A song for a winter's day

Remember Tommy Roe? Sure you do.
"Sweet little Sheila, my little Sheila, blue eyes and a pony tail."
"Oh, Sweet Pea, won't you dance with me? Won't ya, won't ya dance with me?"
"Hooray for Hazel, she put me down." etc, etc.

Well, it seems that when he took the bubble gum out of his mouth, ol' Tom was capable of digging just a little bit deeper. This is a lovely and needlessly obscure song of his called, "It's Now Winter's Day".  Let's give it a spin.

JAZZ: A BRIEF HISTORY

RECENTLY, ONE OF MY SONS ASKED THE OTHER, "HAVE YOU EVER REALLY LISTENED TO THELONIOUS MONK?" 

A "Two Fathoms" Clemens Reader

And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, My Weekly Reader proudly presents a man who needs no introduction. America's very own first and greatest Literary King, the Pope of incandescent comedy, the Friar of acerbic wit, the Bishop of social commentary, the Rabbi to those who presume to write for those who pretend to read, the George Washington of American literature, the estimable Samuel "Two Fathoms" Clemens himself, Mark Twain! Let's read him, people! Mark Twain! Let's read him again, people, Mark Twain!

Mark Twain (1835-1910)

The Swingle Swingers dance and sing a Piazzolla Tango

No instruments were used in the performance of this music. 

All sounds were produced by the human voice.

FRANK SINATRA LIVES!

Whatever else he may have been in myth or reality, Frank Sinatra was a momentous figure in the music of the last century. He reinvented the whole manner of singing popular songs, investing it with passion and rhythm, undercutting the tough guy diction with the tenderness of his phrasing and timbre, and infused it all with sex, grace and more than a hint of danger. That’s why he was first, last and always, "The Voice."

Alvin Ailey Dance Theater

Our nation is not known for celebrating cultural and artistic or political and social achievements. A notable exception is The Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of which was recently awarded posthumously to the legendary choreographer, Alvin Ailey. 

The First Great Novel and 74 more

“Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. Without books, the development of civilization would have been impossible. They are engines of change (as the poet said), windows on the world and lighthouses erected in the sea of time. They are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind. Books are humanity in print.” – Barbara Tuchman

i thank You God for this most amazing e.e.cummings

Edwards Estlin (e.e.) Cummings (1894-1962) wrote 2,900 poems in his lifetime.

To the Book of Faces I Return

50 Great Song Lyrics; First Line Division

From "Row, Row, Row your boat" to Notorious B.I.G.'s "You're nobody until somebody kills you" every hit song needs a melody and a lyric that grabs you by the ear within seconds and won't let go - that stay with you for the rest of the day, that delivers plenty of "plop, plop, fizz, fizz." 
Then there are the great songs that quicken the mind and pulse; that linger as long as there is memory. These are songs that remind us that no matter the time or place, somewhere, another's heart understood your own. When the music is wedded to a great lyric, the understanding is apparent within the very first words. 

The First Line Champs