No sooner had we absorbed the news of the passing of Don Everly, then we were saddened again to learn of the death of the Rolling Stones’ drummer Charlie Watts. He passed away at the age of 80. Like Ringo, another great drummer he was often compared to, Watts was not a flashy show-off. Instead, he provided a solid bottom for one of rock’s most enduring superstar bands.

How important was he? Anyone who has seen the Stones in concert will tell you that lead guitarist Keith Richards spent most of his time on stage with his back to the audience so he could take his cues from Watts.

Although Watts preferred jazz to rock, he was the Stones’ drummer throughout their entire recording career. To know the high regard in which he was held, don’t listen to what rock critics and fans have to say, listen to the tributes he garnered from other musicians.

Famous jazz drummer Mel Lewis: “Charlie is a hell of a drummer. He’s solid as a rock.”

Max Weinberg of the E Street Band: “It’s hard to imagine a world without Charlie Watts. I’m just stunned. I can't express what Charlie Watts meant to me as an individual and certainly as an icon of music, and not just in rock.”

Elton John: “Charlie Watts was the ultimate drummer.”

Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine: “Rock n roll would not be rock n roll without the rhythm, the style, the VIBE of this incredible musician.”

Joan Jett: “Charlie Watts was the most elegant and dignified drummer in rock and roll. He played exactly what was needed – no more – no less.”

Paul Stanley of Kiss: “One of the true timeless icons and the backbone of the Stones.”

It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the death of one of rock & roll’s pioneers. Don Everly, half of the legendary singing duo, the Everly Brothers, passed away this weekend at the age of 84. Cause of death has not been disclosed at the time of this writing.

The Everlys’ close harmony style of singing influenced countless rock acts including the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, the Hollies and many more. Don generally sang the leads, while his younger brother Phil contributed the harmony.

Don wrote the boys’ hit, “(‘Til) I Kissed You,” and collaborated with brother Phil to write what would become their biggest-selling record, “Cathy’s Clown.”

They were the first rock act to launch their own record label (Calliope Records), years before the Beatles formed Apple. They also recorded what is commonly recognized as the first “roots” album for a pop act, “Songs Our Daddy Taught Us.” The duo is also sighted as helping to start the country rock trend in the latter half of the 1960s.

They fought as only brothers can, broke up in 1973 (in the middle of a live performance at Knott’s Berry Farm) and successfully reunited in 1983.

The Everly Brothers were among the very first acts enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1986) and the two continued to tour off and on until Phil passed away in 2014.

Rocks stars conquer the cosmos!

The rapid growth of self-storage facilities across the United States is a testimony to Americans having more stuff than they know what to do with. Before you rent a unit for your excess stuff,read this:

Do You Really Need This Stuff? – If you put something in self-storage, it’s obviously not something you’re going to need every day. Think long and hard about selling those extra possession or simply throwing it away. It will say you that monthly rental fee.

Think of Moving to Another Until Every Once in a While – The longer you stay, the more your rental fees are going to increase. Meanwhile, many storage facilities offer significantly lower rates to new customers. So, it pays to shop around every so often.

The Colder the Weather, the Lower the Rates – On average, rental rates decrease in the winter months, particularly in February. Conversely, rates are at their highest in July. So, when you rent is important.

Finally, if you do decide to use a storage facility, check with the agency that insures your home to make sure anything you store in that unit is still covered by your homeowner’s policy.

Doctors say the best way to say healthy AND lose weight is to make sure your meals are built around fiber-rich foods such as:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Beans (legumes, not green beans)
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Whole Grains

That kind of diet can actually encourage the grow of microbes in your body associated with weight loss. You’ll also sleep better, think more sharply and catch fewer colds!

For decades now, “Weird Al” Yankovic’s name has been synonymous with clever song parodies of popular songs. But there was another parody artist well before “Weird Al,” one who had his own string of hits and actually provided a young Mr. Yankovic with inspiration – Stan Freberg!

Freberg began his career doing character voices for Warner Brothers cartoons. He then moved on to Capitol Records, where he provided voices for the early Bozo record albums. Although Pinto Colvig was the voice of Bozo, Freberg provided other character voices.

At Capitol Records, Freberg began crafting clever parodies of the pop culture of the American 1950s. He hit gold with a parody of Dragnet called “Saint George & the Dragon Net.” It stunned the recording industry when it went all the way to #1 in 1953. He followed that with a sequel, “Little Blue Riding Hood” (“the color has been changed to protect the innocent”). That record also reached the top 10.

Freberg interspersed his little TV show parodies with parodies of actual songs, including “Try” (making fun of Johnny Ray’s hit “Cry”) and “C’est Si Bon.”

As rock & roll gathered steam, Freberg inevitably turned his attention to that, cranking out parodies of “Sh-Boom,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” & “The Great Pretender.” In all, he placed 13 records in the Top 40 between 1951 and 1959. His most enduring recording was “Green Chri$tmas,” a parody of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” neatly satirizing America’s over-commercialization of the holiday. As Christmas has only gotten even more commercialized, his parody still receives fresh airplay every December.

Freberg then turned his attention to advertising, where he helped pioneer the use of outrageous humor in commercials, including a spot that featured Ann Miller tap dancing on top of a giant can of soup.

Most of Freberg’s hit parodies remain available on CD and from music streaming services.

Frankie & Annette usually get all the attention, so to kick off this summer, we thought we'd salute Ride the Wild Surf & start our summer with Susan Hart, Shelly Fabares & Barbara Eden (Eden having to dye her hair red because Fabares dyed hers blond).

In our rush to legalize weed, aren't we forgetting somethingz?

After all, these are authentic police cases, right?

Remember when life was this simple (BTW - The band seems to have had terrible taste in albums)?