Everyday Creation

The Association had plenty of hits in the late 1960s, but "Cherish" is the one apparently most cherished by fans. Terry Kirkman, a founding member of the band, wrote the song, which was the group's first number one hit. 

This tribute to Kirkman is one of 44 episodes dedicated to significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023.  To listen to "Cherish," you can go to this 1967 live performance.

The group photo in the chapters, taken by Patrick Colecchio in 1968, shows Kirkman at the bottom right. The image is available on Wikimedia Commons.

Also in the chapters, you can go right to the tribute by skipping my intro; feel free to skip my closing remarks too. Both are there to provide context for those who haven't listened to the other tributes.

If you want to learn more about Kirkman and the band, you can go to the complete list of the Association's albums and discography on ClassicRockHistory.com.  You can find books on Amazon if you search "the Association band" or Kirkman's name. If you do the latter, you'll find "Cherish" sheet music as well.

Sheldon Zoldan, the writer and editor who wrote and recorded these tributes, also writes Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email [email protected] with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.

Audio engineer/musician Mike Villegas edited all the audio for this series. Hope you enjoy these intriguing glimpses into the lives of the people who made some of the music we love.

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.

Katherine Anderson Schaffner was one of the original members of the Marvelettes, whose hit song, “Please Mr. Postman," was Motown’s first million-selling single and first Motown song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. 

The Marvelettes had other hits during the 1960s, including “Don’t Mess With Bill,” "Beechwood 4-5789," “Playboy” and “The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game.” But when the group disbanded in 1970, Schaffner quit the music business for good, moving first to Las Vegas and then back to Detroit. 

This is one of 44 tributes to significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023. To listen to the featured song, "Please Mr. Postman," you can go here. You also can hear "Don't Mess With Bill" in this video tribute to the Marvelettes.

To learn more about Schaffner, you can check out her biography on The HistoryMakers® site. It has some great videos and still photos. 

In the chapters of this episode, you can go right to the tribute by skipping my intro; feel free to skip my closing remarks too. Both are there to provide context for those who haven't listened to the other tributes.

Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime writer and editor, wrote and recorded Knight's story and the others in the series. He also writes a Song of the Day story that he sends by email to a list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email [email protected] with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.

Audio engineer/musician Mike Villegas edited all the audio for this series. Hope you enjoy these intriguing glimpses into the lives of the people who made some of the music we love.

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.

Charlie Robison got his musical start in Austin in the '90s and later became one of the leaders of Texas country music.

"New Year's Day," from Robison's 2004 album "Good Times," is the featured song in this episode. You can watch him perform it here. Under the video, the venue wishes a fond farewell to the artist: "To Charlie Robison, thank you for all the wonderful music. We, @ The Texas Music Cafe®, wish you an incredible ever after. Heaven is lucky to have you, a Texas Legend, in its lineup. I'm sure we will meet again."

The picture in the chapters is a U.S. Air Force photo taken by Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson when Robison and his band were playing for a packed house during a South by Southwest® concert in Austin, Texas. You can find the photo on wikipedia.org. Also, check out an article about Robison looking forward to performing for the troops in Iraq and Kuwait in 2007 as part of an Armed Forces Entertainment tour. He's quoted as saying, "I have been so lucky to have so many military fans and I feel like they are my buddies. I can't go the whole war without going over and seeing them." 

This is one of 44 tributes to significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023. Sheldon Zoldan, the writer and editor who wrote and recorded them, also writes Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email [email protected] with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.

In this episode's chapters, you can go right to the tribute by skipping my intro; feel free to skip my closing remarks too. Both are there to provide context for those who haven't listened to the other tributes.

Audio engineer/musician Mike Villegas edited all the audio for this series. Hope you enjoy these intriguing glimpses into the lives of the people who made some of the music we love.

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.

"Dream Weaver," by singer-songwriter Gary Wright, was the first single from Wright's third studio album, "The Dream Weaver," in 1975. He said the song was inspired by a copy of  "Autobiography of a Yogi" given to him by George Harrison.

Harrison also took Wright to India, and both the book and the trip made Wright a fan of Eastern philosophy and changed his life. You can see him perform the song in this video from 1976 on the Midnight Special channel on YouTube.

The song was a number two hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and Wright's follow-up, “Love Is Alive,” reached number two as well.

Wright also wrote "Dream Weaver: A Memoir." The subtitle of the book is "Music, Meditation, and My Friendship with George Harrison." And he wrote a book for kids titled "Dream Weaver: A Children's Picture Book," with illustrations by Rob Sayegh Jr. I found both on Amazon.

In the chapters, you'll see an image of the cover of Wright's children's book. Also in the chapters, you can go right to the tribute by skipping my intro; feel free to skip my closing remarks too. Both are there to provide context for those who haven't listened to the other tributes.

This tribute is one of 44 short biographies of music greats who died in 2023. They were written and recorded by writer/editor Sheldon Zoldan, who also is the creator of  Song of the Day, a story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email [email protected] with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.

Audio engineer/musician Mike Villegas edited all the audio for this series. Hope you enjoy these intriguing glimpses into the lives of the people who made some of the music we love.

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.

Steve Harwell, frontman and co-founder of Smash Mouth, retired in 2021 from the group because of ongoing health issues. He was only 56 when he died.

The group is best known for “All Star,” written by guitarist Greg Camp who said it was for fans who sent in letters telling the band how they were being bullied. In this official video, you can watch Harwell and his fellow Smash Mouth members performing the song. 

The image in the chapters is from a 2013 cookbook, "Smash Mouth: Recipes from the Road," by Harwell, fellow band member Paul DeLisle, and Robert Hayes. I found a paperback version on Amazon.

Also in the chapters, you can go right to the tribute by skipping my intro; feel free to skip my closing remarks too. Both are there to provide context for those who haven't listened to the other tributes.

Throughout much of his life, Harwell struggled with alcoholism, which was exacerbated by the 2001 death of his 6-month-old son, Presley. Harwell established a disease prevention fund, the Presley Scott Research Foundation for Leukemia, in his child's honor.

This tribute is one of 44 episodes dedicated to significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023. All were written and recorded by longtime writer/editor Sheldon Zoldan, who also writes Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email [email protected] with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.

Audio engineer/musician Mike Villegas edited all the audio for this series. Hope you enjoy these intriguing glimpses into the lives of the people who made some of the music we love.

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.

Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett released 56 albums and, along the way, built a billion-dollar business. This tribute is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who died in 2023. 

Buffett's 1977 single, “Margaritaville,” reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. The song became the foundation of his business empire.

Here are a couple of videos of Buffett performing the song. The first is from 1978. It's not a slick version, but it's fun to watch. And the comments below the video are lovely and worth reading. And here's  an official video of him performing live in Minneapolis in 1993. It's another good one with more heartfelt comments.

The picture in the chapters is a promotional photo of Buffett taken by Tom Corcoran in 1980. It was distributed by Front Line Management Company Inc., and is available on Wikimedia Commons.

Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime writer and newspaper editor, wrote these tributes and recorded them. As an added bonus, here's Sheldon telling Buffett's story on WGCU.org, where he posts once a week.

Sheldon also writes Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email [email protected] with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.

Audio engineer/musician Mike Villegas edited all the audio for this series. Hope you enjoy these intriguing glimpses into the lives of the people who made some of the music we love.

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 late 1950s, Bob Feldman started writing songs with a neighbor, Jerry Goldstein. Richard Gottehrer joined them in 1962. The three are known for writing the 1963 hit song “My Boyfriend’s Back" and for their group the Strangeloves, which had a number 11 hit with "I Want Candy." The trio also produced the McCoys’ number one hit “Hang on Sloopy.”

In this video, you can watch the Strangeloves performing "I Want Candy" in the mid-'60s.  And, for fun, here you can watch Bow Wow Wow's much later version. It's quite the understatement to say that there's a difference between the two.

This tribute to Feldman is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023.

Feldman also is the author of a pocket book, "Simply Put! Thoughts and Feelings from the Heart," which is available in paperback, hardcover or on Kindle. The picture in the chapter markers is of Feldman from his author page on Amazon. I put a picture of the cover of his book in the chapters at the end of the tribute.

Also in the chapters, you can go right to the tribute by skipping my intro; feel free to skip my closing remarks too. Both are there to provide context for those who haven't listened to the other tributes. 

My guest Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime writer and newspaper editor, wrote these tributes and recorded them. He also writes Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email [email protected] with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.

Audio engineer/musician Mike Villegas edited all the audio for this series. Hope you enjoy these intriguing glimpses into the lives of the people who made some of the music we love. 

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.

Ray Hildebrand walked away from pop music success and became one of the early artists playing contemporary Christian music. His tribute is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023. 

Hildebrand was half of the pop singing duo Paul & Paula, and Jill Jackson was the other half. The two remained friends after Hildebrand moved on from pop. To hear their number 1 hit, "Hey, Paula," you can go to this video.

The image of the duo in the chapters is from the cover of Cash Box magazine in 1963. It's available on Wikimedia Commons.

Also in the chapters, you can go right to the tribute by skipping my intro; feel free to skip my closing remarks too. Both are there to provide context for those who haven't listened to the other tributes.

Hildebrand recorded a Christian music album in 1967 called "He's Everything to Me," and became best known among Christian music fans for his 1970s hit song "Anybody Here Wanna Live Forever?"

My guest Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime writer and newspaper editor, wrote these tributes and recorded them. He also writes Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email [email protected] with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.

Audio engineer/musician Mike Villegas edited all the audio for this series. Hope you enjoy these intriguing glimpses into the lives of the people who made some of the music we love. 

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.

Robbie Robertson was with the influential group The Band when he wrote “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” in 1969. The song still touches a nerve, according to this tribute by Sheldon Zoldan, who also writes Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. 

In this video, you can hear "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" in a scene from Martin Scorsese's "The Last Waltz" about The Band's farewell concert on Thanksgiving Day, 1976, in San Francisco. On hand to help say goodbye to the group were some of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 1960s and '70s. You can go here to rent or purchase a copy of the film or watch it on Amazon Prime.

And here, you can go to a video of Joan Baez doing the song in 1971. There's a cute anecdote in the comments about a cane. I won't spoil it for you by saying more.

The picture in the chapters of this episode is of Robertson performing with The Band. The image was provided by Capitol Records and is available on wikipedia.org.

Also in the chapters, you can skip my introduction and go right to the start of the tribute; feel free to skip the closing remarks too. I included them to provide context for those who haven't yet listened to other tributes.

To get on the Song of the Day subscriber list, email [email protected] with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.

Audio engineer/musician Mike Villegas edited all the audio for this series. Hope you enjoy these intriguing glimpses into the lives of the people who made some of the music we love.

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.

Singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez was the subject of the 2012 Oscar-winning documentary “Searching for Sugar Man.” His tribute is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023. 

To hear "Sugar Man," you can go to this video, and you may want to check out the comments too. They're quite heartfelt. The picture in the chapters of this episode is the cover of the DVD of the documentary.

Also in the chapters, you can go right to the tribute by skipping my intro; feel free to skip my closing remarks too. Both are there to provide context for those who haven't listened to the other tributes.

My guest Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime writer and newspaper editor, wrote these tributes and recorded them. He also writes Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email [email protected] with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.

Audio engineer/musician Mike Villegas edited all the audio for this series. Hope you enjoy these intriguing glimpses into the lives of the people who made some of the music we love. 

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.