They started appearing on our television during the first hour of prime time, usually beginning in early December and lasting until a few days before Christmas. They were advertised heavily because they were only aired once a year. They were typically thirty minutes long, but a few stretched out for an hour. Some were fully animated in the Disneyesque style, but the oldest one was actually a puppet based production using a technic called stop motion animation. These timeless Christmas specials, broadcast every year during my formative years in the 1960s, were as important in heralding in the holiday season as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Norelco commercial featuring Santa completely airborne before sliding into a village on an electric shaver. Some of my earliest Christmas memories involve making sure my homework and chores were all finished by 8:00 p.m. so I could plop on the floor in front of a television the size of a modern compact car to watch these simple but wonderful programs, in living color, no less.
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was probably my favorite television Christmas special and happens to be the longest running of its kind in history, dating back to 1964. It was a groundbreaking production, introducing the stop motion animation mentioned earlier and the use of a recently invented LED light bulb capable of emitting visible red light, Rudolph’s incredible nose, of course. Sponsored by General Electric, the show was the brainchild of filmmaker Arthur Rankin, Jr., who went on to produce several other classic Christmas specials. With a cast of characters including Rudolph, Hermey, Yukon Cornelius, Bumble (the Abominable Snowman), and Santa Claus, the show came to life at the hands of Tadahito Mochinaga, a Japanese filmmaker inspired by Disney’s Mickey Mouse who invented the special type of animation used in the program. I can still remember feeling so sorry for the misfits of this story, from Rudolph and the dysfunctional unwanted toys to the poor elf whose dream was to become a dentist. Critics have argued that the story and the song written by Robert May and Johnny Marks on which the show is based are plagued by troubling ethical issues, but that was not my interpretation at all. I thought “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was a delightful morality tale about diversity, inclusion, and empathy. God knows we could use a little more of all of that these days.
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
A close second Christmas special for me was the 1966 fully animated “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” based on the children’s book with the same title by Dr. Seuss. Featuring the unmistakable voice of Boris Karloff as the Grinch, this is another one of those classics that is still running each season on network television. Like most of these television specials, this book and show were designed to teach children of all ages an important lesson: the joy of Christmas doesn’t come from material things but from community and love for one another. I certainly received that message as a child, but what I remember most about the show was the incredibly creative and hilarious song, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” with lyrics by Dr. Seuss, musical composition by Albert Hague, and performance by Thurl Ravenscroft, best known for the voice of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes hero, Tony the Tiger – “They’re GREAT!” Every year in early December on Facebook, I post a few lines from this memorable song to help usher in the Christmas season for my Friends.
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (photo credit: Common Media)
Third in line is another fully animated production by Arthur Rankin, Jr. “Frosty the Snowman” first aired in 1969 and has been a Christmas standard every year since. It features the recognizable narrative voice of Jimmy Durante and was his final film role. It also includes the unique voices of Billy De Wolfe as the selfish Professor Hinkle and comic actor Jackie Vernon as Frosty. One point of trivia about the animation is the fact that the narrator’s and Hinkle’s characters were drawn to look like their real-life counterpart actors. Once again, here is another Christmas special adapted from a song, which was written by Jack Rollins and Steve Nelson and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950 and later recorded by Jimmy Durante that same year. By the end of the show, we all know that greediness doesn’t pay and that there is a certain magic associated with Christmastime.
“Frosty the Snowman” (Photo credit: TV Guide)
My final favorite is likely at the top of many viewers’ lists and is perhaps quoted more than all the others combined. The fully animated 1965 production of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” features all the most familiar characters from the imagination of Charles Schulz and his long-running Peanuts comic strip. In addition to its memorable lines and scenes, the special also includes a very fine soundtrack by American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi. The show received both Emmy and Peabody awards and is firmly implanted in holiday memories of millions of Americans. After all, who hasn’t looked at a pathetic Christmas tree and dubbed it a “Charlie Brown tree?” Like the lesson the Grinch learned, the Peanuts kids teach us that the true meaning of Christmas is about love, respect, and friendship.
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I have posted about the rich music tradition that exists in the area around Springfield, Missouri, which is in a region of the country called the Ozarks (a moniker that can be both singular or plural – trust me on this one). Primarily located in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas, the Ozarks is characterized by rolling hills, deep hollows, caves, springs, plentiful rivers and streams, steep rocky bluffs, lush vegetation, and rich cultural traditions that can be traced back to Appalachia and further back to Scotland, Ireland, and even Germany. A major hallmark of Ozarks culture is a type of folk music handed down over many generations, a genre that is often referred to in the region as “Old Time” music. Dominant instruments include fiddle, banjo, mandolin, upright bass, and acoustic guitar. There are definite similarities to Bluegrass music, although purists will argue about distinct differences that exist between the genres and even marked variations in style within “Old Time” music according to location within the Ozarks, especially with fiddle playing.
Stringed instruments
The traditional Ozarks music may be old, but it is far from dead. There are plenty of bands and ensembles performing tunes that date back to the 19th century, and there are locations throughout the Ozarks that host regular jam sessions where musicians gather to play. One of the oldest is at a former general store in McClurg, a small crossroads in Taney County, Missouri. This weekly jam and potluck supper is hosted by the current owner of the venue, Tom Peters, who is the former Dean of Libraries at Missouri State University in Springfield and was my direct supervisor before we both retired at the end of 2024. One of the most encouraging aspects of Ozarks jam sessions and performances is how often young players in their teens and early 20s are participating. A new generation of “Old Time” musicians is carrying the tradition into the future.
McClurg Jam- photo by Kevin Cole
The Ozarks is a large geographic region that even stretches west to encompass small segments of Oklahoma and Kansas and east to include a sliver of Illinois (this is a contentious topic among Ozarkers, who tend to be quite opinionated about the boundaries of the area). Most of the Ozarks is rural, with small towns and villages scattered among the hills and plateaus. There are centers of larger population, such as Fayetteville, Arkansas, home of the state’s flagship university. In Missouri there are larger towns like West Plains, Rolla, Joplin, and Branson. The largest metropolitan area in the Ozarks is Springfield, Missouri. Naturally, there is considerable diversity in musical interest throughout the region, with an emphasis on “Old Time,” gospel, Bluegrass, and country in the rural areas. These genres are also popular in the population centers, along with folk, Americana, rock, pop, jazz, and little bit of everything else. Chappell Roan, one of the country’s latest sensational pop stars, is from Willard, Missouri, a suburb of Springfield.
Ozarks map by Curtis J. Copeland
Promoting and preserving the music of the Ozarks are admirable endeavors, and I am proud to have been involved in such efforts while I was working at the university. I conducted interviews of musicians and vocalists and edited videos of interviews and performances, all of which were featured on the university library’s YouTube channel. Our team explored a variety of music-related topics that are available to watch or listen to on this channel: past and present live music venues along historic Route 66 that crosses the Missouri Ozarks; African-American musical influences in the region; “Ozark Jubilee,” the nationally-televised country music variety show that was broadcast in Springfield from 1955 to 1960; the Gordon McCann folk music collection; and the Max Hunter collection.
Missouri State University Library in Springfield, MO
One of the playlists on the library’s YouTube channel is titled “Songs of the Ozarks,” which was part of the university’s scholarly content associated with its participation in the 2023 Smithsonian Institution’s Folklife Festival. The festival featured the history and culture of the Ozarks region, presented in part by the university, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The playlist includes 43 videos of musicians, vocalists, songwriters, bands, and ensembles who are active in the Ozarks region. The interviews and performances were conducted and recorded by Emalee Flatness-Combs, a musician, singer, and songwriter based in the Ozarks who is also an alumna of Missouri State University. The genres covered in this collection include “Old Time,” folk, Bluegrass, country, cowboy, gospel, Americana, rock, and pop.
The following is a sampling of the musical acts included in the “Songs of the Ozarks” playlist.
Randall Chowning – a founder, one of the lead vocalists, and the lead guitarist of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, a rock band formed in 1972 in Springfield.
John Fullerton – “Cowboy John,” a member of the legendary Sons of the Pioneers who has appeared with a wide range of celebrities including Roy Rogers Jr. and the High Riders, Three Trails West, Miss Devon & the Outlaw, and Riders in the Sky.
David Scrivner – a lifelong “Old Time” fiddle player and student of the great Missouri fiddler, Bob Holt; Scrivner won the Arkansas State Fiddle Contest in 2019 and plays fiddle regularly at the McClurg jam.
Sylamore Special – an award-winning Bluegrass band based out of northwest Arkansas that came together in 2021 and have played numerous times at Silver Dollar City amusement park in Branson, Missouri, and also at the Arkansas Country Music Awards.
David Warren – an accomplished Bluegrass musician and jig dancer who played several years with ensembles including the Bluegrass Buck Jumpers and the Bressler Brothers.
Pam Setser – a musician, singer, and songwriter whose career spans decades and has brought her in touch with music legends from Merle Haggard to Doc Watson and Maybelle Carter; she has performed on “Hee Haw” and has been on stage with Grandpa and Ramona Jones, The Whites, and Joni Bishop.
Sylamore Special performing at the 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival
There is a rich tradition of music in the Ozarks going back more than 150 years, and so much of that legacy lives on today throughout the region. There is also a lasting influence of indigenous music from tribes that inhabited the Ozarks for many generations before European settlers migrated into the area. And beginning in the late 20th century, new musical and dance styles were introduced as refugee and immigrant populations from around the world began taking up permanent residence in the Ozarks. The musical landscape is constantly changing in the Ozarks, but fortunately so far, the newcomers are not displacing the old standards. Cultural diversity is a treasure to be valued, and the Ozarks is blessed with an abundance of it.
As an amateur musician who started playing the guitar in my teens in the early 1970s, I was influenced by the singer/songwriter wave that swept popular music during that time, especially with folks like John Denver and James Taylor. I wanted to write my own songs, to create music that expressed my thoughts and emotions. I am not a prolific songwriter by any means. I have friends who are much younger than I am who have written dozens, if not hundreds of songs. I am lucky if I push out a couple in five years. I have to catch some type of inspiration to make tunes and lyrics come together. I have written many more melodies than lyrics, so when the two merge into a song, I always feel a sense of accomplishment. I’m grateful when it happens.
The following is a list of my original songs that I think are worth keeping and occasionally performing at my solo shows. They span a period of roughly 45 years. Most of them were composed on the guitar, but a few of them came to me on the keyboard. I will try to place them in chronological order, but I may miss the order on one or two. I have written posts in this blog on several of them individually where I included the lyrics and links to performances. Some of them have been copyrighted with the Library of Congress.
“Skipper” – Perhaps my most cerebral song was one of my first attempts just after high school, sometime around 1979. It has some interesting chord and key changes that produce a rather ethereal atmosphere. I always thought this was just a ballad about a young sailor learning from his skipper how to handle a ship in a storm; however, the older I get the more I realize it is an analogy for any mentor-apprentice relationship, or perhaps a father-son dynamic. Some would argue it could have a religious undercurrent. I think it is one of the best songs I have ever written, and I still perform it from time to time.
“Missing You” – I wrote this not-so-original song around 1981 while I was at college away from home and close friends, modeling it after several popular tunes from the period written from the perspective of a touring musician who is missing the woman he loves. It has a pop country sound, and it goes over well with audiences. The theme is so common in pop and country music, such as the 1983 power ballad by Journey, “Faithfully,” written by Jonathan Cain. Another example is the 1997 hit recorded by Tim McGraw, “Everywhere,” written by Mike Reid and Craig Wiseman.
“I Return To You” – This is a sentimental love song I wrote during my last year of college as an undergrad student. The lyrics are nothing to brag about, but it has a catchy tune, so I still perform it every now and then. And I get compliments on it – go figure.
“Remember Me” – I was raised as a Southern Baptist, where music (and performing it) is appreciated as a central part of worship, right up there with preaching. Naturally, I wrote songs that I performed in church. Some were okay; others were endurable; most were awful. I would like to think “Remember Me” is the exception. I’m still proud of the lyrics, which take the form of the imaginary final words of the repentant thief spoken to Jesus as they are both hanging on their respective crosses. It is his confession and his plea for Jesus to remember him after he has died. The lyrics and music evoke raw emotion, desperation, sorrow, regret, and a culminating sense of peace. Because I no longer perform in churches, I never sing this one in public. I do still sing it at home for myself. It is the first song I can remember composing on the keyboard.
“We Liked Grandma So Much Better Without Teeth” – My grandmother had an incredible sense of humor, a trait I would like to think I inherited. She received a great deal of pleasure from making my sister and cousins laugh to the point of losing our breath. She would stop at nothing to entertain us, including removing her teeth, putting a nylon stocking over her head, and then pulling it up while dragging the skin of her face up with it to distort her features to almost frightening proportions. Some years after her death, my memory of these times became almost nostalgic, and I decided to write a funny song about her. It must be fairly entertaining, as I have been asked to perform it many times for groups of people who never knew my grandmother or any other members of my extended family. The song is a tribute to someone whose impact on my life was far greater than I realized when she was still with me.
“You Have My Heart” – It isn’t my best work, but it has an interesting chord progression that incorporates different keys for the verses and the chorus, with a minor-based bridge that all comes together nicely. The lyrics are based on the familiar theme of lost love or having to give up a love relationship.
“Walk Into My Arms” – Some songs are born out of pain, and I would imagine every songwriter has at least one. Some writers even specialize in songs about heartache. This is mine. The strength of this song is how the melancholy melody matches the sadness of the lyrics. “Don’t make me wait much longer; I ain’t gettin’ any stronger; Walk into my arms or just walk away.” This was composed completely on the keyboard, although I quite often play it on the guitar.
“The One You Call” – Rather than calling it a sappy love song, I’d like to think this is a sweet song about unrequited and unconditional love. It is definitely meant to be romantic. Oddly enough, I came up with the idea after telling a young woman who was going through a rough patch that she could call me anytime she needed me – to pick her up from somewhere, to drive her home, to listen to her, or whatever she needed. We were not at all involved (she was more like a daughter to me), but our conversation sent me in the mental direction of a romantic situation for the purpose of this song, mainly because I thought it would be more popular and relatable. This is another one of those I composed completely on the keyboard.
“I Just Don’t Fit” – During the early stages of the COVID pandemic in 2020, I wrote a pop song as a tribute to Flannery O’Connor’s brilliant short story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” She is my favorite author, and I think she was a comic genius – far ahead of her time. If Flannery O’Connor and Cormac McCarthy had a love child delivered by Neil Young, I can imagine this is what it would sound like when the baby cried. I decided on a western-style tune to give it some distance from O’Connor’s South, but the darkness is still there. It’s probably enough to turn Bruce Springsteen’s stomach, but it’s the best I can do with what I have.
“Gone” – Here’s a sassy tune about a familiar subject: moving on after being mistreated by someone close. The speaker never actually identifies what kind of relationship has come to an end, but there are hurt feelings and a strong dose of good riddance. The musical composition is as complicated as anything I’ve written, with slight variations on all the verses and the inclusion of a bridge. It really is upbeat, which adds to the coming-out-on-top attitude. It’s fun!
“Music City Heartache” – I have only collaborated on writing songs twice. A fellow musician friend from my youth contacted me a few years back to say he had written some lyrics and would like me to compose some music for them. He is a big fan of Nashville music and visits the Grand Ole Opry several times a year. He wrote lyrics that draw an analogy between the heartache of never making it in Nashville and never making it in love. I think the music evokes the feelings of sad reality that are present in the words.
“Moon City Rock-n-Roll” – The first place I performed on stage after moving to Springfield, Missouri was a small bar on Commercial Street, or C-Street as it is often called locally. A young talented musician named Justin Larkin was hosting an open mic night at Moon City Pub. I had heard about the weekly session and decided to put myself out there with a familiar song for a Georgia guy: “Melissa” by The Allman Brothers Band. I started singing at open mic there almost every week. I also began checking out local performers and bands that played shows there on the weekends. A few years later I decided to pay tribute to the bar, Justin, the bar owners, and the people who frequented the place by writing a banger about gathering with friends to enjoy music at the bar. I have even had the pleasure of performing that song at a solo show at Moon City Pub.
“Miles of Time” – This is my only other collaboration so far besides “Music City Heartache.” I teamed up with Justin Larkin, mentioned above, to write the lyrics and parts of the melody to this ballad about the emotional toll of being far away from the familiar and the anguish caused by mistakes, wrong turns, isolation, and deep loneliness. I’m particularly happy with this line that Justin perfected: “Every faded fortune that I followed left me feeling all alone, all alone.” It may be a sad song, but I think it has some grit.
“Eternity” – Easily my saddest song to date, this is written from the perspective of a guy (at least in my mind) who is grieving the death of the woman he loves, probably his wife. It was born out of my imagined profound sadness if I were to lose my own spouse, the keeper of my heart. The song contains images, ideas, and fragments of conversations we have had over the years we have been together. The opening verse makes an allusion to the place where we want to be buried, the Grand Tetons. Perhaps writing this song is somehow my way of confronting the inevitable and trying to find comfort in a circumstance where it cannot exist. I think it’s one of the best songs I’ve ever written.
“I’m Gonna Ask That Girl to Dance” – I’m the first to argue that the most authentic music is often forged in the fire of pain and sorrow. But some of the best songs are fun! This is my attempt at a rockabilly tune inspired by one of the most common themes in popular music, especially rock and country: the shy dude who has trouble meeting women, especially in a bar. The lyrics are simple and not exactly original, but even the memorable hit songs about the same subject over the last 75 years haven’t been models of profundity. What I really like about this song is the scratchy, syncopated rhythm and how the lyrical phrases alternate between being tightly packed and more evenly spaced.
“On This Trail” – Finished only a few days before publishing this post, this is not the type of song I typically write, which is based on actual historical events. It is my tribute to the Cherokee Indians who endured and survived the infamous Trail of Tears, the removal of indigenous people from the hills of North Georgia and Tennessee to the newly established Indian Territory (later to become the State of Oklahoma) between 1838 and 1839. Historians estimate that approximately 4,000 Cherokee people died “on this trail,” which represented about one-fourth of the total number who traveled west during the forced migration by the United States government. I wanted this song to honor the Cherokee Nation, so I specifically incorporated phrases from first-hand accounts of survivors and from the poem, “The Trail of Tears,” by Cherokee poet Ruth Margaret Muskrat Bronson (1897-1982).
In 1998, a female band called Dixie Chicks (now called The Chicks) released a song titled “Wide Open Spaces,” which stayed four weeks at the number one spot on the U.S. Country Singles Chart and landed at 41 on the U.S. Pop Singles Chart. The lyrics tap into the familiar theme of a young woman striking out on her own to find independence, freedom, adventure, and her future. The clear message is that she needs plenty of space to put all this in motion. She needs room to make mistakes and learn from them. She needs big sky to expand her vision. She needs plenty of depth, breadth, and no ceiling. The opening line of the song proclaims how this deep-seated desire is an essential part of the human spirit: “Who doesn’t know what I’m talking about?”
Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming
In our travels across the country and overseas, my wife and I are usually drawn to wide open spaces. We love expansive vistas where the terrain stretches out before us for miles on end, and the view of the canopy above is unobstructed. And although these destinations are physical or geographical, they lend themselves to mental and emotional experiences that transport us far beyond the landscape alone. We like to say that these moments are good for our souls, when perhaps we are reminded of how small we are and how big the world, or even the universe, truly is.
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Some of our favorite locations to see such grandeur are in the American West, but we have also witnessed breathtaking scenes in other places in the South, Northwest, Midwest, and in Europe. I have written other posts about how we value wide open spaces, but I thought it might be nice to share some images here of locations where we have felt the power and majesty of the natural world, from mountains, valleys, and deserts to shorelines, lakes, and streams, and always an abundance of big sky. After all, when it comes to appreciating the wonder of the natural world, who doesn’t know what I’m talking about?
View from Picacho Peak, ArizonaTop of the Rock and Table Rock Lake, MissouriHighway One at Hurricane Point, CaliforniaHighlands, NCJoshua Tree National Park, CaliforniaMount Magazine State Park, ArkansasMount Hood, OregonYellowstone National ParkYosemite National Park, CaliforniaSwiss Alps, Switzerland
The last day was November 13, 2024. The thought of it filled me with excitement, relief, happiness, and maybe just a hint of anxiety. I have contemplated this date for decades but only gave it serious thought during the last five years or so. I have been preparing for this moment over a good portion of my adult life. My ideas about how it would look and the impact it would have on me have changed over the years. I’m extremely grateful to be reaching such a pivotal point in my life, and I am even more thankful that I got to celebrate the occasion with my spouse/best friend. November 13, 2024, was the day my professional career ended, and retirement began.
time clock (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My wife retired earlier in 2024, and although I cut back to halftime hours for my final year, I still went to work several days a week, every week. The thought of never again having to drag out of bed at dawn, down a cup of coffee, grab a bite to eat, shower, shave, get dressed, and head out the door for work is just lovely, if not a bit scary. No work means no paycheck. Yes, like many Americans we will have sources of retirement income, including social security. No, it’s not the same as a regular earned paycheck, which is more a difference in the mind than the wallet. For many people, retirement is a huge shift in thinking and practice; in short, we transition from spending and saving what we are earning to spending what we saved, either on our own or through our employers and/or the government. It takes some getting used to for most of us, I suspect.
The joys of being retired are slowly revealing themselves with each passing week. The stress that comes from adhering to a daily schedule and meeting deadlines pretty much disappeared on day one. The luxury of rarely setting an alarm for waking in the morning is heaven, although I still tend to wake up between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m., although there have been a few mornings I have slept past 8:00, especially in a hotel with blackout curtains. Retirement offers so many scheduling options, such as traveling and vacationing on whatever days of the week that works best for our planned activities, assuming we have set plans. Sometimes we just get a whim and go off on an adventure, which is so liberating and fun. We can book flights now based on the optimum prices, availability, airline, time of year, and choice of destination, rather than how we can fit air travel into a work week.
Money can buy so many things, but the most precious commodity we cannot purchase for any amount of cash is more time. However, retirement puts more of the time we have back in our hands to do with as we please. I love to read, and during the years I was working, I typically would get up early enough to spend at least 30 minutes to an hour reading with my first cup of coffee. Reading at night has never been a good option for me because I tend to lose attention and retention after dinner. Now, I can read for hours on end at almost any time of the day that works for me, which is heavenly. I am also devoting more time to reading online subscriptions to newspapers like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. One slight downside of not driving back and forth to work each day is less time spent listening to audiobooks, so I will need to carve out time each week for that relaxing and engaging activity too.
pocket watch (source: Wikimedia Commons)
I have been an amateur musician for over fifty years, and another huge benefit to retirement is the amount of time devoted to learning new music, improving my skills, and performing more often. I am even spending an hour each week working with a friend and gifted guitar player who is expanding my knowledge and abilities on that instrument. I also have more opportunities now to sit down for blocks of time to work on the keyboard, learning new songs and getting better at playing in general. I am hoping that retirement will free up more time for songwriting too. Being able to sleep in also means I can stay out later to participate in open mic and jam sessions around town or take in live music shows in the area. My wife and I love going out in the evenings to live music shows.
Another benefit that is more related to our ages than retirement specifically is our eligibility for Medicare, the federal government’s medical insurance program for people age 65 and over. We will save a bundle on premiums and on most medical services and procedures in the coming years, which will free up more money for travel and the many other interests we have. I am baffled by people who tell me that retirement did not meet up to their expectations. Some of them even went back to work. I suppose there are retirees out there who fill up their days watching hours and hours of television. Yes, we do watch television, but mostly we watch sports programming (Go CHIEFS!!!) and a few series now and again. We also love the idea that we can now catch matinee movies at the cinemas during the week and get better deals on admission and concessions. Speaking of discounts, we have become much more aware of lower prices for seniors at restaurants, grocery stores, and other retailers. Those savings really add up over time.
Admittedly, I have become quite obnoxious about the freedom retirement affords. When I’m shopping for seed at our local Wild Birds Unlimited store around mid-day, I often look around at some of the other shoppers and think, “Damn, I bet you’re here on your lunch break, aren’t you?” Or if I’m driving around town mid-morning and the traffic is heavy, I find myself saying out loud in my car, “Why aren’t all you people at work?” I know, I know. I’m a terribly smug person. Eventually I’ll settle in to this wonderful rhythm of retired life, and in so doing, perhaps I will become a bit more humble and gracious. But for now, let me rub it in just a tiny bit.
American popular music has produced some unforgettable female icons during my lifetime: Janis Joplin, Dolly Parton, Cher, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Beyonce, Adele, just to name a few. They have all been influential on their fan base, and to some degree, to the public in general. Joplin gave young women permission to experiment with sex and drugs, often to dangerous excess. She died of a heroin overdose. Dolly Parton has always encouraged women with her words and by example to be strong and independent without sacrificing their femininity or sexual charm. Madonna in some ways paralleled the rise to fame of Michael Jackson. She was definitely the queen of pop for a while, more so than Michael’s own sister, Janet. She still holds the record as the biggest selling female artist to date. All of these women enjoyed success here and around the world.
Perhaps these women prepared the way for the female entertainer who has taken the world by storm in the 21st century and will likely surpass them all at some point. Taylor Swift is so much more than a singer, songwriter, musician, producer, and entertainer. She is a force. With the release of her single “Our Song” in 2006, she became the youngest singer-songwriter to perform an original song and reach the number one spot on the Hot Country Songs chart at the ripe age of seventeen. Two years later she became the youngest person to win the Country Music Association Awards’ top spot. She has won more American Music Awards than anyone else in history. She is the first woman to have four albums in the Billboard 200 chart’s top 10 simultaneously. She also broke Billboard’s record for most number one albums by a female artist. Swift made history again at the 2024 Grammy Awards when she took home the Album of the Year, becoming the first and only person to have won the award four times.
Taylor Swift
These accolades are phenomenal; however, some of her other accomplishments have served to establish her as one of the most influential women in the country, if not the world. According to some sources, the opening night of Swift’s Eras Tour set a record for the most attended concert ever by a female musical entertainer in the U.S. The tour continued to break attendance records across the country and became the first to surpass $1 billion in revenue. According to Forbes magazine, Swift became a billionaire in 2023 and thus the highest-earning female performer in the music industry. Between vinyl, streaming, and other media, Taylor Swift continues to break sales records in various categories every year.
I couldn’t find an estimate of how many people have seen Swift in concert over the course of her career. Based on stats that are available, close to 10 million people worldwide have attended her Eras tour, which ends in December 2024. She has been a dominant figure in the lives of at least two generations: her adoring fans and the many parents who continue to take their young children to her concerts. It is amazing how many of those parents and children (mostly female but certainly not all) sing along to every word of every song Taylor Swift performs. What a rush that must be for her.
Taylor Swift
Swift is an outspoken advocate for progressive causes, especially related to women and the LGBTQ population. She is not afraid to let her fans know through public statements and social media where she stands on controversial issues. She is not overtly political, and she attracts fans from across the political divide. Yes, there are Swifties for Trump – they may not agree with her ideologically, but they still love and identify with her music. She doesn’t shy away from publicly revealing her candidate of choice, even on the national level. She backed Joe Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024. She wisely stops short of suggesting who her fans should support, but she strongly encourages them to do their research and vote their conscience. Shortly after the presidential debate between Trump and Harris in September 2024, Taylor Swift sent messages on her social media platforms making her choice known and including a link to a voter registration site. According to multiple sources, over 400,000 people clicked on the link in the 24 hours after Swift posted it. That’s power, and I would guess that very few people in this country have that level of influence.
For those who still think that Taylor Swift’s work is just a bunch of shallow revenge music obsessing over her broken heart, I suspect they haven’t followed her career closely enough. Her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, has considerable depth thematically in places. Her lyrics really started to show her maturity as a songwriter with the 2020 release of Folklore. Okay, perhaps her musical compositions are not complex or interesting enough for some people, but I maintain she is writing good stuff. The song “This Is Me Trying” from the Folklore album packs a powerful punch that almost channels Bruce Springsteen in my mind. Oh, one more thing. My wife and I live in Missouri and are Kansas City Chiefs fans. We absolutely love seeing Taylor Swift at the football games and think the budding romance between the rock star and Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce, is a refreshing American celebrity love story. They are adorable. Go ahead, call me a Swiftie. I’m “fearless.”
My wife and I took a brief trip to Cleveland, Ohio in August, 2024. We had hoped to do so in 2020 while my wife was working temporarily in Fort Wayne, Indiana, when I could fly in, and we could then drive over to Cleveland. But the world shut down when COVID struck. We both love rock music, and as an amateur rock and pop musician, I was interested in visiting one of the top destinations the city has to offer: the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. However, we both agreed that we would need more than a single objective to justify flying from our home in Springfield, Missouri, through O’Hare airport in Chicago, and then on to Cleveland. We found one. We discovered that one of our favorite bands, Hootie and the Blowfish, was touring in 2024 and that Cleveland was one of their stops. They were going to be playing at the magnificent Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, about 20 minutes south of Cleveland. We had a twofer and were good to go!
Neither one of us knew much about Cleveland and didn’t have high expectations beyond what we planned to do while in the city. We were pleasantly surprised. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Erie, Cleveland is taking advantage of tourism with great parks and beaches right on the water. The views are breathtaking. With a scenic skyline, good hotels and restaurants, stadiums, arenas, and several major attractions, Cleveland really is a place to explore. The city claims to be the birthplace of Rock & Roll music, primarily because radio station WJW disc jockey Alan Freed coined the phrase “Rock & Roll” to describe the upbeat black rhythm and blues music he was playing in 1951. Of course, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was ground zero for us, and it also exceeded our expectations.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, OH
The building is a modern structure with a huge glass atrium at the entrance. It has six levels beginning on the entrance floor, but the tour starts one level below with the Ahmet Ertegun Main Exhibit Hall, which carries visitors from rock’s earliest stars to those newly emerging contemporary musicians. There are thousands of items on display, along with feature films, videos, interactive kiosks, reading material, and plenty of music. This exhibit has the museums largest displays devoted to single artists, bands, subgenres, and movements of Rock & Roll history and the industry: Revolutionary Women in History, Hip Hop, Roots of Rock, Pioneers of Rock, Sun Records, Cities & Sounds, the music of Cleveland and the Midwest, and so much more.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, OH
Level 1 has a ticket booth, a café, large museum store, and the Klipsch Stage where performances are scheduled throughout the year. Level 2 is called “The Garage” where visitors can sign up to play various instruments with or without a house band in a setting that looks very much like a real garage. I played an electric guitar (something I never do) and sang “Midnight Rider” by the Allman Brothers Band with the help of a house drummer and a bass player, who also sang harmony with me. Although it wasn’t my best performance of that song, it was still fun to play in such an iconic venue. This level also has a large collection of different types of instruments and sound booths for visitors to jam on their own. The Les Paul exhibit is on this floor too, paying homage to the American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype served as inspiration for the Gibson Les Paul guitar.
Level 3 is focused almost completely on the Hall of Fame inductees, with the Inductee Signature Gallery, New Inductee exhibit, and the Connor Theater featuring the Power of Rock Experience. Visitors can look through alphabetic lists of inductees and a large chronological display of the all the inductees going back to the Hall of Fame’s inception in 1986. This floor also has the New Inductee and the In Memoriam exhibits. The Connor Theater is on this floor, where visitors can watch a 15-minutes video highlighting the Hall of Fame induction nights from the past.
Level 4 features the Pink Floyd tour replica of The Wall, designed to mirror the Berlin performance in July 21, 1990. This level is also the location of the Foster Theater, which is used for onsite education programs or private rentals. The theater has hosted hundreds of rock star talks and legendary rock films over the years. Level 5, along with some of the ramps in the museum, has individual display cases devoted to the legends of Rock & Roll, from the Bee Gees and the Doobie Brothers to Public Enemy to Tom Petty.
Level 6 is devoted to an exclusive exhibit that Bon Jovi unveiled with the museum in 2018. This full-floor showcase spans four decades of the band’s career along with never-before-seen artifacts from each of the band members. Visitors are immersed in the band’s story and music from inception to the present. Huge video presentations are joined by text panels and display cases filled with musical instruments, clothing, and loads of memorabilia from the band.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, OH
Organizations like the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame that establish themselves as authorities of a particular subject area all have one thing in common. They always stir up controversy, mostly about who or what is included, but more contentiously, excluded from their lists. This museum obviously recognizes this dilemma and even seeks to address it by allowing visitors to submit names of performers or bands they think should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Many writers over the years have discussed this topic, and some of them have challenged the Hall of Fame on its choices of inductees through the decades. One of the most ironic exclusions is Huey Lewis and the News, the band that had a major hit with “The Heart of Rock & Roll,” which actually mentions Cleveland at the very end of the song!
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, OH
I certainly had my share of questions come to mind as we strolled through each level of the museum. I was disappointed to see how much more space and almost reverential attention was given to Elvis Presley on one wall, while on the opposite wall a smaller display featured Chuck Berry, often considered the Father of Rock & Roll. I think those two positions should have been swapped. One of my favorite wall displays was for Jimi Hendrix, probably the greatest guitarist in rock history. I was baffled to learn that bands with place names such as Chicago were inducted fairly late in the game and that the bands Kansas and Boston still haven’t made it. At the same time, I was delighted to see so much attention given to Wanda Jackson, an Oklahoma native who got her start on ABC Television’s “Ozark Jubilee” broadcast out of Springfield, Missouri from 1955 to 1960. She later became known as the Queen of Rockabilly, a title she still holds to this day. As of this post date, she is still with us.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, OH
We were able to pack a lot in just two full days while still having some down time walking along the shore of Lake Erie, enjoying some great meals and drinks, and exploring the public spaces on the water around the Hall of Fame. On top of all that, we were lucky enough to catch Hootie and the Blowfish back together again for a national tour. Oh, and their opening acts were Edwin McClain and Collective Soul. For people who love rock music, it just doesn’t get much better than our quick trip to Cleveland.
Hootie and the Blowfish at Blossom Music Center (Ohio)
There is no entertainer whose work I have admired more than that of Elton John. His 1974 Greatest Hits may have been the first album I ever personally owned, only because I have a sister who is about six years my senior, and I listened to her albums and singles until I discovered Elton John on the radio as I approached my formative teen years. I played that vinyl until it warped. Three years earlier I had started learning to the play the guitar, at first with a few lessons from a fellow who loved old folk tunes, but I quickly began picking out chords on my own and learning to play by ear. I had been singing both melody and harmony parts since I was a young child, mostly in church, school, or with family and relatives.
Elton John concert, February 1, 2022 (Kansas City)
The songs that Elton John and his lyrical collaborator, Bernie Taupin, produced interpreted the human condition for me and countless others around the globe. By his own testimony, one absolute constant in Elton John’s roller-coaster life has been his love and admiration for his songwriting partner. It was their songs that largely inspired me to start playing music, and I have been playing and performing them ever since. I still cover several of their tunes to this day (on guitar and keys), including the brilliantly composed “Your Song,” which I am still astounded to know that Taupin wrote at the ripe old age of 19.
If I had to choose one word to characterize Elton John’s life, it would have to be “outrageous,” an adjective that he has used from time to time in public appearances and in writing. By his own admission, Elton John has an addictive personality and spent many decades fighting horrible battles with drugs before finally going sober. He has a nasty temper nurtured by his wealth and fame, a personality trait that in my view is his least attractive. “I’m perfectly aware of how ridiculous my life is, and perfectly aware of what an arsehole I look like when I lose my temper over nothing,” he writes in his 2019 memoir simply titled Me. Of course, he is known for being self-indulgent, something he shares with many other pop stars of his generation. He is fairly critical of himself and open about what he perceives as his failures.
Elton John concert, February 1, 2022 (Kansas City)
Elton John has endured his share of sadness: a troubled relationship with his parents, the many friends he has lost to AIDS, his own broken personal relationships, and the many years he was imprisoned by cocaine and alcohol. Those low points are perhaps balanced out with times of great joy, especially his hundreds and hundreds of live performances through the decades, the part of his career that he perhaps loved the most. He found what seems to be enduring love with his husband, David Furnish, and the couple have two sons, Zachary and Elijah. In the end, for multiple reasons connected to his upbringing and his rise to fame, I get the sense that Elton John had a very difficult time growing up, even long after he reached adulthood. Even so, I don’t see him as a tragic figure. I see him as an incredibly talented musician, songwriter, and entertainer who from a young age wanted to be loved and needed to be the best at what he was doing. By my account, he succeeded.
In a post from a few years back, I mentioned that I missed an opportunity to see Elton John perform when I was studying abroad in England in 1984. Fortunately, my wife and I were able to catch him in Kansas City in February, 2022, for his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. He was showing obvious signs of his 75 years on the planet by then, but his voice was still incredibly strong. Yes, I know that backtracks and other enhancements make it possible for concerts to sound almost flawless, but Elton John has been extremely critical of performers who lip sync at their shows. I’m assuming he doesn’t. He has probably tuned his songs down a half or whole step from the original, and he has younger vocalists to help with the stratospheric notes, but he also rearranges songs to make them more manageable for his septuagenarian voice. Some of the tunes don’t sound the way most of us remember them, but they are still wonderful songs, and he remains a fabulous and generous entertainer.
Elton John concert, February 1, 2022 (Kansas City)
I have never been a big fan of Johnny Cash, which in some circles brands me as a heretic. I didn’t enjoy hearing him sing. No one ever credited him with being a skilled musician, and he likely would not have argued the point. I did not agree with so many musicians, critics, and fans who thought his song lyrics were profound. There were a few that rose to the occasion, but most of them were rather simple. Many of his fans and even a few biographers have painted him as a scholar — I have my doubts. I also thought the whole “man in black” persona was rather cheesy and contrived.
I do, however, recognize the impact he had on so many other musicians and entertainers. It is amazing how many people in the industry collaborated with him, especially later in his life. He helped launch the career of Kris Kristofferson, one of the best songwriters of popular music in the 20th century. I know Cash is a bit of a legend in the entertainment world, a reputation he spent a good deal of time cultivating. He was certainly a man of conviction, and on multiple levels.
Johnny Cash was also very close to evangelist Billy Graham, and the minister apparently admired the entertainer for his public testimony about his faith. Cash devoted much of his creative output to gospel music, often times at the risk of falling out of favor with record labels, producers, television executives, and some of his fans. He loved deeply, believed passionately, and endured incredible heartache and pain at times, including the physical kind. I don’t think he was as much of an outlaw as he portrayed himself to be or as the media depicted him. But he was definitely an outlier.
Most people who know anything about him understand that Johnny Cash had his share of flaws: addictions, infidelities, mental instability. He was also plagued with constant inner struggles. He was a troubled soul who clung to the faith of his Christian upbringing, even though it seemed impossible for him to follow a righteous path. The vices always seemed to get the best of him, even by his own admission. I suspect guilt played a huge role in his religious convictions, especially the death of his brother at a young age and the fact that his father blamed him for the unfortunate accident that took his brother’s life.
In the context of 20th century music, Johnny Cash is a name that is as immediately recognized as Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, or Willie Nelson. He is indeed a legend, a celebrity who crossed multiple genres in the world of entertainment. I have recently started performing a Johnny Cash song in my solo shows. The one I selected is “Ring of Fire,” which has one of the most complicated and imbalanced rhythms of any song ever written in American popular music. I certainly don’t play it in the odd time signature that was produced in the studio. I doubt very seriously if I could even come close. Hmmm. Maybe old Johnny’s music wasn’t as simple as I once thought.
Chuck Berry statue in the Delmar Loop in St. Louis, MO
In the spirit of giving credit where credit is due, no one deserves the title “The Father of Rock-n-Roll” more than Chuck Berry. So many of the legends of the genre revered him and covered his hits, including The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Keith Richards said if rock-n-roll had a name, it would have to be Chuck Berry. Even that white boy from Tupelo, referred so often to as the “King” of rock-n-roll, covered Berry’s tunes.
Chuck Berry’s life is not really a rags-to-riches story as he was born into a middle-class family in St. Louis where he lived his whole life. Growing up just beyond the eastern boundary of the Ozarks region, Berry was heavily influenced by rock-a-billy and country music, elements of which would end up in many of his greatest hits. Of course, Berry also grew up during the era of Jim Crow in a part of the country that had a dark past with race relations. Sadly, according to R. J. Smith in his brutally honest biography (Chuck Berry: An American Life, Hachette Books, 2022), Berry apparently carried his response of anger, resentment, and frustration to extremes at times, taking opportunities to insult and humiliate people, even those who adored him, and telling them, “Now you know how it feels to be black.”
Smith does a good job of balancing the artistry, intelligence, talent, and even the charm of Berry with the ugly side of his personality. Some of the stories about Berry make me think that he may have had some kind of serious psychological illness, like bipolar disorder. To say he was a womanizer would be to let him off the hook. He demonstrated signs of being what many folks in the post-MeToo era would define as a sexual predator and even a pedophile. At the very least, it is fair to say he had strong sexual appetites that wandered into the realm of the taboo and even aberrant.
His sexual deviance, along with his violent tendencies and his resistance to authority, including the IRS and government in general, got him into legal trouble on several occasions. He was sentenced to jail time more than once. One could argue that he shared this path with many of the outlaw country stars like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, and many others. Some rap and hip-hop performers who were no doubt influenced by Berry on some level would also be plagued with legal problems and prison terms.
No matter how bad the news was for Berry, he was still highly respected by the biggest names in the music business, including Bruce Springsteen. He was an early cross-over musician, infiltrating white homes with his unique style of playing and singing long before black performers were even allowed to eat in many restaurants or stay in hotels when they were on tour. He was beloved by millions of fans all over the world, even when he continued to attempt to perform in his 80s as dementia began to claim his mind and memory. His impact on 20th century music and beyond cannot be overemphasized, complete with his flaws and his brilliance.
If You Want My Opinion 