As a child, Little Willie John performed in a gospel group with his siblings in his adopted hometown of Detroit. But it was his appearances on local talent shows that caught the attention of noted record producer Henry Glover. Glover signed Willie to a contract with King Records, a one-time country label now specializing in “race records.” Joining a roster that included Hank Ballard & The …
The new Illustration Friday challenge word this week is “shy”. Phyllis Driver had dreams of becoming a concert pianist, but lacked confidence in her talent. Instead, the shy Phyllis became the humor editor of the Bluffton College newspaper. At 22, Phyllis married Sherwood Diller and resigned herself to the dull and expected life of a housewife. She …
17-year old Steve Took answered an ad in the music newspaper Melody Maker. Guitarist Marc Bolan was looking for a drummer to join his band and Steve fit the bill. The band, Tyrannosaurus Rex, performed one disastrous show and Bolan fired everyone but Steve. They remained a duo, busking in subways with Steve accompanying Bolan’s …
This week’s Illustration Friday word is “haunt”. Now that he’s dead, Albert needs to find a good place to haunt.
Young Billy Haines ran away from his Virginia home, with his boyfriend, at age 14. They worked in a dance hall (that was most likely a brothel), until Billy was discovered by a Hollywood talent scout and offered a $40 a week contract with MGM Pictures. In March 1922, Billy was off to Hollywood. Billy …
Jenny Maxwell, a distant relative of Marilyn Monroe, began her acting career in small roles — mostly in TV westerns and sitcoms in the late 1950s. She made her big screen debut with an uncredited part in the 1959 teen melodrama Blue Denim, which dealt with the then-controversial subject of abortion. After an unsuccessful audition for …
Jack Kerouac carried a notebook with him wherever he went. He chronicled his life, his actions, his feelings… everything. He traveled across the United States and Mexico meeting people, observing their lives and writing about what he saw. His journeys and scribblings became the basis for his most famous book, On the Road. Viking Press, the publishing company that finally …
This week, the Illustration Friday challenge word is “sky”. “Twinkle, twinkle, little bat! How I wonder what you’re at! Up above the world you fly, Like a tea tray in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle, little bat! How I wonder what you’re at!” Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) by Lewis Carroll * * * * …
In the long ago days before eBay cornered the market on people selling their household castoffs, my wife and I frequented flea markets on a regular basis. Each Sunday morning, when the weather was nice (and sometimes when it wasn’t), we’d strap our unwilling young son into his car seat and head out to the …
This week Illustration Friday word is “water”. “Ocean: A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man – who has no gills.” — Ambrose Bierce “Speak for yourself, Ambrose. “ — The Creature from the Black Lagoon
