Classic Rock 'n' TV History

Rusty Young, singer, guitarist, songwriter and founding member of the country rock group Poco, passed away on Wednesday, April 14 of a heart attack at the age of 75. Young was also a virtuoso on the pedal steel guitar and influential in the country rock sound of the late '60s and early '70s. Young was an outstanding musician who will be missed for sure. RIP Rusty. Those of you who are old enough to remember the late '70s will remember Poco's No. 17 hit from early 1979, "Crazy Love," from their 1978 album Legend . Written and sung by Young, "Crazy Love" was the first single by Poco to reach the Top 40. Young would sing lead on another Top 20 hit for Poco in the '80s. "Call It Love" was a No. 18 hit for them in 1989, from the album Legacy .

By Jason C. Klose Happy Birthday to legendary jazz and pop vocalist/guitarist George Benson, who turns 78 today!  In the Spring of 2009, I wrote a biographical profile on George Benson during my internship for The Pennsylvania Center for the Book at the Penn State University Libraries. For my internship, I did research, wrote, and edited biographical profiles on cultural figures with a connection to the state of Pennsylvania. A native of Pittsburgh, Benson has always been one of my favorite jazz artists. Benson  is known as one of the greatest jazz guitarists of all-time. After beginning his recording career at the age of 21, Benson played with a number of renowned jazz artists during the 1960s, including Jack McDuff and Miles Davis. His breakthrough success came in the 1970s with his 1976 release Breezin’ , which included the title track and “This Masquerade.” Other hit albums followed, including Give Me the Night in 1980, and a hit single, “Turn Your Love Around” in 1981. H...

By Jason C. Klose Five years ago, I had the honor of interviewing the legendary Barry Manilow for the Centre Daily Times (State College, PA)   for a preview of his concert at the Bryce Jordan Center on the campus of Penn State University.  Manilow was on his "One Last Time!" tour, which began on February 11, 2015 at the CenturyLink Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska, with stops at most major North American venues.  Other destinations included Chicago at the United Center, Los Angeles at the Staples Center, and Brooklyn at the Barclay's Center for the tour finale on June 17, where Manilow celebrated his 72nd birthday during his Barclays Center debut. Manilow visited Penn State on March 12, 2016, performing many of his signature songs including "Mandy," "I Write the Songs," "Looks Like We Made It," and "Copacabana (At the Copa)."  On February 14, 2020, Manilow released Night Songs II , which debuted at No. 32 on the Billboard 200, markin...

By Jason C. Klose If you grew up in the late '70s and through the '80s as I did, or even through the first half of the '90s, then you more than likely watched CBS's The Price Is Right on occasion, or  as often as you could when home from school during holidays and summer vacation. Did any of you ever pretend to be sick, just so you could stay home and watch the show in the morning? I may have done it once or twice. But did you want to watch it for the games and prizes or to see the beautiful models - or maybe a little of both? I think that many male viewers who watched the show would be willing to admit that they had a crush on at least one of the classic models at one time or another. I most certainly had mine. My personal favorite is 'The Lovely' Holly Hallstrom (as she was known), the beautiful, charming, perky, blue-eyed redhead and sometimes klutzy 'girl-next-door,' who appeared on The Price Is Right from 1977-1995. A longtime fan favorite, Holly w...

By Jason C. Klose Best known for hosting The Newlywed Game on and off in the 1960s, '70s, '80s and '90s, legendary disc jockey, television personality and game show host Bob Eubanks also hosted the successful revamp version of Card Sharks from 1986 to 1989. In 2000, Eubanks received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He also received a lifetime achievement Emmy Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 2005. The Newlywed Game was launched in 1966 when Eubanks received a phone call from Chuck Barris, asking him to host a new game show. The Newlywed Game premiered on ABC later that same year and was an immediate hit.  Only 28 years old when he started hosting, Eubanks became widely popular for bringing a youthful energy to daytime television, pressing contestants into giving embarrassing and hilarious answers. The Newlywed Game was also ranked as one of the top three daytime game shows, for five consecutive seasons, between 1968 and 1973, and was ranked...

By Jason C. Klose For my first post on this blog, I thought I would share an interview I did with legendary singer Linda Ronstadt in May 2015. The interview was for an article I wrote for the Centre Daily Times (State College, PA), prior to Linda's appearance at The Grand Opera House in Wilmington, Delaware. She was still on a book tour promoting her autobiography, Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir , which was released in September 2013. While Linda was no longer able to sing due to Parkinson's disease, she made speaking appearances using a PowerPoint presentation with pictures, videos and audio clips of her amazing life and music career. Linda was  entertaining, humorous, witty, and her usual modest self, as always. Her wonderful, down-to-earth personality certainly shines through in my conversation with her, as she was so gracious with her time, which was just over an hour.  Not only did we talk about her career, but we even connected on a more personal level, as we discussed...