Tag: music

June rambling: Pride Now

Amy Grant?

All Americans Need Pride Now

In 1776, Angry New Yorkers Tore Down a Statue of George III With a Revolutionary Fervor. A New Exhibition Lets You Do It, Too

James Madison Speech in the House of Representatives, 8 June 1789, promoting amendments to the Constitution

The Interview: Scott Pelley on the Bari Weiss Era and His Last Days at ’60 Minutes.’ Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim are staying.

DOD Officially Drops 180 Faiths From Military’s Recognized Religion List

Higher Education Must Not Become a Research Arm of Militarized Power

‘It debases the democratic process’: Sotomayor slams Supreme Court’s Alabama ruling, and it marks brazen reversal of its previous stance

A Shocking Betrayal of Black Americans

Only 50% of the public said they now trust health recommendations from the CDC, down from 77% in spring 2025, according to a poll conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health and the de Beaumont Foundation’s Public Health Listening Lab

US Turnaround on International Vaccines Comes Too Late for Hundreds of Thousands. The State Department finally overruled RFK Jr.’s defunding of a group that vaccinates 60 percent of children globally.

The DOJ came after Daily Kos. Here’s the full story.

EFF Has Just Testified Before Congress on AI

Claustrophobia

Naomi Kritzer’s Obstetrix is a new, tense thriller in the mode of Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale and Alderman’s The Power; it’s a beautifully turned, claustrophobic horror novel about an obstetrician who’s been kidnapped by a Christian cult obsessed with fertility.

Researching Juneteenth Celebrations at The New York Public Library

Knicks celebrate NBA victory back in New York City. The team was 4-0 in the finals when he wasn’t there. I still think of that 1973 championship team.  

New College of Florida and UK & Makerfield Election: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Fact-checking the interview with NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’  – Digging into some of his claims about the Iran war, the Jan. 6 riots, California’s primary elections and more.

FOTUS Moved to Eliminate Chemical Safety Board Before Deadly Spill Killed 11

The Art of the Deal — The Art of BS

Everything You NEED To Know About Saturday Night Live, Season 26 (2000-2001)

The Desert’s Night Lights and The Boy and the Blue Cup and How to Steal a House? and A Planely Obvious Punishment 

MUSIC

As – Stevie Wonder

The 6th of January (Yasgur’s Farm) – Amy Grant

Fanfare for the Common Man – Emerson, Lake & Palmer

How Do We Get There from Here – Amy Grant featuring Ruby Amanfu.

Memphis Soul Stew – King Curtis

Life On Mars? – David Bowie

John Barleycorn Must Die – Traffic

Bad Time  – Grand Funk

Mr. Brightside – The Killers

Somebody To Love -Jefferson Airplane

I Knew It, I Knew You – Taylor Swift from Toy Story 5 

That’s The Way Of The World – Earth, Wind, and Fire

Favorite Songs By Favorite Artists (Series Four) #6: Yusef Lateef and #7: The Velvet Underground

Ally the Piper does NOT need your misogyny

J. Eric Smith’s Best Albums of 2026 (First Half)

Hymns by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette

The Dark Side of Paul McCartney

#1 C&W hits for 1956

country was “folk”

These are the #1 C&W hits for 1956.

Actually, that’s a bit misleading. In 1944, Billboard published Juke Box Folk Records (JB). On May 15, 1948, it introduced Best Selling Retail Folk Records (BS). Most Played by Folk Disc Jockeys (JY) debuted on December 10, 1949. It wasn’t until October 20, 1958, that a single chart, Hot C&W Sides, was introduced.

This is why there were 92 #1 country hits in 1956. If a song was #1 on ANY of the charts, it was considered a #1 track.

Crazy Arms – Ray Price (Columbia), 20 weeks at #1. JY-20, BS-11, JB-1 (#27 pop)

Heartbreak Hotel -Elvis Presley, 17 weeks at #1.  BS-17, JB-13, JY-12 (also #1 pop)

Singing The Blues – Marty Robbins, 13 weeks at #1. BS-13, JB-13, JY-11 (#17 pop)

Don’t Be Cruel – Elvis Presley, 10 weeks at #1. JB-10, BS-5, JY 2/ (also #1 pop)

Hound Dog – Elvis Presley, 10 weeks at #1. JB-10, BS-5 (also #1 pop)

I Walk The Line – Johnny Cash (Sun), 6 weeks at #1. JB-6, JY-1 (#17 pop)

I Forgot To Remember To Forget – Elvis Presley, 5 weeks at #1. JB-5, BS-2 (did not chart pop)

Why Baby Why – Red Sovine & Webb Pierce, 4 weeks at # 1. JY-4, BS-1, JB-1 (did not chart pop)

Blue Suede Shoes – Carl Perkins (Sun), 3 weeks at #1. JB-3 (#2 pop for four weeks)

I Want You, I Need You, I Love You – Elvis Presley, 2 weeks at #1. BS-2, JB-1 (also #1 pop)

I Don’t Believe You’ve Met My Baby – The Louvin Brothers (Capitol), 2 weeks at #1. JY-2 (did not chart pop)

Other charts

There were other charts besides Billboard in the day, most notably Cash Box and Music Vendor, which became Record World. These are the songs that did NOT reach #1 on the Billboard pop charts but topped the charts of CB or MV in 1956.

Just Walking In The Rain – Johnnie Ray, orchestra and chorus conducted by Ray Conniff (Columbia), which hit #1 on MV for four weeks. #2 on Billboard pop chart for four weeks.

The aforementioned Carl Perkins’ Blue Suede Shoes, which hit #1 on MV for one week.

Canadian Sunset (Heywood) by Hugo Winterhalter & his Orchestra, piano solo by Eddie Heywood (RCA Victor), which hit #1 on MV for one week. #2 for one week on Billboard pop chart.

May rambling: the Great Society

No one wants a permanent gerontocracy

LibrariansHeather Cox Richardson: “On May 22, 1964, in a graduation speech at the University of Michigan, President Lyndon Johnson put a name to a new vision for the United States. He called it ‘the Great Society’ and laid out the vision of a country that did not confine itself to making money, but rather used its post–World War II prosperity to ‘enrich and elevate our national life.’ That Great Society would demand an end to poverty and racial injustice.”

Pope Leo Warns of Risks From A.I. in 42,300-Word Encyclical

Structured Settlements & Factoring Companies: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

FOTUS claims Congress said yes to his big dumb arch—102 years ago

No one wants a permanent gerontocracy

Newark’s Mayor Arrested at Protest Outside ICE Detention Center; Gov. Sherrill denied access to facility; migrant jail detainees launch hunger, labor strike over conditions behind bars

Elon Musk is mad that mythological movie characters aren’t white

Tennessee Man Jailed for Sharing Charlie Kirk Meme Receives $835K Settlement. Larry Bushart missed the birth of his granddaughter and lost his job as a result of his 37 days in jail.

Anderson Cooper’s emotional farewell to 60 Minutes after 20 years

Veteran 60 Minutes Journalist Sharyn Alfonsi Says ‘Wall Has Come Down Between Editorial Independence and Corporate Interests’

Mark Evanier’s Trip Back East, mostly to see Jack Kirby’s name on a street sign, and a story about his  Uncle Nathan

Kobe Bryant + Kyle Busch =/= Abraham Lincoln + John F. Kennedy

“He Breathes, He Writes”: The Voluminous Memory and Deep Empathy of Ironweed Author William Kennedy

Is Kingston The New ART CAPITAL of Upstate NY?

Only In Monroe with Stephen Colbert

The Most Valuable Background Actor in History? and Don’t Let the Moose Lick Your Car and The Day America Locked Canada Out of Its Garages

I’ve been away

I’ll likely write about it in dribs and drabs. But this was oddly relevant.

Wordle 1,800 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩AROSE 94

🟨⬜🟨⬜🟩CLIME 4

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩NIECE

Wordle 1,801 3/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜AROSE 97

🟨⬜⬜🟩⬜TULIP 1

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 VISIT

MUSIC

Paul McCartney’s Joyous Performance in the Finale of ‘The Late Show’

Orion and Pleiades by Toru Takemitsu

Laurie Anderson: Tiny Desk Concert, May 22, 2026

Favorite Songs By Favorite Artists (Series Four) #4: This Heat (And Related Artists) and #5: Jonathan Richman

Top Of The World – Greenvines Duo

I Can’t Stand The Rain  – Ann Peebles (1974)

Coverville 1581: The Janet Jackson Cover Story and 1582: The Bob Dylan Cover Story IX

Come On – The Rolling Stones

West End Girls – Pet Shop Boys

K-Chuck Radio: S-S-S-S-S-Saigon…

Nik Durga: New Zealand Music Month and the songs I didn’t grow up with

Greatest Love Of All – Whitney Houston

WHERE THE HELL IS OUR CONGRESS? | A Randy Rainbow Song Parody

Sunday Stealing is Artificial

“Americans now experience war more as an economic abstraction than a human catastrophe.”

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

Since it’s the Memorial Day weekend, we’re going to keep this simple. On us all! The first question came courtesy of AI, so Sunday Stealing is Artificial.

Before that, though, a link to a piece by titled Memorial Day and Remote War: Has Our Nation Lost Its Capacity to Mourn?

Memorial Day Questions

1) What freedom are you most grateful for?

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” And by extension, the 14th Amendment restricts states from making or enforcing laws that abridge the privileges and immunities of U.S. citizens.

I take my freedom of religion and YOUR right NOT to be forced into religious ideology to be fundamental. This is why I rail against Christian nationalism. This is why I exercise my freedom of speech, my right to protest, and my need to bug my elected officials.

2) What book are you currently reading?

African-Americans in the Wyoming Valley, 1778-1990, by Emerson I. Moss. The Wyoming Valley, BTW, is an area in northcentral Pennsylvania that includes Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. I have a personal connection to the book, which I will discuss when I present a book review on Tuesday, July 7, at 2 pm at the Washington Avenue branch of the Albany Public Library.  Inevitably, I will subsequently post some version of the book review on this blog.

Music

3) What have you been listening to?

Seals and Crofts. Dash Crofts of the duo died in March 2026; Jim Seals had died in 2022. Dash had the less pretty voice, as heard in Dust On My Saddle and Yellow Dirt. I saw the duo in NYC on November 12, 1971.

Beyond that, I’ve been listening to June birthday folk such as Prince (Let’s Go Crazy), Harry Nilsson (Coconut), Kim and Kelley Deal of the Breeders (Cannonball), and Paul McCartney (My Brave Face).  

4) What shows or movies have you been watching?

Law & Order: Criminal Intent, which “follows the NYPD’s elite Major Case Squad as they investigate high-profile crimes using advanced behavioral psychology, while also revealing how each crime was planned and carried out from the perpetrators’ point of view.” It ran from 2001 to 2011. Of the 195 episodes, about 70% featured Kathryn Erbe as Detective Alexandra ‘Alex’ Eames and Vincent D’Onofrio as Detective Robert ‘Bobby’ Goren. Quirky doesn’t begin to describe Goren. In the final season, Julia Ormond played Goren’s shrink. Other episodes featured performers such as Jeff Goldblum and Julianne Nicholson. 

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

#1 rhythm and blues hits for 1946

“jump music”

(Virtually the same intro as last week!)

These are the #1 rhythm and blues hits of 1946. Unlike the pop charts, which had 20 songs covering 96 weeks, there is only a handful here. That’s the function of the fact that in 1946, there was only one chart showing the most popular R&B songs.

When it was established in 1942, the chart was called the Harlem Hit Parade. In February 1945, it changed to Most Played Juke Box Race Records. It wasn’t until 1948 that Billboard tracked best-selling records, and not until 1955 that they followed the disc jockey’s most-played records. So, in the late 50s, you may see a lot more records, unless jukebox, sales, and radio play agree.

That is, until 13 October 1958, when they consolidated all the charts into what became Hot R&B Sides.

Choo Choo Ch’Boogie – Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five (Decca), 18 weeks at #1. “Far and away the most popular rhythm ‘n blues recording artist of the decade.” 

Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop – Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra (Decca), 16 weeks at #1, co-written by Hampton. I always loved how the last chorus is off the beat. Half a dozen of his albums are in my collection. 

Buzz Me -Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five, 9 weeks at #1. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an Early Influencer in 1987. His page notes, “The supreme ruler of Forties R&B. Louis Jordan topped the R&B charts for a total of one hundred thirteen weeks, an unheard of accomplishment.”  I have one Jordan compilation CD.

Justifiable homicide?

Stone Cold Dead In The Market (He Had It Coming) -Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan and His Tympani Five, 5 weeks at #1

The Gypsy – Ink Spots (Decca), 3 weeks at #1. The only song on the list that crossed over to the pop charts that year

Ain’t That Just Like A Woman (They’ll Do It Every Time)-Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five, 2 weeks at #1. I love the guitar intro, which sounds REALLY familiar.

Don’t Worry About That Mule – Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five, 1 week at #1. An NPR bio from 2008.

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