After finishing with their animated feature, The Little Mermaid, Walt Disney’s animation department turned their attention to their next project. In 1987, they decided to adapt the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast into their next animated feature film. The Disney CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, ordered the script be re-written in the style of a Read More
Desperado
The hit by the Eagles, first appeared on the 1973 album by the same name. Don Henley began writing parts of the song in the late 1960s. After he and Glenn Grey teamed up, the song was finished. This was the first of many songs the duo wrote together. Henley explained in the liner notes Read More
Rock of Ages
Rock of Ages was written by Reverend Augustus Montague Toplady in 1763. The song was first published in The Gospel Magazine in 1775. Rev. Toplady father died when he was a child. He was sixteen when he accepted Christ while on a trip to Ireland, however he’d already been preaching for four years and writing Read More
Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin
George Gershwin’s biggest hit almost didn’t happen. Imagine if the work that established Gershwin as a serious composer never happened. In 1924, George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist, with compositions spanning both the classical and popular sectors. Together with his brother, Ira, he composed for the Broadway stage. He penned his first hit, Read More
Let Me Call You Sweetheart
Let Me Call You Sweetheart is a longtime favorite. Every time I go to the nursing homes to perform, the residents LOVE this song. One time we sang this song through about a dozen times in a row. As we sing through the song, we would dance {usually with them sitting in their chair} with Read More
The Untold Story: Kokomo by the Beach Boys
The hit Beach Boys song was written for the Tom Cruise money, Cocktail. In the 1960s, the Beach Boys topped the charts and was one of the most popular bands of that decade. They were well known for their songs about recreation and fun. By the 1980s their glory days were far behind them. The Read More
God Bless America
Irving Berlin’s patriotic love song to his adopted homeland was hidden away for over twenty years before being publicly made known. Irving Berlin was a Russian immigrant living in New York City. Growing up, Berlin often heard his mother say “God Bless America.” Berlin later said about his mother, “without America, her family would have Read More
The Untold Story: The Star Spangeled Banner
We all know our National Anthem, but do you know how it originated? The author, Francis Scott Key, was at Fort McHenry when the British Royal Navy bombed the fort in 1814. Francis Scott Key, a lawyer, and amateur poet, and John Stuart Skinner were on a mission for President James Madison on Read More
Louis Armstrong, The Jazz Master
Louis Armstrong was born August 4, 1901 in New Orleans. He was born into a very poor family and the grandson of slaves. He credited Joe “King” Oliver with teaching him to play the trumpet by ear. By the age of eleven, he’d dropped out of school and was singing on the streets for money. Read More
Who Is the Wind Beneath Your Wings?
One of the residents at the nursing home where I do music always request “Wind Beneath My Wings.” The song was one of my favorites by Bette Midler in her movie Beaches. The song was written by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley in 1982. The title came from a poem Henley had written. Silbar was Read More