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“Tell Laura I Love Her” is a teenage tragedy song written by Jeff Barry and Ben Raleigh. It was a US top ten popular music hit for singer Ray Peterson in 1960 on RCA Victor Records, reaching No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.  Later that same year, it was recorded and released by Ricky Valance in the United Kingdom, where it went to the No. 1 spot on the UK singles chart.  The song has been a hit in 14 countries, and has sold over seven million copies.

The song tells the tragic story from a witness’ perspective of a young man named Tommy who is in love with Laura and wants to marry her, so he enters a stock car race, despite being the youngest and most inexperienced driver, hoping to win and use the prize money to buy Laura a wedding ring. The second verse tells how his car overturns and bursts into flames, although nobody knows what had happened. Tommy is fatally injured and his last words are “Tell Laura I love her… My love for her will never die”. In the final verse, Laura prays inside the chapel, where a church organ is heard, and where she can still hear Tommy’s voice intoning the title one more time, before it fades out.

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An Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) does not bite or sting. Adult moths lack functional mouthparts, do not eat, and are completely harmless to humans. Their caterpillars also lack venom, though their fine hairs can occasionally cause a mild skin rash in sensitive people.

Adults live for only about a week, focusing entirely on mating and laying eggs.
They are quite large, with a wingspan ranging from 3 to 7 inches.

So beautiful…

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“Wind Beneath My Wings” (sometimes titled “The Wind Beneath My Wings” and “Hero”) is a song written in 1982 by American songwriters Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley.

The song was first recorded by Australian singer Kamahl in 1982 for a country and western album he was recording. Kamahl talked about being the first to record the song in an appearance on Australian TV show Spicks and Specks but stated it was not commercially released because it was felt he did not suit the country and western style. Instead, Roger Whittaker recorded the song, as well as Sheena Easton and Lee Greenwood. The song appeared shortly thereafter in charted versions by Colleen Hewett (1982), Lou Rawls (1983), Gladys Knight & the Pips (1983) and Gary Morris (1983).

The highest-charting version of the song to date was recorded in 1988 by singer and actress Bette Midler for the soundtrack to the film Beaches. This version was released as a single in early 1989, spent one week at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in June 1989, and won Grammy Awards for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards in February 1990. On October 24, 1991, Midler’s single was also certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipment of one million copies in the United States. In 2004, Midler’s version finished at No. 44 in AFI’s 100 Years…100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. Perry Como recorded the song for his final studio album Today, released by RCA Records in 1987. Como wanted “Wind Beneath My Wings” released as a single but RCA refused; Como was reportedly so angry he vowed never to record for RCA Records ever again.

In a 2002 UK poll, “Wind Beneath My Wings” was found to be the most-played song at British funerals.

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“Wild World” is a song written and recorded by English singer-songwriter Cat Stevens. It first appeared on his fourth album, Tea for the Tillerman (1970). Released as a single in September 1970 by Island Records and A&M Records, “Wild World” saw significant commercial success, garnering attention for its themes of love and heartbreak, and has been covered numerous times since its release. Maxi Priest and Mr. Big (released in 1988 and 1993 respectively) had successful cover versions of the song.

Stevens developed a relationship with actress Patti D’Arbanville and the two were a pair for roughly two years. Many have speculated that this song was based on or inspired in part by this relationship. Stevens denied this when speaking on The Chris Isaak Hour in 2009, explaining that the song was his own reflection to returning to music after a near-death experience due to complications with tuberculosis. Said Stevens:

“I was trying to relate to my life. I was at the point where it was beginning to happen and I was myself going into the world. I’d done my career before, and I was sort of warning myself to be careful this time around, because it was happening. It was not me writing about somebody specific, although other people may have informed the song, but it was more about me. It’s talking about losing touch with home and reality – home especially.”

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“Cat’s in the Cradle” is a folk rock song by American singer-songwriter Harry Chapin, from his fourth studio album, Verities & Balderdash (1974). The single topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in December 1974. As Chapin’s only number-one song, it became his signature song and a staple for folk rock music. Chapin’s recording of the song was nominated for the 1975 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011.

“Cat’s in the Cradle” is narrated by a man who becomes a father in the first stanza. He is constantly too busy with his work to spend time with his son, despite his son looking up to him and promising he will grow up to be just like him. When the son graduates from college, he declines his father’s offer to relax with him and instead asks for the car keys. In the final stanza, the now-retired father calls his adult son and asks to spend some time together, but the son is now too busy with his own work and family to spend time with his dad, and the father realizes his son has indeed grown up to be just like him.

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“Come Monday” is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was first released on his 1974 album Living & Dying in ¾ Time.

Buffett wrote the song to his future wife while he was on tour.  At a live performance in 1974, Buffett mentioned that he had written the song heading out to California the previous year, meaning that it would have been written as he was “heading up to San Francisco for the Labor Day weekend show” in 1973. He opened those weekend shows in Marin County for Country Joe McDonald at the Lion’s Share club in San Anselmo and the song was written at the Howard Johnson’s that Buffett was staying at in Mill Valley. The single version replaces the third line, “I’ve got my Hush Puppies on,” with “I’ve got my hiking shoes on.”

It is one of Buffett’s more popular songs, and is part of “The Big 8” that he played at almost all of his concerts, typically changing the line “I just can’t wait to see you again” to “It’s so nice to be in…(location of show)…again”.

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Ben is a 1972 American horror film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Lee Montgomery, Joseph Campanella, and Arthur O’Connell. It is a sequel to the film Willard (1971).  The film follows a lonely boy named Danny Garrison who befriends Willard’s former pet rat named Ben. Ben becomes the boy’s best friend, protecting him from bullying and keeping his spirits up in the face of a heart condition. However, Ben forms an army of deadly rodents while the police attempt to control it.

The film premiered on June 21, 1972 in California and was given a wide release on June 23.

Ben was released on June 23, 1972 by Cinerama Releasing Corporation. Much like its predecessor, it was met with mixed reviews.

American singer Michael Jackson performs the theme song of the film, also titled “Ben“. The song is also included on his 1972 album of the same name.

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A pretty accurate depiction of an AI’er….😄

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Neapolitan ice cream originally looked very different from the chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry combination most people know today.

Its earliest versions were inspired by the colors of the Italian flag.

The three flavors were commonly pistachio, vanilla, and cherry, creating green, white, and red layers meant to reflect Italy’s national colors.

The dessert became associated with Naples, whose ice cream makers were famous for creating elaborate frozen desserts using multiple flavors arranged side by side.

As Neapolitan-style ice cream became popular in the United States, the flavors gradually changed.

Chocolate and strawberry were more familiar to American consumers, easier to produce on a large scale, and more widely available than pistachio and cherry. Over time, the modern combination of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry became the standard.

The name stayed the same, even though the flavors changed.

So the original Neapolitan ice cream wasn’t just a mix of three random flavors.

It was an edible tribute to Italy.

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Austrian guitarist Bernth was dubbed a “musical genius” and a “mad scientist” when he built a 100-stringed acoustic guitar that sounded nothing like you’d expect. With mystic fairytale tones and a mesmerizing original song written especially for his brand new instrument, Bernth floored the entire internet with this mind-boggling invention, his performance going viral with over 931,000 views to date.

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