And so Leon Russell says to me …

The year is 1999, and Leon Russell is coming to perform at the New York State Blues Festival in downtown Syracuse’s Clinton Square. I bag a phone interview to write a preview story for the big daily. So in my preparation, I see that Mr. Russell doesn’t do many interviews any more. In fact, some…

I’ll miss new words from the great Pat Conroy

Thank you, Pat Conroy, for all the hours of wonder you gave me. Through all these decades, you shared precious chunks of time in my life. In my 30s, 40s and 50s, I’ve spent stolen moments gripping your novels, wordlessly turning the pages, my mind transported to your beautifully crafted, realistically flawed, undeniably entertaining people…

Any way you slice it, Yogi Berra was our treasure

It’s over. Yogi Berra left our world, the news show told me this morning. To generations of New Yorkers, the man born Lawrence Peter Berra on May 12, 1925 was forever endearing. For the way he looked, squatted square behind home plate with the gated mask over that likeable mug and lefty stance dangerously over…

The Magnificent Mrs. Johnson

The lovely chapel on the Syracuse University quad resonated with chuckles. Some of the hundred people inside from the shining July sun dabbed their cheeks from tears. We listened to pretty guitar and stately organ music. We celebrated the 92 years of Vivienne Jean Johnson beautifully in Hendricks Chapel on a lovely Thursday afternoon as…

Thank you, Riley ‘Blues Boy’ King

It was his time. B.B. King passed away Thursday at the age of 89 after a lifetime of delivering a world of wonder to anybody who opened their ears to the blues. With the famous guitar he named Lucille, Riley “Blues Boy” King rang out notes of beauty that struck you that second, hung out…