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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• From Billie Holiday To Doris Day - The Songbirds

  What do Norma Deloris Egstrom, Frances Rose Shore, Eleanora Fagan Gough, and Doris Mary Ann von Kappelhoff have in common?

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Nov 05, 2006

• Dads And Daughters - Nat And Natalie Cole

  She had many, many problems, and, through it all, she resisted the temptation to record her Father's songs because...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Oct 30, 2006

• Who Was The Real All-American Boy? Elvis, Bobby Bare, Or...

  And there was also the inevitable attraction that teenagers have always felt for anything new and a little... dangerous.

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Oct 28, 2006

• Walkin' Wild In New Orleans With Jimmy Smith

  Jimmy Smith not only helped make organ music part of the jazz mainstream, he was also influential in helping create "funk" or "soul" jazz.

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Oct 24, 2006

• Recalling Tennessee Ernie Ford's "Sixteen Tons"

  Graveyards, outhouses, and musical memories.

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Oct 20, 2006

• Brothers Who Swing - Musically

  And speaking of smooth, crooner Bing Crosby and his brother Bob got along pretty well, and even though...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Oct 16, 2006

• From Sinatra To Rod Stewart - The Crooner Conundrum

  An opinion from football analyst John Madden, talking (in his unique way) about Snoop Dogg...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Oct 14, 2006

• From Beach Music to Pulp Fiction - Dick Dale

  I have to confess that I really don't remember much about Dick Dale and the Del-Tones.

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Oct 10, 2006

• Driving, Deja Vu And The Lovin' Spoonful

  ...I kept nervously eyeing the rising temperature gauge because the Olds was prone to overheating.

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Oct 06, 2006

• Was Benny Goodman A Doppelganger?

  Once considered to be my musical doppelganger, in ways that go beyond what most people would consider sane and normal.

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Sep 30, 2006

• Reckless Driving And The Sound Of Roger Miller

  Suddenly, I heard something unbelievable coming through the speaker and it distracted me so much that I...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Sep 22, 2006

• Significant Beginnings Lead To CCR

  My son began developing eclectic tastes in music and playing it so loudly that I could hear it through his bedroom door.

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Sep 15, 2006

• Acting Naturally: Classic Country Music Ages Well

  For the benefit of those who tend to dismiss geezer music as just "oldies" or maybe something by Glenn Miller...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Sep 10, 2006

• Big Band Music In the Movies — The MTV of Its Day

  I happened to spot an old black and white musical on one of the cable movie channels the other day...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Sep 06, 2006

• Count Basie And The Aristocracy Of Swing Music

  I began to notice that there seemed to be a lot of musicians with nicknames that bestowed nobility — even royalty.

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Aug 28, 2006

• Vinyl Isn't Always Final - Les Brown

  I began seriously collecting records when I was a teenager and eventually accumulated quite a few.

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Aug 17, 2006

• Pokeweed Inspired A Classic Blues Song

  If our timing was right, my granddad - who looked nothing like Cary Grant - would be waiting...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Aug 11, 2006

• Swing Music: It's About More Than Just Glenn Miller

  As a teenager, sitting in my pal Louie’s basement while spinning records and reinforcing my newly-discovered fondness for Swing...

  Opinion by Big Geez — on Aug 08, 2006