MIXED BAG LECTURES | Beatles Lectures

The following are brief summaries of lectures presented on a variety of musical acts across the decades.

MIXED BAG LECTURES

Made in New Jersey

This mixed bag program will feature ten musical artists from the Garden State, whose recordings span the 50s, 60s and 70s. We will travel back to the 50s with the “swing” of Frank Sinatra, to the “teen idol” Rick Nelson, and into the 60s with The Four Seasons and The Shirelles both offered their combination of “pop rock/soul and doo wop” songs. We’ll close out the decade with the “pop/r n b” tunes of Dionne Warwick, the blue-eyed soul of The Rascals and the “pop” sounds of The Critters and The Knickerbockers. Moving Into the 70s we will explore the “punk/poetry” work of Patti Smith and the “heartland rock” of Bruce Springsteen.

60s Rock n’ Roll - Forever Young - The 80s Club

(3 Part Club Program)

This program gives you a free pass to visit and sit in with 60 your favorite 60s superstars as they continue to work in the 80s Club. We will hang out with Folk-Rockers (Bob Dylan), British Invaders (Eric Burdon), American Pop Masters (Brian Wilson), Rock n' Roll Songwriters (Carole King), Soul Singers (Smokey Robinson), and the infamous American and British session musicians (Steve Cropper and Vic Flick) The work they created and performed in the 60s and continue to perform as members of the “80 Club” are the songs that became the soundtrack of our lives.

Christmas Time (Is Here Again)

This Christmas holiday program will feature classic Christmas songs popularized and written prior to the “rock age,” along with songs from the rock era that have entered the top tier of the season’s canon. From the quintessential Christmas Song Catalog, we will celebrate the holiday season with great classics including “The Christmas Song” (Nat King Cole), “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” (Brenda Lee), “Little Saint Nick” (Beach Boys), “Snoopy’s Christmas” (Royal Guardsmen), “Happy Christmas (War Is Over)” (John & Yoko), and others. In addition, will showcase the infamous Phil Spector Christmas Album with classic traditional Christmas songs including “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" (The Ronettes), “Rudolph the Red -Nosed Reindeer” (The Crystals), and “Christmas (Baby Please Don’t Go)” (Darlene Love).

The Juke Box Series

(Part 1: 1954-1959)

(Part 2: 1960-1964)

(Part 3: 1965-1969)

This series takes us on a journey back through the decades as we re-create the jukebox experience of our high school days. Through this new platform, we can still select our favorite tune(s) and them, by just clicking a link, we can learn about the artist(s) and how their songs were written and recorded. This time around you won't need a pocket full of coins to be able to pick and choose your favorite songs from the hit parade that captivated our youth and became the soundtrack to our lives

To quote Chuck Berry: "Hail, hail rock n' roll deliver me from the days of old - Long Live Rock n' Roll!"

27 Club

The 27 Club is an informal clique that includes singers, songwriters and musicians who died at the age of twenty-seven. The club is a cultural phenomenon, made up of many musical heroes who were most noted for their high-risk lifestyles. Their deaths were a direct result of drug and alcohol abuse, suicide and homicide. We will canvas eight members of the club including Brian Jones (The Rolling Stones), Janis Joplin (Big Brother and the Holding Company) Jim Morrison (The Doors) and Kurt Cobain (Nirvana). We will showcase each member’s recorded output and the legacy that they all left behind for their original fan base and for all future generations to enjoy!