Behind the Musical: West Side Story

The American musical, West Side Story, is based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The story is set in the 1950s Upper West Side neighborhood in New York City.  At that time, the area was an ethnic, blue-collar neighborhood. The musical, which was conceived and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, explores the rivalry and tension between the Read More

The Untold Story: Tutti Frutti

The invention of Rock n’ Roll has no definite founder.  We all know that Elvis was the King of Rock n’Roll, but others such as Bill Haley and Little Richard also form the foundation of Rock n’Roll. Little Richard has gone so far as to call himself the “Architect of Rock and Roll.” On September Read More

Behind the Song: Puppy Love

Puppy Love was my parents favorite love song.  My mom even has the song as her ringtone. Paul Anka wrote the song in 1960.  At the time he was dating Annette Funicello and he wrote the song for her.  The song hit number 2 on the Billboard 100 charts in the United States.  The song Read More

Profile of a Performer: Gene Autry

Gene Autry gained fame as a singing cowboy, when his career began in the 1930s. He was born Orvon Grover Autry on September 29, 1907 in north Texas.  He would work on his father’s ranch while he was still in school. After leaving school, his talents singing and playing the guitar led to the opportunity Read More

The Untold Story: Earth Angel

Earth Angel became a hit for Frankie Avalon, but how he was far from the first to record the song. The demo was recorded in a garage studio in 1954 and released on the B-side to “Hey Señorita.”  The song quickly outshined “Hey Señorita.” One of the more popular recordings is by The Penguins.  Their Read More