Five Members of Spike Jones’s City Slickers

This wacky bandleader had a band full of (talented) oddballs like him.

by Rich Watson 

Spike Jones (not to be confused with Spike Jonze) was a bandleader and musician from the forties and fifties whose public persona was, in a word… odd. He wore the loudest suits, performed the weirdest songs, and led a band that was different from others of the era.

To put it mildly.

How “David Seville” Created Alvin and the Chipmunks

The story of the songwriter who, with a little audio experimentation, made an entertainment franchise.

by Rich Watson 

Cartoon musical groups were once very popular on Saturday morning TV: the Archies, Josie and the Pussycats, Jem and the Holograms, not to mention dozens of shows about teens who also happen to play in bands. Occasionally the songs you heard on their shows became hit singles, blurring the line between fiction and reality.

Alvin and the Chipmunks were unique in that they began as a novelty singing group that went on to animated success on TV and the movies. 

Pasadena’s Rose Parade Precedes the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day

This California town celebrates the start of the new year—and the many college football bowls—with a parade.

by Rich Watson 

New Year’s Day, for over a century, has been for “bowl games,” college football matchups at the end of the season that lead to a national championship for the winner.

The Rose Bowl, in Pasadena, California, is one of the most prestigious. Before the game, however, audiences enjoy the spectacle of the Rose Parade.