The MC5 (Motor City 5) probably was known best for the controversies it created and for the influence it had on other musicians. The band put out three albums, "Kick Out the Jams" (live 1969), "Back in the USA" (1970) and "High Time" (1971), and had one well-known single, "Kick Out the Jams."

You can hear various versions of "Kick Out the Jams" on YouTube. Here's one of them (listener beware, the group's controversial profanity is at the beginning). And here's a video about the band itself.

Guitarist Wayne Kramer, who spent four years in federal prison for selling drugs, wrote "The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, The MC5, and My Life of Impossibilities," a paperback published in 2021. In the chapters, you'll see an image of the book's cover along with shots of the band's albums. All are available on Amazon.

For this episode, the pictures in the thumbnail of Kramer and drummer Dennis Thompson are from Wikimedia Commons, attributed respectively to Hugh Shirley Candyside, CC BY-SA 2.0 and Retrokimmer, CC BY-SA 4.0.

This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, has written about the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.

Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a 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.

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

Chita Rivera, Broadway's "first triple threat," became a star in 1957 with her role as Anita in "West Side Story." She won a Tony Award for her role in "The Ring" in 1986 and a second Tony in 1993 for "Kiss of the Spider Woman."

Sheldon Zoldan wrote this tribute, which references the song  "All That Jazz" from the Broadway musical "Chicago," in which she starred as Velma Kelly. This video, from the 1982 TV special "Broadway Plays Washington," really showcases her talent. It begins with "America" from "West Side Story" and quickly transitions to a rousing "All That Jazz." The audience at the Kennedy Center broke into applause at the song's end, and I felt like doing the same watching it on YouTube 43 years later.

The photo of Rivera in this episode's thumbnail was taken in 1997. I found it on Wikipedia; it's credited to Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com.

There are a couple of other images of note in the chapters. The first is of the original cast recording for "The Visit." Rivera starred in that show when she was 82. The second is a photo taken of Rivera and President Barack Obama during the Presidential Medal of Freedom Ceremony in 2009.

This story is one of 41 that Sheldon, a longtime journalist, has written about the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well, and you can find the 2023 tributes on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year. There are so many interesting ones!

Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a 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.

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

Melanie was 22 and relatively unknown in the U.S. when she was invited to perform at Woodstock. Her set, which began at 1:30 a.m. in front of a throng of people holding lit candles in the rain, inspired her to write "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)," which became her first U.S. hit. Another of her songs, "Brand New Key," was her biggest hit, reaching number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1971.

To hear Melanie sing "Brand New Key," check out this charming video.

The photo of Melanie in the thumbnail for this episode is a 1975 publicity shot credited to the William Morris Agency. There are a couple of other images in the chapters, one from her "Candles in the Rain" album cover. The second one is a 1971 Billboard advertisement for "Brand New Key." I found both the publicity shot and the ad on Wikipedia.

This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, has written about the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.

Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a 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.

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

Mary Weiss, the lead singer of the Shangri-Las, achieved fame at 15 with the hit song "Leader of the Pack." Her personal life wasn't easy, though, and she put a lot of her own emotions into the song.

The Shangri-Las had their very first hit in 1964 with "Remember (Walking in the Sand)." Weiss was 14 at the time. By 1968, the group had disbanded amid legal disputes.

The photo of Weiss accompanying this episode was cropped from a group publicity shot taken in 1964 and distributed by Red Bird Records. It's available on Wikipedia.

If you want to hear "Leader of the Pack," you can find a version on YouTube.

Sheldon Zoldan's tribute to Weiss is one of 41 stories that the longtime journalist has written about the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written these tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones for 2023 on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.

Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a 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.

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

David Soul was known for his role as Hutch in the TV series "Starsky & Hutch," although his first love was singing. He had his first hit song, "Don't Give Up on Us," at the peak of his acting fame. It was a Billboard number 1 hit in the U.S. He was even more popular in England, where he later lived. He had four top 10 hits there, including "Silver Lady," which reached number 1.

The photo accompanying this episode is a 1975 ABC Television publicity shot of Soul as Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson in "Starsky & Hutch." It's available on Wikipedia.

"Good Morning America" aired a segment on "Remembering David Soul" shortly after the singer-actor's passing. You can find it on YouTube. The segment references "Don't Give Up on Us." To hear the entire song, go to the YouTube video.

Sheldon Zoldan's tribute to Soul is the first of 41 stories that the longtime journalist has written about the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written these stories for other years, as well. You can listen to the 2023 tributes on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.

Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a 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.

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

For 2025, I'm offering a version of The Lord's Prayer that I learned a long time ago and also wishing you a wonderful new year.

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

This holiday season, I'm offering a simple recitation of the 23rd Psalm. As I mention in the introduction, this psalm is a good reminder that we're not out here alone in the "jungles of time and space," as New York Times bestselling author Mike Dooley describes life on Earth. Dooley, who is also a widely known speaker and teacher, has published many books including "An Adventurer's Guide to the Jungles of Time and Space."

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

In this episode, I do my best to explain my "What if" series which, so far, includes three essays on themes related to spirituality: divine connection (#1), our grand adventure (#68), and fairness (#71).

Apart from the series, I've also published a few similarly themed essays: Episode 55, "Smile on a Summer's Day," and Episode 57, "Picturing a Kinder, Gentler World," and Episodes 30 and 69: "Less Stress, More Happiness" and a follow-up to Episode 30 titled "Less Stress, More Happiness: An Afterthought." Just saying in case you want to check them out too.

Most of all, I hope these musings offer something worthwhile to think about.

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

This short essay about fairness is the third in a series. If it intrigues you in any way, please check out the first two "What ifs," which are Episode 1 and Episode 68. I explain the long gap between the two in the description for #68. 

I also have other essays related to this theme. In case you want to check them out, they're Episodes 55 and 57: "Smile on a Summer's Day" and "Picturing a Kinder, Gentler World," and Episodes 30 and 69: "Less Stress, More Happiness" and a follow-up to Episode 30 titled "Less Stress, More Happiness: An Afterthought."

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

A food and wine extravaganza in Michigan becomes so much more when every friend matters, and everyone's story counts.

Learn more in this short episode inspired by Jackie Stevenson's book, "Someday We'll Live Like Horses: Authentic Presence in Leadership and Life."  

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