don't panic

I think there's more panic nowadays other than in Detroit. Here's
David Bowie discussing the throes of having long hair in 1964.


Panic in Detroit, 1973

regrets, I've had a few

When my mom finished nursing school in 1948, flight attendants were required to be RNs (registered nurses). She was 21 and living with her parents outside Boston, so why not travel and see the world even though many cities were still in ruins from the war? Jet travel was an extreme luxury then and it would be part of her job. She applied, was hired, but eventually turned it down. She told me it was her only major regret in her life. Here's the schmaltz. Now go do something, damn it.

• 1940s stewardess training film
• A 1960s British Air Hostess
• Austrian stewardess training film, 1964
• American Airlines Stewardess College, 1968
• American Airlines commercial, 1968
• white go-go boots
• The Naughty Stewardesses, 1973

All hail the Queen of Soul

Aretha performs Rock Steady live on Soul Train from 1973.

American Graffiti

I haven't seen this great 1973 movie in eons. Drag racing. In the opening scene, the "nerd" Toad comes flying in on his scooter. Crashing his scooter was unintentional but was so in tune with his character they had to leave it in. A happy accident at its finest. It takes place in 1962.

Paul McCartney at Fenway Park

My friend Glenn was in the 5th grade when The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. Like many kids then, his world changed after that broadcast. He bought a cheap organ, then eventually bought a Hammond organ, then started singing in a band at 16 in 1969. The name of it was "The Sidewalk Society." How 1969 was that? 😆 We finally saw Sir Paul in person. Click on pic to make it big.

Glenn still has his Beatles scrapbook and Beatles bubble-gum cards.

Here are school pictures of Glenn in the 1960s during Beatlemania.



Above, Glenn and the crowd sing along with Paul and his band.

They performed my favorite Wings tunes from my grade-school years:


Jet, Wings, 1973


Listen To What the Man Said, Wings, 1975


Let 'Em In, Wings, 1976

The Shangri-Las

Have a listen to one of the original "tough girl" groups of the 1960s.


Heaven Only Knows, The Shangri-Las, 1964


The Dum Dum Ditty, The Shangri-Las, 1965 


The Train From Kansas City, The Shangri-Las, 1965


I Can Never Go Home Any More, The Shangri-Las, 1965

Shangri-La is the fictional, Himalayan, tropical paradise in the 1937 Frank Capra film Lost Horizon. It was remade as a musical in 1973 with music by Burt Bacharach and lyrics by Hal David.

Saturday afternoon dose of 1973

She drove a Plymouth Satellite, faster than the speed of light.

back to school

Steely Dan perform My Old School live in 1973.

The J. Geils Band

On rainy days when I was forced to hang out indoors, I would rummage through my family's albums and play records. I discovered one of the greatest live albums while listening to Full House.

Here is the band in 1973, a year after Full House was released.



Their concert at Holy Cross College in Massachusetts from 1972


The 1962 version of Homework by Otis Rush


1965's version of Homework by Al Perkins and Betty Bibbs

I finally saw Peter Wolf in 2019. One of the best shows I've ever seen.

De La Soul

If you dig 1980s and early 90s hip hop, then you probably already know these guys. If not, sharing is caring...



• Say No Go
• Me, Myself and I
• The Magic Number
• Buddy
• Eye Know

Eclectic sampling at its best:

• Five Feet High and Rising, Johnny Cash (1959)
• You Showed Me, The Turtles (1968)
• Peg, Steely Dan (1977)
• Schoolhouse Rock (1973)
• I Can't Go for That, Hall and Oates (1981)