Beverly Kenney: Died 52 Years Ago, Still Making New Fans

The late Beverly Kenney a jazz vocalist that is gaining new fans after her unexpected death 52 years ago.

Last week I visited David Gasten’s website This Is Vintage Now website and listened to Beverly Kenney a singer I had never heard sing previously.

As soon as I heard her sing the first few words of Tea For Two I knew she was special and that her voice reminded me of Joni James.

Beverly Kenney sings the American songbook classic, More I See You:

Beverly Kenney was born January 29, 1932 in Harrison, New Jersey and got her start working for Western Union singing Happy Birthday over the phone.

The Dorsey Brothers heard her sing and signed her and she sang with them for several months on the big band circuit. Big band leaders were very particular about the singers who sang with their orchestra so that tells me she was a very good singer.

She recorded her first album with Johnny Smith on Decca Records named Beverly Kenney Sings For Johnny Smith.

Rock and roll may have made a lot of singers rich but  Beverly Kenney was a victim of rock and roll since her music no longer got the airplay and recognition it deserved.

Along with many others who sang jazz vocals rock and roll ended any dreams of stardom for Kenney. It is safe to say that  Kenney may have been a star for years in the jazz vocals field before the advent of rock and roll.

Instead her life ended tragically on April 13, 1960 after overdosing on alcohol and Seconal. Fifty-two  years have passed since her death but the internet has made it possible for a whole new legion of fans to discover her music.

Beverly singing ‘Tis Autumn with Johnny Smith playing the guitar accompaniment to her vocal:

She has left a legacy of her music for her present fans and those who will discover her music in the future thanks to people like David Gasten who are keeping her memory alive with his This Is Vintage Now website.

Her music isn’t cheap since Ebay currently has some of her recordings priced from $4.25 to $488.69 as of today (December 31, 2012).

Bobby Vinton: Christmas Eve In My Hometown

Bobby Vinton singing Christmas Eve In My Hometown one of my favorite Christmas songs but it has not had the recognition it deserves in my opinion. Kate Smith recorded the song  back in the 50′s and sang it on Hollywood Palace with Bing Crosby introducing her many years ago.

Kate Smith who was most famous for singing God Bless America sings Christmas Eve In My Hometown.

This song along with I’ll Be Home For Christmas conjure up thoughts of Christmases past during the 50′s and 60′s.

William Shatner: Actor, Singer and Pitchman

William Shatner looked a lot different in this publcity shot early in his career and made his first television appearance in 1954 on Canadian television when he portrayed Ranger Bob in a Canadian version of Howdy Doody in 1954.

William Alan Shatner was born on March 22, 1931 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Shatner made his movie debut in 1951 in The Butler’s Night Off portraying a crook in a Canadian movie that grossed $35,000.

Shatner now has been in show business for 50 years and has seldom gone more than a year without being in a movie or television show.

He was in live stage productions when television presented live plays. He has one of the most extensive resumes ever since he has appeared in several different television shows as a guest star and he appeared in the Defenders from 1961 to 1965 acting in one episode in each season portraying a different character in each season.

William Shatner as he appeared portraying Capt. James T. Kirk on Star Trek which has been the most significant role in his career.

His big break came when got the role of Capt. James Kirk in Star Trek in which he appeared in 79 episodes during the 1966-1969 run.

Star Trek returned to television in 1973-1974 and Shatner starred in 22 of those episodes. He starred in Star Trek the Motion Picture in 1979. He appeared in five more Star Trek movies with his last Star Trek movie appearance being in 1991 in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Shatner was seen in either a Star Trek television series or movie intermittently from 1966 to 1991 spanning 25 years.

Heather Locklear and William Shatner as they looked during the five year run of T.J. Hooker.

Shatner’s next long running TV series was T.J. Hooker in which he co-starred with Heather Locklear from 1982 -1986. Shatner appeared in 90 episodes of the show.

Adrian Zmed and the singer James Darren also were in the cast.

The shows can be seen on the Universal HD channel presently since he has been on the channel since September of 2010.

Both Shatner and Locklear have been seen on television for many years and should be seen for many years to come with Shatner now 79 and Locklear who is 30 years younger than Shatner is now 49.

James Spader and William Shatner in a scene from Boston Legal television series.

William Shatner would have another long running series in Boston Legal which ran from 2004-2008. He has a series being shown today on CBS network but the name is one of the worst names ever for a television series so won’t even name it.

William Shatner has reportedly been paid well for his appearances in Priceline.com commercials seen on television.

The great singer William Shatner singing Rocketman one his biggest hits. One of his albums at Amazon.com is ranked 414,000th in sales. At least he will never have to worry about making an acceptance speech at the Grammy Awards show. He still may be a shade better of a singer than the immortal William Hung of American Idol fame.

Eric Clapton: Sunshine of Your Love

This Eric Clapton had just ended but after demands for an encore Eric and the band return to the stage to treat the crowd to a rousing rendition of Sunshine of Your Love with David Sanborn also joins in on the final song.

Joe Bonamassa, Eric Clapton: Further On Up The Road

Joe Bonamassa and Eric Clapton sing Further On Up The Road. While the vocals are great the musical interludes between the verses are even better as the two top notch guitarists show off their guitar skills.

84th Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade

The 1924 Macy's Christmas Day Parade was later called the Thanksgiving Day Parade and this year's parade will the 84th annual parade despite the parade starting in 1924.

The 84th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade will be shown on NBC starting at 9AM EST and will conclude at 12PM EST and will be shown from 8AM CST till 11AM CST in the Central time zone.

The parade was suspended from 1942-1944 because the rubber and helium used for the balloons were needed for the war effort.

The 2010 parade will feature Jessica Simpson and Kanye West and many lesser known names. The official website gives history and the parade lineup tomorrow morning:

http://social.macys.com/parade2010/#/home
My dad was 10 years old when the first parade was held and will be 96 on Friday so he has been alive for the entire run of the parade.

Happy Thanksgiving to all readers of  Nostalgia and Now.

The parade is featured in Miracle On 34th Street and was the first major film in which Natalie Wood appeared. She was nine years old when the movie was released.

Diana Krall: So Nice

Diana Krall has been my favorite singer since she released her The Look of Love album in 2001 just one week after the 9/11 attacks. It was a soothing album at a time when Americans needed soothing music and not the usual rock and roll music of the time.

Krall sings So Nice at her Live in Rio concert in Rio de Janeiro in 2008. She is backed by some great musicians with Anthony Wilson on guitar, Jeff Hamilton on drums and John Clayton on bass. The orchestration is superb which has become a staple in her albums. In addition to her singing Diana Krall is also an excellent pianist.

She studied with pianist Jimmy Rowles who advised her to become a vocalist to enhance her piano artistry and now she has been recording since 1993 and won a Grammy for Best Female Vocalist for her album When I Look in Your Eyes in 2000.

Diana Krall singing Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas from her appearance on the Tonight Show on December 9, 2005. Her rendition of this song is by far the best I have heard.

She married singer Elvis Costello on December 6, 2003 and three years to the day she gave birth to twin sons on December 6, 2006.

If you listen to the following short clips of the songs from her The Look of Love album you will hear some of the most soothing music ever recorded from both the vocals and the orchestration.

http://www.amazon.com/Look-Love-Diana-Krall/dp/B00005N9CV

Michael Buble, Jane Monheit: I Won’t Dance

Michael Buble and Jane Monheit sing I Won’t Dance which was written for the 1934 musical Three Sisters which flopped. However it was used in the film Roberta in 1935 and was completely rewritten by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields.

It is great to see the song sang over 75 years later by two of the younger singers of our era in Buble and Monheit that still sing from the American songbook.

The Last Waltz: I Shall Be Released

The Band celebrates the end of their days on tour on November 25, 1976 34 years ago and the singers singing I Shall Be Released is comprised of some of the greatest singers of the era with there being too many greats to mention them all by name.

Their final concert came seven years after Woodstock and four years before the MTV era started in 1980′s. It may be the only time I have seen a concert that featured a tuba player.

My favorite song was Ophelia being sung by Levon Helm in 1976.

The best version of You Don’t Know Me this side of Ray Charles sung by the late Richard Manuel former pianist for The Band in this Tokyo concert in 1983.

Manuel was an alcoholic and drug addict but for a time had given up the addictions but later he had a relapse and started back on the road to cocaine and alcohol and he had taken both shortly before hanging himself on March 4, 1986 in a Quality Inn motel in Winter Park, Florida.

Anyone wondering what it was like in San Francisco in 1976 should see The Last Waltz which was one of the best movies ever made about that era.

Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan: Crossroads

Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan sing Crossroads. Dylan is now 69 and Clapton is 65.

George Strait 1985: A Fire I Can’t Put Out

It doesn’t seem possible that George Strait sang this song 25 years ago. He has had 57 No.1 hits during his career.

Betty Lynn:

Betty Lynn never looked like this on the Andy Griffith Show and amazingly was only in a total of 26 episodes from 1960-1966 portraying the girlfriend of deputy Barney Fife.

I had always thought Betty Lynn playing Thelma Lou on the Andy Griffith Show was in a lot more episodes of the show than she was in.

249 episodes of the show were filmed and she was only seen in 26 of them. When Don Knotts left the show after the 1965 season she was only connected with the show when Don made a special appearance or there was a reunion show.

It is sad that while Don Knotts was earning big money from appearing on his own TV show and in many movies she was mostly a free lance actress guesting on various television shows. She did appear in seven My Three Sons episodes but that was over a five year period.

She was in four episodes of Family Affair in a three year period and later was in five episodes of Matlock starring Andy Griffith.

After leaving Andy Griffith she only acted in 23 episodes total of other shows. Still she liked being on the Andy Griffith Show so much she moved to Mt. Airy, N.C. the boyhood home of Andy Griffith and still lives there today.

Betty Lynn tells about what it is like to live in Mt. Airy, N.C. and how much she loves the city.

After watching her interview it tells me once again not only was the Andy Griffith a great show but had a great cast of actors who excelled at their roles in the show.

This interview tells more about Betty Lynn and how she got the job on the Andy Griffith Show and how Don Knotts was not anything like Barney Fife in public.

It is amazing that the show left the air over 50 years ago and yet is still loved and is being passed on to new generations.

Hit Songs of the 70′s

This video has short clips of many of the hit songs of the 70′s. It is hard to believe some of these songs are now 30-40 years old.

There were so many great songs during the 70′s that there is a continuation of the preceding video in Part Two.

The singers that sang these songs were mostly between 20 and 30 years old but now are between 50 and 60 years today.

Mussolini, Hitler Die Two Days Apart

Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler shown in this photo would die two days apart in April of 1945 with Mussolini being executed by Italian partisans and Hitler taking his own life.

Benito Mussolini was the only foreign leader to send his troops to fight for the despotic Adolf Hitler. He literally followed Hitler to the end with his death on April 28,1945 just two days before Hitler took his own life on April 30.

Mussolini joined forces with Hitler on June 10, 1940 after having sided with France against Germany in 1930 before Hitler had taken power in 1933. He was removed from power on July 25, 1943.

German forces helped Mussolini escape from prison but when he attempted to leave Italy in April of 1945 he was executed by Italian partisans before he could leave the country and died at the age of 61.

The war could have ended sooner if a plot to kill Hitler on July 20, 1944 just about six weeks after the D-Day invasion had been successful but it only angered him as he had 4,900 people killed in revenge for the attempt on his life.

Hitler could see by the end of 1944 that the war was lost but continued the mass executions of Jews and ordered the German infrastructure destroyed so it would be inoperative when the Allied forces took over the country.

Hitler celebrated his 56th birthday on April 20, 1945. Refusing advice to flee to the Bavarian mountains to make another stand he decided he would die in the capital.

On the 27th of April Hitler found out that Heinrich Himmler was trying to work out surrender arrangements with the Western allies and Himmler was to be arrested under Hitler’s orders.

On April 29 Hitler wrote his last will and testament and learned that Mussolini had been executed which probably convinced him to take his own life rather than to be humiliated by being paraded through the streets and face execution.

With the Russian forces only a block or two from the chancery Hitler shot himself and had his body and the body of Eva Braun and other followers were thrown in a crater and doused with gasoline.

So ended twelve years of rule by Adolf Hitler. The man who had planned on conquering the world died a coward who didn’t want to face execution by foreign powers after having ordered the death of millions of Jews during the war.

Waylon Jennings: Before and After Outlaw Days

Waylon Jennings singing Mental Revenge before his outlaw days.

Waylon Jennings singing Luckenbach Texas during his outlaw days.

Til the Storm Passes By: Ben Speer and Dove Brothers

Ben Speer and the Dove Brothers sing the classic ‘Til the Storm Passes By written by Mosie Lister and is one of the most inspirational songs ever written.

Ozzy Osbourne: Worst 7th Inning Singer Ever

Ozzy Osbourne singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame in probably the worst rendition in the history of Wrigley Field.

The video quality is terrible in the above clip but an incoherent Ozzy Osbourne is all that will be remembered.

I had heard that the rendition by Denise Richards was bad but after listening to her and Ozzie it is no contest that Ozzy had the worst version.

This is the version by Denise Richards which while wasn’t great by any means was not nearly as bad as I had been led to believe:

Ozzie and Harriet Nelson: The Bandleader and the Singer

We all know Ozzie Nelson from the Ozzie and Harriet television show but he was a bandleader as early as the 30′s.

Ozzie and Harriet singing Catch a Falling Star and not sure of the name of the second song but it may be Because, Just Because.

Ernest Tubb and Loretta Lynn: Who’s Gonna Take the Garbage Out

Ernest Tubb and Loretta Lynn as I remember them when they appeared at Rapides Parish Coliseum many years ago.

Ernest Tubb and Loretta Lynn singing Who’s Gonna Take the Garbage Out.

Most of their videos are blocked from being shown on YouTube so this one might not be long for the world but we can enjoy it while we have a chance.

Will never forget seeing them at the Rapides Parish Coliseum too many years ago to recall but what I do recall is that Loretta Lynn had one of the prettiest faces I have seen of any woman.

Keith Whitley: Don’t Close Your Eyes

The late Keith Whitley and Lorrie Morgan.

It is sad that Keith Whitley had five No.1 hits over the last two years of his life. His Don’t Close Your Eyes album had three No.1 hits in the title song, When You Say Nothing at All and I’m No Stranger to the Rain.

His next album I Wonder Do You Think of Me included his last No.1 hits of It Ain’t Nothin’ and I’m Over You.

Keith Whitley singing the title cut off his Don’t Close Your Eyes album.

Lorrie Morgan added her voice to Til a Tear Becomes a Rose sung by Keith Whitley.

Keith Whitley singing I’m No Stranger to the Rain in 1989. By the end of year he would be dead due to alcoholic poisoning at the age of 44.

Little Jimmy Dickens Will Be 90 in December

Little Jimmy Dickens shown much earlier in his country music career.

 

Little Jimmy Dickens will be 90 on December 19. He was born in 1920 in Bolt, West Virginia. He is the oldest living member of the Grand Ole Opry of which he has been a member for 60 years.

A little known fact is that he is a descendant of Charles Dickens the author of A Christmas Carol.

He has never let his 4 foot 11 size hold him back and it may have even brought more attention to him as he climbed the ladder of success in country music.

Hank Williams Sr. wrote his hit song Hey Good Lookin’ expressly for Dickens but changed his mind saying “That song’s too good for you”.

Dickens has been singing since the late 30′s and has been singing now for nine decades. He recorded five Top 10 hits in 1949-1950 but wouldn’t have another Top 10 hit till Out Behind the Barn reached No.9 on the charts.

He recorded his only No.1 hit in 1965 when May the Bird of Paradise Fly up Your Nose went to No.1 on the country music chart.

It has been 38 years since he last had a song in the Top 100 country music songs chart.

Little Jimmy Dickens questions whether Brad Paisley should have won a best video award saying that Taylor Swift deserved to win.

Little Jimmy Dickens was known for his novelty tunes but he could sing a country ballad with the best of them as in this song Another Bridge to Burn.

Little Jimmy Dickens singing Sleeping at the Foot of the Bed.

One of my best memories of Little Jimmy Dickens is when he was on a television show and told the fans to knock on his door because his fans are the reason he has what he has.

Many country music stars have been let go by the Grand Ole Opry over the years but Little Jimmy Dickens should be a member of the Grand Ole Opry as long as there is life in him because he is a living icon that represents country music at its best for nine decades.

Otis Campbell and Winnie the Pooh Have Something in Common

Actor Hal Smith will always be remembered for his portrayal of the Mayberry town drunk Otis Campbell on the Andy Griffith Show.

The voice of Winnie the Pooh was voiced by actor Hal Smith who also was the voice of Goofy after Vance Colvig the voice of Goofy died in 1967.

Hal Smith will always be remembered as Otis Campbell the town drunk on the Andy Griffith Show even though Andy Griffith and Don Knotts reportedly said he never drank in real life. However he has something in common with Winnie the Pooh in that he was also the voice of Winnie the Pooh.

He appeared in 32 Andy Griffith shows but left the show in 1966 when the sponsors of the show voiced concerns over the excessive drinking by his character. My favorite episode is when the jail is too crowded for Otis to use his regular cell so Andy sends him to his house where “Warden” Aunt Bee makes him wish he was back in the Mayberry jail.

Otis played a glue dipper which seems like a strange profession for such a small town and would arrest himself and let himself into his cell and was usually free to leave the jail since the key was in his reach outside the cell except in instances like this when Barney Fife thought he needed some interrogation before being released.

Barney interrogates Otis to see if he is fit to be released out into society.

Smith also was the voice of Winnie the Pooh and Owl for the Disney channel.

He became the voice of Goofy and Woody Woodpecker when the previous actors who voiced those characters died.

Thanks for the memories and for being such a great entertainer.

His Find A Grave page has even more info on Hal and shows his place in the mausoleum:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1866

This is one of the many tributes written for Hal at the Find A Grave website:

Hal, So many great laughts that I can’t even count them!What a great part you played as Otis Campbell the drunk.I still watch you even to this day and never get tired of watching you!I see also that your son and wife have passed on also!I hope you are finding great peace with you family in heaven!May god bless you and your family in your new life with out lord and savior Jesus Christ!See you heaven!God Bless!
- Richard Colson
Added: Oct. 3, 2008

Walter Tetley: Kid Who Never Grew Up

Walter Tetley left who portrayed Leroy on The Great Gildersleeve is shown with Harold Peary who played the Great Gildersleeve and Louise Erickson who was his sister Marjorie on the program.

Walter Tetley never was big in stature nor did he have the voice of an adult during his long career in old time radio, television and movies but he will always be remembered for his portrayal of  Leroy Forrester on the Great Gildersleeve from 1941 to 1954 which aired on the NBC radio network.

Tetley was born June 2, 1915 in New York City with the name of  Walter Campbell Tetzlaff  and died 60 years later in Los Angeles, California on September 4, 1975.

He appeared in many movies in various roles for a shorter person like a telegram boy, an elevator operator, page boy, messenger boy, jockey, delivery boy and newsboy in 40′s movies.

It is thought that Tetley had a hormonal problem causing him to never develop an adult voice and never have the height of a normal adult.

Leroy is featured in this September 16, 1945 show Leroy Suspended From School . Leroy thinks being suspended means extra time to play but his uncle has other ideas like cleaning out the garage.

The show can be found as the No. 134 show on this list at otr.net.

http://www.otr.net/?p=gild

When old time radio as we knew it died on September 30, 1962 with Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar and  Suspense airing their last shows on that date Tetley seldom appeared on radio again except when he could be heard in Hollywood Radio Theatre. He appeared in 841 old time radio programs according to radiogoldindex.com the best website for information on old time radio shows and personalities.

Tetley later would do voice over work in cartoons including Bullwinkle and the Dudley Do-Right shows on television.

He would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair after a 1971 motorcycle accident and died four years later in 1975.

Life wasn’t easy for Tetley who ended his career doing the voice of Timmy in A Christmas Story cartoon in 1972 but he worked for 38 years in the entertainment industry and was known for his comic delivery in both The Great Gildersleeve and the Phil Harris Show on which he played Julius Abruzzio.

It has been 35 years since the death of Tetley but his memory lives on in many old time radio shows which still can be heard on cassette tapes, records and MP3 CD’s which can hold as many as 50 shows on one CD for a nominal price.

OTRradio.com has 507 Great Gildersleeve shows for sale on six CD’s for only $11.00 including shipping which will give listeners over 250 hours of listening pleasure.

http://otrradio.com/id1.html

Debby Boone: You Light Up My Life

Debby Boone singing You Light Up My Life.

It doesn’t seem possible that it has been 33 years since You Light Up My Life was recorded by Debby Boone.  She was 21 in 1977 when it was recorded and is now 54.

The song was first sung in the movie by the same name by Kvitka “Kasey” Cisyk and the lead character in the movie Didi Conn lip synched the movie version of the song.

It was most successful song of the 70′s when recorded by Debby Boone and written by Joe Brooks.

Brooks today is facing these charges and is awaiting trial according to Wikipedia:

In June 2009, he was accused of sexual assault by four different women over incidents that occurred between March and May 2008. He allegedly lured the women to his apartment to audition for movie roles.^[1] He was indicted on 23 June 2009. He is currently being tried by Manhattan’s state Supreme court for 91 counts and charged with rape, sexual abuse, criminal sexual act, assault, and other charges.^[2] As of January 2010, his trial had not yet begun. The grand jury heard more evidence on 17 December 2009 because two new witnesses came forward.

The song won Best Original Song Oscar for Brooks and would win Song of the Year Grammy award while Debby Boone also won her the 1977 Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

She never duplicated her success with You Light Up My Life as a pop artist but did have some success in the country music field with Are You on the Road to Loving Me Again which went to No.1 on the country charts.

She married her husband Gabriel Ferrer in 1979 whose father was the actor Jose Ferrer and his mother was singer Rosemary Clooney.

Bette Midler: Wind Beneath My Wings

Bette Middler sings Wind Beneath My Wings in 2008.

Wind Beneath My Wings was written by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley in 1982 and when they submitted it to Bob Montgomery their publisher he changed it from an mid-tempo song to a ballad which made it the hit it would become.

The Gary Morris version would win the CMA Song of the Year award and the song would win Song of the Year award at the Grammys for Bette Midler’s version.

The song has been covered by close to 200 artists and to me it is one of the best written songs ever both lyrically and musically.

Gary Morris singing his version of  Wind Beneath My Wings which went to No.4 on country charts.

One of my friends sang Wind Beneath My Wings at his wife’s funeral.

There have been a lot of great songs written in the past and will be written in the future but this song will go down as one of the best songs ever.

All Quartets Radio

Southern gospel fans who love to hear southern gospel quartets can listen to these quartets 24/7 on their computer in stereo. I have listened to the station for just a few minutes have already heard such well known southern gospel favorites as Till the Storm Passes By, Turn Your Radio On and The Old Country Church.

http://www.allquartetsradio.com/listenfree.html

Beyond the Ashes Involved in Southern Gospel Concert Fire

Beyond the Ashes southern gospel trio had just left the stage at the Majestic Theatre in Chillicothe, Ohio when they noticed the curtains were on fire.

The aptly named Beyond the Ashes southern gospel trio were in concert in Chillicothe, Ohio earlier this month and had just left the stage when they noticed the stage curtains were on fire.

One of the members of Beyond the Ashes was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation and Kelly Nelon Clark  of the Nelons was also taken to the hospital with stomach pain along with her daughter Amber who was coughing.

No plans for a name change for Beyond the Ashes at the time this article was written.

 

Nostalgic Website: Old Time Radio and Music of the Past

This website is one of the best for bringing back the old time radio shows and the music of the past. It is worth going into the archives to see what treasures are in those archives that will remind us of the past. There is a lot of old time radio shows and music from yesteryear to keep a listener enthralled for hours and maybe days.

 

http://nostalgic-radio.com/2010/11/08/doris-day-sentimental-journey-1944.asp

Peggy Lee and Judy Garland: Musical Icons of 40′s, 50′s and 60′s

Peggy Lee and Judy Garland talking and singing in this video from an undated television show. Peggy Lee fans can look forward to an upcoming biopic of her life starring Reese Witherspoon.

Ray Price Medley 2009

The great Ray Price singing a medley of hits by himself and others. I consider Ray Price and Jim Reeves as the two smoothest sounding country music singers ever to take a concert stage.

Ina Ray Hutton: I’m a Hundred Percent With You

Ina Ray Hutton singing I’m a Hundred Percent With You with the backing of The Melodears her all girl orchestra.

For more information about the life and career of Ina Ray Hutton:

http://www.parabrisas.com/d_huttonir.php

Huey P. Long and Big Band Music

This video starts with some politicking by Huey P. Long who served as governor of Louisiana and United States Senator for only a total of seven years. His short speech is followed by female bandleader Ina Ray Hutton singing Every Man a King accompanied by her band the Melodears.

Creedence Clearwater Revival: Proud Mary

Creedence Clearwater Revival singing Proud Mary. John Fogerty wrote the song that was recorded two years later by Ike and Tina Turner. The CCR version went to No.2 while the Turner’s version peaked at No.4 on the charts.

Proud Mary was covered 65 times in 1969 and has been covered 100 times overall. Elvis Presley covered it in the 70′s.

CCR had a lot of hit songs but Proud Mary is the one most people think of when thinking of the group.

Frances Bavier: Better Known as Aunt Bee

Frances Bavier shown on lower right in photo with Ron Howard on her left and Don Knotts and Andy Griffith in the back row had a big part in the success of the Andy Griffith Show which is celebrating its 50th birthday this year.

Frances Bavier was born in New York City on December 14, 1902. She appeared in vaudeville, in old time radio in an episode of The Lone Ranger on March 24, 1955, on Broadway, in the movies and on television.

She made her first Broadway appearance in 1925 in The Poor Nut and her last appearance was in 1951 in Point of No Return with Henry Fonda.

Her first movie appearance was in Girls About Town which was released in 1931. She also appeared in The Day the Earth Stood Still twenty years later in 1951. Aliens invaded earth in the movie and earthlings were told to live peaceably or be destroyed.

One of Bavier’s co-stars in the movie was Billy Gray best known for his portrayal of Bud on Father Knows Best.

Her first television appearance was in Racket Squad in 1952. The first show I remember her from was It’s A Great Life which co-starred James Dunn, William Bishop and Michael O’Shea.

Frances Bavier is shown at the 1:49 mark in this video from Eve Arden Show which left the air in 1958.

Two years later she would appear in her most well known role as Aunt Bee Taylor in 175 episodes of the Andy Griffith Show. Bavier was in the show the entire length of its eight year run on the CBS television network that started on October 3, 1960 till April 1, 1968.

She made her last television appearance in 1970 when she appeared in 24 episodes of Mayberry R.F. D. Her last movie appearance was in 1974 when she played the lady with the cat in Benji.

When she retired in 1972 she chose to live in Siler City, North Carolina because it reminded her of Mayberry. Siler City had been mentioned in some episodes of the show.

Siler City is also known as the place where Colonel Sanders first introduced the taste of Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1939.

She was known to be difficult during the run of the show but did apologize to Andy Griffith for being so hard to work with shortly before her death.

When she first moved to Siler City she worked with charitable causes but when fans wouldn’t let her have her privacy she withdrew and became a recluse.

The following article tells about her living with 14 cats and her estate being valued at $700,000.

http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/b/Frances%20Bavier/frances_bavier.htm

She died on December 6, 1989 in her home at the age of 86 after battling cancer and heart disease.

The inscription on Frances Bavier's tombstone is very touching thought and she does still live in our hearts.

Beach Boys Early Years and Later Years

The Beach Boys singing Surfin’ USA early in their career.

The Beach Boys singing I Get Around in 1980 at Knebworth, England 19 years after they first hit the music scene. Their harmony was what set them apart from most groups of the day. This is the original band with the exception of Bruce Johnston playing keyboards.

By the end of 1998 Dennis Wilson will have drowned and Carl Wilson would have died with cancer. Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the Beach Boys.