Behind the Song: Turn! Turn! Turn!

Pete Seeger wrote the 1950s hit, “Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There Is a Season)”. Most of the lyrics are adapted word for word from Ecclesiastes 3, which begins “for everything there is a season.”   Seegar used the King James Version of the Bible when writing the song.  The Biblical text was written by King Read More

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

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

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