Everyday Creation

Banjo player Roger Sprung was known as the godfather of progressive bluegrass and helped usher in New York’s mid-century folk scene. His style became known as “newgrass.” This tribute is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023.  To hear Sprung perform "One Morning in May," an old English folk song, you can go to th...

Tony Bennett overcame a lot to become the national treasure he was at the time of his death last July. This tribute is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023.  The image in the thumbnail for this episode and in the chapters is the cover of the CD "Tony Bennett All Time Greatest Hits." I like how the picture captur...

The first record that Astrud Gilberto ever made, “The Girl From Ipanema,” became a worldwide hit and won the Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965. This tribute is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023.  To hear “The Girl From Ipanema,” go to this video of Gilberto and saxophonist Stan Getz performing the song. In 1964, Gi...

This episode is about an easy yet powerful way to lift our focus from whatever is troubling us, directing it instead toward higher thoughts and best possible outcomes. And it involves only our breath and a few seconds of our time. Hope you get as much out of it as I do. Send us Fan Mail This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in major podcast dir...

Cynthia Weil co-wrote dozens of popular songs including the one that was deemed the 20th century's most-played song on radio and TV. Here , you can listen to the Righteous Brothers singing that number one hit, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'." Weil also wrote a mystery, "I'm Glad I Did," which is about a young, aspiring songwriter. I read a sample of t...

Ed Ames, a member of the singing Ames Brothers quartet,  later became an actor who was best known for his role on the TV show "Daniel Boone." This tribute is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023. Here, you can listen to the Ames Brothers singing "Rag Mop" in 1950 on an early iteration of "The Ed S...

Tina Turner definitely earned her title as the "Queen of Rock and Roll." Longtime writer/editor Sheldon Zoldan wrote this tribute to Turner, who died on May 24 last year. This is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023. Here , you can listen to "Nutbush City Limits" on YouTube. It's worth scrolling t...

Pete Brown was a British poet who became a songwriter and collaborator with the supergroup Cream. He wrote the lyrics to “Sunshine of Your Love," one of the band's most successful songs. Here, you can listen to "Sunshine of Your Love" on YouTube . This tribute is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023. T...

Writer/editor Sheldon Zoldan shares insights about the life of Gordon Lightfoot, the Canadian singer-songwriter who had his first U.S. hit with "If You Could Read My Mind." This is one of 44 tributes to artists, songwriters and producers who passed away in 2023. You can listen to Sheldon's story about Lightfoot on the WGCU website , where he posts once a week, or hear Lightfoot sing...

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...

In 1951 when she was only 22, singer April Stevens had her first hit, and the hits kept coming. This tribute to Stevens, whose birth name was Caroline Vincinette LoTempio, is 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 the tribute by skipping my intro; feel free to skip my closing remarks to...

In the late 1950s, Clarence “Fuzzy” Haskins started a doo-wop group with George Clinton. Originally called the Parliaments, the group eventually became Parliament-Funkadelic, one of the most influential bands of the 1970s. Haskins had a solo career too. In the chapters, you'll see an image of the cover of his 1976 album, "A Whole Nother Thang."  Also in the chapters, you can go righ...

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 p...

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...

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...

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 biogra...

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 edi...

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, em...

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 &qu...

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 a...

In today's tribute, writer/editor Sheldon Zoldan shares insights about the life of the legendary David Crosby, co-founder of the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. This is one of 44 tributes to artists, songwriters and producers who passed away in 2023.  Sheldon also writes Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. All of those stories and the...

Writer/editor Sheldon Zoldan is the creator of Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to a list of subscribers. In the past couple of years, he's also written and recorded tributes to music industry greats who are no longer with us. In this episode, you'll hear about brothers Robbie Bachman and Tim Bachman, two of the founders of Bachman-Turner Overdrive. You also can learn mo...

Writer/editor Sheldon Zoldan is the creator of Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to a list of subscribers. In the past couple of years, he's also written and recorded tributes to music industry greats who are no longer with us. This episode is about Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis and an accomplished singer — and songwriter — in her own right. It's one of 44 tribute...

Writer/editor Sheldon Zoldan created Song of the Day, a music-related story that was sent daily to a list of subscribers before he ended the project in early 2026. In the past couple of years, he's also written and recorded tributes to music industry greats who are no longer with us.  In this episode, the focus is on rock guitarist Jeff Beck, the first of 44 tributes to artists, songwriters a...

In 1982, collage artist Gretchen Bierbaum founded The National Collage Society, Inc., which is still going strong. Gretchen is the president of the NCS, which promotes the advancement of collage as a major art medium and educates the public through exhibits, workshops, lectures and publications.  In this episode, Gretchen talks about her "light-bulb moment" that led to her becoming a col...