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Sheldon "Shelly" Manne was a jazz drummer from Manhattan. He died of a heart attack in 1984 at the age of 64.

He is mostly associated with West Coast jazz. Known for his versatility he played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz, and later fusion. He also contributed to the musical background of hundreds of Hollywood films and television programs.

In the early 1950s, he left New York and settled permanently on a ranch in an outlying part of Los Angeles, where he and his wife raised horses. He was married to a Rockette named Florence Butterfield (known affectionately to family and friends as "Flip"). They remained married for 41 years, until his death. From his arrival in California he played an important role in the West Coast school of jazz.

This song was included on The West Coast Sound (subtitled Volume 1) it was recorded at sessions in 1953 and 1955. The album includes contributions from a lot of different musicians. On piano is a guy named Marty Paich he is the father of David Paich, a founding member of the rock band Toto.

The song itself is a 1938 song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the musical I Married an Angel where it was introduced by Dennis King and Vivienne Segal.

Elvis received a notice from the Memphis draft board on January 8, 1957. The board announced his 1A classification and his possible draft before the end of the year. This album & this song marked his return to music after his discharge.

Elvis Is Back! is his 4th studio album & was released on April 8, 1960. It was his first album of new material since 1958's King Creole soundtrack, as well as his first to be recorded and released in stereophonic sound.

The session personnel were guitarist Scotty Moore, drummer D.J. Fontana, pianist Floyd Cramer, guitarist Hank Garland, bassist Bobby Moore, percussionist Buddy Harman and the backing group The Jordanaires. To prevent possible disruption by fans, the musicians were initially told they were going to play on a Jim Reeves session. The Colonel had them bussed to Nashville from Memphis for the recording sessions.

The album landed at #2 & has been certified Gold. This song was released as a single & landed at #16, but it wasn’t released until 1964. The song had previously hit #2 on the R&B charts back in 1954 when Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters had a hit with it.

Summertime was composed in 1934 by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based, and Ira Gershwin.

The song was recorded for the first time by Abbie Mitchell on July 19, 1935, with George Gershwin playing the piano and conducting the orchestra. But it is one of the most covered songs ever.

The number of recordings vary by source; while older data is restricted to commercial releases, newer sources may include versions self-published online. The Jazz Discography in 2005 listed 1,161 official releases, ranking the song fourth among jazz standards. Joe Nocera in 2012 said there were "over 25,000" recordings. Guinness World Records lists the website's 2017 figure of 67,591 as the world record total.

I have quite a few versions lined up, but I promise to keep it fewer than 67,000!

Billie Holiday released her version as a single back in 1936. It landed at #12 on the US Pop Charts. Other than Billie on vocals, this version includes Pete Peterson on bass, Artie Shaw clarinet, Cozy Cole drums, Dick McDonough guitar, Joe Bushkin piano, & Bunny Berigan on trumpet.

Ben Webster was a jazz tenor saxophonist from Kansas City, Missouri. It’s pretty incredible how many times we see something similar to this happen. He suffered a stroke in Amsterdam in September 1973, following a performance at the Twee Spieghels in Leiden, and died on September 20, he was 64.

Early in his life he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from Pete Johnson, and received saxophone lessons from Budd Johnson. He played with Lester Young in the Young Family Band. He recorded with Blanche Calloway and became a member of the Bennie Moten Orchestra with Count Basie, Hot Lips Page, and Walter Page. During the 1930s, he played in bands led by Willie Bryant, Benny Carter, Cab Calloway, Fletcher Henderson, Andy Kirk, and Teddy Wilson.

He used the same saxophone from 1938 until his death in 1973. He left instructions that the horn was never to be played again. It is on display in the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey.

He recorded tons of solo albums, other albums as a part of someone else’s orchestra, & still more albums as a sideman on other artists records.

This song comes from an album called Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson. It was recorded on November 6, 1959 and released the following year.

Other than Ben on Sax, the Oscar Peterson Trio were, Oscar Peterson – piano, Ray Brown – double bass, & Ed Thigpen – drums.

This song first appeared on an Count Basie album from 1955 with Joe Williams as the vocalist but it was re done in 1960 & released as a B side to a single called If I Were A Bell, this time with the added vocals of Sarah Vaughn.

The song was written by Gene DePaul & Sammy Cahn in 1953. It was recorded many times in the 50’s & has been recorded as late as 2004 as a duet between Frank Sinatra & Amy Winehouse & 2020 by James Taylor.

This was the 1st charting single from The Crickets, it was also the only #1 hit for the band. It topped the charts in August 1957. It also hit #1 in the UK & landed at #2 on the US R&B Charts & in Australia & Canada. It was their biggest hit on all of those charts.

At this point in their career due to contractual issues, Buddy Holly got top billing when singles were released on The Coral Label, The Crickets got billed on songs released on the Brunswick label, like this one.

The song was song written by Buddy and the drummer for the group, Jerry Allison. The band’s producer, Norman Petty, was credited as a co-writer, although he did not contribute to the composition. Norman Petty was pretty famous for grabbing credits for himself on a lot of stuff he didn’t write. There were royalties involved after all.

In the film The Searchers, starring John Wayne, Wayne repeatedly used the phrase "that'll be the day". This line of dialogue inspired the song.

Bobby Vee was a singer/actor/teen idol in the early 1960s, he was from Fargo, North Dakota. He died from complications of Alzheimers on October 24, 2016 at the age of 73. His real name was Robert Thomas Velline.

He became the 235th inductee into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame on March 28, 2011,

Early in his career, a musician calling himself Elston Gunnn briefly toured with his band. The guys real name was Robert Allen Zimmerman or Bob Dylan as he we would get to know him.  Dylan's autobiography mentions Vee and provides complimentary details about their friendship, both professional and personal.

In a concert at Midway Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota, on July 10, 2013, Dylan said he had been on the stage with many stars, but that none of them were as meaningful as Bobby Vee.

This song was released as a single in 1962 & landed at #3 on the Hot 100 & #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart & #8 on the R&B chart. It also hit the Top 3 in many other countries.

Fred Astaire was a dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter from Omaha, Nebraska. He died of pneumonia on June 22, 1987, at the age of 88. His real name was Frederick Austerlitz.

During his lifetime he received numerous accolades, including an Honorary Academy Award, 3 Primetime Emmy Awards, a BAFTA Award, 2 Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award. 

He was honored with the Film Society of Lincoln Center tribute in 1973, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1978, and AFI Life Achievement Award in 1980.

He was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, American Theater Hall of Fame in 1972, and the Television Hall of Fame in 1989. In 1999, the American Film Institute named him the fifth-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood cinema in 100 Years... 100 Stars.

This song was introduced by Fred in the August 1936 film Swing Time. It was written by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Dorthy remarked, "The first time Jerry played that melody for me I went out and started to cry. The release absolutely killed me. I couldn't stop, it was so beautiful."

In the movie, Fred sang the song to Ginger Rogers while she was washing her hair in an adjacent room.

This won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1936.

Billy Joel is a singer, songwriter and pianist from New York City. He just turned 75 & is currently on tour.

He has been presented with multiple honorary doctorates: Doctor of Humane Letters from Fairfield University (1991), Doctor of Music from Berklee College of Music (1993), Doctor of Humane Letters from Hofstra University (1997), Doctor of Music from Southampton College (2000), Doctor of Fine Arts from Syracuse University (2006), Doctor of Musical Arts from the Manhattan School of Music (2008), & Doctor of Music from Stony Brook University (2015).

Billy has won five Grammys, including Album of the Year for 52nd Street and Song of the Year and Record of the Year for "Just the Way You Are".

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 by Ray Charles.

Billy had the tie breaking vote when it was decided the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame was to be located in Cleveland instead of San Francisco. The vote was 8-7.

During his career he has released 13 studio albums, 7 live albums, 18 compilation albums, 10 video albums, & 82 singles. He has sold over 150 million records worldwide & 85 million of them were sold in the United States, making him the 4th best-selling solo artist of all time (behind Garth Brooks, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson).

This song comes from The Bridge. It was his 10th studio album & was released in1986. The album was produced by Phil Ramone & it got to #7 & has been certified as 2 X Platinum. The singles released were Modern Woman #10, A Matter Of Trust #10, the song linked to here got to #18 & they ended the era with Baby Grand which stalled out at #75.

janet. was the 5th studio album by Janet Jackson. It was released on May 18, 1993. Its title, read "Janet, period.", is meant to disassociate her public image from her family, dropping her surname.

In the United States, the album became her 3rd consecutive album to top the Billboard 200 and her 1st to debut at number one. It sold 350,000 copies in its first week & set a record for the highest first week sales for a female artist at that time.

It has been Certified 6 X Platinum selling over 7 million copies in the US alone & over 14 million copies worldwide.

It is one of only seven albums in history to produce six top-ten hits on the Hot 100 chart, including the number-one singles "That's the Way Love Goes" and "Again.

Way back in the dark ages of 1973 a band named Pink Floyd released an album called Dark Side Of The Moon. It was their 8th studio album. The album hit the top 3 on multiple charts all around the world including a #1 position on the Top 200 here in the states. It has sold 45 million copies worldwide with over 8 million in sales here in the states.

The album went on to set records. It remained in the Billboard 200 albums chart for 736 nonconsecutive weeks (from 17 March 1973 to 16 July 1988). Of those first 736 charted weeks, the album had two consecutive runs in the Billboard 200 chart: 84 weeks (from 17 March 1973 to 19 October 1974) and 593 weeks (from 18 December 1976 to 23 April 1988). It made its final appearance in the Billboard 200 albums chart during its initial run on the week ending 8 October 1988, in its 741st charted week.

But it wasn’t finished yet, on the week of 5 May 2006 it charted for the 1,716th week. Don’t believe anything will ever come close.

Engineer Alan Parsons received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical for the album.

Drummer Nick Mason said in an interview that when they finished the album, the band felt confident it was their best work to date, but were surprised by its commercial success. He said it was "not only about being a good album but also about being in the right place at the right time".

Jimmy Dorsey was a jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader from Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. He was the older brother of Tommy Dorsey. He died in 1957 at the age of 53.

His orchestra had 11 #1 hits in the 1930s and the 1940s.

In 2009 his 1942 recording of "Brazil (Aquarela do Brasil)", was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

He played clarinet on the jazz standards "Singin' the Blues" in 1927 and the original 1930 recording of "Georgia on My Mind", which were both inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

This song was released as a single in 1941 with a B side called Isle Of Pines.

Strawberry Alarm Clock is a psychedelic rock band formed in 1967 with origins in Glendale, California.

This is yet another one of those groups that has separated & re formed multiple times over the years, but they have been back together now since 1982. Gene Gunnels – drums, percussion, vocals, Randy Seol – drums, vibes, percussion, vocals, Mark Weitz – keyboard, vocals, George Bunnell – bass, rhythm guitars, vocals, & Steve Bartek – guitars, flute, producer , have all been there since 1967. Guitar player Ed King, who is probably best known for being a member of Lynyrd Skynyrd passed away in 2018.

This song comes from their 1968 album "Wake Up...It's Tomorrow". It was the 2nd studio album from them.

This song was released as a single & made it to #23. It was their 2nd & final top 40 hit following Incense & Peppermints. Ed King & Mark Weitz wrote it. The album did not chart.

"Ozzy" Osbourne is an English musician and media personality from Marston Green, Warwickshire. Ozzy will turn 76 in December. His real name is John Michael Osbourne.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Black Sabbath in 2006 and as a solo artist in 2024. He was also inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame both solo and with Black Sabbath in 2005. At the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards, he received the Global Icon Award. In 2015, he received the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.

As the lead singer for Black Sabbath he was a part of 9 studio albums, 8 live albums, 13 compilation albums, 9 video albums, 3 extended plays and 37 singles.

He was fired from the group in 1979 & began his solo career.

As a solo artist he has released 13 studio albums, 5 live albums, 7 compilation albums, 5 extended plays, 65 singles, 9 video albums and 41 music videos.

This song comes from Diary Of A Madman. It was his 2nd solo album & was released in 1981. It charted at 16 & has been certified Triple Platinum. This was his last solo album to feature guitarist Randy Rhoads and drummer Lee Kerslake.

They released Flying High Again, Over The Mountain & the song linked to here as singles, but none of them charted.