[...] In 2012, the citizens of Fort Worth, Texas dedicated a statue and tribute site to former President John F. Kennedy commemorating his November 22, 1963 visit to their town. JFK made his final public appearances & speeches there before being assassinated only hours later that day in Dallas, Texas. This story covers JFK’s speeches and events that day with period photos, audio of one speech, and other history on that ill-fated 1963 Texas trip [...]

[...] A 1973 rock music album by the British group Pink Floyd, ‘The Dark Side of the Moon,’ stayed on Billboard’s top 200 albums sales chart for 741 consecutive weeks, from March 1973 to April 1988, setting an all-time record….But the album’s Billboard chart heroics is less than half the story, as ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ – now in its 40th anniversary year – continues to be popular. This article explores the long-standing appeal of Pink Floyd ‘Dark Side’ album, how it enriched the members of its band, and how its has moved its listeners… Song samples included [...]

[...] Sometimes in publishing, one good photo can go a long way… The November 2011 inaugural issue of fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar Brazil featured a striking cover shot of internationally acclaimed supermodel Gisele Bündchen that soon made its way onto the covers of several other magazines around the world. The repeated use of the photo raised concerns for some about homogenizing culture and why countries such as Korea, Mexico, Austria and Greece couldn’t find their own models [...]

[...] Dion DiMucci – better known as “Dion” from his 1950s doo-wop fame – flourished as a pop recording artist through the 1960s. This story recounts parts of his career, touching on his family life, his battle with drugs, and how he explored various musical genres in later years, from Christian music to the blues roots of rock `n roll. Dismissed by some critics as being defined by his teen idol years, a range of artists – including Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed and others – have cited his influence. Six songs also included [...]

[...] This story covers rock musician Bruce Springsteen’s campaigning for President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, the singer’s politics, and use of his music at campaign events… More broadly, the story also includes celebrity involvement in political campaigns, celebrity donations to political campaigns, celebrity fundraisers, and celebrity & entertainer performances at campaign events & rallies, also focusing on how images from those events are used by the media [...]

…] In 2012, Microsoft began using a song titled “Too Close” by British singer-songwriter Alex Clare to help advertise its Explorer web browser. Microsoft’s ad succeeded in turning heads with the powerful sound of the song. But the one-minute TV spot may have done more for the music than it did for the Explorer browser, sending the song to the top of the pop music charts [...]

[...] “Life is Beautiful” is the name of a 2006 song by the U.K. group Vega 4… The song is filled with emotionally powerful sentiment and moving lyrics, and has been used in PBS advertising, TV episodes of “Grey’s Anatomy,” and various films…The group’s style is in the mold of Coldplay and Snow Patrol, but they have since disbanded [...]

[...] Yogi Berra, the famous Hall-of-Fame, New York Yankee baseball player, in addition to becoming a sports celebrity of his day, also became something of cultural icon know for his “famous sayings” – sparking a bit of cottage industry in book publishing… Berra’s story not only captures the baseball aura of his times, but also shows how his sports popularity seeped into popular culture in a novel way, as Yogi Berra’s celebrity is now in its eighth decade [...]

[...] This story covers the history of the Beatles’ first hit song, “Love Me Do,” their first recording sessions at EMI’s Abbey Road studios in London, how their manager Brian Epstein pushed to get them a recording contract in the early 1960s, and how their relationship with recording engineer George Martin developed around that song and thereafter…The story also includes mp3 versions of 4 songs and also tracks 20-year and 50-year history surrounding “Love Me Do” & the Beatles [...]

[...] Advance Publications is a sprawling media empire of leading magazines, newspapers, cable TV and websites owned by the Newhouse family of Long Island, New York. In recent years the Newhouse/Advance empire has ranked among the 50 largest privately-held companies in the U.S. This article dips into the 90 years of Newhouse empire-building history, with some focus on the newspaper and magazine parts of the story, celebrity and political issues, and the Newhouse publishing and media impact on America culture…[...]

[...] Brian Lamb is the founder and creator of the C-SPAN public affairs TV network that covers Congress and a lot more… Lamb has consistently shown with his eclectic range of subjects and guests, how television can be used to inform citizens and elevate learning, doing so without bombast or celebrity fanfare. Lamb and C-SPAN have created a valuable “public learning commons” for millions. That story, and Lamb’s career, are explored in this article [...]

[...] This “topics page” provides thumbnail sketches and links to 14 baseball stories at this website, including in-depth profiles and photos of Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Sandy Koufax, Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Honus Wagner, Christie Mathewson, Lou Gehrig, and others [...]

[...] During the 2008 U.S. presidential election, the McCain-Palin campaign, picking up on a high school nickname of “barracuda” for Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, decided to use the popular 1977 song “Barracuda” by rock group Heart to promote their new political star. “Barracuda” was played at the Republican National Convention in 2008, but also spawned some “music rights” controversy [...]

[...] In 1962, during a time when the Cuban missile crisis was unfolding, Bob Dylan wrote a song titled, “A Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall,” a classic protest song filled with forebodings on war, social injustice, and other dreads, but left for the ages to interpret… The story here provides some background on the Dylan song in those times, subsequent reception and interpretation of Dylan’s work, and his legacy since then [...]

[...] Gordon Gekko, the fictional Wall Street character who Michael Douglas made famous with his “greed is good “speech in 1987′s Wall Street, is now working for the FBI… Gekko, or rather Douglas, is appearing in a public service announcement (PSA) for the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation [...]

[...] Steve Jobs, Apple, and TBWA/Chiat/Day created a memorable advertising campaign & enduring set of cultural images with their iPod-attired silhouette dancers… These ads, used to sell digital music players & digital music, appeared in print, TV, and outdoor venues all over the world… The ads had a “pied piper” effect on consumers, transforming Apple into a digital music giant, sending it in into the superstar stratosphere of the world’s most elite and profitable companies [...]

[...] There is probably no more soulful a version of “America The Beautiful” than that performed by legendary bluesman Ray Charles… A much-loved song by many Americans, the Ray Charles version has become something of a classic since Charles first recorded it in 1972… This story covers some of that history, as well as Charles’ performance of the song in an emotional closing at the 1984 Republican National Convention [...]

[...] A lively and energetic Google TV ad starring pop music star Lady Gaga is featured in this story… The ad & its reception are covered in some detail, but there is also equal time given to the involvement of Google here…. Google’s latest foray into “more human” advertising is covered, as are the entertainment & business implications of the internet search giant hooking up with celebrities & other famous players… New social networking potential and “entertainment networks” seen as emerging opportunities [...]

[...] A series of 1950s Saturday Evening Post magazine covers are presented by artist Stevan Dohanos, who offered several Post Office and U.S. mail-related scenes from American communities and everyday life… These serve as indications of the importance of the local post office and U.S. postal system in American culture and local communities for both mid-20th century America and beyond, offering some relevance to the current debate over the proposed closing of some 3,600 post offices across urban and rural America [...]

[...] A Brooklyn, NY “baseball sculpture” of Brooklyn Dodger players Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese dedicated in 2005, commemorates Reese’s “arm-around-the-shoulders” support of black player Robinson on the field during racial taunts and fan heckling at a 1947 Cincinnati Reds game….This story covers Robinson’s breaking the color barrier in major league baseball, the sculpture’s genesis, Brooklyn Dodger history, and more [...]

[...] In 1968, a hard rock band named Iron Butterfly came out with a 17-minute song that became something of a psychedelic anthem in the Summer of 1968… ”In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” went on to sell tens of millions of albums worldwide and was also used by Fidelity Investments to pitch Baby Boomers in a 2005 TV ad…Iron Butterfly was an early influence on the heavy metal rock sound that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s[...]

[...] In 2010, luxury bag maker Louis Vuitton had photographer Annie Leibovitz do a photo shoot for advertising featuring three of the world’s most famous soccer stars – Brazil’s Pelé, Argentina’s Diego Maradona, and France’s Zinedine Zidane. A Vuitton magazine ad appeared in June 2010 amid World Cup fever and used the three soccer celebs to help give Vuitton products an “everyman” appeal and also to help spread the Vuitton style globally [...]

[...] In 2010, a hit song that was written more than 50 years ago by a rock-n roll legend and convicted murderer Phil Spector, and became a 1958 hit with The Teddy Bears, was used in a sweetly-portrayed TV ad by Humana Health Care…The ad depicts a series of loving scenes between grandchildren and their grandparents… Story covers song, Teddy Bears & Phil Spector history [...]

[...] In the mid-1960s, a young actress named Mia Farrow was the TV celebrity de jour starring in a new kind of prime-time soap opera called “Peyton Place”…It now seems light years away from that earlier time, and Ms. Farrow, with an impressive film career behind her, has lived a life full of twists & turns, interesting people, and now international activism… Some of her story is offered here [...]

[...] Videos of two 30-second TV ads are shown that film star Dennis Hopper made in 2006- 2008 for the Ameriprise Financial Corp., in which he pitches financial planning to Baby Boomers. Both of these ads use the hard-driving rock `n roll tune, “Gimme Some Lovin” from the 1960s’ Spencer Davis Group, as background music [...]

[...] In 1976-1977, Rupert Murdoch, then a little-known Australian newspaper mogul, made a “big news” New York media grab, acquiring two premier New York media companies: the New York Post newspaper and New York Magazine Co., which then held three publications — New York magazine, The Village Voice, and New West… Story, deal history & personalities involved are covered, as well as hints of what followed with the Murdoch global media empire [...]

[...] In the 1981 stage production, Cats, there is the very poignant song, “Memory,” performed by the aging female feline, Grizabella, who has seen better days. Cats – the famous Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that was originally produced in London – became one of the all-time theater box office successes, with “Memory” as one of its most beloved and signature tunes [...]

[...] In the early- and mid-1960s, the Beach Boys became one of America’s hottest and most successful groups, credited with inventing “California rock” and “sunshine pop.” Along with the Beatles, they also pushed out the boundaries of contemporary music on a new and imaginative front of songwriting and pop composition. Their music was happy, fun-loving and filled with beautiful harmonies – and it appealed to millions, then and 50 years later [...]

[...] Video clip of a General Electric Co. television ad touting “clean coal” from 2005, one of a series of ads used in the company’s “Ecomagination” corporate campaign. This video links to related short stories about the making the ad – “G.E.’s Hot Coal Ad” – and the history of the music used in the ad – “Sixteen Tons.”[...]

[...] Warren Buffett, the businessman-investor from Omaha, Nebraska, known for his stock picks and investment strategies, is one of the wealthiest persons on the planet. Although famous for years in the investment community, Buffett became more of a mainstream celebrity as his wealth grew and also as stories became known about the millions he made for folks of modest means. …Buffett’s story also shows that once he arrived in the media glare, he moved to use his fame, the media machine, and his philanthropy in ways to benefit society [...]

[...] Hollywood imagery sometimes survives long after its initial introduction, moving its characters and message into mainstream culture… Hollywood’s big time deal-maker, Gordon Gekko, played to a tee by Michael Douglas in the 1987 film “Wall Street,” made “greed is good” the catch phrase of the go-go 1980s… Gekko is a character who has stayed with the culture for some years now, and is periodically mentioned whenever Wall Street excesses flow… This piece looks at the film’s history, the Gekko character, & their effect today as a 2010 sequel arrives [...]

[...] “Be My Baby” by the Ronettes was one of the defining rock ‘n roll songs of the early 1960s — a song notable for advancing a new sound that changed pop music…“Be My Baby” is also a bigger story — of lives entangled in the business of making music during 1963-66 and the fallout years later, including the demise of the group, ill health for one member, a prominent divorce for another, and a protracted legal battle over royalties and song rights[...]

[...] In the summer of 2009, the Omega watch company, part of the Swatch Group of Switzerland, launched an ad campaign built around the image and words of former U.S. President, John F. Kennedy from the 1960s… The campaign, using the 40th anniversary of the 1969 Moon landing, focused on Kennedy’s initiative with the Apollo space program, using print & TV ads to promote Omega brand Speedmaster watches, which were used in the U.S. space and lunar programs [...]

[...] This short video introduces Martin Scorsese’s documentary film on the Rolling Stones, “Shine a Light”. The full two-hour film features Rolling Stones performances that took place during their “Bigger Bang Tour” of 2006…. The video links to another Rolling Stones story at this website regarding their concert touring and business history [...]

[...] In 1982, Sylvester Stallone, Hollywood movie star and producer of the Rocky film series, donated a statue of his Rocky Balboa movie character to the City of Philadelphia. It was left near the entrance to the Philadelphia Art Museum, where it touched off a controversy over the appropriateness of its location that would flare up several times over the course of more than 20 years [...]

[...] In 1972, John Hall was a founding member of the rock ‘n roll group Orleans. Thirty-four years later he was elected to the United States Congress… This story covers his years with Orleans, some of their music, and Hall’s rise to Congress. [...]

[...] In the early 1980s, Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney teamed up for some joint music projects. Their friendship led to Jackson’s discovery of the music publishing business, and ironically, his $47 million acquisition of a large and important Beatles music catalog… That catalog became an important asset for Jackson and a much sought-after prize in the music industry [...]

[...] In April 2009, a European entertainment company named Imagem Music, shelled out an estimated $250-to-$300 million to acquire the rights to the Broadway legacy of music legends Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein — plus their New York organization covering some 12,000 songs, 900 concert works, 100 musicals, and 200 writers [...]

[...] In 1990, the Irish rock group U2 went looking for their muse, and part of what they found was one of the top songs of the 1990s – “One” [...]

Bill Bradley on the March 18, 1968 cover of ‘Sports Illustrated,’ early in his ten-year career with the New York Knicks professional basketball team.     Before he became a U.S. Senator in 1978 and a presidential candidate in the year 2000, Bill Bradley was a famous high school, college, and professional basketball player – and a damn [...]

…Taylor Swift was a freshman sitting in her high school math class in Hendersonville, Tennessee when she began writing her first hit song. She was 14 years old. Within three years of that moment, Taylor Swift’s net worth began building to the tune of tens-of-millions-of-dollars….

Logo for the 2009 NCAA ‘Final Four’ basketball championship, played in Detroit, Michigan.     A front-page story in the Washington Post that ran a few days before the April 2009 “final four” championship NCAA basketball games, focused on the big money that would be flowing into Detroit’s local economy because of the tournament.  And indeed, organizers [...]

Statue of a young Babe Ruth just outside the gates of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore. Statue by Susan Luery; photo by Leo Cloutier, pbase.com. See other statue perspective, below.     In Baltimore, Maryland, at the Camden Yards baseball park, home of the Baltimore Oriole’s professional baseball team, there is a statue of Babe Ruth, [...]

Record sleeve for ‘Paint It Black’ single issued in South Africa, 1966, with B-side, ‘Long Long While’.     In the spring of 1966, all was not well in the world.  The Vietnam War was raging and  American involvement there was escalating.  U.S. troop strength had reached 200,000 by then, and draft quotas at home had doubled.   [...]

…Rocker Tom Petty’s 1989 hit song, “I Won’t Back Down,” has become a popular tune in political campaigns — used by: George W. Bush, Senators Hillary Clinton, Jim Webb, Bob Menendez, and John Edwards, to name a few… And also Eliot Spitzer…

Norman Rockwell’s ‘Rosie The Riveter’ cover for the May 29, 1943 edition of The Saturday Evening Post, was the first visual image to incorporate the ‘Rosie’ name.     “Rosie the Riveter” is the name of a fictional character  who came to symbolize the millions of real women who  filled America’s factories, munitions plants, and shipyards during World [...]

Poster for the 2006-2007 stage play ‘Frost/Nixon’ based on the 1977 television interviews of former President Richard Nixon by British talk show host, David Frost.     In 1975, former U.S. President Richard Nixon – who had been driven from office the previous year by the Watergate scandal – made a business deal with British celebrity talk show host [...]

October 1989 edition of Forbes business magazine featuring Mick Jagger & Keith Richards among the world’s ‘highest paid entertainers’.     In October 1989, Forbes magazine featured rock ‘n roll stars Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones on its cover.  The story’s headline asked “What’ll They Do With All That Money?”  Forbes writer Peter [...]

[...] In 2005, General Electric, the giant American conglomerate, began running one of its
“Ecomagination” TV ads to tout “clean coal,” employing sexy “model miners” in the spot to deliver its message… Yet the ad found a number of critics, objecting to unrealistic portrayal of coal mining’s dangers and the use of the backing song, “Sixteen Tons,” from the 1950s [...]

[...]When the Beatles first came to the U.S. in February 1964, their first-ever live concert performance in Washington, D.C., was filmed by CBS for later use as a “closed-circuit concert” shown in slected U.S. theaters[...]

Actor Dennis Hopper shown in one of his Ameriprise Financial television advertisements.      It may be surprising for baby boomers to see Dennis Hopper pitching retirement planning for Ameriprise Financial Corp.  He appeared in a series of TV ads for the company during 2006-2008.  Hopper, it may be remembered, played the drug-addled cowboy biker, Billy, in the [...]

Bobby Darin & wife Sandra Dee in the 1960s.      In 1958, with the unlikely song lyric, “splish, splash, I was taking a bath,” a 22 year-old singer from New York named Bobby Darin, launched a singing career and a  No.1 hit record.  That career lasted a short 15 years, ending in Darin’s premature death at [...]

[...] He’s been on the run since 1980 when novelist Robert Ludlum first created him for his popular spy thrillers, and he is still on the run today in a series of popular films, played by actor Matt Damon. The Bourne storyline, in fact, has proven to be a gigantic economic success [...] and has created a global entertainment empire [...]

[...] “American Bandstand” was a TV dance show that began in Philadelphia, PA in the 1950s. It became an important arbiter of rock `n roll in American culture, enabling a giant rock music business to explode nationally with the help of Baby Boomer kids… The show also became synonymous with its principal creator & DJ, Dick Clark, who parlayed the show into other entertainment ventures making him a wealthy man [...]

She walked away from her husband and a successful musical career with some loose pocket change, a gasoline credit card, and little else. It was early July1976 [...] For a time, she relied on friends and food stamps to survive [...] By 2005, Tina Turner had become one of the most successful female rock artists of all time [...]

[...] In 1978, an all sports cable TV network was hardly a “no brainer.” The three major TV networks combined then broadcast only about 20 hours of sports a week [...] But Bill Rasmussen, a former sportscaster and recently fired communications man for the New England Whalers ice hockey team, came up with the idea [...]

[...] “Profiles in Courage” became a best-seller and was ground-breaking in its day, becoming one of the first books used to advance a political career aimed at the White House [...] The book gave Kennedy a certain political gravitas and national recognition he did not have before, lifting him from the ranks of unknown senators [...]

In 1993, before she graced the cover of Rolling Stone magazine at right, Gisele Bündchen was a skinny 14 year-old kid in southern Brazil who aspired to play professional volleyball [...] Photo: Supermodel Gisele Bundchen, on cover of the September 14, 2000 issue of Rolling Stone magazine, then naming her, ‘the most beautiful girl in the world.’