Sure, we all know that exercise is good for you, but recent study shows that an early morning out door walk is beneficial for a few more reasons.

1. Sunlight suppresses production of the hormone melatonin, which helps us sleep. Suppressing its production early in the day allows you to produce more at night, when you need it.
   
   
2. Besides the obvious cardiovascular benefits of walking, regular aerobic exercise also increases the part of the brain associated with learning and memory.

John Fred formed his first Playboy Band in 1956. They made their first recording three years later. But John would have to wait another nine years before he finally recorded a hit record. It was a monster hit, but alas, it would be his only hit.

John Fred grew up in the Baton Rouge area of Louisiana listening to the local music scene, especially Fats Domino. At 15, he started playing at weekend dances. His group attracted enough attention that he was offered a record contract with the small Montel label. His first session in New Orleans actually saw him recording in the same studio as his idol, Fats Domino. Unfortunately, the early recordings of John Fred and His Playboy Band never got any airplay outside of his home state.

So, John put his musical career on hold and attended Southern Louisiana College on a basketball scholarship. He graduated in 1964, formed a new Playboy Band and hit the road.

1968 found the group playing Florida. At one gig, one of the guys in the band was trying to hustle a young girl in the crowd who was sporting those large sunglasses that were popular that year. Unfortunately for him, when she removed the glasses, well, let’s just say the lad was very disappointed. John thought the situation was hilarious. So, he started writing a song about it with his fellow bandmate Andrew Bernard. They quickly veered into grabbing pop culture references at random, including bits from TV commercials and more. The took their inspiration for the title from the Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” And that’s how “Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)” was born. The song was a sensation, rocketing all the way to a 2-week stay at #1! It turned out to be a mixed blessing as John Fred and his band never managed to record another hit record, despite multiple attempts.

We’re not sure what happened to the rest of the band, but John himself went on to a long career behind the scenes in the music business as well as playing occasional live gigs.

All true fans know that 328 Chauncey St., Apartment 3-A is the Brooklyn address that Ralph Kramden and his wife, Alice, lived at in The Honeymooners.

That was bad news for Shurleen Conway. She REALLY lived at 328 Chauncey Street, Apartment 3-A in Brooklyn. Die-hard and somewhat deranged fans of the classic show continued showing up at her residence well into the 1980s hoping to catch a glimpse of Jackie Gleason’s alter ego.

There is no record whether she threatened to send them Bang! Zoom! To the Moon!

We've already got ours ordered for the school year. How 'bout you?

We’ve all heard about identity theft in regards to bank accounts and credit cards, but there is another kind of identity theft that can be even costlier to you!

It’s medical identity theft. That’s when someone steals you name and insurance information, then uses it to get treatments and drugs for themselves, sticking you with the bill. With most credit card fraud, the bank or the card company winds eating most of phony charges. With medical ID theft, you could be on the hook for the charges.

To protect yourself:

• Read those letters that say “THIS IS NOT A BILL” – Make sure you go over the medical services and drugs in those letters. If you notice a treatment or a doctor you don’t know (as well as medication you are not taking). Contact your insurance company immediately.
  
  
• Guard your health insurance cards and numbers – And remember that goes for dental and vision plans as well as your medical insurance. That also goes for your Medicare card (even though it no longer contains your SSN).
  
  
• When you visit a doctor, make sure you get a copy what transpired during that visit – Including treatments performed and medication prescribed.
  
  
• Be Careful of “Free Screenings” – While most are legit, avoid any “free screening” that requires you disclose insurance information.

One album from that great era of psychedelic rock is the self-titled album by a group that called itself The United States of America.

The group was led by an avant-garde composer intensely interested in the-then brand-new field of electronic music, Joseph Byrd. In addition to working with very early synthesizers, the band included an electric violinist and also processed the drums through electronic equipment. The result was an album that sounded like no other.

The album starts off by layering no less than 5 tunes from the 19^th century: a calliope playing "National Emblem", a ragtime piano playing "At a Georgia Camp Meeting", two marching bands playing "Marching Through Georgia" and "The Red, White and Blue" switching between left and right channels. Two other tracks of electronic sounds are also added to the mix. After just a few moments, all of this fades into the album’s first track, “The American Metaphysical Circus.” The lyrics take “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” several steps farther. In fact, many of the album’s tracks pushed the limits for rock at the time, including references to S&M and topless nightclubs as well as a little ditty called “I Won’t Leave My Wooden Wife for You” and another dedicated to mentioning as many poisonous plants as possible in 2 minutes and 39 seconds.

The album’s second side opens with the group singing part of the Latin mass that fades into a very Twilight Zone-esque tune named “Where Is Yesterday.” The album finishes with a collage that brings back snippets of all that you’ve heard previously before fading out to the strains of some soft stringed instruments.

The highlight of the album (the band thought so, too) is a love ballad named “Love Song for the Dead Che.” Despite its title, it really isn’t a political song at all. It is the one track from the album that we feature here at Boomtown America.

The entire album has an ethereal, dream-like quality and tempos vary, from soft and romantic to some very hard-edged rock. Most of the songs feature Dorothy Moskowitz as lead vocalist with Byrd and violinist Gordon Marron singing lead on a few tunes.

The album was released in the spring of 1968 on Columbia Records. The label did launch an advertising campaign with the tagline: “There’s a United States of America That’s a Far Cry From Mom and Apple Pie.” (Truer words were never spoken.) Columbia also used the gimmick of enclosing some copies of the album in a plain brown wrapper. Although the LP’s actual cover was nothing shocking, the back cover contained the lyrics, some of which the label thought might be too much for smaller towns in America.

The album sold okay, but never broke into the Hot 100 and the band broke up soon after its release. It seems Byrd was a strident leftist who wanted the group to be more political, while all the other members all just wanted to be a rock band.

Over the years, the group’s only album has gained in stature incredibly. It has been re-issued multiple times and is still available on CD (with 10 bonus tracks and notes from Byrd and Moskowitz).

Richie Unterberger of Allmusic gave the album four and half stars out of five, referring to it as "one of the most exciting and experimental psychedelic albums of the late 1960s.”Music webzine Pitchfork Media gave the album a rating of 8.9 out of 10, claiming that "USA's self-titled album still stands above the work of most of their Monterey-era, psych-rock peers". The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Check it out, but be advised - it doesn’t sound like anything you’ve heard before.

I'm sure we all attended one of these, right? And with the football team too!

Who knew? Experts agree that some foot pain is caused by inflammation. Nuts, seeds, legumes, veggies, fruit, and fish are all rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids that can reduce inflammation. Also cooking with olive oil may help.