Everyday Creation

This is a story about an occasional performer who wrote songs for the American version of the satirical TV show "That Was the Week That Was," which originated in Britain. TW3, as it was called, aired in the United States on NBC from 1963 to 1965. If you don't remember it, perhaps your parents will. Or your grandparents.

Anyway, the aforementioned performer, Tom Lehrer, was a musician, satirist, songwriter, mathematician and university lecturer who chose to step away from the limelight in the early 1970s. He's still remembered for his humorous and often political songs that were popular in...

It seems appropriate to lead with Ozzy Osbourne's wild persona because he did, after all, bite off the head of a bat. He also played kind of a regular family man on the reality TV hit "The Osbournes."

Co-founder of the influential heavy metal band Black Sabbath, Osbourne enjoyed a lot of success in his career. He also abused some heavy-duty substances. 

You'll hear more about him in this short story. And you can find various versions of "Crazy Train," the highlighted song in this episode, on YouTube. Here's an official version.

The p...

As a musical 10-year-old, future Grammy winner Chuck Mangione took up the trumpet after seeing the 1950 movie "Young Man With a Horn." Directed by Michael Curtiz, the film had an all-star cast: Lauren Bacall, Kirk Douglas, Hoagy Carmichael and Doris Day. It's available on Prime Video. The picture that accompanies the Amazon listing also appears in the chapters. 

Along with that movie, Mangione's mom and dad had an influence on their son's career too. Find out how in this short story about the jazz star.

Mangione's biggest hit was "Feels So Good," the title track o...

Marilyn Bergman "wasn't a singer, but she was one heck of a lyricist." That's how Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan describes Marilyn, who was half of the successful and dynamic duo who collaborated on the lyrics to such popular songs as "The Way We Were" and "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?"

The other half was Alan Bergman, who died in 2025, just short of his 100th birthday. You can listen to Sheldon's story about Alan in the previous episode, which is #154.

Marilyn Bergman died in 2022. She was the first woman...

Alan and Marilyn Bergman sure knew how to put words to music, and they did that successfully over four decades during which they won Academy Awards and Emmys. 

One of those award-winning songs is "Windmills of Your Mind" from the movie "The Thomas Crown Affair." Here's the official Sting version of the song on YouTube. And here's a short with an interesting analysis of the song. 

Alan died last year, three years after his wife died. They were married from 1958 to 2022. Marilyn's tribute is Episode 155, titled "Love the Lyrics to 'The Way We Were'? Marilyn Be...

After a slow career start, singer-actor Connie Francis became one of the top-charting female vocalists of the late 1950s and early '60s. On one hand, she enjoyed tremendous success; on the other, she endured immense tragedy including the violent death of her brother. In an interview, she said she wanted to be remembered for persevering through the worst times of her life. 

She co-starred in the 1960 film "Where the Boys Are." To hear her sing the title song, you can go to this video or check out the 1978 disco version on the official Connie Francis YouTube c...

Teen idol Bobby Sherman played the youngest brother, Jeremy Bolt, in the ABC series "Here Come the Brides" from September 25, 1968, to September 18, 1970. It didn't take long for him to become the network's most popular actor, judging from the stacks of fan mail he received every week. 

During that time period, he also had a string of successful singles that included "Little Woman," a million seller. 

In the chapters, you can see a photo of the "Here Comes the Brides" cast (clockwise from left: Sherman, Bridget Hanley, David Soul, Robert Brown, Joan Blondell). This shot, attributed to...

Singer-songwriter Lou Christie could have become a classical singer, his voice was that good. But his goal was to perform on "American Bandstand." He achieved that goal more than once. Here he is on that TV show performing his first hit, "The Gypsy Cried," which reached No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100, along with "Have I Sinned," his latest release as of the episode's air date, Oct. 17, 1964. 

Speaking of "American Bandstand," the show ran for more than three decades, and Dick Clark, its primary host and producer, played a major role in introducing rock and roll to Americans. H...

Musician, singer, songwriter and record producer Brian Wilson, a co-founder of the Beach Boys, had debilitating mental health issues starting with a panic attack while en route to a concert in December 1964. Still, he managed to create the innovative and influential rock concept album "Pet Sounds," which was released in 1966 and is considered to be among the greatest albums of all time. 

In 2007, he received Kennedy Center Honors along with other luminaries in their fields, specifically Leon Fleisher, Steve Martin, Diana Ross and Martin Scorsese.

You can go here to listen to "I Just Wasn't M...

At 11 years old, Sylvester Stewart had already mastered the guitar, bass, keyboard and drums. As Sly Stone, he and the Family Stone made the big time with one hit after another. Sly also became a big-time drug user, which proved to be his undoing.

"Dance to the Music" was one of their hit songs. Here, you can watch a clip of the band performing it on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1968. They began the song with a snippet from another one of their hits, "Everyday People."

And here, you can listen to "Family Affair," the...

Rick Derringer and the McCoys had their biggest hit with "Hang On Sloopy," a song that Derringer grew tired of playing even though fans clamored for it. Eventually, he went on to create a career that suited him better. 

He sang and played guitar as a solo artist, and he collaborated with a wide range of other artists including Ringo Starr, Barbra Streisand and "Weird Al" Yankovich.

Also a songwriter, Derringer wrote "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo," which is on his "All American Boy" album. You can see a shot of the cover in the c...

The brother-sister duo Nino Tempo and April Stevens had a Grammy-winning hit with “Deep Purple,” which reached No. 1 in November 1963 and was named the Best Rock And Roll Recording of the year.

Tempo died April 10, 2025; his older sister passed away in 2023. Her tribute, titled "1950s & '60s Singer April Stevens Scored Big with Hits such as 'I'm in Love Again' and 'Deep Purple,'" is Episode 23 on Everyday Creation.

Tempo's music career started early, when he was only 4 years old. In this episode, you'll find out more about the multi-talented performer and what led to his...

Jesse Colin Young had a Top 5 single with the Youngbloods' version of "Get Together," but he didn't rest on those laurels. He continued to perform and also write his own songs both with the group and as a solo artist. 

To listen to the Youngbloods sing "Get Together," you can go here. The song, about loving one another, plays as a fitting soundtrack to videos from Woodstock, the iconic peace and love event of 1969. In the chapters, there's a cover image of the CD "Get Together: The Essential Youngbloods," available on Amazon.

You can go h...

In the '80s, the New York Dolls were known for performing in high heels and makeup. Their audience loved the showmanship, especially frontman David Johansen's onstage strutting. 

As a solo act, he was most successful as his lounge singer alter ego, Buster Poindexter. You can watch him singing and gyrating his way through "Hot Hot Hot" in this YouTube video. I do believe I caught glimpses of Bill Murray in the street scenes, but maybe I was just too hot, hot, hot to see clearly! 

The photo in the thumbnail shows Johansen (center) performing wi...

Decades after the fact, Roberta Flack still is recognized as the only solo artist to win Record of the Year for two consecutive years, 1973 and 1974. She won the initial award for "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." Here, you can listen to a 2006 remastered version from Rhino Atlantic. 

Also on YouTube, there's a compelling live music video posted by AI Videoworks. It's from Flack's 1975 performance recorded with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, upscaled to 4K using Machine Learning.  

Flack sang beautifully, but her music didn't take off right away. When it did, her career so...

Jerry Butler may not be a household name, but he had a long and fruitful career as a singer and songwriter, first with the Impressions and then as a solo artist. 

Butler was part of the creation of the Philadelphia Sound, had hit songs that included "Only the Strong Survive," and later earned bachelor and master's degrees. In the mid-'80s, he was elected to the Cook County Commission in Illinois and held that seat until his retirement more than two decades later.

You can hear him sing "Only the Strong Survive" here. If for s...

You may not recognize his name, but Snowy Fleet was one of the most popular drummers that Australia ever produced. He was an early member of the Easybeats, whose song "Friday On My Mind" was No. 1 for eight weeks on Australia's singles chart. Also popular in the United States, the single reached No. 16.

To see Fleet on the drums, watch this previously lost 1966 footage of the Easybeats performing "Friday On My Mind" for the BBC.

In the thumbnail and chapters, you'll see a shot of Fleet excerpted from a photo of the band taken in 1966...

Marianne Faithfull was part of the swinging London scene in the 1960s. She recorded Keith Richards' and Mick Jagger's song "As Tears Go By" before the Rolling Stones did. She and Jagger had a three-year relationship before it ended after a drug raid at Richards' house in 1967. Addicted to heroin, she lost custody of her child and lived on the street for two years. 

You can learn more about Faithfull and "As Tears Go By" in this episode. The photo of her in the thumbnail and chapters for this episode is from an advertisement for the "As T...

Tenor Sam Moore and baritone David Prater Jr. made beautiful music together, but they fought like cats and dogs. Still, they had more success as a duo than they did when they went their separate ways as solo artists. As Sam & Dave, they had 10 consecutive Top 20 R&B hits and two Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits.

In this tribute to Moore, you can learn the story behind the Sam & Dave partnership including how they decided to form a duo, their turbulent professional relationship and their personal demons. Known as the "sultans of sweat," they were known for their...

Lenny Lipton was studying electrical engineering at Cornell University when he wrote a poem that turned into a song. That song eventually became a hit, thanks to Lipton's roommate who later became Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary fame. Find out how all that came about in this short story by Sheldon Zoldan. 

Here, you can watch a 1965 recording of Peter, Paul and Mary performing "Puff the Magic Dragon." 

The thumbnail photo of Lipton is a self-portrait that he shot with a Pixel 3 phone in 2021. It's available on Wikimedia under the license CC BY-SA 4.0. The ar...

Human beings are complicated and, as a result, life stories can include some not-so-shining moments. This is certainly true of this obituary for Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary fame. 

Sheldon Zoldan's story about Yarrow covers the highs and lows of the singer's career. Yarrow was a member of 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, who were the voices of the civil rights and anti-war movements. They had 11 top 40 singles, multiple Top 10 hits, one No. 1 single and two No. 1 albums.

At the end of decade, the trio split to pursue solo careers and a...

Courtesy of a friend, a few words of encouragement serve as a mantra for coping with this year of change and chaos. In this video, I share them with you along with a bit of info on the Year of the Horse designation in Chinese astrology. 

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This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.

Brenton Wood offered these final words to his fans: "Catch you on the rebound," referencing one of his songs.

Brenton Wood wasn't his given name. In this episode, learn the inspiration behind the stage name, and also the moment that piqued his interest in pursuing a musical career.

In 1967, after a career peak with three hits: "Gimme Little Sign," "The Oogum Boogum Song" and "Baby You Got It," he continued writing, recording and performing nearly until his death.

You can watch Wood sing "The Oogum Boogum Song" a long, long time ago on...

What began as a book about the Vietnam War evolved into a candid memoir about a self-centered life of thrill-seeking adventure transformed into one focused on service and meaning.

"Quest: Risk, Adventure and the Search for Meaning" by John Graham is available in print, on Kindle and as an audio book. To watch a brief video that promotes the book, go here.

In this episode, you'll hear about John's close brushes with death; one long-ago personal failing that still weighs on him; life-changing mystical experiences; and struggles to shift from an adrenaline-fueled life to service-oriented...

Garth Hudson agreed to join the Hawks, a precursor to The Band, on two conditions: that he'd be paid a little extra to be the group's music teacher, and that he'd have a Lowery organ to play. 

This tribute to Hudson includes a reference to The Band's song "Chest Fever." Hudson wasn't a singer or a songwriter, but he contributed mightily to the song's success with an intro based on J.S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. You can hear "Chest Fever (remastered 2000) here. 

To listen to the Bach piece, head to YouTube wh...

For fans of historical fiction and anyone who loves a great story, here's a recommendation: Maria Tureaud's gothic novel "This House Will Feed." It's set during Ireland's Great Hunger, also known by its Irish name, An Gorta Mór. 

The author was born and raised in a part of Ireland that was devastated by the Great Hunger during the mid-1800s, yet she barely learned anything about the area's tragic history when she was growing up. She says it wasn't taught in school. Then she left Ireland to spend her junior year in college as an exchange st...

For these two calming techniques, all that's involved is breathing in and out and focusing one's mind. They take maybe a minute or so to do both of them. I've found that they help me a lot when I'm feeling stressed, and I really like doing them proactively too — just to get into the right mindset at the beginning of the day or anytime. 

Please try them out to see whether they also help you manage stress and feel more clearheaded, and let me know by using the text link below. 

Credit and gratitude go to B...

I recorded this short video after the fatal shooting of U.S. citizen Renée Nicole Good, a mother and poet, and before Veterans Administration nurse and U.S. citizen Alex Jeffrey Pretti died, also at the hands of ICE. Each was shot at what has been reported as a peaceful protest.

These are tense times and, more than ever, we need to follow the examples set by Good and Pretti by being more kind, not less so. Kindness is a form of love and, ultimately, love is far stronger and more resilient than the hate of b...

Summary: Kate Jones offers two affirmations in this video.The first focuses on letting go, releasing any tense hold we have on people, places, events and things.The second centers on forgiving everything, everyone and all experiences needing forgiveness.

Background: This is Kate. When I was in my 20s, I started doing two amazing affirmations thanks to my first husband. That was a long time ago, so the details of their origins are fuzzy. I think he learned them from a couple of women friends who were involved with the Unity Church. I always thought that there...

Each one of us can spread a little love in the world with just a smile or a kind word. And when we join together with other like-minded individuals, our positive influence grows exponentially. That's the effect that Impact100 has in communities throughout the U.S. and in England, Australia and New Zealand.

You can learn about Impact100 in this interview with Brooke Potrzeba, who first got involved with the nonprofit organization in Pensacola, Florida, before moving to Ohio in 2024. Brooke is founding president of the Cleveland chapter, the 76th chapter worldwide. 

Impact100 gives $100,000 grants t...

"THE LIGHT" is an 18-page illustrated board book designed to empower youngsters with themes of self-connection, self-trust and self-love. Author Scarlett Lam and illustrator Mindy Lee have found that adults also are moved by the book's uplifting message.

This short excerpt is from an interview that Scarlett and I recorded in early 2024 not long after the book was published. I highly recommend "THE LIGHT" and have revisited the interview more than once. So far, I've purchased four copies of the book and have given three of them away. The recipients love it too because it reminds people...

This is the sixth and last excerpt from a longer conversation (Episode 121) with philanthropist and author Iris November and two of her daughters: the Rev. Rachel Hollander, also an author, and Anita Hollander, an actress, singer and songwriter who joined us on Zoom from New York City.

In previous excerpts, we talked about Iris' two books; Anita's long professional career as well as her activism on behalf of performers with disabilities; and Rachel's book about living (and thriving) with depression vs. suffering from it. We also talked about the death of Iris' husband when he was only 48...

In this fifth excerpt from a longer conversation, Iris November and daughters Anita Hollander and Rev. Rachel Hollander, talk about how the family struggled in the aftermath of the sudden passing of Iris' husband, Bernard "Bud" Hollander. Father of Anita, Rachel and their sisters, Celia Hollander Lewis and Lisa Hollander, he was the "cornerstone of our family," Rachel says.

Iris was 42 at the time of her husband's fatal heart attack, and she quickly had to shoulder household responsibilities she had never handled before. Far worse, the family faced multiple health crises shortly after Bernard's death. Despite the...

In this fourth excerpt from a longer interview with Iris November and daughters Anita Hollander and Rev. Rachel Hollander, the conversation revolves around lost loved ones and how they can be remembered in positive and joyful ways. Iris envisions her two late husbands helping her out when she needs something; Rachel performs personalized songs for those who have passed. What could have been a somber discussion instead gravitates toward joy. If you have a few minutes, please join us. And if you have more time to spare, please check out the other excerpts or the full episode (#121) itself. 

Rachel Hollander is an InterFaith/InterSpiritual minister and the author of "From There to Here: An Insider's Guide to Navigating the Darkness," a captivating book about living with depression. 

Rachel also is a performer who is skilled in American Sign Language, and she has a great podcast that you can access from her website. If you love dogs, you may want to check out the specific show about Maddie, her late canine companion. It's mystical and quite lovely. Also on Rachel's website, you can buy her book and find out about her spiritual center, SpiritsHome. By the w...

Anita Hollander, a multi-talented performer and advocate, says she was born to be a performer, following in the footsteps (and footlights) of her grandmother. In this excerpt from a longer conversation, Anita talks about her performing career, which began when she was 8 years old. 

Anita also is a passionate advocate for performers with disabilities, and she is one herself. While still in college, she was diagnosed with cancer in her leg and eventually had to have the leg amputated. That didn't stop her from returning to the stage, however. On Oct. 8, Anita received the Harold Russell Award a...

This is the first of six excerpts from an extraordinarily candid conversation with philanthropist and author Iris November and two of her daughters: the Rev. Rachel Hollander, also an author, and Anita Hollander, an actress and composer. All three are accomplished and delightful. 

This episode focuses primarily on Iris' book "Goodnight, Shoebox," designed to help children get to know people who don't live close to them. It can be useful for adults with memory issues as well. The book is available on Amazon with three different titles: "Goodnight, Shoebox," "Laila tov, Shoebox" and "Buenas Noches, Shoebox." 

Losing a loved one and losing a leg; picking up the pieces of a fractured life; creating beautiful things that serve others. These are only a few of the themes that emerged from this extraordinarily candid (and often funny) conversation with three members of a talented and accomplished family. 

In this episode, you'll hear from:
- Iris November, a philanthropist and former librarian with two books to her name: "The Fine Art of Schnorring: The A to Z's of Fundraising and Philanthropy" and "Goodnight, Shoebox." The latter, available on Amazon, is a memoir activity scrapbook written f...

Patricia Falvey left a successful and financially rewarding career in accounting to do what she always wanted: write full time. She made this her second act and encourages others who have a dream to do all they can to pursue it. 

This episode is an excerpt from my full interview with Falvey titled "Author Patricia Falvey on Being Brave, Resilient, and Focused on Your Dream." 

There are also three other excerpts: "Five Books and Counting: the Novels of Patricia Falvey," "Always a Writer at Heart," and "Goodness, Resilience and Paying it Forward."

To le...

This episode is an excerpt from a longer interview with the novelist Patricia Falvey, a former accountant who now writes historical fiction. Here, we talk specifically about her latest book, "The Famine Orphans," which sounds like downer of a story but isn't because the focus is on the characters' resilience and their resistance to being victims of circumstance. We also comment in general how we all have the power to spread more kindness and joy in the world.

To hear more, go to the full interview titled "Author Patricia Falvey on Being Brave, Resilient, and Focused on...