At 91, Sid Bernstein rolls on with a new documentary film, his book "Sid Bernstein Calling" Now 91, the godfather of the "British Invasion" says he's just as passionate about young rock bands as he was 47 years ago, when he first heard about a long-haired foursome that was making Liverpool teens swoon.
If Elvis were still alive, he would be 75. Above is a computer simulation of how an older Elvis might appear
if he were alive today.
Rock stars, notorious for their “crash and burn” life-styles really are more
likely than other people to die before reaching old age, a study has found. The study of more than 1,000 mainly British and North American artists, spanning the era from Elvis Presley to rapper Eminem, found they were two to three times more likely to suffer a premature death than the general population. Maybe that is why it's a good thing rock stars aspire to "live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse."
Women Still Live Longer: Across the industrialized world, women still live 5 to 10 years longer than men. Among people over 100 years old, 85% are women, according to the New England Centenarian Study at Boston University (website: LivingTo100.com)
Japan's females are longest living in world: Japanese girls born last year can expect to live until they are 86 years old, which would make them the longest survivors in the world, a report from the country's health ministry showed. Boys born in 2007 can expect to live to the age of 79.2, ranking third after Iceland and Hong Kong.
So, the secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat sushi and lie about your age." - CC
Internet Searching May Boost Brain For Middle-aged and Older Adults 55 to 76
A new study, to be detailed in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, looked at the brain activity of twenty-four neurologically normal volunteers between the ages of 55 and 76 as they searched the Internet.
In recent years, several studies have showed a link between pursuing activities that keep the mind engaged, such as crossword puzzles and memory games,
and a lowered risk of cognitive decline later in life. As the brain ages, a number of structural and functional changes occur, including atrophy (associated with Alzheimer's disease) .
Keeping your brain active could drive some of these brain chemistry signals in the opposite direction compared to where they go as dementia sets in, and now it looks like surfing the Web could be another way to do that.
Internet searches registered activity in the frontal, temporal and cingulated areas of the brain, whereas those new to the net did not. (These areas of the brain control decision-making and complex reasoning.)
What's going on? The wealth of choices on the Internet requires that people make decisions about what to click on, which engages important cognitive circuits in the brain.
A simple, everyday task like searching the Web appears to enhance brain circuitry in older adults, demonstrating that our brains are sensitive and can continue to learn as we grow older. So, Google away grandma! LiveScience.com
The Hair Club for African-American men in the 1950's
The New Year begin on a high note for "Jersey Boys"
Most of us white boys performing in the 50s and 60s were confronted by the ritual of 'processing' the hair, seeing our black brothers backstage in 'doo rags' -- James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Little Richard all sported slicked-back hairdos and pompadours.
The conk was a hairstyle popular among African-American men from the 1920s to the 1960s. This hairstyle called for a man with naturally "kinky" hair to have it chemically straightened using a relaxer (sometimes pure lye), so that the now straight hair can be styled. Conks were ususally large pompadours, sometimes made to resemble white hairstyles. Other Black men chose to simply slick their straightened hair back, and allow it to lie flat on their heads. Reguardless of the styling, conks took a lot of effort to maintain: a Black man often had to wear a doo rag of some sort to prevent sweat or other obstacles from causing his hair to revert ot its natural state prematurely. Also, the style required repeated application of relaxers, a special type of lotion or creme containing a strong alkaline.
Many of the popular musicians of the early to mid 20th century, including Cab Calloway, Louis Jordan, Louis Armstrong and the members of the Temptations and the Miracles were well known for "sporting" the conk hairstyle. The style fell out of popularity when the Black Power movement of the 1960s took hold, and the "Afro" became a popular symbol of African pride. The conk is all but extint among African-American men today, although more mildly relaxed hairstyles such as the Jheri curl was popular during the 1980s. Michael Jackson was sporting a Jheri curl in 1983. The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolution of the 1960s.
The Broadway production of Jersey Boys recently passed its 1900th performance!
Broadway 2010 Rocks, Bops and Moonwalks:
Chris Rock's "Good Hair"
An HBO Film, currently available on DVD
(Right) Flat Top Fade, Cornrows, and Jheri Curl
Clay Cole backed for Hall of Fame induction
Broadway is tapping into nostalgia for the '60s in a big way. The revivals of "Hair" and "Mama Mia!" (ABBA) are still sell-outs, having recouped their investments.
Now comes word that Michael Lang, the music promoter who created the Woodstock music festival 40 years ago, is producing a musical based on that event. Lang is shopping around for a writer, and high on his list is Rick Elice, ("Jersey Boys" and "The Addams Family)." Lang says he'll use some of the classic songs from Woodstock from the people who performed at the 1969 concert, including John Sebastian, Richie Havens and possibly Joe Cocker. Look for the 60s Woodstock musical to hit Broadway in the 2010-2011 season. Concepts for a stage adaptions of Tommy James' book, and the songs of Motown, Moonwalk, Neil Sedaka,Shirellesand Leslie Gore are now in various stages of pre-production.
A statement from editor Liz Harris: "We are going through some changes at Keep Rockin'. Due to economic factors, we will no longer have a print magazine. Printing, paper and postage costs have increased dramatically along with a continuing sluggish economy.
Lou Holly and I invested everything we had into the magazine, but unfortunately weren't able to reach enough people to keep printing.
We had an investor lined up, but
that fell through. Instead, we are working on updating our website to offer a monthly online (digital) magazine. Hopefully, we will be up and running by September 1st.
This was a difficult decision for us since many of our subscribers are older baby boomers who don't use computers. Lou and I hate to disappoint them but at this time, that is our only option to keep our magazine alive.
Marcia Habib began Claymates Fan Club in 1961 (Here we are at brunch on my recent book tour.) Join Marcia's
Jersey Boys: Bob Crewe & Frankie Valli, the men behind the music
By Ben Brown, State Port Pilot
A new petition has surfaced to induct Clay Cole into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the
Cleveland-based institution that has already honored a number of musicians Cole introduced to the world. The man known for being as humble as he is cherished by pop stars of the 1950s and ’60s said he felt “truly blessed” when he learned about the petition last Thursday.
Addressed to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Selection Committee, it has since gathered nearly
100 new supporters each day. “We would like to petition the induction of legendary TV, stage and film personality Clay Cole into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in the ‘Non-Performer’ category,” begins the petition’s lengthy narrative.
[ NON-PERFORMERS CATEGORY: Songwriters, producers, disc jockeys, record executives, journalists and other industry professionals who have had a major influence on the development of rock and roll.]
“Frankie Valli stated it well when he was quoted on the back cover of Clay’s immensely popular new book, "Sh-Boom! The Explosion Of Rock ‘n’ Roll 1953-1968," which chronicles those memorable years: ‘Back in the day, everybody in New York watched Clay Cole.’
Cole was the singing and dancing fan boy-style host of New York City’s “The Clay Cole Show,” which aired through most of the1960s on WPIX-TV. His show marked the first American television performance of the Rolling Stones, and he was the first to present the Rascals, Neil Diamond, the Ronettes, the Four Seasons, Dion, Bobby Vinton and more. Chubby Checker’s first-ever live-television “Twist” was also on “The Clay Cole Show.”
“He brought rock and roll to television,” said Denise Ferri, who created and posted the petition to “Jersey Girls Sing,” a website dedicated to the popular music of the 1950s and ’60s.
Ferri was a member of the girl group Delicates, which in 1959 charted with hit song “Black and White Thunderbird.” She was also a backup singer for the Four Seasons, Connie Francis and Lou Christie. She said she remembers performing on “The Clay Cole Show” and always admired how Cole treated guests. He acted more like a true rock and roll fan than a plastic host collecting paychecks, she said.
“Big, big, big names in the business went to him and loved him,” said Marcia Habib, who created the “Claymates” fan club 50 years ago. She recalled the gallery of celebrities Cole brought to his stage and how they interacted with mutual respect. Bobby Darin, Tony Bennett, the Who, Herman’s Hermits and scores more danced, crooned and turned up the production.
“The happiest years of my life were when I was on his show,” Habib said.
“He was one of the pioneers of that kind of programming,” disco deity Gloria Gaynor told The State Port Pilot in December. “And he had all the good acts.”
Cole moved to Oak Island in 2001 to retire from the New York City spotlight, though he left his show in 1968. It was an abrupt disappearance, birthing inevitable rumors in fan and industry circles. Among the speculation: Cole is long dead. Laughing at the clear inaccuracies, Cole decided to set the record straight in an intense autobiography that has received loads of fan
and celebrity praise recently. The result was an explosion of new Clay Cole interest, and subsequently the petition. Said Ferri, “It’s time for him to be in the Rock Hall of Fame."
