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2 weeks ago | 
medium.com | Barry Silverstein
’60s and ’70s bands that were named after their U.S. localesAmerica’s Flag Day (June 14) and Independence Day (July 4) are approaching and, unfortunately, the negative perception of the U.S.A. is heightened these days. So it’s worth pointing out that the current presidential administration doesn’t necessarily reflect the views of all Americans. There are plenty of folks who abhor their government officials but love their country.
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3 weeks ago | 
medium.com | Barry Silverstein
DAY IN HISTORY-JUNE 6, 1933Popularity of drive-ins peaked in late 1950s — early 1960sThe idea of showing movies outdoors was not new when Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr. patented the drive-in theater. Outdoor movies had been displayed since 1915; movies were shown in a crude outdoor venue as early as 1921. Hollingshead, however, was the first to patent and open a drive-in theater on June 6, 1933 in Camden, New Jersey. It became a model for the modern-day drive-in.
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3 weeks ago | 
medium.com | Barry Silverstein
The original “Lady and the Tramp” from 70 years ago should have been left aloneI was six-and-a-half years old when I first saw Disney’s Lady and the Tramp in a movie theater exactly 70 years ago, in June of 1955. While I was not the most experienced film critic at the time, I loved the film. It was a classic then and it remains one today.
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3 weeks ago | 
medium.com | Barry Silverstein
“The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.” (Frank Lloyd Wright) Non-fiction pieces, personal essays and occasional poems that explore how we feel about how we age and offer tips for getting the most out of life. Follow publicationYou are what you eat, drink, wear and drive, aren’t you? What an audacious question to ask! Individually, a Baby Boomer may be defined by his or her upbringing, beliefs, values, or even career — but by brands? Well, yes.
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1 month ago | 
medium.com | Barry Silverstein
The Animals and The Zombies followed The Beatles with U.S. hitsI’ve written a number of articles for Rock On about the “British Invasion,” started by The Beatles in 1964, that took over American pop airwaves on both radio and television. Oddly enough, it was America’s most popular TV variety program at that time, The Ed Sullivan Show, that helped fuel the excitement over British rock music.
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1 month ago | 
medium.com | Barry Silverstein
His second album goes beyond “American Pie”Say the name of the musical artist Don McLean and the first song that always comes to mind is his iconic classic, “American Pie.” An anthem to early rock ’n’ roll and the Boomer generation, “American Pie” catapulted McLean to stardom and to this day has global reach. The song skyrocketed to #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1972, also reaching #1 in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and charting at #2 in the UK.
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1 month ago | 
medium.com | Barry Silverstein
DAY IN HISTORY-MAY 20, 1927, 1932Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart both crossed the Atlantic exactly five years apartMay 20 is a key date in aviation history. On that date in 1927, Charles Lindbergh began a 33–1/2 hour solo flight in an attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean. He left from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York on Friday morning, May 20, arriving at Le Bourget Airport, just outside of Paris, France, on the evening of May 21.
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1 month ago | 
medium.com | Barry Silverstein
It’s still the best album by Jefferson AirplaneAs I wrote about for Rock On in October 2024, the San Francisco band Jefferson Airplane was emblematic of the hippie counterculture sixty years ago. Regarded as one of the first acid rock bands, Jefferson Airplane’s music was hard to categorize, blending folk, rock, jazz, blues and psychedelia. I guess you could say their style was, well, surrealistic. The band’s versatility is plainly evident on Surrealistic Pillow, released in 1967.
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1 month ago | 
medium.com | Barry Silverstein
DAY IN HISTORY-MAY 4, 1970National Guardsmen open fire on anti-war protestorsI remember the day four college students were shot and killed for protesting the Vietnam War at Kent State University in Ohio. I was about to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree from New York University. Because of the tragedy at Kent State, my graduation ceremony, which was supposed to be held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, was cancelled. Instead, I received my diploma later by mail.
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2 months ago | 
medium.com | Barry Silverstein
DAY IN HISTORY-APRIL 26, 1986On April 25, 1986, personnel at Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine began preparing to test new voltage regulators. Operators performed a series of actions, including over-riding automatic shutdown mechanisms, prior to attempting the test on April 26. In combination with a serious design flaw, the actions taken by the operators caused the reactor to be extremely unstable.
