Author: Rick Bolger
Editor & website moderator, popularsong.org
One last love note to Doris
Try to imagine all the spontaneous joy and the number of smiles when a Doris Day song came over the airwaves. Multiply that by all the radios in the world, and multiply that number by all the hit song... Read More
Mother & Son Hitmakers
In our article about Shirley Jones, we mention the fact that Shirley never had much singles chart success until she topped the Billboard Hot 100 with stepson David and “I Think I Love You,”... Read More
Remembering Roy Clark, Guitar Icon
“Personality Plus” is probably the way most will remember Roy Clark, and while that is accurate, it only tells part of the tale. Others will say that he was a superior instrumentalist who ... Read More
TV Connections to Traditional Pop
Above: Bobby Troup and Julie London See if you can follow this. We begin with Nat King Cole and Frank DeVol… If you haven’t read our Featured Songwriter article about Frank DeVol, you may ... Read More
Harpers Bizarre & the Preservation of Popular Song, 1960s Style
During the past 20 years it has become stylish for rock and roll stars to “rediscover” the Great American Songbook. Rod Stewart made a series of albums, while vocalists like Linda Ronstadt... Read More
Novelty Songs & Their “Serious” Connections
We recently published an article on the oft-maligned work of Bob Merrill, who somehow managed to compose a slew of number one hits with no musical knowledge. To add insult to injury, Merrill’s c... Read More
Country Crossover Hits and Nashville’s “Girl Singers”
If you stop and think about it, you can probably come up with a dozen country hits written or performed by female country vocalists that have “crossed over” and become pop hits. And for mo... Read More
Remembering Keely Smith
The recent passing of vocalist Keely Smith gives us a moment to remember not only one of the most entertaining duos of the pop era, but also one of the all-time female vocalists, albeit a perpetually ... Read More