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Business, Politics, Culture
_________________________________________________

Short Stories on the History & Power
of Popular Culture
 

— Stories by Jack Doyle —


Publishing & Politics

“Nader’s Raiders”

1968-1974

Ralph Nader’s student
“study groups” turned
Washington inside-out.

Book, Film, Music

“Goldfinger”

1959-1965

The James Bond film
that really sent the
franchise soaring.

Topics Page: 10 Stories

“Beatles History”

1960s-2012

Beatles’ biographies,
song histories, travels
in America, and more.

Politics & Celebrity

“Barack & Bruce”

2008-2012

Bruce Springsteen & other
celebrities helped President Obama win re-election.

Publishing Power

“Empire Newhouse”

1920s-2012

From newspapers & magazines
to Reddit.com, Newhouse has become a cultural power.

Baseball Legends

“The Yogi Chronicles”

1940s-2012

The life and times of
Yogi Berra, a NY Yankee
legend — and a lot more.

Publishing, Politics, Ecology

“Power in the Pen”

1962-1963

Rachel Carson’s book, Silent
Spring, takes on pesticides;
spurs environmental cause.

Politics & Television

“Brian’s Song”

1977-2012

Brian Lamb’s C-SPAN
opens up Congress;
provides public affairs TV.

Technology & Culture

“Apple Rising”

1976-1985

Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak
build start-up company; help
launch PC revolution.

Technology & Advertising

“The iPod Silhouettes”

2000-2011

Apple’s dancing figures
change culture; send company
into music biz & big money.

Politics & Celebrity

“The Jack Pack”

Pt.1: 1958-60

Frank Sinatra’s “Rat Pack”
cavort with & campaign for
JFK in his White House bid.

Politics & Celebrity

“The Jack Pack”

Pt. 2: 1961-64

Good times JFK Inaugural
is followed by some falling
out and tragic endings.

Music & Politics

“Barracuda Politics”

2008

Sarah Palin campaign music
at Republican convention
riles rock group, Heart.

Music & Politics

“Reagan & Springsteen”

1984

How Bruce Springsteen’s
music became part of a
Ronald Reagan speech.

Publishing, Politics, Art

“FDR & Vanity Fair”

1930s

Magazine cover art &
caricature during Franklin
Roosevelt’s New Deal.

Politics & Celebrity

“1968 Presidential Race”

Democrats

Paul Newman & friends
jump into the political fray
of 1968.

Technology & Culture

“Google & Gaga”

2011

Lady Gaga & Google make
TV ad that reaches millions;
YouTube version also soars.

Art & Civil Rights

“Rockwell & Race”

1963-1968

Norman Rockwell’s art
went well beyond The
Saturday Evening Post
.

Annals of Music

“Dylan’s Hard Rain”

1962-1963

Bob Dylan’s song, “A Hard
Rain’s A-Gonna Fall;”
genesis & history.

Book, Film, Pop Culture

“The Love Story Saga”

1970-1977

A best-selling book,
Hollywood film & hot young
couple captivate millions.

Sports & Civil Rights

“Reese & Robbie”

1945-2005

Baseball statue of two famous
players commemorates a kind
moment amid racial bigotry.

Magazine Art & Culture

“U.S. Post Office”

1950s-2011

Magazine art from the
1950s helps frame today’s
“postal values” fight.

Media, Money & Power

“Murdoch’s NY Deals”

1976-1977

Rupert Murdoch, media
baron, acquiring New York
newspapers & magazines.

Annals of Music

“Bandstand Performers”

1957

Dick Clark’s “American
Bandstand” offered music
artists national TV debuts.

Art, Satire, Politics

“Enemy of the President”

1970s

Cartoonist Paul Conrad
draws the ire
of Richard Nixon.

Music & Civil Rights

“Strange Fruit”

1939

Billie Holiday sings
haunting song
of protest.

The Tobacco Celebs

“Wayne For Camels”

1950s

Hollywood’s John Wayne
stars in Camel
cigarette advertising.

Wealth & Celebrity

“Celebrity Buffett”

1960s-2010

Billionaire Warren Buffett
leverages his wealth &
fame to good ends.

Film, Celebrity, Activist

“Mia’s Metamorphoses”

1966-2010

Mia Farrow’s life changes:
actress-to-activist
& using her fame.

Advertising, History, Art

“Remington’s West”

1959

A John Hancock Co.
“history series” ad page:
Frederic Remington, artist.

Annals of Music

“Watching The Wheels”

1980-1981

John Lennon sings about
his family life & time away
from the music biz.

Film & Technology

“Talkie Terror”

Late 1920s

Silent film stars & all of Hollywood faced the perils
of a new technology.

Annals of Music

“Harlem Nocturne”

1939-1980s

Saltry saxophone tune
from the 1930s rises anew
in the 1960s & 1980s.

Annals of Sport

“Pitcher Perfect”

1963-1966

Brooklyn’s Sandy Koufax
becomes baseball standout;
wins three Triple Crowns.

Silent Film Star

“Pearl White”

1910s-1920s

A daredevil heroine
of the Silent Screen
becomes a big star.

Film Icons & Culture

“Wall Street’s Gekko”

1980s-2010

A fictional Wall Street
hustler lives on in the
culture, roiling values.

Annals of Music

“Early Beach Boys”

1962-1966

The five guys who
created “Sunshine Pop”
and a lot more.

Annals of Music

“Early Beach Boys”

Pt. 2: Six Songs

Gorgeous harmonies &
imaginative composition
in a distinctive ’60s sound.

Music, Marketing, Technology

“Start Me Up”

1995

Bill Gates uses a
Rolling Stone’s tune to
launch Windows 95.

Advertising & Celebrity

“Dennis & Ameriprise”

2006-2008

Dennis Hopper pitches
Boomers on retirement “Dreams Don’t Retire.”

Annals of Music

“Paint It Black”

1966-2000s

A Rolling Stones tune has
a long shelf life in film,
television, and video games.

Celebrity, TV, Marketing

“Dinah Shore & Chevrolet”

1951-1963

“See-the-U.S.A.” tune
helps define a celebrity
and America’s “car culture”.

Second Chance Music

“Do You Love Me?”

1962 & 1988

A 1962 Motown hit song
by The Contours is given
new life by “Dirty Dancing.”

Music, Business, 1960s

“Motown’s Heat Wave”

1963-1967

Martha & the Vandellas’
dance music captures teens
& boosts Motown biz.

Music & Pop Culture

“Beatles in America”

1963-1964

New rock ‘n roll group
brings “pop explosion” in
music, business, culture.

Annals of Music

“Dear Prudence”

1967-1968

The history of a beautiful
Beatles’ song and a
productive retreat in India.

Protest Music

“Four Dead in O-hi-o”

1970

A protest song recalls
America’s darker days
during the Vietnam War.

Statues & Icons: Politics

“RFK in Brooklyn”

1966-1972

A Robert F. Kennedy
memorial & 1960s help for Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Music, Celebrity, Business

“Taylor Swift, Rising”

2003-2009

A 19-yr-old singer/
songwriter storms the
music charts …and more.

Message Music

Sting: “Russians”

1985

A song about the Cold
War’s nuclear threat
finds a pop audience.

Money & Musicals

“The Sound of Money”

2009

A Dutch pension fund
& media company buy up
Rodgers & Hammerstein.

Music & Biography

“Be My Baby”

1960s-2010

The Ronettes & Phil Spector produce a game-
changing new sound.

TV, Music & Marketing

“American Bandstand”

1956 – 2007

How Dick Clark & TV
helped make rock ‘n roll
a major business.

Books, Film, Video

“The Bourne Profitability”

1985 – 2007

How Jason Bourne & Co.
became a worldwide
business empire.

Media Maverick

“Ted Turner & CNN”

1980s & 1990s

Media pioneer shakes up
news & entertainment
while doing good.

Music & Money

“Stones Gather Dollars”

1989-2008

The Rolling Stones’
concert tours
make business history.

Advertising & Celebrity

“JFK, Pitchman?”

2009

A popular ex-President is
used in print & TV ads to
help sell Omega watches.

Hollywood, Dance, Film

“Legs: Cyd Charisse”

1950s-1990s

Statuesque beauty of MGM
musicals was the better half of those Kelly & Astaire dances.

Music & Biography

“Joplin’s Shooting Star”

1966-1970

Janis Joplin’s last
five years; her
music, life & legacy.

Sport, Celebrity, Business

“I Guarantee It.”

1960-1970s

Joe Namath of the NY Jets
helps transform pro football –
game, image, and $$$ value.

Music Biz & Celebrity

“Beatles’ Closed-Circuit Gig”

March 1964

The Beatles’ first-ever, live U.S.
concert from Washington was used
in closed-circuit theater showings.

The Entertainment Economy

“Disney Dollars”

1930s

Walt & Mickey become
Depression beaters and a
new kind of growth engine.

Book, Film, Music

“Of Bridges & Lovers”

1992-1995

A best-selling love story,
some howling critics, and a
beautiful Streep-Eastwood film.

Music, Film, Celebrity

“Bette Davis Eyes”

1981

A top song of the 1980s
tells a story of a
talented Hollywood legend.

Music & Madison Avenue

“Big Chill Marketing”

1980s & 1990s

How a 1983 movie named
The Big Chill, sparked the use of
rock ‘n roll music in TV ads.

Video

“Big Chill Promo”

1983 & 1998

Trailer for 1983′s The Big Chill provides overview of story, music & characters.

For More Story Choices & Thumbnail Descriptions
Please see “More Stories, p. 2.” — Click here.

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