Tales of the Tarantula

Summer in the 1970s was the time when Hollywood rolled out disaster movies like Jaws, The Poseidon Adventure, Airport and The Towering Infer

If you were alive and listening to music on FM radio in the fall of 1971, you probably were blown away as I was when you first heard Traffic

As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, I think we should explore exactly how delegates from 13 colonies w

Elvis loved his songs and called him "the mad professor." But Ben Weisman was actually a very astute musician who composed many of the song

By now it is no secret that Marni Nixon sang for some of the lead actresses in major musicals in Hollywood history. For example, she dubbed

If you're a fan of Big Band swing music, especially bands like Benny Goodman's, you owe some thanks to a master arranger named Fletcher Hend

What do the states of Alabama, Georgia, Texas and California have in common? They are among only 10 states left that do not permit online sp

We continue our tribute to great arrangers with Don Costa.

I wrote last time about Irwin Kostal and the important behind-the-scenes job of an orchestrator. As I said then, it is the job of orchestrat

When a song sounds great, composers tend to get all the credit. But that is only justified when the composer acts as orchestrator as well. B

Recently I traveled to Abilene, Kansas to tour the Presidential Library and Museum of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. I knew well that he was

She was born Lesley Sue Goldstein on May 2, 1946, in Brooklyn, New York. Her father was Leo Goldstein, the owner of the successful Peter Pan

George Seaton began the 1930s as a playwright. His plays were not very successful, but they were good enough for him to be offered a contrac

I did not grow up with country music. There was no country music station in the New York market back then. So the sound of a steel guitar wa

Robert Kennedy Jr. may be accused of having a lot of off-the-wall ideas, but there's one area where Kennedy agrees with left wing leader Ber