Feature: Retro Redux

In his continuing quest to prove that the music of the past has a lot to offer today's music lovers, Big Geez takes time off from his busy duties as a hammock tester to write RETRO REDUX. For those who remember the songs, it's a journey into musical nostalgia that will take you to places you haven't been for a while -- not only revisiting many of your favorite songs (even those you might have forgotten), but also telling the often surprising stories of the people who made the music. For those music lovers who might have come along a little too late to have actually experienced the music of the past, it's an opportunity to see what all the fuss was about.

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Big Geez

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• Retro Redux: One More Toast To Anita O'Day - And To Her Mentor

  "Reefer" use among musicians of the time was not uncommon, but the laws were not forgiving...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Jan 07, 2007

• Retro Redux: Los Indios Tabajaras - Mystery From The Amazon

  Of course, it goes without saying that what's familiar to me might not be quite so familiar to you.

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Jan 04, 2007

• Retro Redux: Celebrating The New Year With Ray Stevens

  In the early '60s I was working in radio, mostly as a DJ but sometimes with added duties that included...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Jan 01, 2007

• Retro Redux: Willie Nelson - The Early Years

  I can't imagine anyone not instantly recognizing his grizzled face when they see it or his unique voice...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Dec 30, 2006

• Retro Redux: Holiday Season Triggers Memories Of Dad

  I used to tell kids that my dad worked for the government, had a badge, and carried a gun.

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Dec 28, 2006

• Retro Redux: Granting Absolution To Pat Boone

  I have a modest proposal, but before you say no I would ask you to remember...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Dec 23, 2006

• Retro Redux: Tony Bennett - Before He Was A Legend

  Anthony Dominick Benedetto was a New Yorker, born and raised in Queens, the son of a grocer...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Dec 21, 2006

• Retro Redux: Same Place, Different Music - From Buddy Holly To Mozart

  Life is full of coincidences but it still strikes as a little funny the way things happen sometimes.

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Dec 19, 2006

• Retro Redux: Close Encounters Of The Celebrity Kind

  We might as well admit it. It's obvious that we're all fascinated by celebrities.

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Dec 17, 2006

• Retro Redux: Remembering The Music Of The Cotton Club

  It was a popular Harlem night club that featured black performers but was restricted to an all-white clientele...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Dec 13, 2006

• Retro Redux: Differing Definitions Deflate Dynamic Date Movie

  Sometimes I have to chuckle when I see a new film described as a "date movie", because it seems...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Dec 11, 2006

• Retro Redux: Tinkering With Tubes Leads To Adventures In Paradise

  I lost count of the times that I got zapped when I wasn't expecting it...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Dec 07, 2006

• Retro Redux: Summer Camp - Exciting, Enriching, And Embarrassing

  My recollections include not only musical memories - as always - but also a remembrance of one of the most embarrassing incidents...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Dec 03, 2006

• Retro Redux: My Fair Lady Masquerades As Muzak

  When I was in my late teens I had a part-time job as an assistant to a broadcasting consultant...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Nov 29, 2006

• Retro Redux: My Guilty Secret - Ferrante and Teicher

  At that time, the kids considered to be cool were the ones listening to the new stuff on the jukebox.

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Nov 27, 2006

• Retro Redux: Ozzie And Harriet - Ricky And Me

  An objective listener would probably not have been too impressed when Ricky Nelson began to sing...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Nov 25, 2006

• Retro Redux: Silly Songs - From Edison To Weird Al

  It's entirely possible that Thomas Edison, after inventing the phonograph, recorded a wax cylinder of himself...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Nov 21, 2006

• Dinner With Clint Eastwood - Music By Frankie Laine

  Clint Eastwood's new movie, Flags Of Our Fathers, is getting a lot of attention lately...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Nov 17, 2006

• Did Rock & Roll Kill Your Hit Parade?

  The rising popularity of rock and roll is generally blamed for heralding the beginning of the end...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Nov 13, 2006

• Warming Up To Hank Snow On The Philco

  Listening to music now is a lot simpler and easier than it was then, but maybe not quite as... interesting.

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Nov 09, 2006