You'll really impress the gals when you look sharp with one of these solid hairstyles. Make an appointment with your barber today!

With the release of “Days of Future Passed, the Moody Blues went from “one hit wonders” to virtually pioneering the musical form that came to be known as “progressive rock.”

The Moody Blues began life as just another band from Britain that performed covers of American r&b records. They scored one hit with “Go Now” during the first wave of the British Invasion in 1964. But like a lot of the white boys performing American black music, they found follow-up success elusive.

Between ’64 and ’67, the band reinvented itself with original members Denny Laine and Clint Warwick departing and new members Justin Hayward and John Lodge joining Ray Thomas, Mike Pinder and Graeme Edge. Their sound became more ambitious as keyboardist Pinder picked up a new instrument called a mellotron, which was capable of producing sounds very close to an orchestra’s string section.

The stunning success of the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper” album sent rock bands everywhere scurrying to create their own concept albums. The band’s label, Deram – a subsidiary of Decca, asked if they would like to record their second album with the London Festival Orchestra to demonstrate the potential of Decca’s new recording studio. Inspired, the Moodies hit on a truly great concept…an album that would cover a single day from dawn until night.

While the album took over 6 months to record (May through early November in 1967), the project isn’t really much of a collaboration between the orchestra and the band. In fact, they only perform together on “Nights in White Satin.” The rest of the album either features the band or the orchestra, but not playing together.

Hard to believe, but “Days of Future Passed” did not find much success initially. The first single released was “Tuesday Afternoon” [listed on the album under the title “Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?)]”]. The song cracked the American Top 40, peaking at #24, while completely failing to chart in their native England. The follow-up, “Nights in White Satin,” bombed in both countries.

But the album pleased their label enough that they were given another shot. Their third album “In Search of the Lost Chord” quickly became a staple of early progressive radio. Its success sent listeners in search, not of the lost chord, but of the band’s previous album, “Days of Future Passed.”

As copies of the album finally began to sell, Deram re-released “Nights in White Satin” in 1972. This time, it shot up the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and became the Moody Blues signature song.

Of course, the Moodies went on to a long successful career. Original band mate Denny Laine eventually found success with Paul McCartney’s Wings, and “Days of Future Passed” is now recognized as one of the first and best progressive rock albums and an essential part of any Baby Boomers music collection.

Hey, we all get older...

Selling the homestead and planning to downsize?

The real estate website Zillow analyzed data from over 32,000 homes and discovered that certain colors on the walls of individual rooms could actually increase the value of your home.

For instance:

• A kitchen painted a soft blue-grey increased the home’s value $1,809.
• A powder blue or periwinkle bathroom increased the value $5,400
• A Cerulean or cadet blue bedroom realized an $1,856 increase in value!

Have fun painting this weekend

The Hudsucker Proxy notwithstanding, the modern hula hoop was really invented by two guys named “Spud” Mellin and Richard Kerr. They got the idea from “exercise hoops” that were being successfully marketed in Australia. Only Kerr and Mellin designed their plastic hoop as a children’s toy.

Back in 1948, the two Californians had started a company they called Wham-O  to market a power slingshot they invented. A few years after that, they bought an idea from Fred Morrison for a flying disc. Fred had been inspired by construction workers who were tossing pie tins during their lunch hour. The pies (and the tins) came from the Frisbee Pie Company (but that’s a story for another day).

By 1958, sales of the slingshot were flat and the Frisbee just wasn’t taking off (no pun intended). So the boys took their hoop and joined it with the word “hula” (important as Hawaii was in the news often as it embarked on a campaign to become an official state of the union).

Within the first four months the Hula Hoop was on the market, sales had exploded! Twenty-five million hoops were sold in that short time frame. In two years, 100,000,000 had been sold and Wham-O was on its way to becoming a permanent part of American pop culture.

By 1967, sales of the hoops had fallen off. What did Wham-O do? They put 6 small ball bearings inside and faster than you could say “wham-o,” the Shoop Shoop Hula Hoop reignited the fad all over again.

Since then, the hoops have remained a consistent part of our pop culture scene, being used by kids, exercising adults, dancers at rock concerts, circus performers and more!

If you’re jogging for the health benefits, you may want to slow down just a bit.

According to a recent study, walking at a brisk pace provides just as much benefit as running when it comes to lowering blood pressure and cholesterol!

As we get ready for Halloween...

Having trouble falling asleep because something is bothering you?

A recent study shows that if you write down what’s bothering you AND how can solve that problem just before going to bed, you increase your chances of falling asleep faster!

At Boomtown America, we salute our nation's libraries during National Library Week (Mar 25-31) by remembering the sensitive, tasteful way those "mad men" of Madison Avenue depicted them in an ad campaign from the 1960s.

BTW - It is said this ad caused hundreds of the nation's young lads to rush to their nearest library so they, too, could discover the treasures waiting for them there!

Financial planners say you should check these things to ensure you are in control of your money:

Do You Have a Will? No one likes to think about it. But the experts say this is where you should start. Using a lawyer will cost you (probably a couple of thousand dollars). If you go the Do-It-Yourself route, you’ll save money, but pay attention to your state’s rules before you sign or your will might be invalid.

Can You List All Your Financial Accounts? More importantly, can your spouse and/or heirs list all your financial accounts. Take time to prepare a list as well as contact information for all your accounts and make sure someone else you trust knows where that list is located.

Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage? Surprisingly, financial planners say that sometimes the answer is “no.” You may still get a tax benefit from mortgage interest and you’ll free up more cash to invest elsewhere or just to enjoy life. Before answering this question, consult your financial professional.

How Much Credit Card Interest Do You Pay Every Month? The average credit card charges 16%. So getting you answer to $0 or as close to it as possible is the right way to go.