Tom McMahon

Fred Beetcher, Porter on the Edmund Fitzgerald and Cousin of Dan Beetcher, My Cubicle Neighbor at UltraGlobalMegaCorp

Fred Beetcher, Porter on the Edmund Fitzgerald, and Cousin of Dan Beetcher, My Cubicle Neighbor at UltraGlobalMegaCorp

August 21, 1966: The Beatles Play 2 Shows in 2 States in 1 Day

August 21, 1966: The Beatles Play 2 Shows in 2 States in 1 Day

The show in Cincinnati the previous day was rained out, so they played Cincinnati in the day and St. Louis at night. Thanks to Donna J Gamache for saving her ticket!

Jerry Lee Lewis and Neil Sedaka Sing Take Me Out To The Ball Game on Shindig!

Jerry Lee Lewis and Neil Sedaka Sing Take Me Out To The Ball Game on Shindig!

The Etude

The Etude

Congratulations to Rita Abrams on the 40th Anniversary of Mill Valley, The Little Song That Could

Rita Abrams and daughter Mia Antonelli were in a group that gathered in the downtown Mill Valley Christmas day to mark her song’s 40th anniversary

An excerpt from the Mill Valley Herald:

MVH: How would you describe the response to the song over the years?

RA: Absolutely amazing! I never would have dreamed people would remember it this long. And the dramatic nature of some of the fan letters, like the war veterans who felt that hearing it in their heads while in the trenches saved their lives. I can’t begin to tell you how moving some of the letters are. And they keep on coming. And surprisingly enough, the vast majority are from men!

And from KGO-TV in San Francisco:

MILL VALLEY, CA (KGO) -- It was 40 years ago Christmas day that a Mill Valley kindergarten teacher wrote a song that changed her life, and the real estate of the town. The song was "Mill Valley," sung by Miss Abrams and the Strawberry Point third grade class. It was a Billboard top 5 hit in 1970 and the simple song caught the world's attention.

An emerging filmmaker named Francis Ford Coppola directed a music video of the song, Rolling Stone magazine did a story and Annie Leibowitz shot pictures of the kids. The original recording was done by kindergartners, but it sounded so bad that they borrowed the third graders to make the record.

Rita Abrams is still writing songs for musical comedy. Her newest "New Wrinkles: The Middle-Age Musical" plays New Year's Eve at the Seafood Peddler in San Rafael. She is also writing a book on the "Mill Valley" phenomenon. She says she is still hearing from people around the world who may have heard the song for the first time. The song is available on the Internet and so is the music video.

Others write to her, nostalgically recalling the music from childhood and third graders in Mill Valley schools are still being taught the song. And like the song lyrics, Abrams still lives in Mill Valley. "That's my home."

Rita has a lot more projects in the air than just the upcoming Mill Valley book. But she's always been the busy sort. Just check out my previous post It's Rita Abrams Day Here At tommcmahon.net!! and work your way backward through the links. 

I started corresponding with Rita after she saw my 2004 post The 1970 Hit Song Mill Valley, by Miss Abrams and the Strawberry Point 4th Grade Class, and I'm proud to have her as an internet pen pal. A long time ago stars like Hopalong Cassidy and The Lone Ranger took their role model responsibilities very seriously. But today it's so hard to find a celebrity who truly is what they seem. Pee-Wee Herman. Most sports superstars. Even a star of "the good old days" like The Singing Nun has a story that's sad beyond words.

But then there's Rita Abrams, still living in Mill Valley, California (that's her home!), still creating joy for so many people in so many ways, and you realize that maybe you weren't so naïve for believing in that happy little song after all.

Name 5 Groups You Never Want To Hear On The Radio Ever Again

• The Beatles: 50 years is enough. Time to move on.
• The Rolling Stones: Double Ditto to the above
• The Eagles: They make me want to puncture my eardrums with knitting needles.
• Pink Floyd: Distilled Pretension
• U2: Do I Really Need To Explain This?

I bet you have 5 different groups on your list, eh?

Bruce Woolley and The Camera Club Now Available on CD

Bruce Woolley and The Camera Club Now Available on CD

See my previous post, Bruce Woolley, The Lost Buggle

All Things Tonica: Tonica, The Software That Creates A Four-Part Harmony For Any Melody

All Things Tonica: Tonica, The Software That Creates A Four-Part Harmony For Any Melody

The blurb:

You know what it's like: Only an hour to go until choir practice and you had intended to compose a four-part chorale for your choir to sing... The good news is that now there's no longer any need to turn up empty-handed because you can let tonica do the work for you in a matter of seconds!

All Things Tonica: Tonica, The Bulgarian ABBA

All Things Tonica: Tonica, The Bulgarian ABBA

Left to Right: Georgi, Sia, Eva, and Harry. Sia's daughter Leah LaBelle was a finalist on the third season of American Idol.

This video is taken from the New Year program of the Bulgarian National TV. Tonica were a very popular pop band in the 70s. Here they perform 'Sugar Baby Love' in Bulgarian. A different version of the same song is also included in their debute album from 1975.

Agnetha Faltskog

Agnetha Faltskog

via PCL Linkdump