Everyday Creation

Clarence "Frogman" Henry opened for the Beatles 18 times during their 1964 U.S. tour. He was known for his hit song "Ain't Got No Home," which he created extemporaneously while playing at a New Orleans club in 1956. The song reached number three on Billboard's R&B chart and number 20 on the Hot 100.

To find out how Henry got the nickname "Frogman," you can listen to this tribute. To watch him live singing "Ain't Got No Home," go to this video on YouTube. And check out the go-go boots on the dancers. The comments are worth a look too. Here's one of them: "Great clip of Clarence Frogman Henry!!!! Great tune and first time seeing this. NICE!!!! A real rockin dance  tune. Rest In Peace Frogman."

Also, please check out Madeline Kahn's version of the song. Brilliant!

And last but not least, to watch Henry perform his other hit, "(I Don't Know Why) But I Do," which reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100, go to this video.

The image in this episode's thumbnail is the cover of one of Henry's best-of albums. In my closing remarks, there's a picture of Henry at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 1997. (Attribution and license for the photo: Sumori, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.) 

This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, has written and recorded in honor of 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. 

Sheldon also created Song of the Day, which was a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. He 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.

C.J. Snare, frontman and main songwriter for Firehouse, wrote the hit "Love of a Lifetime" before joining the band. The song was Firehouse's most successful single, reaching number five on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1991.

To watch Snare performing the song with Firehouse, go to YouTube. The comments below the video are a really nice tribute to Snare as well. Here's one of them: "Rest In Peace CJ. Glad that I met you 3 years ago on the 30th anniversary of Firehouse debut album performance. Very cool guy!"

The photo in this episode's thumbnail is of Snare onstage in 2008. Here's the attribution and link to the license: By Kate Patten — originally posted to Flickr as IMG_3444, CC BY-SA 2.0. 

In the chapters, you'll see a photo of Snare taken in 2009 by Snarebear with this link: Own work, CC BY 3.0. Both images are available on Wikipedia.

This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, wrote and recorded 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. 

Sheldon also created Song of the Day, which was a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. He 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.

Eric Carmen, whose aunt was a member of the Cleveland Orchestra, had a natural talent for music even as a kid. In 1970, he founded the Raspberries, known for their hit single "Go All The Way," which reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972. 

He launched a successful solo career in 1975 with such hits as "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" and "All by Myself." In the chapters, you'll see two of his album covers, one of which also is used in this episode's thumbnail.

Carmen's songwriting continued to thrive in the 1980s, co-writing popular songs like "Almost Paradise" for "Footloose" and "Make Me Lose Control" for "Dirty Dancing." 

You can go to YouTube to listen to Carmen singing "All by Myself" from "The Definitive Collection" album. And if you want to revisit the Raspberries' "Go All The Way," you can go here. There's also a live recording of the song by the band members who reunited decades later for a concert at The House of Blues Sunset Strip.

Carmen died in March 2024; no cause of death was given. The February 2025 issue of Rolling Stone has an intriguing piece about him. It's written by Andy Greene, who spent six months doing the interviews for it. The story is titled "ALL BY HIMSELF" and subtitled "Eric Carmen was a power-pop genius behind songs like ‘Go All the Way’ and ‘All by Myself,’ but the musician’s perfectionism, personal demons, and obsession with conspiracy theories haunted him until his still-unexplained death." 

This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, wrote and recorded about the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's done tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. 

Sheldon also created Song of the Day, which was a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. He 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.

Steve Lawrence had a successful solo career with four top 10 hits in the early 1960s: "Pretty Blue Eyes," "Portrait of My Love," "Party Doll" and "Go Away Little Girl." The latter reached number one in 1962. 

Lawrence, who died in March 2024, was best known as half of the singing duo Steve & Eydie with his wife, Eydie Gormé. They were married for 56 years, remarkable longevity for a show-biz couple.

The image in the thumbnail is of Lawrence's double CD "Winners!" / "Come Waltz With Me." 

The photo at the end of the chapters is credited to CBS Television. It's from Steve & Eydie's 1975 special "Our Love is Here to Stay." Their sons are in the picture as are Gene Kelly and his son and daughter. You can find this public domain photo, along with its caption, on Wikimedia Commons.

There are a few recordings on YouTube of Lawrence doing "Go Away Little Girl." Here's one of them.  

Carole King and Gerry Goffin originally wrote the song for Bobby Vee, but it became a hit for Lawrence. You can listen to King singing it here on the demo recording.

Donny Osmond's version also became a #1 hit in 1971, the first time a song reached number one by different artists.

This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, has written and recorded 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. 

Sheldon also created Song of the Day, which was a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. He 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.

Randy Sparks, who died in February 2024, began his career during the folk music craze of the late 1950s and early '60s. In 1961, the singer-songwriter merged his group with two others to form the New Christy Minstrels.

Sparks wrote "Today" long before the Minstrels made it a hit in 1964. The song reached number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. You can watch the group singing "Today" here. You'll also see a lot of comments by viewers who have fond memories of the song. And here's a fun little detail about Sparks himself: "In the 1970s, Randy Sparks had a small bar, nightclub in the small town of Linden, CA. It was so much fun to go there. It was called the Buffalo Bar and actually had a stuffed buffalo on the bar." 

Sparks also had a keen eye for discovering and nurturing new talent. Sheldon Zoldan, who wrote and recorded this tribute, offers an impressive list of famous performers who Sparks discovered and mentored. 

The photo accompanying this episode is of Sparks in 1964. It's credited to Columbia Records and was used as a trade ad in Billboard for Sparks' single "Julie Knows." The photo is available on Wikipedia. And in the chapters, you'll find a shot of the Minstrels' debut album.  

This tribute is one of 41 stories 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. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. 

Sheldon also created Song of the Day, which was a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. He 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.

Mojo Nixon died while hosting the Outlaw Country Cruise in February 2024. His family said he left this earth "after a blazing show, a raging night, closing the bar, taking no prisoners ..."

He was 66, enjoying himself until the end.

Nixon (birth name Neill Kirby McMillan Jr.) believed that you could make fun of anything as long as the joke was funny and you accepted the consequences.

Known for songs such as "I Hate Banks" and "Debbie Gibson is Pregnant with My 2-Headed Love Child," he recorded six albums with partner Skid Roper before going solo in 1989.

"Bo Day Shuss!!!" — Nixon and Roper's third album — includes "Elvis is Everywhere," Nixon's best-known song. It was recorded in 1987 and became an MTV hit. In the chapters, you'll see a photo of the album, available on Amazon Music.

Go here to watch Nixon and Roper's "Elvis is Everywhere" video, and make sure to read the comments. Here's one of them: "Sorry to see you go, Mojo. Hope you and Elvis are having a few good laughs in Great Beyond. R.I.P."

The artwork accompanying this episode is the cover of Nixon's solo album "Whereabouts Unknown," released in 1995. 

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. 

Sheldon also created Song of the Day, which was a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. He 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.

Toby Keith was a superstar in country music and outside of that genre. A singer-songwriter whose music often reflected personal experiences, he had 65 singles on the country charts, including 20 #1 hits.

"Should've Been a Cowboy" was his first #1 hit. He wrote it in a matter of minutes during a hunting trip. "Red Solo Cup" was his most popular mainstream song.

To watch the official music video of "Should've Been a Cowboy," go to YouTube. To listen to "Red Solo Cup," go here. It's from "Greatest Hits: The Show Dog Years" (2019). You may want to check out the comments too. One person wrote: "RIP Toby. We raise our red solo cups to you!"

The 2004 photo in this episode's thumbnail shows Keith singing at a USO-sponsored concert in Gricignano, Italy. It's credited to Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Lenny Francioni of the U.S. Navy.

In the chapters, you'll find two U.S. Army photos: The first, which shows Keith as he made his way on stage at Camp Victory, Iraq, in 2007, was taken by SPC Laura M. Bigenho. 

The other was taken in Afghanistan in 2009 by Sgt. Joshua LaPere. It shows Keith performing for soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division's 3rd Battalion. 

All three photos are in the public domain and available on Wikipedia.

This tribute to Keith 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. 

Sheldon also created Song of the Day, which was a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. He 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 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. 

Sheldon also created Song of the Day, which was a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. He 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.

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. 

Sheldon also created Song of the Day, which was a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. He 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.

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. 

Sheldon also created Song of the Day, which was a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. He 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.