Category Archives: Uncategorized

Yesterday was the birthdate of Chuck Berry, poet laureate of Rock and Roll. He shares the date with Laura Nyro (October 18, 1947 –April 08, 1997), who wrote “Wedding Bell Blues“, “Stoned Soul Picnic“, “Sweet Blindness“, “Eli’s Comin’“; and “Stoney … Continue reading →

Fall into Reading at the Nichols Library There is always fresh crime fiction on the plate at the Nichols Library. In The Last Mrs. Summers by Rhys Bowen, a guest at a country home is accused of murder, but amateur … Continue reading →

Bob Weir (10/16), American songwriter, guitarist and founding member of the Grateful Dead, turns 73. Bob was the tag-along kid. He almost got kicked out of the band but started to come up with some great songs and became a … Continue reading →

Paul Simon turned 79 today. An R&B one hit wonder in the 50s, he scored folk hits in the 60s with Art Garfunkel, hit the pop charts in the 70s, and helped bring attention to world music in the 80s. … Continue reading →

Elmore Leoanard (10/11) made a name was a western writer (Hombre) before turning to crime (Rum Punch) to adventure (Cuba Libre’). His character Raylon Givens inspired the FX series Justified. His terse dialog made for easy transition to movies, among … Continue reading →

The Nichols Library will not be putting books out today in observance of Columbus Day. “See” you Wednesday. About the holiday: “President Franklin D. Roosevelt officially instituted Columbus Day in 1934, but the idea for the holiday rose in the … Continue reading →

More Monk on Ken Burns Jazz (Episode 8:Risk) on Kanopy.

Music Minute:  John Ono LennonJohn Lennon was in a band called the Quarreymen. Then he met a kid called McCartney. The rest, as they say, was history.  Read all about it in The Beatles by Bob Spitz, or watch The … Continue reading →

Jill Ker Conway 10/9), who grew up in the Australian outback, became the first woman president of Smith College.  Her memoirs, beginning with The Road from Coorain, track her journey. 

Browne (10/9) was the quintessential post-hippie California singer songwriter, with numbers like   Running on Empty and Take it Easy.