Vocalist Earl Carroll and some of his Harlem friends formed The Carnations in 1953. Two members left after the group’s first recording. They were replaced and the new group renamed themselves The Cadillacs for its association with automotive elegance and to separate the group from multitude of “bird” and “flower”-named competing bands. With Earl still handling the lead …
All-Star first baseman Dick Stuart hit 228 home runs in his 12-year career. Although he never was a league leader for homers, he finished in the top ten for five years. His career batting average was .264. Dick was in the on-deck circle when teammate Bill Mazeroski hit the ninth inning home run to win …
CLICK HERE for a larger version. My annual Christmas music compilation is available as a FREE DOWNLOAD for a limited time. 24 unusual holiday songs and a custom full-color cover with track listings all for you and all for FREE! Just CLICK HERE for A Non-Traditional Christmas 2012. You will be taken to a new window. Just …
I don’t know how to break this to you, but professional wrestling is fake. That said, William “Haystacks” Calhoun was as close to the real thing as you could get. Haystacks Calhoun was born in McKinney, Texas and by the time the hulking youth reached his 20s, he tipped the scales at 450 pounds and …
It’s that time of year again. Time for your ol’ pal JPiC to give the gift of music. My annual Christmas music compilation is available as a FREE DOWNLOAD for a limited time. 24 unusual holiday songs and a custom full-color cover with track listings all for you and all for FREE! Just CLICK HERE for A Non-Traditional …
Stanisława Walasiewicz was born in Poland in 1911 and emigrated to the United States with her family when she was three months old. After settling in Cleveland, her parents, “Americanized” the family name to Walsh and began calling their daughter Stella. At 16, Stella began competing in running events and soon qualified for the Olympics. …
As soon as Fred Moore joined the Disney Studios, he began to build his legacy. The self-taught artist worked as an animator of several cartoons, including Three Little Pigs and its sort-of sequel Three Little Wolves. In 1937, he was the supervising animator on Walt Disney visionary classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It was …
The son of Polish immigrants, Alan J. Pakula had no intentions of taking over the family printing business. Instead, the Yale graduate with higher aspirations, headed to Hollywood. He became the assistant to the head of Warner Brothers cartoon department, but he was still not satisfied. In 1950, Alan moved on to MGM Studios as …
Former Pennsylvania state senator R. Budd Dwyer was elected Pennsylvania state treasurer in 1981. Around the time that Dwyer took office, a huge clerical error affecting state withholding tax (FICA, which contributes to Social Security and Medicare) was discovered by Pennsylvania auditors. The effects were enormous with records showing that state workers overpaid in the millions …
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 …
