We missed this important anniversary, but it bears relating. On July 6, 1957, a 16-year-old John Lennon and his skiffle band The Quarry Men were playing for a church function in Woolton just outside Liverpool. A mutual friend introduced Lennon to Paul McCartney, then 15 and a pretty good guitar player and singer. A few days later McCartney was invited to join the band. Then they wrote and recorded some stuff.
You Want a Cascading Style Sheet With That?
Just a heads up: Friday, July 6, is “Take Your Webmaster to Lunch Day.” Make it someplace good if you value your workplace’s public face.
If you can’t think of anything to talk about, just toss around the phrases “cell padding,” “java script,” and maybe “layer side bar.”
That’s All Right
On July 5, 1954, Elvis Presley made his first commercial recording, “That’s All Right,” at Sun Studio in Memphis. He’d recorded “My Happiness” a year earlier in the same studio, but didn’t much impress Sam Phillips, Sun’s founder.
Many believe this recording ushered in the rock ‘n’ roll era, but black artists had been recording rock ‘n’ roll at Sun since 1950 and Bill Haley and his Comets were listed on Billboard charts with their song “Crazy Man Crazy” in 1953. This, however, was something new: a startling combination of country, gospel, rhythm and blues, and straight-ahead blues that was quite marketable in both the north and the south.
You can hear a little “That’s All Right” on the Sun Studio home page. And while you’re there, take the audio/video tour.
In Memoriam
Let’s listen to some Beverly Sills today.
The Art of Beverly Sills, includes Marietta’s Lied (“Glück, das mir verblieb”) from Die tote Stadt. Spectacular.
The Ballad of Baby Doe, a 30-year-old Beverly in a reissue of the 1959 recording.
The Barber of Seville, a videocassette of a 1976 broadcast from the New York State Theater.
Handel’s Julius Caesar with the New York City Opera Chorus and Orchestra from 1967.
Manon, videocassette, “Live from Lincoln Center,” 1977.
another Manon, this one from 1970. Compare and contrast.
Roberto Devereux, bel canto, her specialty.
I……Forgot
Today, July 2, is I “Forgot Day.” To celebrate, we must pay tribute to Steve Martin. He is, after all, the one who explained how to be a millionaire and not pay any taxes. First, you get a million dollars. Second, you don’t pay any taxes. Then when the IRS comes after you for not paying any taxes, you simply say, “I forgot.”
Try to use this handy phrase often today, and view possibly the finest Steve Martin performance in a feature film, The Spanish Prisoner. Check it out from the Mudd, but don’t forget to return it.
Golly!
Today is the 77th birthday of Jim Nabors. After his Gomer Pyle days, he made somewhat of a career as a singer. Around 1972 a studio recording of Man of La Mancha was released, with Mr. Nabors in the leading role. The rest of the cast is (and we are not making this up) Marilyn Horne as Aldonza, Jack Gilford as Sancho Panza, Richard Tucker as the Padre, and Madeline Kahn as the niece. We are very sad that we do not have this LP in the Mudd’s collection. But we do have the original cast recording on CD.
Buckaroo Ballads
Today marks the end of Youth Cowboy Poetry week, which inexplicably began June 8. But don’t get your chaps in a knot. Thursday is the start of the Youth Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Apparently young cowboys take four days to write the poems and another four to read, collect and trade ’em.
If you like your cowboy poets on the more mature side, we suggest reading something from cowboy poet and former large animal veterinarian, Baxter Black. You can also listen to some poems by cowboys gathered at the 2004 20th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, courtesy of NPR.
Here are some books of cowboy poetry in the Mudd.
Musical Birthdays
Happy Musical Birthday
Today is the 58th birthday of pianist Emanual Ax, and also the anniversary of the birth of Robert Schumann (1810.) Do we have a CD of Ax playing Schumann? You betcha.
More LU CDs
Looking at today’s pile of LU CDs, you’re probably thinking, “There’s no way there could be any performances by Lee Tomboulian in that batch.” And you’d be so wrong.