John Lingan provides a guided tour to the best drummers in Rock ‘n Roll. Hal Blaine played drums for the legendary Phil Spector. “Spector loved ear-bleeding volume, but he also wanted his songs to sound perfect on a tinny transistor speaker… The “Be My Baby” beat became instantly recognizable and endless borrowed… His collaborations with Spector made Hal Blaine a new kind of studio-bound celebrity.” (p. 26-27)

“As the go-to drummer for Stax in its glory era, Al Jackson, Jr. similarly played on one soul triumph after another– “Soul Man,” “In the Midnight Hour,” “Walking’ the Dog,” “Born Under a Bad Sign”–and his approach helped distinguish Memphis’s sonic identity from Detroit’s. (p. 41)

I was surprised to learn Ringo Starr was a left-handed drummer, which explains some of the unique drumming that helped The Beatles to craft their sound. “Tumbling Dice,” for example, begins with a quick guitar lick, then Charlie Watts nails two rifle-shot snare hits and the full band slams into a soft, strutting groove.” (p. 72). Charlie Watts is my favorite rock drummer and you only have to hear his impact on “Tumbling Dice”–my favorite Rolling Stones song–to appreciate his talent.

“Bernard “Pretty” Purdie nearly played the entirety of 1976’s The Royal Scam, was was also Steely Dan’s most stylistically diverse record, encompassing disco (“The Fez”), reggae (“Haitian Divorce”), and long multipart ballads like the title track.” (p.169)

John Lingan’s tour through the works of the greatest drummers, made me want to re-listen to many of the great songs I grew up with and focus on the drumming. I suspect this might also be your reaction to this wonderful book! And if you want to listen to those great songs of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, take a listen to the Max Weinberg (the drummer of The E-Street Band) set of CDs that capture the great drumming of three decades! Do you have a favorite drummer? GRADE: A (for everything!)

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Glossary — xi

Introduction: We are a part of the Rhythm Nation — xv

Sam Lay: integrating the blues — 1

Hal Blaine: the sound of California — 19

Al Jackson Jr.: from Memphis to the Love Crowd — 35

Ringo Starr: the biggest fool that ever hit the big time — 53

Charlie Watts: let it loose — 71

Kenny Buttrey: beyond the Nashville sound — 83

Moe Tucker: louder than anything — 97

Clyde Stubblefield: don’t turn it loose — 113

John Bonham: power and presence — 131

Bernard “Pretty” Purdie: the sweetener — 149

Earl Hudson: this is hardcore — 165

Tony Thompson: the biggest beat — 179

Dave Lombardo: going to extremes — 193

Dave Grohl: one big rip-off! — 209

Questlove: man vs. machine — 225

Acknowledgements –– 241

Notes — 243

Sources — 251

Index — 259

Max Weinberg Presents: Let There Be Drums! Vol. 1: The ’50s

TRACK LIST:

Sandy Nelson–	Let There Be Drums	2:23
	Bill Haley And His Comets–	(We’re Gonna) Rock Around The Clock	2:11
	Bo Diddley–	Bo Diddley	2:29
	Little Richard–	Long Tall Sally	2:09
	Preston Epps–	Bongo Rock	2:07
	Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps–	Be-Bop-A-Lula	2:36
	Fats Domino–	I’m Walkin’	2:10
	Buddy Holly–	Peggy Sue	2:30
	Chuck Berry–	Rock & Roll Music	2:32
	Cozy Cole–	Topsy II	3:36
	Jerry Lee Lewis–	High School Confidential	2:29
	Johnny And The Hurricanes–	Red River Rock	2:10
	The Coasters–	Yakety Yak	1:52
	Johnny Horton–	The Battle Of New Orleans	2:32
	Dion (3)–	The Wanderer	2:48
	Fats Domino–	The Fat Man	2:37
	Ray Charles–	What’d I Say (Part I)	3:11
	Sandy Nelson–	Teen Beat	2:23

Max Weinberg Presents: Let There Be Drums! Vol. 2: The ’60s

TRACK LIST:

1	The Ventures–	Walk—Don’t Run Drums – Howie JohnsonProducer – Bob ReisdorffWritten-By – John Smith*	2:06
2	Roy Orbison–	Running ScaredDrums – Murray “Buddy” Harman, Jr.*Producer – Fred FosterWritten-By – Joe Melson, Roy Orbison	2:13
3	Percy Sledge–	When A Man Loves A Woman Drums – Roger HawkinsProducer – Marlin Greene, Quin IvyWritten-By – Andrew Wright (4), Calvin Lewis	2:58
4	The Surfaris–	Wipe OutProducer – Paul BuffWritten-By – Robert Berryhill*, James Fuller*, Patrick ConnollyWritten-By, Drums – Ron Wilson (5)	2:38
5	Creedence Clearwater Revival–	Born On The Bayou Drums – Doug CliffordWritten-By, Producer – John Fogerty	5:13
6	Aretha Franklin–	(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been GoneDrums – Roger HawkinsProducer – Jerry WexlerWritten-By – Aretha Franklin, Ted White	2:25
7	Moby Grape–	Omaha Drums – Don StevensonProducer – David RubinsonWritten-By – Skip Spence*	2:22
8	The Rascals–	People Got To Be Free Drums – Dino DanelliProducer – Arif Mardin, The RascalsWritten-By – Eddie Brigati, Felix Cavaliere	3:01
9	The Isley Brothers–	Twist And ShoutDrums – Gary Chester (2)Producer – Ilene BernsWritten-By – Burt Russell*, Phil Medley	2:30
10	Steppenwolf–	Born To Be Wild Drums – Jerry EdmontonProducer – Gabriel MeklerWritten-By – Mars Bonfire	3:30
11	Booker T & The MG’s–	Green OnionsProducer – Jim StewartWritten-By – Booker T. Jones, Lewis Steinberg, Steve CropperWritten-By, Drums – Al Jackson Jr.	2:55
12	Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels–	Jenny Take A Ride! Drums – John “Bee” Badanjek*Written-By – Enotris Johnson, Richard PennimanWritten-By, Producer – Bob Crewe	3:23
13	The Band–	Up On Cripple Creek Drums – Levon HelmProducer – John Simon, Robbie RobertsonWritten-By – Jaime Robert Robertson*	3:34
14	Sam & Dave–	Soul Man Drums – Al Jackson, Jr.*Producer – Isaac Hayes & David Porter*Written-By – Isaac Hayes/David Porter*	2:39
15	The Hollies–	Look Through Any Window Drums – Bobby ElliottProducer – Ron RichardsWritten-By – Charles Silverman, Graham Gouldman	2:17
16	Jan & Dean–	Surf City Drums – Hal BlaineWritten-By – Brian WilsonWritten-By, Producer – Jan Berry	2:28
17	Wilson Pickett–	In The Midnight Hour Drums – Al Jackson, Jr.*Producer – Jim StewartWritten-By – Jerry Wexler, Steve Cropper, Wilson Pickett	2:34
18	The Strangeloves–	I Want Candy Written-By – Bert Berns Written-By, Drums, Producer – Jerry Goldstein, Richard GottehrerWritten-By, Producer – Bob Feldman	2:34

Max Weinberg Presents: Let There Be Drums! Vol. 3: The ’70s

TRACK LIST:

The Rolling Stones–	Rocks Off
	Aretha Franklin–	Rock Steady
	Raspberries–	Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)
	Rufus–	Tell Me Something Good
	Gary Wright–	Dream Weaver
	The Edgar Winter Group–	Franksenstein
	The Staple Singers–	I’ll Take You There
	Ringo Starr–	Drumming Is My Madness
	George McCrae–	Rock Your Baby
	Yes–	The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)
	Sly & The Family Stone–	In Time
	Meat Loaf–	Paradise By The Bashboard Light
	MFSB–	TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia)
	James Taylor (2)–	Fire And Rain
	Herbie Mann–	Hijack
	The Grateful Dead–	Terrapin Flyer (Excerpt)
	Daryl Hall & John Oates–	She’s Gone
	Bruce Springsteen–	Candy’s Room

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

I enjoyed John Grisham’s Introduction where he writes about the murderers he encountered as a young attorney–before he became a best selling writer. I was also delighted by David Avallone–son of the famous Mike Avallone–who shows in “The Golden Road” that he has some of his father’s writing chops.

The mix of stories in this volume will appeal to most mystery fans. “The Secret Menu” by Sean McCluskey features a private investigator hired to follow the husband of a wealthy woman who suspects he might be cheating on her. In “Home Game” by Craig Faustus Buck, a couple is confronted by a killer in their house and have to decide who must die.

A feature of Otto Penzler’s The Best Mysteries of the Year series is the inclusion of a classic mystery story. That honor goes to The Problem of Cell 13 by Jacques Futrelle. I read it again for maybe the fifth time…still enjoyed it and still consider it great! GRADE: A

•  Foreword, Otto Penzler — xi
• Introduction, John Grisham — xv
• The Golden Road, David Avallone — 1
• Home Game, Craig Faustus Buck — 13
• Under the Blackjack Tree, V.P. Chander — 31
• Jamming at Jollies, Tracy Falenwolfe — 49
• Totality, James Hearn — 65
• The Art of Disappearance, April Kelly — 81
• Eat My Moose, Erika Krouse — 95
• The Other Brother, Tom Larsen — 113
• Same Old Song, Billie Livingston –143
• Only a Story, Kai Lovelace — 163
• The Secret Menu, Sean McCluskey — 191
• Mister George, Richard McMahon — 202
• Dream Stuff, Lou Manfredo — 229
• Her Dangerously Clever Hands, Karen Odden — 249
• A New Weariness, Anna Scotti — 277
• Snapshot, Shelagh Smith — 303
• Effie’s Oasis, Casey Stegman — 319
• The Lost and the Lonely, Lamont A. Turner — 335
• Run and Gun, Joseph S. Walker — 363
• Through Thick and Thin, Andrew Welsh-Huggins — 405
• Bonus Story: The Problem of Cell 13, Jacques Futrelle — 441
• The Best Mystery Stories of 2025 Honor Roll — 479

If you’re in the mood for 9-episode series with an Invasion of the Body Snatchers vibe, you might want to give Pluribus a try. The first episode starts with astronomers picking up a signal from 600 light years away. They decipher it and start experimenting with the results. BAD MOVE!

This post-apocalyptic science fiction television series was created by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed primarily in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows romantic fantasy novelist Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), who finds herself isolated after an alien virus transforms the rest of humanity into a peaceful and content hive mind.

Season Two has already been approved. GRADE: Incomplete, but trending towards a B+

Trump’s tariffs, trade wars, bombing “drug boats,” snatching Maduro, the Epstein files, inflation, affordability, flu epidemic, measles on the rise, brutal ICE enforcement, the Government Shut-down, incompetent Cabinet picks, retribution, and watching Trump doze off are just the tip of the dysfunctional world we live in now in 2026.

This blog seeks to be an oasis in the desert of dreadful social media and Internet scams. It’s the wit and wisdom of  Patti, Jeff, Deb, Richard, Beth, Todd, Art, Willam, Maggie, Bob, Tracy, Carl, Lauren, Steve, Jerry, Wolf, Stan, Dan, Neeru, Michael, Byron, Elgin, Angela, Scott, Jim, John, Kevin, Randy, James, Kent, Fred, and Matthew as well as all of you who make this blog a part of your day that fuels the hope we can make it through another hellish year.

The year ahead with the Mid-term Election Season, the cancer of Dark Money influencing voters, the impact of Artificial Intelligence on unemployment, and the greedy impacts of The Big Beautiful Bill desperately needs your intelligent and rational comments. Together, we can make it through this nightmare.

Thank you, thank you very much.

The 3-13 NY Jets take on the 11-5 Buffalo Bills in a meaningless game. This will be the last Regular Season game in 53 year old Highmark Stadium. The new Bills stadium is being constructed across the street from the old stadium (which will be demolished and turned into a parking lot). The Bills are 9 1/2 points favorites even though Josh Allen and several other starters are going to “rest” instead of play in this game. I’m hoping the Jets are resting, too, and nobody gets injured.

How will your favorite NFL do today in the last game of the season?

Marcia Chatelain’s insightful analysis of the history of McDonald’s and the Black Community reveals a decades long struggle to generate Black wealth. Surprisingly, McDonald’s Ray Kroc saw a profitable opportunity to sell franchises to Black investors in the 1960s (it would take years before McDonald’s competitors to see that potential, too).

Numerous barriers constantly blocked Black businesses from succeeding. A few years after Mahalia Jackson’s Glori-Fried Chicken was introduced in 1968, but within a few years the business folded. Muhammed Ali’s ChampBurger also flopped. James Brown launched the Gold Platter restaurant franchise in 1969, hoping his fans would believe franchising was his brand-new bag. But these businesses could not compete with McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, or Wendy’s.

In 1965, Daniel Patrick Moynihan released The Negro Family, The Case of National Action which claimed Black poverty came from family disorganization and a crisis of manhood. Moynihan’s report asserted that “Black women emasculated their male partners, that Black families invested too much in their daughters at the expense of their sons, and that in order to restore Black America, Black men should either enlist in the military or receive preference over Black women for jobs.” (p. 173)

This cockeyed picture of Black America influenced the fast-food industry to target poor communities and provide basically dead-end jobs to urban youth. Over the years, junk food contributed to the epidemic of diabetes and a myriad of health problems in Black neighborhoods.

I learned a lot about the strategies fast-food organizations employed to capture profits from distressed urban ghettoes. I also learned that McDonald’s “invented” the Filet-O-Fish to market to Catholics during Lent! Marcia Chatelain’s research brings plenty of troubling decisions to light. Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America was the WINNER of the 2021 PULITZER PRIZE IN HISTORY. Are you a fan of McDonald’s and fast-food? GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. Introduction: From Sit-In to Drive-Thru — 1
2. Chapter One: Fast Food Civil Rights — 22
3. Chapter Two: Burgers in the Age of Black Capitalism — 58
4. Chapter Three: The Burger Boycott and the Ballot Box — 87
5. Chapter Four: Bending the Golden Arches — 121
6. Chapter Five: Black America, Brought to You by . . . — 158
7. Chapter Six: A Fair Share of the Pie — 197
8. Chapter Seven: The Miracle of the Golden Arches — 223
9. Conclusion: Bigger than a Hamburger — 259
10. Acknowledgements — 267
11. Notes — 277
12. Index — 313

I don’t know how I missed this book first published in 2017, but I’m glad I discovered it now. If you’re a fan of paperback cover art from 1950 to 1980, Girl Gangs, Biker Boys, and Real Cool Cats offers dozens of great examples. Many of these covers I’ve never seen before!

I sent a copy of Girl Gangs, Biker Boys, and Real Cool Cats to Art Scott for a Christmas present. Art, whose eyes are sharper than mine, told me the book was dedicated to former DAPA-EM member Graeme Flanagan. And, in the CREDITS, Bill Crider is listed. I don’t remember Bill mentioning working on Girl Gangs, Biker Boys, and Real Cool Cats but he was involved in plenty of projects at that time.

The range of paperback cover artwork displays plenty of great girl gang covers. Girl Gangs, Biker Boys, and Real Cool Cats is a must-buy if you’re into classic paperbacks. What a wonderful book! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Foreword by Peter Doyle — 7

Introduction by Andrew Nette & Iain McIntyre: Savage Streets and Secret Swingers: The Longed-for World of Pulp Fiction and Youth Culture — 11

Teenage Jungle: Pulp Fiction; Juvenile Delinquents — 18

The Pulp Delinquents: The Teenage Crime Wave and 1950s Pulp Fiction — 20

Evan Hunter; Jungle Kids — 38

The Amboy Dukes, by Irving Shulman — 48

Some Sketches of the Damned: The Early Pulp Fiction of Harlan Ellison — 50

Playing Chicken: 1950s Hot Rod Pulps — 56

Rumble at the Housing Project, by Edward DeRoo — 60

Teddy Boy, by Ernest Ryman — 62

The Feather Pluckers, by John Peter Jones — 64

In Too Deep, by Bruce Nicholson — 66

Bodgies, Widgies and Bent Cops: Gunther Bahnemann’s Hoodlum — 68

The Delinquents, by Criena Rohan — 76

The Rebels, by Carl Ruhen — 78

The Typewriter Was His Camera: Devil Girls and the Shadowy Literary Career of Edward D. Wood, Jr — 80

The Warriors, by Sol Yurick — 86

Beat Girls and Real Cool Cats: 1960s Beats and Bohemians — 90

Tomorrow Is a Drag: Beats and Bohemians in 1960s — 92

Pulp Fiction Ann Bannon and the Beebo Brinker Chronicles — 104

“Beat” in Fiction and Fact: The Books of John Trinian –114

Shake Him Till He Rattles, by Malcolm Braly — 118

Marijuana Girl, by N.R. De Mexico — 120

Laura Del-Rivo; The Furnished Room — 122

Baron; Court, All Change, by Terry Taylor — 126

Party Girls and Passion Pits: The Pulp Fiction of Sydney; Kings Cross — 128

The Spungers, by Julian Spencer — 134

Love Tribes: Hippies and the Pulp Fiction of the Late-60s and Early-70s Counterculture — 136

Turn On, Freak Out: Late-60s Hippie Pulp — 138

Two Travel Through. Or, The Skinny Shall Inherit the Earth, by Glen Gainsburgh & Peter Whitehead — 144

The Disappearance of Adam Diment — 146

The Carnaby Street Spy — 149

“Whoever Was in Control Was the One to Watch”; An Interview with Floyd Salas — 152

What Now My Love, by Floyd Salas — 156

Dress Her in Indigo, by John D. MacDonald — 158

From Acid Temple Ball to Wimmem’s Comix: Sharon Ruda; Adventures in the Underground — 160

144 Piccadilly, by Samuel Fuller — 166

Satanic Slaves and Hippie Death Cults: Charles Manson; Inspired Paperbacks — 168

Nothing to Lose: An Introduction to the Work of Jane Gallion — 174

The Power of the Word; A Letter from Jane Gallion — 180

Sappho in Absence, by John Crosby — 184

Harris in Wonderland, by Philip Reid — 186

The Hardboiled Hippie: The Detective Fiction of Brad Lang — 188

Groupies and Immortals: Pulp Fiction Music Novels — 194

Hot Lips, by Jack Hanley — 196

Wild Beats: Australian Rock Pulps — 198

A Sad Song Singing, by Thomas B. Dewey — 204

Sir or Madam, Will You Read My Book? British Beat Group and Rock Fiction of the 1960s — 206

Cold Iron, by Robert Stone Pryor — 214

Drummer, by Richard Carlile — 216

The Destroyer #13: Acid Rock by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir — 218

The Drop Out — Hugh Miller — 220

WHEELS OF DEATH: Pulp Biker and Motorcycle Gangs — 222

The Leather Boys by Eliot George — 224

A Rock and Roll Lord of the Flies: Davis Wallis’s Only Lovers Left Alive — 226

Bonnie by Oscar Bessie –230

Black Leather Barbarians: The Biker Pulp of New English Library — 232

Bike Boys, Skinheads, and Drunken Hacks: Laurence James Interviewed — 236

The High Side by Max Ehrlich — 246

Bikie Birds by Stuart Hall — 248

CULTS OF VIOLENCE: 1960s British Youthsploitation Novels — 252

The Best British “Bovver”: Richard Allen and New English Library –254

Gender, Sexuality, and Control in New English Library Youthspoltation Novels of the 1970s — 263

Soccer Thug by Frank Clegg — 270

Agro — Michael Parry — 272

The Punk — Gideon Sams — 274

Gang Girls — Maisie Mosco — 276

OUTSIDERS: Late-60s and Early-70s American Pulp and the Rise of the Teen Novel — 278

Something in the Shadows: An Interview with Marijane Meaker — 280

James Bond Never Surfed: the Surfer Spy Pulp of Patrick Morgan — 286

Operation Hang Ten: An interview with George Snyder — 290

The Grass Pipe by Robert Coles — 296

The Outsiders — S. E. Hinton — 298

A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ But a Sandwich — Alice Childress — 300

Frank Bonham’s Dogtown — 302

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous — 308

High School Pusher –Jack W. Thomas — 310

Kin Platt’s Young Adult Novels –312

Contributors — 317

Acknowledgements — 320

It’s New Year’s Eve and our tradition for nearly 30 years is to watch When Harry Met Sally, Diane’s favorite movie. Diane and I saw When Harry Met Sally in 1989. This year’s watching will be most poignant with the recent tragic death of the director, Rob Reiner.

The clever screenplay was written by Nora Ephron. Starring Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, and Bruno Kirby, When Harry Met Sally follows the title characters from the time they meet in Chicago and share a drive to New York City through 12 years of chance encounters in New York City which climaxes in a 1988 New Year’s Eve party.

Rob Reiner had a different (not happy) ending planned for When Harry Met Sally, but Reiner–while directing When Harry Met Sally–was introduced to photographer Michele Singer. The meeting not only influenced Reiner’s decision to change the film’s conclusion to a happy ending, but resulted in Reiner and Singer’s marriage. How do you celebrate New Year’s Eve? GRADE: A

It finally happened. Diane, Patrick, and Katie decided I needed a cell phone. I have been resisting cell phones for years. I don’t think I need one. I’ve gotten around 76 years without one. But, I was outvoted so Santa brought me a pink iPhone 16 Plus.

My preferred method of learning is reading so I picked up iPhone for Seniors and iPhone for Dummies to help me learn how to use my new cell phone.

How long have you had a cell phone? Do you have any tips for me?