Just as nursing a broken heart can have real negative consequences on the health of your heart, doctors are now urging caution as anxiety over COVID-19 is on the rise, especially for those of us in the Baby Boom.

Worry about the virus leads to stress on your heart and that’s not good for your health, even if you never come in contact with the virus. Stress causes your heart muscles to weaken, leading to an increased risk of heart attack and heart failure.

What can you do to minimize your risk? Experts say meditation, exercise and staying inContact with friends and family members – even if it’s only by phone or text. Let’s all stay healthy as we head into 2021!

Aunt Bee says there's always room for one more at the Taylor table. Gomer says, :Hey."

A stone-cold favorite of so many people, some have called it the greatest record ever. “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” was a record that needed a lot of things to break right to make it out of the studio and onto a record– and they did.

Phil Spector was already a legendary producer in 1964. But nearly all of his hits had featured young black female singers (most notably Veronica Bennett and Darlene Love) singing behind his famous “Wall of Sound.” Spector wanted to try a production that featured male singers.

The Righteous Brothers had been performing around Southern California for a couple of years – first as part of a quartet called the Paramours and then as a duo – named by an audience member who shouted, “That’s righteous, brother!” at one of their shows.

Spector had his singers; now he needed a song. He called two of his favorite composers, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil. The husband & wife team had already written a number of hits for Spector and other production teams in the early ’60s.

Mann says he and Weil decided to create something that started slowly and built, like “Baby, I Need Your Loving.” Mann even came up with the opening line, “You never close your eyes when we kiss anymore,” He says he actually took a line from another song he wrote (“I Love How You Love Me” – the Paris Sisters) and tweaked it. Then he and Weil poured all the memories of various unhappy love affairs into crafting what became initially two verses and the chorus. But they were stuck coming up with a bridge.

They played the song over the phone to Spector (Mann & Weil were based in New York, Spector was in Hollywood). Spector loved what he heard and flew the couple out to L.A. to collaborate on completing the song. 

Spector started fooling around on the piano with a musical figure he took from “Hang On Sloopy.” Weil came up with the line, “Baby, I’d get down on my knees for you.” To finish the bridge, Spector just started singing a lot of whoas. Mann & Weil wanted to create lyrics where Spector put the “whoas,” but Spector said no.

So, they brought in Bill Medley & Bobby Hatfield and played the song for them with Mann singing the lead and Spector adding the harmony. When they were done, Medley replied, “Sounds good… for the Everly Brothers” and was ready to turn the entire thing down. Spector convinced the duo to wait until they heard the instrumental track he’d put together.

A few weeks later, Spector had most of his instrumental track put together. The Righteous Brothers listened and thought they might be able to do something with the song. But there was one more problem: Spector didn’t want Hatfield singing on the verses, only the chorus and bridge. So, Hatfield had to be calmed down and talked into agreeing to the session.

For inspiration, Medley says he focused on how he felt when his girlfriend (who eventually became his wife) had dumped him for a period that lasted six months.

The guys worked on the song for 4 hours a day for several weeks before Spector was satisfied. But now he had another problem. The record, as produced, ran 3:45. This was in a time when most pop records clocked in at 2:30, with some not even making it to 2:00. Spector’s solution was ingenious if a bit devious. He simply lied about the running time.

He had labels printed that claimed the song clocked in at 3:05. The trick worked. In no time, the song was racing up he charts, launching a string of hits for the Righteous Brothers and eventually becoming the song with the most radio airplays ever!

BTW – Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil remained married until Cynthia passed away in 2023. Talk about a Lovin’ Feelin’!

Come on. How could anybody else compete wth this?

Flu season is here again. Here are 4 things the pros say can help you avoid flu this winter:

1. ) Get a Flu Shot – Experts advise everyone over 65 to get their annual flu shot. Check with your doctor, there are many ways to get this shot without it costing you any money.
2. ) Use a Humidifier – Viruses love dry air. And winters, especially in northern states, tend to be dry. Those in the know say you should set your humidifier at 40% humidity or higher for maximum benefit.
3. ) Get Plenty of Sleep – This tip can have additional benefits in every area of your life. Also, a cooler bedroom can help you sleep by stimulating the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone.
4. ) Consider a Vitamin D Supplement – Check with your doctor of this. Our bodies produce vitamin D when our skin is in contact with direct sunlight. There’s less of that during the winter months. Also, as we ag, we tend to produce less vitamin D, which helps out immune system, so a boost may be in order.

Here’s a nifty little concert you can enjoy that you probably didn’t even know existed: Paul McCartney Live at the Cavern Club.

When his wife Linda passed away in 1998, Paul was understandably depressed. After more than a year of mourning, he decided to finally move forward with his life by moving backwards a bit. He went into the studio to record an album filled with the kind of music he loved best – the early rock & roll of his youth. The resulting album, Run Devil Run was a joyous celebration of some great, seldom-covered 1950s tunes as well as a couple of new McCartney gems done in the same loud & dirty vein.

With the album completed, Paul decided to launch it with another sentimental journey. He returned to the Cavern Club on December 14, 1999, to play the LP’s tunes in the small club setting where he got his start. His band included David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) & Ian Paice (Deep Purple) as well as legendary British session players Mick Green and Pete Wingfield.

No big pyrotechnics or light show. Just a nice, tight little rock combo playing for an audience of about 300 people.

While the current Cavern Club is actually across Matthew Street from its original location, it’s lost none of its dank, dive atmosphere. The result makes for a totally refreshing event. You’ll get to see and hear Pauly cover Ricky Nelson (“Lonesome Town”), Eddie Cochran (“Twenty Flight Rock” - the song that earned McCartney a place in John Lennon’s band), Chuck Berry (“Brown-Eyed Handsome Man”) and more. As the cherry on top of this rock & roll sundae, Paul slips just one Beatles oldie into the set (I won’t spoil it by giving the title away here).

The concert is available on a DVD that includes 2 music videos Paul produced to promote the Run Devil Run album as well as 22-minute behind the scenes video that includes an interview with Paul.

If you want to feel like a teenager again, Paul McCartney Live at the Cavern Club is a sentimental journey well worth taking.

As you might expect, the current pandemic has inspired inventive con artists to come up with some new scams to separate you from your cash.

As many of us are now seeing our family less, there has been an increase in what’s known as “the grandparent scam.” It starts with a phone call from someone claiming to be from a police department. They say they have one of your grandchildren in custody. They may even put someone on the phone that sounds like your grandchild. They then ask for your credit card number for use is “posting bail.” If you don’t want to give out your credit card number, they may ask you to purchase some gift cards and read them those numbers over the phone.

Don’t do either. That’s not the way our legal system works. Ask for the name of the police department. Then, look up the number for yourself and call. If they do have a relative of yours, you next move should be to contact a good lawyer – not to fork over any of your hard earned cash!

Yes, you read that correctly.

Neil Sedaka, of “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” fame, actually played a part in the formation of one of the most popular acts ever in pop music, the Swedish juggernaut known as ABBA.

How? Read on.

The formation of ABBA actually was a long, convoluted process that really came about almost by accident. Benny Andersson was leader of a top Swedish rock group, the Hep Stars. Bjӧrn Ulvaeus was the leader of a popular folk ensemble known as the Hootenanny Singers. The fact that both groups chose English language names betrayed something else. Both Benny and Bjӧrn dreamed of stardom outside their native country.

By the late 60s, they had formed a songwriting/producing partnership at the Swedish record label that had signed both of their bands – Polar Music. After penning some minor hits for other Swedish pop stars, it was inevitable the duo should start releasing their own songs. Their first single as Bjӧrn & Benny, “Hej Gamle Man!” (“Hey, Old Man!”) went to the top of the Swedish charts. That and the album it came from increased the boys’ popularity in their native country. Even more importantly, the lads had asked their girlfriends, Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, to sing back-up vocals on the album. Now, Agnetha was already an established singer/songwriter in her own right, having chart success since she was in her mid-teens. Frida was signed to EMI records but hadn’t yet had a breakout recording.

With the success of that first album and single, a follow-up was inevitable. It was here that the boys made what proved to be two very smart decisions. One, they decided to give the girls a more prominent role on the follow-up with the boys and girls trading alternate verses and all four joining together on the chorus. Two, they decided they would record in English moving forward, opening up their recordings to worldwide airplay.

Permission from the ladies’ respective record labels was secured and the follow-up, “People Need Love,” was released under the name “Bjӧrn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid.” Just as they hoped, “People Need Love” became a hit not just in Sweden, but also in several European countries, South Africa and a few countries in South America.

This success brought the group an invitation to compose, produce and enter a song in the Eurovision song contest. At this point, the boys made another brilliant decision. They would make the women’s voices the lead and they would become the back-up singers. Truth be told, Bjӧrn and Benny had pleasant, but very bland singing voices while Agnetha and Anni-Frid had voices like angels.

Now, here is where Neil Sedaka comes in. (You didn’t think we’d forgotten him?)

The head of Polar Music and the group’s eventual manager, Stig Anderson wanted to make sure their Eurovision song would have great English lyrics. So, he contacted Neil Sedaka in the States. Sedaka agreed. Bjӧrn & Benny sent him the melody they had created. In addition. Stig had come up with a title he really liked. So, Sedaka and his composing partner, Phil Cody, quickly dashed off a suitable set of lyrics and the song, “Ring, Ring,” was ready for the recording studio.

Both Bjӧrn and Benny were huge fans of the early Phil Spector “Wall of Sound” recordings. They wanted their own wall of sound, but had a real problem. Spector employed multiple musicians during his sessions – as many as 5 guitar players, 2 or 3 drummers, 2 bass players, multiple keyboards, etc.

The boys simply didn’t have the budget for that kind of production. But their engineer, Michael Tretow came up with an innovative solution that became the final ingredient in the distinctive sound we’ve come to know. Tretow had the group re-record their backing vocals and instrumental tracks multiple times. He then employed an additional trick that he kept secret even from the group itself. When they recorded subsequent takes of the backing tracks, Tretow added Scotch tape to the recorder’s pinch roller. That changed the speed of the subsequent takes ever so slightly. When combined with the original tracks, all of a sudden, the instruments sounded massive. They had done it – created their own wall of sound on the cheap. “Ring, Ring” was ready to storm the contest!

Unfortunately, the song did not win the Eurovision contest. It finished 8^th in the final voting. Undaunted, Polar released the song, again under the name “Bjӧrn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida” and it became an even bigger hit across Europe than “People Need Love.”

It was at this point that the quartet admitted what was obvious – they needed to ditch their separate careers and focus all their energy on making the foursome successful. Stig Anderson recommended the group ditch the unwieldly name and instead, go with the nickname he had already given them privately, using the first letter of each member’s first name.

Finally, ABBA was born!

They immediately started work on the song they intended to enter in the next year’s Eurovision contest, one that would build on the sound they had established with “Ring, Ring,” but would also rock a little harder and finally break ABBA in the UK and America. And this time, they didn’t need Sedaka’s help. Bjӧrn, Benny & Stig started working on the song that became “Waterloo.”