Archive of Stories
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Listings In Rough Alphabetical Order
by Title or Main Topic
| Title & Link | Yr/Period | Main Topics & Selected Categories |
| “A Star is Born” | 1910s | Early film studios create first movie stars and “celebrity culture;” Florence Lawrence featured. |
| “American Bandstand” | 1956-2007 | American Bandstand TV show & rise of rock ‘n roll; Dick Clark, music business, music marketing, etc. |
| “Apple, Rising” | 1976-1985 | Two guys in a garage help launch the PC revolution — technology, culture & business. |
| “Athletes Advertising” ( Topics Page ) |
1900s-2000s | A sports & advertising “topics page” with thumbnails and links to 14 stories on this subject at this website. |
| “At The Hop” | 1957-1958 | A Philadelphia street-corner group, Danny & The Juniors, scores a few national rock ‘n roll hits. |
| “Babe Ruth & Tobacco” | 1920s-1940s | History & examples of Babe Ruth promoting tobacco products in newspaper & magazine ads. |
| “Bandstand Performers” | 1957 | Day-by-day listing of musical guests appearing on American Bandstand, 1st national season. |
| “Baseball, 1929” | 1929 | Jimmie Foxx — one of baseball’s finest in the year of the Great Crash. |
| “Baseball Stories” ( Topics Page ) |
1900s-2000s | A sports category “topics page” with thumbnails and links to 12 baseball stories at this website. |
| ‘$2.8 Million Baseball Card’ | 1909-2008 | Honus Wagner baseball card, baseball history, baseball card trading, Pittsburgh Pirates, etc. |
| “Basketball Dollars” | 2009 | “Final Four” basketball: NCAA playoffs as part of a growing media /entertainment buisness… |
| “Early Beach Boys” | 1962-1966 | The five guys who created “Sunshine Pop” and rode the “surf sound” to the top of the charts. |
| “Early Beach Boys, Pt. 2” ( Six Songs ) |
1962-1966 | Sampling of early 1960s’ Beach Boys music — gorgeous harmonies & imaginative composition. |
| “Beatles in America” | 1963-1964 | A new rock ‘n roll group from the U.K. brings “pop explosion” in music, business & culture. |
| ‘Beatles’ Closed-Circuit Gig’ | 1964 | The Beatles’ first-ever U.S. concert filmed for pay-per-view, closed-circuit concert shown in U.S. theaters. |
| Beatles History: 10 Stories ( Topics Page ) |
1960s-2012 | A topics page listing ten Beatles’ stories at this website with thumbnail descriptions & links. |
| “Be My Baby” | 1960s-2010 | The Ronettes & Phil Spector produce a game- changing new sound. |
| “Big Chill” Marketing | 1980s & 1990s | How a 1983 movie named The Big Chill, sparked the use of original rock ‘n roll music in TV ads. |
| “Big Chill Promo”(Video) | 1983-1998 | Trailer for 1983’s The Big Chill provides overview of story, music & characters. |
| “Bill Bradley” | 1960s-2009 | He rose to the U.S. Senate & Presidential politics by way of his sports celebrity & “basketball values.” |
| “Brian’s Song: C-SPAN” | 1977-2012 | The Brian Lamb & C-SPAN story: Congress, public affairs TV, Book-TV, and lots more… |
| “Of Bridges & Lovers” | 1992-1995 | History of best-selling book & film, The Bridges of Madison County; publishing history, popular reception vs. critics, Oprah Winfrey role, etc. |
| “The Bourne Profitability” | 1980-2007 | History & buisness empire of Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne character — books, film, TV series, video game, actor Matt Damon, etc. |
| “The Most Beautiful Girl…” | 1993-2006 | Gisele Bundchen; celebrity supermodel, career, advertising success, Tom Brady & more. |
| “Candle in the Wind” | 1973 & 1997 | Elton John’s famous, top-selling song for Marilyn Monroe & Princess Diana; music business, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album, etc. |
| “Celebrity Buffett” | 1960s-2010 | Billionaire investor Warren Buffett leverages his wealth & fame to good ends. |
| “Legs: Cyd Charisse” | 1950s-1990s | Statuesque beauty of Hollywood-MGM musicals was the better half of those Gene Kelly & Fred Astaire dances. |
| “Bette Davis Eyes” | 1981 | History of 1981 pop hit song “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes & continuing popularity in later years, with Bette Davis photos & film history. |
| “Dear Prudence” | 1967-1968 | The history of a beautiful Beatles’ song and a productive retreat in India that helped provide material for The White Album. |
| “Dempsey vs. Carpentier” | 1921 | Dempsey-Carpentier boxing match is first radio broadcast to a mass audience; beginning of sport as “big business” entertainment. |
| “Dinah Shore & Chevrolet” | 1951-1963 | “See-The-U.S.A.” tune helps define a celebrity and America’s “car culture.” |
| “Disney Dollars” | 1930s | Walt Disney, Mickey Mouse & animated film- making help beat the Depression, becoming harbinger of “entertainment economy.” |
| “Disney’s Movie Vault” | 1984-1999 | Walt Disney Co. animated film classics, emerging home video market, Disney marketing strategies, etc. |
| “Do You Love Me” | 1962 & 1988 | 1962 hit song by The Contours of Berry Gordy’s Motown gets a second life in the late 1980s with the movie Dirty Dancing & its soundtracks. |
| “Dream Lover” | 1958-1973 | Bobby Darin’s singing, songwriting & acting career… Sandra Dee, Bobby Kennedy campaign, social protest, Las Vegas performer, etc. |
| “Elvis on the Road” | 1955-1956 | Elvis Presley rock ‘n roll history, 1955 & 1956, with his 1955 day-by-day concert itinerary, by city. |
| “Environmental History” ( Topics Page ) |
1900s-2000s | A “topics page” with thumbnails and links to 16 environmental-related stories at this website. |
| “FDR & Vanity Fair” | 1930s | Magazine cover art & political caricature during Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. |
| “Fingertips – Pt.2” | 1963 | Early career of Stevie Wonder at Motown featuring famous harmonica song & subsequent hits. |
| “Four Dead in O-hi-o” | 1970 | A protest song on the Kent State shootings recalls America’s darker days during the Vietnam War. |
| “The Frost-Nixon Biz” | 1977-2009 | The 30-year, multi-media business history of the David Frost / Richard Nixon interviews. |
| “Ava Gardner” | 1940s-1950s | Film & Celebrity: North Carolina country beauty becomes Hollywood box office gold. |
| “Gifford For Luckies” | 1961-1962 | Frank Gifford, New York Giants football star, does Lucky Strike cigarette ads. |
| “The Green Berets” | 1965-1968 | Amid music of the Beatles & Rolling Stones, an unlikely hit song of military valour in Vietnam. |
| “When Harry Met Petula” | April 1968 | Harry Belafonte & Petula Clark make civil rights history challenging sponsor Chrysler over a televised touching scene. |
| “Hello Stranger” | 1963-1966 | Barbara Lewis brings a “smooth jazz” sound to the 1960s. |
| “Dennis Does Ameriprise” | 2006-2008 | Celebrity advertising: Dennis Hopper TV ad for Ameriprise Financial Corp.; marketing to baby boomers with Spencer Davis music. |
| “I’m A Dole Man” | 1996 | A popular 1960s’ soul song becomes Bob Dole’s political campaign music. |
| “I Guarantee It” | 1960s-1970s | Joe Namath of the New York Jets helps transform pro football — game, image & Big Biz. |
| ‘I Only Have Eyes for You’ | 1959 | Annals of Music: A 1959 remake of an old standard in the “doo-wop” style by The Flamingos has resonance for the ages. |
| “I Won’t Back Down” | 1989-2008 | A Tom Petty rock ‘n roll tune becomes a favorite for political campaigning. |
| “The Jackson Statues” | 1995 | Nine giant Michael Jackson statues help promote a pop star & his music. |
| “JFK’s Early Campaign” | 1957 | Following near VP nomination in 1956, JFK’s “unofficial” campaign for 1960 begins. |
| “JFK’s Early Campaign” | 1958 | Big Senate re-election win helps JFK prez plan, as 2nd year of “unofficial” campaign continues. |
| “JFK’s Early Campaign” | 1959 | Third year of “unofficial” campaign finds JFK on the stump in at least 27 states… |
| “JFK, Pitchman?” | 2009 | A popular ex-President is used in print & TV ads to help sell Omega watches. |
| JFK’s Profiles in Courage | 1954-2008 | Best-selling book helps JFK; VP bid at 1956 DNC; Profiles’ subsequent influence & legacy… |
| “JFK’s Texas Statue” | 1963 & 2012 | JFK’s warm reception in Ft. Worth, 22 Nov 1963, and tribute site installed there in 2012. |
| “The Jack Pack,” Pt.1 | 1958-1960 | Frank Sinatra, JFK & “Rat Pack” entertainers who helped JFK in 1960 presidential bid. |
| “The Jack Pack,” Pt.2 | 1961-2008 | Rat Pack/JFK cont’d — inauguration gala & early 1960s; Sinatra jilted, later supports Reagan. |
| “Al Jolson & Luckies” | 1928-1940s | Al Jolson is one of the first Hollywood stars to do cigarette ads, opening the doors to a flood of film-star tobacco ads in the 1930s & ’40s. |
| “Selling Janis Joplin” | 1995 | Janis Joplin, rock ‘n roll music & use of music in advertising; Mercedes-Benz, music & marketing. |
| “Joplin’s Shooting Star” | 1966-1970 | Janis Joplin’s last five years; her music, her life & her legacy. |
| “…Keeps on Ticking” | 1950s-1990s | John Cameron Swayze & popular sports stars help sell Timex watches with “torture tests” in classic TV and magazine ads. |
| “The Kefauver Hearings” | 1950-1951 | Televised Congressional hearings, national politics & careeer of U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver, organized crime, television & politics, etc. |
| “LBJ’s Atomic Ad” | 1964 | President Lyndon B. Johnson, advertising, negative political advertising, nuclear weapons, Barry Goldwater, Doyle Dane Bernbach, John F. Kennedy, Time magazine. |
| “Let The River Run” | 1988-1989 | Carly Simon’s rousing song for the film Working Girl became an inspiration for many. |
| “The Loco-Motion” | 1962-1988 | Pop dance song over three decades: Little Eva, Grand Funk Railroad & Kylie Minogue. |
| “Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” | 1964-1965 | ‘Blue-eyed soul’ boys, the Righteous Brothers, turn out ‘most-played’ radio song, provide memorable hits, & popular film music. |
| “Madonna’s Pepsi Ad” | 1989 | Music & advertising, Madonna’s career, Pepsi, music business, TV advertising, “Like a Prayer” video & recordings, video controversy, church & family group protests, etc. |
| “Mantle’s Griffith Shot” | 1953 | Mickey Mantle hits a monster 500-foot home run at Washington, D.C.’s Griffith Park. |
| “Memory & Cats” | 1981-2010 | Grizabella’s poignant song from Cats is one for the ages — from T.S. Eliot & Andrew Lloyd Webber. |
| “Mia’s Metamorphoses” | 1966-2010 | Mia Farrow’s life changes: actress-to-activist and using her fame to help others. |
| “Michael & McCartney” | 1980s-2009 | Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, and some history on the battle to own the Beatles’ 1960s song catalog. |
| “Mickey Mantle’s 535th” | 1968 | Mickey Mantle near the end of his injury-plagued career and “what might have been.” |
| “Motown’s Heat Wave” | 1963-1967 | Martha & the Vandellas’ dance music captures teens & boosts Motown’s music biz. |
| “Murdoch’s N.Y. Deals” | 1976-1977 | Rupert Murdoch, Australian media baron, acquires NY Post and New York magazine. |
| “Newsweek Sold!” | 1961 | Phil Graham, The Washington Post, Ben Bradlee, Eugene Meyer, Katharine Graham, newspaper business, civil rights, Vietnam War. |
| “Nike & The Beatles” | 1967-1969 | Nike finds the ideal song to promote its athletic shoes & the Beatles file a lawsuit. |
| “Anna Q. Nilsson” | 1920 | Anna Q. Nilsson, silent film era, Photoplay magazine, magazine illustration, immigrant experience. |
| “Nixon’s Checker’s Speech” | 1952 | Richard Nixon, set to be VP with Eisenhower on the 1952 ticket, is mired in a campaign scandal & uses the ‘new medium’ of TV to bail himself out. |
| “Paint It Black” | 1966-2002 | Rock ‘n roll song from the Rolling Stones has a long history & market life as popular recording, TV series soundtrack & video game music. |
| “…Pawn in Their Game” | 1963 | Bob Dylan’s 1963 appearance in Mississippi & his ’60s civil rights music. |
| “Person to Person” | 1953-1961 | Edward R. Murrow, television history, CBS, celebrity television, news vs. entertainment, Joe McCarthy, “See It Now,” etc. |
| “1968 Presidential Race” (Democrats) |
1966-1968 | Politics & celebrity: Paul Newman and others from Hollywood, television and sports lend support to Democratic candidates: Gene McCar- thy, Bobby Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey. |
| “1968 Presidential Race” (Republicans) |
1964-1969 | Politics & celebrity: John Wayne and others from Hollywood, television and sports lend support to Republican presidential candidates Richard Nix- on, Nelson Rockefeller, Ronald Reagan. |
| “RFK in Brooklyn” | 1966-1972 | A Robert F. Kennedy memorial and the history of some 1960s help for Bedford-Stuyvesant. |
| “Rocker Supreme” | 1958-2008 | Tina Turner — her tough times, amazing comeback, and her global fan base. |
| “The Rocky Statue” | 1980-2006 | A 20-year fight in Philadelphia over the location of a beloved Hollywood pugilist. |
| “Rosie The Riveter” | 1942-1945 | A WWII-era image becomes an icon for the ages — and women’s rights symbol. |
| “Babe Ruth Days” | 1947-1948 | Babe Ruth, baseball, sports business, period history, sports celebrity & national honors, commerical endorsements & sports agency. |
| Babe Ruth Newsreel (Video) |
1947-1948 | Short video includes scenes from Babe Ruth Day in 1947, Ruth’s funeral in 1948, and shots of various VIPs attending his funeral. |
| “Shine a Light” (Video) |
2008 | Movie trailer for Martin Scorsese film on the Rolling Stones shows them to be very much alive and still making good rock ‘n roll. |
| The Sinatra “Riots” | 1942-1944 | Frank Sinatra, “teen idol,” music history, business & celebrity, Paramount Theater, Tommy Dorsey, FDR. |
| “Sixteen Tons” | 1955-1956 | Tennessee Ernie Ford’s coal-mining song tops the charts; depicts tough mine life. |
| “The Sound of Money” | 2009 | A Dutch pension fund & media company buy up Rodgers & Hammerstein. |
| “All Sports, All The Time” | 1978-2008 | Founding & history of ESPN Sports Television Network, cable television business, ABC-TV, Disney, ESPN Zone restaurants, ESPN Magazine, ESPN Radio. |
| “Start Me Up” | 1995 | Bill Gates at Microsoft uses a Rolling Stones tune to launch his Windows 95 software. |
| “Steinbeck to Springsteen” | 1939-2006 | John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath, Woody Guthrie, Bruce Springsteen, Dust Bowl, Great Depression, “The Ghost of Tom Joad”, publishing, film & music. |
| “Sting & Jaguar” | 1999-2001 | Rock star Sting uses a Jaguar TV ad to raise the visibility of his music — “Desert Rose,” a song that radio DJs initially would not play. |
| Sting: “Russians” | 1985 | A song about the Cold War’s nuclear threat finds a pop audience. |
| “Stones Gather Dollars” | 1989-2008 | The Rolling Stones’ concert tours create a new music industry model & make business history. |
| “The Story in Your Eyes” | 1971 | A Moody Blues song of hope, love and concern for the future. |
| “Streets of Philadelphia” | 1993-1994 | Bruce Springsteen’s haunting song for the film Philadelphia captures the tragedy of AIDs. |
| “Streisand Rising” | 1961-1965 | Barbra Streisand’s early career, Jack Paar, Mike Wallace, Johnny Carson, Billboard hits; music & Broadway celebrity, TV specials. |
| “Talkie Terror” | Late 1920s | Silent film stars and all of Hollywood struggle with the new “talking pictures” sound technology. |
| “Taylor Swift, Rising” | 2003-2009 | Music, Celebrity & Business: A 19-yr-old singer/ songwriter storms the music charts …and more. |
| “Ted Turner & CNN” | 1980s-1990s | Media pioneer shakes up news & entertainment while doing good. |
| U2 Song – “One” | 1992 | Irish rock group, chasing their muse, creates one of the 1990s’ top songs. |
| “Vines For Camels” | 1934-1935 | Ellsworth Vines, athlete & tennis star of the 1930s, in a magazine ad for Camel cigarettes. |
| “Vuitton’s Soccer Stars” | June 2010 | Pelé, Maradona & Zidane help Vuitton sell luxury bags in their foosball magazine ad. |
| “Wall Street’s Gekko” | 1980s-2010 | Fictional Wall Street hustler, Gordon Gekko, made popular by the 1987 film, lives on in the culture, sending mixed messages over the years. |
| “Wayne For Camels” | 1950s | John Wayne, the highly-popular Hollywood film star and heavy smoker, appeared in 1950s print & TV ads for Camel cigarettes. |
| “Wheaties & Sport” | 1930s | A Midwest cereal-maker begins using sports stars to help make its breakfast product a cultural icon. |
| Pearl White | 1910s-1920s | Silent film star & daredevil actress Pearl White & career; Perils of Pauline, Hearst newspapers, Photoplay magazine cover. |