When Chuck Berry sang “Roll over Beethoven and tell Tchaikovsky the news,” the line appeared to be drawn. On one side was classical music: staid, stodgy, the stuff your music appreciation class forced you to hear. On the other side, popular music, in this case the then-relatively new genre of rock ‘n’ roll: wild, fun,... Continue Reading →
During disco’s late ‘70s popularity peak, Donna Summer reigned supreme. She landed 14 singles in the Top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100, four of which reached No. 1. She had three consecutive No. 1 albums on The Billboard 200 album chart. Summer’s music and legacy are celebrated in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, which played... Continue Reading →
Broadway was about the only place Donna Summer’s music didn’t dominate during her late ‘70s hit-making heyday. The jukebox musical Summer: The Donna Summer Musical finally brought the Queen of Disco’s catalog to the Great White Way. It would be difficult to overstate Summer’s popularity from the mid-‘70s through the early ‘80s. She had 11... Continue Reading →
New year’s resolutions – made to be broken. What makes us think the end of one year and the beginning of the next will imbue us with discipline and determination we’ve never had before and enable us to effortlessly stop smoking, start exercising, eat healthier, etc. etc., et-freaking-cetera? It’s the myth of the clean slate.... Continue Reading →