At 11 years old, Sylvester Stewart had already mastered the guitar, bass, keyboard and drums. As Sly Stone, he and the Family Stone made the big time with one hit after another. Sly also became a big-time drug user, which proved to be his undoing.

"Dance to the Music" was one of their hit songs. Here, you can watch a clip of the band performing it on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1968. They began the song with a snippet from another one of their hits, "Everyday People."

And here, you can listen to "Family Affair," the band's last No. 1 record.

Also, check out the trailer for the 2025 Hulu Original documentary "SLY LIVES! aka The Burden of Black Genius." 

In the chapters, there's a photo of Stone performing on the program "Midnight Special" in October 1973. It's credited to NBC and is in the public domain via Wikimedia Commons. You can find it here.

The thumbnail shot, which also is in the chapters, is from 1982 and is credited to Mark Sarfati for the East Bay Express. It's available under the license CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. You can access the photo here.

Fun fact: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's recent ceremony at Madison Square Garden wasn't the venue's first celebrity wedding. On June 5, 1974, Stone married Kathy Silva, an occasional actress and the mother of Stone's child, at M.S.G. (which is how The New Yorker referred to Madison Square Garden in its follow-up article). Reportedly, the marriage didn't last long.

Anyway, back to the thumbnail: The art that frames two sides of the photo was created by Bob Jones. 

Credit for this episode goes to Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan, who researched, wrote and narrated this short story, one of 35 tributes to music stars who passed away in 2025. Song of the Day used to be a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. Sheldon ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day deserves a tribute of its own. The good thing is that the tributes to music makers live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.

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This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.

Rick Derringer and the McCoys had their biggest hit with "Hang On Sloopy," a song that Derringer grew tired of playing even though fans clamored for it. Eventually, he went on to create a career that suited him better. 

He sang and played guitar as a solo artist, and he collaborated with a wide range of other artists including Ringo Starr, Barbra Streisand and "Weird Al" Yankovich.

Also a songwriter, Derringer wrote "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo," which is on his "All American Boy" album. You can see a shot of the cover in the chapters. The album is available on Amazon Streaming or you can listen to an official version of the song here.

Derringer also wrote "Real American," Hulk Hogan's entrance theme. 

As for "Hang On Sloopy," which Derringer didn't write, it stays current as the unofficial anthem of the Ohio State University Marching Band. Here's a 1965 video of the McCoys playing the song with one memorable young woman dancing along. Many thanks to my brother-in-law, Bob Jones, for introducing me to this little piece of Ohio history. And talk about intriguing history, here's an interesting video about the song itself and how it became connected with Ohio State.

The thumbnail photo shows Derringer performing in 1974. It's credited to Jim Summaria, http://www.jimsummariaphoto.com, CC BY-SA 3.0. You can find it on Wikimedia Commons. That photo is in the chapters too, along with a shot of Derringer playing with Ringo's All-Starr Band in Paris in June 2011. The more recent photo is credited to Dr. Jean Fortunet, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. You can go here to find it.

The art that frames two sides of the thumbnail photo was created by Bob Jones. 

Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan researched, wrote and narrated this short story, one of 35 tributes to music stars who passed away in 2025. Song of the Day used to be a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. Sheldon ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day deserves a tribute of its own. The good thing is that the tributes to music makers live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.

Send us Fan Mail

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.

The brother-sister duo Nino Tempo and April Stevens had a Grammy-winning hit with “Deep Purple,” which reached No. 1 in November 1963 and was named the Best Rock And Roll Recording of the year.

Tempo died April 10, 2025; his older sister passed away in 2023. Her tribute, titled "April Stevens was a Hitmaker With and Without her Brother," is Episode 23 on Everyday Creation.

Tempo's music career started early, when he was only 4 years old. In this episode, you'll find out more about the multi-talented performer and what led to his and Stevens' "Deep Purple" success. There are different versions of the duo performing the song. Here is one of them.

You can listen to "Sister James," also referenced in this video, by going here or just searching Sister James Nino Tempo 5th Ave Sax on YouTube. 

The thumbnail picture is part of a photo of Tempo and his sister that's credited to KRLA Beat Publications. The original photo appeared in the December 1965 edition of a newspaper produced for KRLA Radio, Los Angeles. This cropped version is available on Wikimedia Commons. In the chapters, there's a shot of a colorful CD featuring "Deep Purple." I found it on Amazon.

The art that frames two sides of the photo was created by Bob Jones. 

Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan researched, wrote and narrated this short story, one of 35 tributes to music stars who passed away in 2025. Song of the Day used to be a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. Sheldon ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day deserves a tribute of its own. The good thing is that the tributes to music makers live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.

Send us Fan Mail

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.

Jesse Colin Young had a Top 5 single with the Youngbloods' version of "Get Together," but he didn't rest on those laurels. He continued to perform and also write his own songs both with the group and as a solo artist. 

To listen to the Youngbloods sing "Get Together," you can go here. The song, about loving one another, plays as a fitting soundtrack to videos from Woodstock, the iconic peace and love event of 1969. In the chapters, there's a cover image of the CD "Get Together: The Essential Youngbloods," available on Amazon.

You can go here to listen to "Darkness, Darkness," which Young wrote and the Youngbloods recorded. It's on their "Elephant Mountain" album, which you can see in the chapters. The CD is also available on Amazon.

To learn more about the man and his long career, visit the Jesse Colin Young website where you can rent or purchase his 2020 Empty House Concert, recorded in Aiken, S.C., at the height of the Covid shutdown and buy CDs including the original 1973 master of "Jesse Colin Young (Song for Juli)" and the original master of "Light Shine." 

The thumbnail photo shows Young arriving at the California Saga 2 Charity Concert in Los Angeles California on July 3, 2019. It's attributed to Glenn Francis of www.PacificProDigital.com and is available on Wikimedia under the license CC BY-SA 4.0.

The art that frames two sides of the photo was created by Bob Jones. 

Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan researched, wrote and narrated this short story, one of 35 tributes to music stars who passed away in 2025. Song of the Day used to be a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. Sheldon ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day deserves a tribute of its own. The good thing is that the tributes to music makers live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.

Send us Fan Mail

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.

In the '80s, the New York Dolls were known for performing in high heels and makeup. Their audience loved the showmanship, especially frontman David Johansen's onstage strutting. 

As a solo act, he was most successful as his lounge singer alter ego, Buster Poindexter. You can watch him singing and gyrating his way through "Hot Hot Hot" in this YouTube video. I do believe I caught glimpses of Bill Murray in the street scenes, but maybe I was just too hot, hot, hot to see clearly! 

The photo in the thumbnail shows Johansen (center) performing with the New York Dolls on the Dutch television program "TopPop" in 1973. The shot is attributed to By AVRO (FTA001019054 010 con.png Beeld En Geluid Wiki - Gallerie) and is available for use on Wikimedia Commons under this license.

In the chapters, you'll see a photo of Johansen in 2011 when he performed with the Dolls at Club Academy, Manchester. It's attributed to Man Alive! and is available on Wikimedia Commons under this license.

The art that frames two sides of the photo was created by Bob Jones. 

Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan researched, wrote and narrated this short story, one of 35 tributes to music stars who passed away in 2025. Song of the Day used to be a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. Sheldon ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day deserves a tribute of its own. The good thing is that the tributes to music makers live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.

Send us Fan Mail

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.

Decades after the fact, Roberta Flack still is recognized as the only solo artist to win Record of the Year for two consecutive years, 1973 and 1974. She won the initial award for "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." Here, you can listen to a 2006 remastered version from Rhino Atlantic. 

Also on YouTube, there's a compelling live music video posted by AI Videoworks. It's from Flack's 1975 performance recorded with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, upscaled to 4K using Machine Learning.  

Flack sang beautifully, but her music didn't take off right away. When it did, her career soared to rarefied heights. Although she didn't repeat the remarkable success she had in the '70s, she kept on working until a particularly cruel disease took away her voice.

The thumbnail photo of Flack, taken in 1976, is credited to Atlantic Records. You can go to Wikipedia to see other photos including one that's in the chapters. Taken in 1995 at the Meyerhoff theater in Baltimore, Md., the later photo is credited to John Mathew Smith and Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com and is available for use under the license CC BY SA 2.0. 

The artwork framing two sides of the thumbnail photo was created by Bob Jones. 

Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan researched, wrote and narrated this short story, one of 35 tributes to music stars who passed away in 2025. Song of the Day used to be a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. Sheldon ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day also deserves a tribute. The good thing is that the music tributes live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many. 

Send us Fan Mail

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.

Jerry Butler may not be a household name, but he had a long and fruitful career as a singer and songwriter, first with the Impressions and then as a solo artist. 

Butler was part of the creation of the Philadelphia Sound, had hit songs that included "Only the Strong Survive," and later earned bachelor and master's degrees. In the mid-'80s, he was elected to the Cook County Commission in Illinois and held that seat until his retirement more than two decades later.

You can hear him sing "Only the Strong Survive" here. If for some reason the link is broken, search Jerry Butler and the song's title on YouTube. Worth a listen, it's both soulful and rockin'. 

As a visual link between this audio episode and that video, I added the picture used in the YouTube video to the end of the chapters here. Also in the chapters, there's a photo of Butler in 1970 that's credited to Mercury Records and was used in a trade ad in Billboard. The other shot is of an audio CD related to his Philadelphia Sound years. It's available on Amazon.

The thumbnail photo was taken by John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA. It shows Butler in 1998 at the Best Buddies Ball in Washington, D.C., and is available on Wikipedia under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license. 

The artwork framing two sides of the thumbnail photo was created by Bob Jones. 

Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan researched, wrote and narrated this short story, one of 35 tributes to music stars who passed away in 2025. Song of the Day used to be a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. Sheldon ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day also deserves a tribute. The good thing is that the music tributes live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many. 

Send us Fan Mail

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.

You may not recognize his name, but Snowy Fleet was one of the most popular drummers that Australia ever produced. He was an early member of the Easybeats, whose song "Friday On My Mind" was No. 1 for eight weeks on Australia's singles chart. Also popular in the United States, the single reached No. 16.

To see Fleet on the drums, watch this previously lost 1966 footage of the Easybeats performing "Friday On My Mind" for the BBC.

In the thumbnail and chapters, you'll see a shot of Fleet excerpted from a photo of the band taken in 1966. Also in the chapters, there's the full shot of the band. It's attributed to United Artists Records and was used in a trade ad for "Friday On My Mind" in the May 6, 1967 issue of Billboard. 

The artwork framing two sides of the thumbnail photo was created by Bob Jones. 

Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan researched, wrote and narrated this short story, one of 35 tributes to music stars who passed away in 2025. Song of the Day used to be a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. Sheldon ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day also deserves a tribute. The good thing is that the music tributes live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many. 

Send us Fan Mail

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.

Marianne Faithfull was part of the swinging London scene in the 1960s. She recorded Keith Richards' and Mick Jagger's song "As Tears Go By" before the Rolling Stones did. She and Jagger had a three-year relationship before it ended after a drug raid at Richards' house in 1967. Addicted to heroin, she lost custody of her child and lived on the street for two years. 

You can learn more about Faithfull and "As Tears Go By" in this episode. The photo of her in the thumbnail and chapters for this episode is from an advertisement for the "As Tears Go By” single. The ad appeared on page 5 of the Sept. 19, 1964, issue of Cashbox (also known as Cash Box) magazine and is credited to London Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The song reached No. 9 in England and 22 in the U.S. in 1964. To listen to it, you can go here. And 12 years ago, Taylor Swift performed the song with the Stones. You can watch it here.

In the chapters, there's a shot of the album cover for "Come and Stay With Me: The UK 45s 1964-1969," which spans her early work including "As Tears Go By." There's also a photo of her at the 2009 Women's World Awards in Vienna, Austria. It's credited to Manfred Werner - Tsui, and is available on Wikimedia Commons under the license CC BY-SA 3.0. 

The artwork framing two sides of the thumbnail photo was created by Bob Jones.

Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan researched, wrote and narrated this short story, one of 35 tributes to music stars who passed away in 2025. Song of the Day used to be a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. Sheldon ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day also deserves a tribute. The good thing is that the tributes live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.

Send us Fan Mail

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.

Tenor Sam Moore and baritone David Prater Jr. made beautiful music together, but they fought like cats and dogs. Still, they had more success as a duo than they did when they went their separate ways as solo artists. As Sam & Dave, they had 10 consecutive Top 20 R&B hits and two Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits.

In this tribute to Moore, you can learn the story behind the Sam & Dave partnership including how they decided to form a duo, their turbulent professional relationship and their personal demons. Known as the "sultans of sweat," they were known for their over-the-top performances and recorded successfully at Stax Records in Memphis with Isaac Hayes and Booker T. & the M.G.'s. In fact, Hayes co-wrote Sam & Dave's hit "Soul Man." How did Hayes and his co-writer, David Porter, get inspired to write "Soul Man"? You'll learn that in this episode too.

You can go here to listen to the official audio recording of "Soul Man." Or better yet, watch them do the song and check out their pink suits in a 1974 performance. 

The black and white photo in the thumbnail is a publicity shot of Sam & Dave taken for a Stax trade ad in Billboard in 1967 to publicize their single "When Something Is Wrong With My Babe." Moore is on the left. The artwork framing two sides of the photo was created by Bob Jones.

Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan researched, wrote and narrated this short story, one of 35 tributes to music stars who passed away in 2025. Song of the Day used to be a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. Sheldon ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day deserves a tribute of its own. The good thing is that the tributes to music makers live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.

Send us Fan Mail

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.