We all tend to sleep less soundly as we age, but there are some things we can do to minimize this effect as much as possible. The experts say that the blue light that comes from smartphones, tablets and personal computers surpasses the production of melatonin, the hormone that helps induce sleep.

Those who read a printed book before bedtime stand a better chance of getting dreamland faster than those who read an eBook.

Word to the wise.

Throughout the early days of rock, many, many hit records were put together by producer/songwriters using session singers and musicians and then released with a made-up name for the recording act. Perhaps no such group ever achieved so much as the Grass Roots, who actually, ultimately became a real touring band and wound up in the American Pop Music Hall of Fame!

Their story begins at the fledgling 60s record label, Dunhill. The label had been started by producer Lou Adler. Together with the songwriting duo of P.F. Sloan and Steve Bari, they had recorded a song called “Where Were You When I Needed You.” They made-up the group name the Grassroots (originally one word) and shopped the record to stations around California. Music people liked the tune, but thought the vocals needed punching up. So, Adler, Sloan and Bari recruited a San Francisco band called the Bedouins. Vocals on the record were replaced with the Bedouins’ lead singer, Willie Fulton. The song was a modest chart success, cracking the Top 30, and the Bedouins began touring as the Grass Roots (Now two words).

Eventually Fulton and most of the rest of the band became frustrated with a lack of input into the group’s recordings and departed Dunhill Records. However, when they tried to continue appearing as the Grass Roots, they discovered that the label, not the band, owned the name. So much for that plan.

Meanwhile Sloan and Bari hired another local band to become the Grass Roots. The band was playing gigs as the 13^th Floor (not to be confused with the 13^th Floor Elevators). As with the Bedouins, Adler, Sloan & Bari used studio musicians during the sessions and employed the band only for the vocal tracks. Luck was with them as the 13^th Floor’s bass player and key vocalist was a gentleman named Rob Grill. Their first collaboration in early 1967, “Let’s Live for Today,” made it into the Top 10.

Over the next several years, band members came, went, sometimes returned and left again with head-spinning speed. It didn’t matter. L.A.’s top sessions players (now known as “the Wrecking Crew”) and Grill’s lead vocals kept the hits coming. The Grass Roots put 14 songs into the Top 40 between 1966 and 1972.

When the hits dried up, Grill and an ever-changing assemblage of musicians continued to tour as the Grass Roots (Grill having been granted ownership of the name). One of the most famous was Creed Bratton, who gained fame playing a highly ficitionalized version of himself on the long-running NBC comedy, The Office.The group was inducted into the American Pop Music Hall of Fame in 2015.

Sadly, Rob Grill passed away in 2011, but there is still a group touring as the Grass Roots, which somehow seems fitting for a band that was created out of thin air!

The very first “rock & roll” film is also one of the best. Rock Around the Clock was rushed into production to capitalize on the success of its title song. That song had been released by Bill Haley & His Comets in 1954 to almost total apathy. It was forgotten until it became the song that played behind the opening credits of the definitive film about 1950s’ juvenile delinquency, Blackboard Jungle, in 1955. Overnight, rock & roll went from a small following of teenagers in a few cities to a nationwide phenomenon.

Columbia Pictures, always one of Hollywood’s lesser studios, decided to jump on the craze and quickly threw together a film that would showcase the music industry’s newest stars. The film was shot in one month (January, 1956) and rushed into theaters in March. Apparently, the studio was taking no chances that the “fad” for rock would die before they got to make some money off of it.

In addition to Haley, the film also featured the Platters (performing what turned out to be their two biggest hits, “Only You” and “The Great Pretender) and a never-was rock ensemble that billed themselves as Freddie Bell and His Bellboys for the kids. The also included an act aimed at a little older demographic, Tony Martinez and His Band.

The plot (or what passes for a plot) involves band manager Steve Hollis (Johnny Johnston), tiring of big bands, stumbling on Haley and his Comets in a little backwater town. Convinced rock is going to be the next big thing, he signs the band and two local dancers, a brother and sister. The only snag is that all the bookings for the big nightclubs are controlled by a scheming booking agent named Corrine Talbot (Alix Talton). She won’t book the Comets until she can get Hollis to agree to marry her. Hollis only has eyes for Lisa Johns (Linda Gayle), the sister half of the jitterbugging couple who dance while Haley plays.

Unlike many of the rock & roll exploitation films that came later, Rock Around the Clock actually has some decent production values and Gayle & Johnston are talented enough performers to keep you somewhat interested in the plot.

The film features 9 songs by Haley and his band, including “See You Later Alligator, which was recorded and released only a month before the movie.

It’s worth a watch if only because the initial jitterbug sock hop at which Haley’s group is discovered appears to have been one of the inspirations for the high school dance scene in Grease.

A couple of interesting tidbits about Rock Around the Clock:

• Haley’s song was used as the opening song for two movies in less than a year. It would be used again, many years later, to open George Lucas’ American Graffiti and the first season of the TV series Happy Days.

• The film was a fairly big hit, touching off a craze for rock & roll films and leading to a less-successful sequel, Don’t Knock the Rock.

•  It would be remade only a few years later as Twist Around the Clock with Chubby Checker (as well as a remake sequel, Don’t Knock the Twist).

•  Something most audiences were not used to at that time, white, black and Hispanic acts perform at the same venues in the film – and in the finale, perform together – signaling the beginning of a shift in popular conceptions about race relations.

•  Johnny Johnston’s career never really took off. His last major gig was hosting the 1962 nighttime sports game show, Make That Spare. for ABC.

•  Curiously, a soundtrack album for this movie has never been released in the U.S.

You set your goals and you go for them!

Online passwords have become a way o life. The question is – how can you can you create strong passwords that are easy for you to remember, but hard to hack?

Here’s what the experts say:

1. Make them long – Most hackers use software that can generate millions of combinations of letter and numbers. Experts recommend creating passwords of 20 characters or more that mean something to you, but would be meaningless to others. Then, add numbers, capital letters or special symbols to the end.
2. Change them regularly – Here the people know say once a year should be sufficient.
3. Don’t get stuck on one password – Try to vary your passwords. That way if you do get hacked at one site, you aren’t jeopardizing your information at others sites
4. Don’t store them on your computer – Write them down and store someplace secure in your home or use a super-secure cloud site, also password protected for your list.

“Reach Out of the Darkness” went all the way to the Top 10 in the summer of 1968. The group that recorded it were a husband and wife team from Canada who accurately named themselves Friend & Lover.

Jim Post had always wanted to be a recording artist. At a state fair in Edmonton in the summer of 1964, he met a Chicago-born acrobatic performer named Cathy Conn. She may have been an acrobat, but Post was the one who flipped. He pursued and eventually won her heart. After they married, Cathy gave up the somersaults and learned how to sing. They had some success as a live act, touring with the Buckinghams and opening for Cream on their final U.S. tour.

They got their big break when they auditioned for the head of MGM/Verve Records, Jerry Schoenbaum. He asked them to submit a tape because he didn’t want to be influenced by the way any act looked. They had no tape, so they told Schoenbaum to simply turn around. When he did, they played him a song they had written after attending a Love-In in New York City.

Schoenbaum liked we heard and in short order, the duo recorded the song, “Reach Out of the Darkness.”

Unfortunately, follow-up success proved elusive. They felt MGM did a poor job promoting them, but when Columbia Records offered the pair $200,000 to switch labels, MGM refused to let them go.

By the time they finally got away from MGM/Verve, their moment had passed. The couple divorced. Post stayed involved with the music business, but never matched the success of his first record.

Hopefully, you’re really satisfied with your general care provider. But the experts say, if you’re starting to think he or she isn’t treating you the right way, you are probably correct and it may be time to find a new doctor.

Here are some warning signs:

• Dismisses your concerns, saying they’re all caused by age
• Says, “There’s nothing that can be done.” There’s always something that can be done.
• Doesn’t let you talk, interrupts or cuts your visits short.
• Keeps recommending treatments or specialists, but nothing’s getting better.
• Write prescriptions with a minimum discussion with you.

Hey now, you groovy chicks are stylin'!

Want to save some money? Here’s a way that’s worked for others.

You know those streaming services for TV and even satellite radio? When they shift you onto their regular, much more expensive plan, call them and tell them you want to cancel because it’s too expensive.

Most likely they will work with you and offer you a lower rate.

We know someone who does this every year with their satellite radio provider and has wound up paying only a fraction of what their rate is supposed to be. Try it. You have nothing to lose and you could wind up saving a bundle!