In 1951 when she was only 22, singer April Stevens had her first hit, and the hits kept coming. This audio essay about Stevens, whose birth name was Caroline Vincinette LoTempio, is one of 44 short stories that Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan wrote about music makers who passed away in 2023. 

I recently revised this episode because Stevens' brother, Nino Tempo, died in 2025. Sheldon's story about Tempo is Episode 147, titled Nino Tempo's Performing Career Had Plenty of Depth Beyond the Hit Song "Deep Purple."

Here, you can watch Stevens and her brother, Nino Tempo, sing the Grammy-winning “Deep Purple" on what was clearly an early 1960s TV show.

For more about the duo, you can visit their official website, ninoandapril.com.

You can learn more about Stevens from her autobiography, "Teach Me Tiger!" The title comes from one of her songs that was a bit scandalous for its time. The book and an album with the same name are available on Amazon.

The public domain photo in the thumbnail is credited to KRLA Beat Publications and is available on Wikimedia Commons. 

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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.

In 1968, singer, actor and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte hosted "The Tonight Show" for a week. He discussed the issues of the day with a stellar list of guests including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The documentary about that week is called "The Sit-In," available on Peacock. Here, you can learn more about it and scroll down to watch the trailer.

If you want to know more about Belafonte, you can buy his 2012 memoir, "My Song," in paperback or audiobook. It's available on Amazon , which also has quite a few of Belafonte's CDs and a couple of vinyl records. The LP "Best of Harry Belafonte" includes this tribute's featured song, "Day-O," on the cover. There's also a biography of Belafonte on The HistoryMakers® site.

Writer/editor Sheldon Zoldan wrote and recorded this tribute to Belafonte. It's one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023. In the chapters, you can go right to Sheldon's 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 also writes Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. You can listen to Sheldon tell Belafonte's story on the WGCU website, where he posts once a week, or hear “Day-O,”  on YouTube. And to get on Sheldon’s 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.

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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.

In this tribute, you'll learn about the anomalies in the life of singer-songwriter Bobby Caldwell, who had a hit with "What You Won't Do for Love."

Longtime writer/editor Sheldon Zoldan wrote this tribute, which is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023.

Here, you can link to “What You Won't Do for Love" on YouTube.

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.

Sheldon also writes Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. To get on the 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.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's Gary Rossington had a love for baseball, which launched him into a music career that lasted to the end of his life. This tribute to Rossington, written and recorded by writer/editor Sheldon Zoldan, is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023.

Amazon carries four books about Rossington available on Kindle and in paperback, apparently all published immediately after his death. You can go to the chapters to see the cover of one of the books — by Tony Alexander — which has a nice shot of Rossington.

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.

Along with the tributes, Sheldon 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.

Jim Gordon was a brilliant and successful drummer who played with some of the biggest names in music. He also had a tragic life.

Longtime writer/editor Sheldon Zoldan wrote this tribute to Gordon, who received a writing credit for "Layla," one of Eric Clapton's most popular songs. This is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023.

Here, you can link to “Layla" on YouTube.

If you want to learn more about Gordon, you can check out Joel Selvin's book, "Drums & Demons: The Tragic Journey of Jim Gordon," published in 2024. In this episode's chapters, you'll see an image of the cover of the 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.

Along with the tributes, Sheldon 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.

Wayne Shorter, who died on March 2 last year, influenced jazz for seven decades. His tribute, written and recorded by Sheldon Zoldan, is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023.

Here you can go to YouTube to hear Wayne Shorter's jazz classic, “Footprints.”

If you want to learn more about Shorter, you can read his biography by Michelle Mercer. It's also titled "Footprints" and features an introduction by Shorter and a foreword by Herbie Hancock. There's an image of the book's cover in this episode's chapters.

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.

Along with these tributes, Sheldon writes Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. To get on the 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.

Boogie woogie pianist Huey “Piano” Smith was part of the colorful New Orleans music scene for decades. He passed away on Feb. 13 last year. This is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who died in 2023.

To hear Smith's “Rockin’ Pneumonia and The Boogie Woogie Flu,” visit YouTube.
My guest Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime writer and newspaper editor, wrote these tributes and recorded them.

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

If you liked this tribute and want to learn more about Smith, check out the 2014 bio by John Wirt. You can see an image of the book's cover in the thumbnail for this episode. It's also in the chapters along with pictures of two album covers.
 
Speaking of 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.

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.

Writer/editor Sheldon Zoldan pays tribute to David Jolicoeur, co-creator of the colorful rap trio De La Soul. This is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023.

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

To listen to De La Soul's most successful song, “Me Myself and I,”  visit YouTube. If you like it, check out the entire album, "3 Feet High and Rising." Here's a link to it on vinyl. You can see the album's cheerful cover design in the thumbnail for this episode and in the chapters. 

Also in the chapters, you can skip my introduction and go right to where the tribute begins; feel free to skip my closing remarks too. I put them there as context for those who haven't listened to the other tributes yet.

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.

Songwriter Burt Bacharach had an impressive career with more than a thousand artists singing his songs and 70 Billboard Top 40 hits. 

This tribute is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023. My guest Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime writer and newspaper editor, wrote these tributes and recorded them. 

To hear the featured song "Walk On By," which was a huge hit for Dionne Warwick, please go to this YouTube video of Bacharach on the piano and Warwick at the mic performing that song and others.

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.

And, if you want to learn more about Bacharach, you can check out his memoir, "Anyone Who Had a Heart: My Life and Music," which he wrote with Robert Greenfield. In the thumbnail for this episode and in the chapters, you'll see an image of the cover of the 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.

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.

Barrett Strong wrote hit songs for such Motown artists as the Temptations, Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye. As a performing artist, he had only one hit: "Money (That's What I Want)," which is the featured song in this tribute. The Beatles covered it early in their career.  

This is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023. My guest Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime writer and newspaper editor, wrote these tributes and recorded them. 

To hear "Money (That's What I Want)," please go to YouTube. Strong may not be a household name, but take a look at the comments below the video. They're wonderful, and they really speak to Strong's impact on listeners' lives.

Sheldon also writes Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. To get on the Song of the Day 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.