John Lennon
Pop star, composer, songwriter, and recording artist. John Winston Lennon was born October 9, 1940, in Liverpool, Merseyside, NW England, UK, during a German air raid in World War II.
When he was four years old, Lennon’s parents separated and he ended up living with his Aunt Mimi. John’s father was a merchant seaman. He was not present at his son’s birth and did not see a lot of his son when he was small. Read the rest of this entry »
Clint Eastwood
Go ahead, make my day.
— Clint Eastwood
LIKE most superstars, Clint Eastwood’s success can be attributed to equal parts good fortune, tenacity, and talent. On leave as a G.I., his plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean: he swam three miles to shore, was made boot camp swimming instructor, and missed out on action in Korea. Encouraged to try acting by two of his Army buddies, David Janssen and Martin Milner, he landed a contract at Universal Studios in 1954, earning 75 dollars a week playing bit parts in movies like Revenge of the Creature and Tarantula. Read the rest of this entry »
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim. He is perhaps best known for his long conducting relationship with the New York Philharmonic, which included the Young People’s Concerts series, and also [...]
Charlie Chaplin
[Charlie Chaplin is] the single most important artist produced by the cinema, certainly its most extraordinary performer, and probably still its most univeral icon.
— Andrew Sarris, critic
INCONTESTABLY the king of silent screen comedies, Charlie Chaplin achieved international stardom with his utterly captivating portrayal of “The Little Tramp” in such classic films as The Kid (1920), [...]
Clint Eastwood
Go ahead, make my day.
— Clint Eastwood
LIKE most superstars, Clint Eastwood’s success can be attributed to equal parts good fortune, tenacity, and talent. On leave as a G.I., his plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean: he swam three miles to shore, was made boot camp swimming instructor, and missed out on action in Korea. Encouraged [...]
Tom Waits
The piano has been drinking, not me.
— Tom Waits
A SUCCESSFUL musician, movie star, and film composer, Tom Waits has never had a commercial hit; some of his songs are best-known for being covered by other people. He has a huge fan base, but doesn’t tour. His razor-sharp wit and lyrical prowess have put him in [...]
Pete Townshend
I wrote the lines of “My Generation” without thinking, hurrying them–scribbling on a piece of paper in the back of a car. For years I’ve had to live by them, waiting for the day when someone says, “I thought you said you hoped you’d die when you got old. Well, now you [...]
Paul McCartney
Somebody said to me, “But the Beatles were anti-materialistic.” That’s a huge myth. John and I literally used to sit down and say, “Now, let’s write a swimming pool.”
— Paul McCartney
IN the ’60s, there were two types of girls: those who loved naughty John Lennon; and those who loved babyfaced Paul McCartney. Half of the [...]
Aretha Franklin
If a song’s about something I’ve experienced or that could’ve happened to me it’s good. But if it’s alien to me, I couldn’t lend anything to it. Because that’s what soul is all about.
— Aretha Franklin
ARETHA FRANKLIN, if you really don’t know, is the Queen of Soul. She was abandoned by her mother when she [...]
Eric Clapton
Clapton is God.
— Late ’60s New York and London graffiti
IN the late ’60s, one of the most prominent pieces of graffiti seen in London and New York was “Clapton is God.” Over 30 years later, the stalwart guitarist and singer continues to hold the initiated enthralled, and a fair share of his present-day fans weren’t [...]
