nobody sings like Roy Orbison.” If there was ever one voice so completely recognizable from the very first note he sang, it was Orbison’s. It sounded almost operatic with his smooth and rich delivery, earning him the nickname “the Caruso of Rock”. Even when he was singing with the likes of Bob Dylan, George Harrison and the other Traveling Wilburys in the late 1980’s, Orbison’s sound took center stage.“

Orbison (L) on stage with Bruce Springsteen (R) in January 1987. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

In January 1988, the broadcast of Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night gave the world a look at the plethora of artists he inspired, from Springsteen to Tom Waits to Elvis Costello to J.D. Souther to Jackson Browne and so many more. Later that year Orbison became a member in the definitive musical supergroup who released their self-titled album that October, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. He completed his 22nd solo album, Mystery Girl, the following month. It was released in January 1989, just one month after his death at age 52.

Roy Kelton Orbison: April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988.

The Traveling Wilburys circa 1988 (L-R: Jeff Lynne, Orbison, Bob Dylan, George Harrison and Tom Petty. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Roy Orbison: “Running Scared” (March 1961, written by Roy Orbison).

Roy Orbison: “Crying” (July 1961, written by Joe Melson and Roy Orbison).

Roy Orbison: “Oh, Pretty Woman” (1964, written by Bill Dees and Roy Orbison).

Roy Orbison & Friends: “Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)” (Live performance from “Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night” broadcast in January 1988. Originally released in 1962. Written by Cindy Walker).

The Traveling Wilburys: “Handle with Care” (1988, written by The Traveling Wilburys: Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty.

Roy Orbison: “You Got It” (1989, written by Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty).

Stay safe & well.