Did you ever attend a church where “In The Sweet By and By” was part of the praise and worship time? I did. And I think, if I close my eyes and listen real close, I can almost hear my … Read the rest
Tag Archives: music history
Way back in 1976 there was a popular band, from Sweden, who enjoyed something most musicians might only dream about. On December 3, of that year, somewhere around three and a half million people applied to get tickets to one … Read the rest
I just read a short blurb about Billy Joel’s song “Uptown Girl.” And it said that song was a Number 1 hit for him on the British charts, for five weeks, back in 1983. That started on this day, November … Read the rest
Back in 1974 I paid for (and enjoyed, immensely) an America holiday. Because it was an excursion into the best parts of musical imagination. And…what? You think I misspelled it? Oh, I see. You think it should have been American … Read the rest
Bob Dylan said it. So, it must be true right? He talked about how you gotta serve somebody. In fact, in one of his songs, he sang “you’re gonna have to serve somebody” quite a few times. So, he must … Read the rest
In 1975 I worked in a disco. Just writing those words sounds crazy to me now. But it’s true. At that time, disco music was big. And if you don’t know what disco was, then you might be too young … Read the rest
Back when I was the praise and worship music leader for a church in the Denver metro area, I remember announcing, with a quip, a song we were about to sing. I said something like, “This next song is called … Read the rest
What if you drove a truck for a living? And what if you went from driving a truck to singing in a band. And what if your band did so badly that you were told to go back to driving … Read the rest
Income tax brackets. Now, those three words should never go together. Because when they do, they inevitably invite confusion, envy, and thievery. And even knucklehead, one-track-mind musicians can figure that out. In fact, income tax brackets influenced the name of … Read the rest
I read about a guy, named Andreas Cornelius van Kujik, who promoted the occasional medicine show, or carnival, or other cheap entertainment. One of those interesting shows was called “The Great Parker Pony Circus.” And another was called “Tom Parker … Read the rest