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Sometimes taking a big risk can result in a big payoff.

Prolific writer from the Pacific Northwest Kristin Hannah had a career prior to the mid-2000s writing contemporary romance novels. However, a major shift in her career occurred when she took a stab at writing contemporary women’s fiction instead. Her breakthrough novel in the genre was the 2008 historical fiction novel, Firefly Lane, which was inspired in part by her upbringing in Washington state.

Firefly Lane greatly expanded Hannah’s readership and became a massive bestseller. The novel spent 28 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list when it was first published and has sold well over a million copies worldwide.

The novel has become such a success that it’s been noted in several publications as one of the most notable works of all time. On Goodreads, the biggest reading platform online, Firefly Lane is ranked among the “Biggest Books of All Time” from popular authors on the site.

Additionally, on Goodreads, Firefly Lane holds a rating of 4.21 out of 5, with more than half a million rankings in total and over 41,000 reviews from site users and readers.

In 2021, Netflix released a 10-episode series adaptation of the novel, starring Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke. The series became a No. 1 hit for Netflix and was renewed for a second and final season, which was released in two parts in 2022 and 2023.

Spanning over the course of several decades, Firefly Lane tells the story of best friends Kate Mularkey and Tully Hart who meet when they’re neighbors on the titular street in Snohomish, Washington. The two girls quickly become inseparable and fast friends, despite their vastly different home lives. Over the course of their lives, their friendship sees multiple ups and downs, even as they face the inevitable different paths that life takes us all on. Firefly Lane is not just a story of womanhood and friendship; it’s a story of what happens with the different choices we make in life, and why it’s always worth having someone by your side through it all.

Firefly Lane and other books by Kristin Hannah are out now and available wherever books are sold.

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Related: Award-Winning Kristin Hannah Novel Ranked a ‘Most Read Book of 2026’ According to Goodreads

Just as the fascination with music from the 60’s, ’70s and ’80s continues, so does the curiosity about what inspired some of the most enduring songs of those decades. People will never stop debating the question of who Carly Simon was singing about in “You’re So Vain,” for example…and along the same lines, fans are still wondering if Simon was the subject of the classic James Taylor and J.D. Souther duet, “Her Town Too.”

Written by Taylor, Souther and Waddy Wachtel, “Her Town Too” was released on Taylor’s 1981 album Dad Loves His Work and became his last single to reach the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 (it peaked at #11 in May of that year). The song also went all the way to #5 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and #21 on the Mainstream Rock chart.

Apparently, no shortage of listeners connected with the theme of the song, which tells the tale of a woman trying to get over a bad breakup while dealing with friends gossiping about what went wrong. But who inspired the lyrics?

Because Taylor’s marriage to Simon was falling apart at the time — and Souther’s romance with Linda Ronstadt was also ending — many naturally assumed that “Her Town Too” was about either Simon or Ronstadt (or both). Alas, neither Taylor nor Souther has ever been willing to spill the beans.

In fact, when the late Souther was asked in a 2011 interview with Songfacts whether he’d like to “clarify” the identity of the woman in “Her Town Too,” his response was emphatically clear: “Of course not,” he said, adding, “You think after all these years suddenly I’d rat somebody out?”

In the same interview, however, Souther did reference Ronstadt’s influence as a songwriting partner.

“In my case, the most revealing songs that I’ve written are always songs that I’ve written by myself,” he explained. “I have to say, in some way, I had an emotional collaborator on some of the early ones, just because I was with Linda so much, and she has such great ears and such a good heart and also she’s brilliant. She had a really deft brain for separating the wheat from the chaff — the things that she encouraged me to finish and the things that she liked. I was around really great women in those days; Joni [Mitchell] and Bonnie [Raitt] and Nicolette [Larson] and Linda and Judy [Collins], and all of them had a lot of influence on me as a songwriter.”

Related: 1973 No. 1 Soft Rock Hit Became a Timeless Breakup Anthem

“I love women and I listen to women, and those five girls were very present in my life at the time,” Souther continued.

“Particularly Linda and Judy. Judy had a lot of effect on my writing as a writer, and Linda a lot as a musician. Linda and I played music for each other constantly. She played me most of the country music that I’d been aware of, because I didn’t grow up listening to country music. My parents hated country music, so we never had it in our house.”

As for Taylor, he once claimed that “Her Town Too” was written about the “ex-wife of a mutual friend,” according to the book Long Ago and Far Away: James Taylor — His Life and Music, but we’ll likely never know for sure. Either way, the song remains a classic. In 2004, The Rolling Stone Album Guide praised the track as a “gently incisive divorce song,” ranking it “among [Taylor’s] finest pieces of writing.”

Related: Beloved Singer-Songwriter, Compared to Carole King and Joni Mitchell, Was ‘All But Forgotten’ Until 26 Years After Her Death

Those who listen to classic rock radio stations likely have noticed that many songs from the genre feature a memorable guitar solo or two. For instance, Collider recently spotlighted a few beloved classic rock songs with epic guitar moments by releasing a ranking of “The 10 Most Perfect Guitar Solos in Classic Rock History.”

The publication’s list featured tracks like Jethro Tull‘s “Aqualung” from 1971, Steely Dan‘s “Kid Charlemagne,” released in 1976, and 1977’s “Hotel California” by the Eagles. The Allman Brothers Band‘s 1972 hit, “Blue Sky,” off their third album, Eat a Peach, was placed at the ranking’s number 9 spot, with Collider complimenting Duane Allman and Dickey Betts‘ abilities on their respective guitars.

Betts, who died in 2024 at the age of 80, discussed writing the 1972 track, which he described as “a cool song” in a 2020 interview with USA Today. He explained the song was inspired by his marriage to his second wife, Sandy Bluesky Wabegijig, whom he divorced three years after the release of Eat a Peach. While speaking to the publication, Betts noted that Wabegijig’s last name “means ‘clear blue sky.'”

“[S]o I was writing it for her and I was writing it as, ‘She’s my blue sky, she’s my sunny day.’ And I thought, nah, this would be a better song if I just sang it to the sky instead of to a woman,” said Betts, who wed Wabegijig in 1972, during the interview with USA Today.

He then said he believed that the change helped make “Blue Sky” a successful song.

“That was a very good move that could make or break that song. It made it more universal,” said the guitarist.

In addition, Betts noted that he was the vocalist on “Blue Sky,” despite Gregg Allman, who died in 2017 when he was 69, being the band’s primary singer.

“I sang some with (my previous band) Second Coming but I never saw myself as a singer and still don’t. I sing because it’s necessary (laughs). I asked Gregg to sing ‘Blue Sky’ and actually the producer, Tom Dowd, he said, ‘No, why don’t you sing it,'” recalled Betts during the 2020 interview.

It’s one of defining tracks from George Strait‘s catalog, yet it never reached No. 1 on the country charts.

The king of country music has had over 40 No. 1 hits on the Billboard charts, but somehow, his 1983 single “Amarillo by Morning” wasn’t one of them. The song instead peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, and has since gone on to become one of Strait’s most beloved country anthems.

The fan-favorite ballad has gone down in history as a country music standard, and it’s one of the most quintessential songs from Strait’s decades-spanning career.

That’s why it’s no surprise that “Amarillo by Morning” was one of the songs performed in Strait’s honor at the 2024 CMA Awards, where he was honored with the evening’s Lifetime Achievement Award. To kick off the legendary tribute, country superstar Lainey Wilson took the stage to deliver her own rendition of the Strait classic.

“I’m so grateful and so honored to be on stage here tonight to pay tribute to our king of country, the great George Strait,” Wilson said during her performance, “Throughout his incredible career, he has always been authentically Texas and authentically country.”

Wilson’s cover was followed up with more performances from other artists who took the stage to pay homage to Strait, including Jamey Johnson, with a cover of “Give It Away,” plus Miranda Lambert and Parker McCollum, with a duet on “Troubadour,” and Chris Stapleton, who performed a rendition of “Honky Tonk Hall of Fame” alongside Strait himself.

Despite the fact that “Amarillo by Morning” never reached the top spot on the Billboard charts, the song is still regarded as one of the best songs to come from Strait’s career. A 2020 reader’s poll conducted by Rolling Stone ranked “Amarillo by Morning” as the No. 1 best song by Strait. Additionally, a 2024 ranking from the editors at Rolling Stone placed the Strait classic at No. 10 on a master list of the 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time.

Related: 1976 Outlaw Country Duet, Covered by Ella Langley, Ranked One of the ‘Top Country Songs’ Ever

They were created for television, but The Monkees quickly became one of the biggest pop phenomena of the 1960s. When the foursome of Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork released their self-titled debut album in 1966, it spent 13 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and launched a run of enduring pop hits.

“I told people I would outsell The Beatles, and they laughed at me,” music publisher and television impresario Don Kirshner once recalled. “Then the first album sold four million.”

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In other words, The Monkees were America’s Fab Four.

“At the height of their popularity, recordings by The Monkees outsold those of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined, and the group shattered sales records previously set by the likes of Elvis Presley and The Beatles,” Vocal Group Hall of Fame shared.

Now, six decades later, Rhino is taking listeners back inside that unlikely phenomenon with The Monkees: 60th Anniversary Deluxe Edition. Slated for release Oct. 30, the 3CD/1LP box set features the original album in both stereo and mono alongside demos, alternate takes, television mixes, backing tracks and other archival recordings. Unlike previous expanded editions released in 1994, 2006 and 2016, this version features new handwritten liner notes from Dolenz.

But the bonus material isn’t the only reason to revisit the landmark album. Beneath the bright colors, catchy hooks, and wildly popular two-season TV show was a remarkable collection of songs written by some of the biggest names in music, including Nesmith, Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Tommy Boyce, and Bobby Hart.

“Donnie Kirshner was responsible to some degree in picking The Monkees’ songs because he was head of Screen Gems Columbia Music in the famous Brill Building in New York,” Dolenz, the “last Daydream Believer,” told Forbes in 2023, speaking to the sheer volume of legends who contributed to The Monkees catalog. “He WAS the Brill Building during that period, along with those incredible writers like Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Neil Diamond, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, David Gates, Paul Williams, Diane Hildebrand, etc. We were surrounded by the best of the best.”

Expanding the original 12-track The Monkees album, the 60th Anniversary Deluxe Edition includes the original record in both stereo and mono, featuring songs including “(Theme From) The Monkees,” “Last Train to Clarksville,” “I Wanna Be Free,” “Take a Giant Step,” and “Papa Gene’s Blues.”

The set also digs into the album’s making, with rehearsals, demos, alternate vocal takes, and television versions of several songs. Highlights include multiple versions of “I Wanna Be Free,” alternate takes of “Papa Gene’s Blues,” and “The Kind of Girl I Could Love,” and TV mixes of “Last Train to Clarksville” and other songs.

For collectors and longtime fans, the third disc goes even deeper, offering master backing tracks and rehearsal recordings for songs including “(Theme From) The Monkees,” “Let’s Dance On,” “Sweet Young Thing,” “Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day,” and “You Just May Be the One.” The collection also includes vintage radio and TV promotional spots, giving listeners another glimpse into the making and marketing of one of the era’s biggest pop albums.

“Look, with us, the proof is in the pudding,” Dolenz said. “You don’t stand up as The Monkees have for six decades if there wasn’t something there.”

The Monkees: 60th Anniversary Deluxe Edition drops Oct. 30. Preorder is available now from the official Monkees store.

Related: ’80s Rock Legends Currently on ‘PWR/UP’ Tour Are Suddenly Climbing the Charts, 46 Years Later

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When you think of the world’s greatest guitarists, legends like Jimmy Page, Neil Young, and Nick Drake likely come to mind. Their brilliance seemed to emerge from thin air, each of their sounds revolutionizing the music industry in different ways. What do they all have in common? They were each devotees of a Scottish-born guitarist by the name of Bert Jansch.

Jansch hitchhiked his way from Edinburgh to London to immerse himself in the burgeoning folk scene. On borrowed instruments, Jansch premiered his self-titled debut album in 1965. Others would quickly follow, but many of his songs from his 1966 solo album, Jack Orion, seemed to truly solidify his gravitas. He’d later go on to form the acoustic supergroup Pentangle along with John Renbourn, Jacqui McShee, Danny Thompson, and Terry Cox. Though the band would eventually split up in 1973, Jansch went on to release many solo albums in the years that followed, ultimately inspiring an entire generation of prolific musicians.

Related: Prolific ’70s Rock Guitarist, 81, Once Blamed Beloved Drummer for ‘Disastrous’ Live Aid Show But Fans Aren’t Here for It 

Jansch’s highly lauded reputation is not by any means overstated. Jansch absorbed and blended an array of styles, namely jazz, blues, Celtic, and British folk. While his acoustic sound was revolutionary, his intense fingerpicking style and haunting emotional lyrics earned him the label of “the Jimi Hendrix of acoustic guitar.”

The guitarist’s rendition of “Blackwaterside” on the 1966 Jack Orion album is regarded as his most influential. And with his gorgeous voice and mesmerizing guitar work, it is easy to see why.

Jansch’s work captivated Page, who was admittedly “obsessed” with his first album, and heavily shaped Led Zeppelin‘s sound. So much so, according to Far Out magazine, Jansch once said in an interview that Page had “ripped” him off.

“The thing I’ve noticed about Jimmy [Page] whenever we meet is that he can’t look me in the eye,” Jansch reportedly told Classic Rock in 2007, adding, “Well, he ripped me off, didn’t he? Or let’s just say he learned from me. I wouldn’t want to sound impolite.”

And if you listen to “Black Mountain Side” on Led Zeppelin‘s debut album, the influence is almost note-for-note (and without the credit). So Jansch’s criticism isn’t ultimately that harsh.

Though Page did not give credit where credit was due when Led Zeppelin first came out, even when asked who his biggest inspirations were, he finally opened up about it in a 1977 interview with Guitar Player.

“I wasn’t totally original on that. It had been done in the folk clubs a lot; Anne Briggs was the first one that I heard do that riff. I was playing it as well, and then there was Bert Jansch’s version. He’s the one who crystallized all the acoustic playing, as far as I’m concerned.”

And to be fair, Briggs’ version did come first, but instrumentally her and Jansch’s versions couldn’t be more different.

Young was utterly enamored of him.

“When I was tripping around and sleeping on people’s floors, this girl that I knew, her name was Vicky Taylor, she was a folk singer, she lived on Avenue Road in one of those Victorian [places]. I was sleeping on the floor in front of the fireplace. Then I was sleeping there one night and put on this LP by Bert Jansch,” Young once said.

“He was like one of the greatest acoustic guitar players that ever lived, probably like Jimi Hendrix on electric guitar. Everything that he played was perfect, notes were going here and there, everything just seamlessly easy, beautiful like you could just drift away listening to it. But his words were in another world; he opened up doors for everybody to sing about things,” Young added.

Even recently, Robert Plant lauded Jansch’s talent in a viral video in which he gave advice to the guitarist, son of artist Ed Nash, after meeting him at an airport.

Jansch tragically died from lung cancer in 2011, but through his music and inspirational guitar work, his legacy undeniably lives on.

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Oasis has once again set the music industry ablaze with the reveal of their upcoming concert dates in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe and the USA in 2027.

As thousands of dedicated music fans ready themselves to see the band perform in person, more critical listeners are chiming in to complain about the high ticket prices for the upcoming concerts, as reported by Far Out Magazine.

For example, most of the shows in the United Kingdom are currently priced from £71.50 to £266.60.

While these ticket prices aren’t egregiously overpriced, especially in comparison with mainstream concert tickets today, some critics nevertheless took to social media to decry the cost of the upcoming concerts.

Interestingly, Liam Gallagher, one of the main founders of Oasis, has likewise taken to social media to defend the concerts’ ticket costs, shutting down multiple critics griping about the price.

“They were great on their comeback but I have seen them 3 times now so away tae f**k with your £175,” one fan said on X.

In response, Gallagher wrote back, “You say that now a wk bfore we roll into Glasgow, you’ll be running around like a headless chicken crying get your ticket and hush it up to ras LG x”.

“That pair of overrated brothers who call themselves Oasis have decided once again to get back together to make some more millions from the people who might or might not get a secret ticket,” another, far more outspoken user wrote. “I wouldn’t pay a £1 to go see them, in fact they couldn’t pay me to watch them.”

Responding to the user’s comments, Gallagher wrote, “You are a LIAR if I was to pay you 100 grand to come watch OASIS you’d be there in flash so ZIP IT.”

Gallagher also commented on one user’s post saying the ticket prices seemed fairly standard for quality performances. “Oasis couldve sold out Worldwide for 2K a ticket so for biggest band in the World, Oasis £170 is value,” the user said. “Sh*t bands today not one half decent song and they’re basically the same price.”

Acknowledging the fan’s comment, Gallagher commented with a simple, “LOUDER” on X.

While Santana is undeniably one of the most influential classic rock bands, not all of their songs are exactly famous. For instance, Santana’s 1977 track, “Transcendence,” off the band’s partially live record, Moonflower, was featured on Collider‘s ranking of the “10 Most Underrated Classic Rock Songs of All Time.”

The publication ranked the Carlos Santana-penned track at the list’s ninth spot, asserting the song is a buoyant number that elicits a sense of peace. Other songs featured on the publication’s ranking are “Baker St. Muse” by Jethro Tull, “The Rain Song” by Led Zeppelin, and “When the Music’s Over” by The Doors, with “Seasons of Wither” by Aerosmith coming in at the list’s number one spot.

Best Classic Bands reported that Santana, now 79, shared that he had a deep appreciation for live recordings, like several tracks off of Moonflower.

“I like live albums a lot, because out there you don’t have time to do anything else except just go, go for the heart,” said Santana, per Best Classic Bands.

According to Best Classic Bands, Santana clarified that he wasn’t attempting to be an “innovator” in the music industry despite his significant impact as a guitarist in a 1976 interview with Sounds.

“I don’t care whether or not I’m an innovator anymore. If it’s something old or something new it doesn’t matter as long as my heart’s in it. A lot of people take a lot of time putting on a black cape and being mysterious about their music; people’ll say, ‘Far out,’ but they don’t really understand what it means. I care more for relating than innovating,” said Santana during the 1976 interview.

In a 2022 interview with AXS TV, Santana gave some advice to those who want to be professional guitarists.

“The first thing I would teach youngsters about music is, don’t touch the guitar yet. Just look at it. Can you hear the sound just by looking at it? One. And two, most importantly, actually, one, can you give yourself chills? Before you touch the guitar. If you can’t, be and do something else,” said Santana in the AXS TV interview.

He then explained that being a guitarist “is a way of life, not a business.”

“You are giving birth to beauty when you play. So, give yourself chills. Otherwise, you might as well be a mechanic, dealing with screwdrivers and hammers,” said Santana.

When Andrea McArdle stepped onto the stage of Broadway’s Neil Simon Theatre on April 21, 1977, for the debut of the musical Annie, the then-13-year-old became more than a Broadway star. She became the voice of an entire generation who saw themselves in the hopes and dreams of little orphan Annie. McArdle’s voice, with its belting bravado and matching vulnerability, felt youthful and mature all at the same time. Her performance was one of the first times a child starred in a Broadway musical, and fans couldn’t get enough. More than 50 years later, McArdle’s voice is as ageless as the title character she portrayed so many years ago.

Who’s exited for the revival of Annie?! 🙋‍♀️ #musical #musicaltheatre #annie #broadway

Andrea McArdle has enjoyed a long and enduring career as a performer since her stage debut in the ’70s, but it’s nearly impossible not to associate her with the famous redhead who stole the hearts of theatergoers—and Daddy Warbucks.

McArdle didn’t just perform Annie. She embodied her. She made kids feel like they were watching themselves onstage. We wanted to be Annie. We sang “Maybe” in school talent shows and played piano versions of the song in annual recitals.

McArdle’s recent performance of “Maybe” is giving fans a dose of nostalgia, coupled with more than 50 years of hindsight. That combination makes the song—and McArdle’s performance—hit differently.

“Hits different listening as a 55-year-old whose parents are gone,” reflected one emotional viewer.

Another added, “My first Broadway show, Annie with the iconic Andrea McArdle! She was such a talented performer. And now I see she still is. What an amazing voice!”

“I still have my Andrea McArdle Annie album,” shared another fan.

“8-year-old me wanted nothing more than to be her!” commented another, echoing the sentiments of many.

Related: Figure Skating Legend, Known as ‘Fred Astaire on Skates,’ Has Fans Saying Thank You for Bringing Back His Iconic Performances

#annie #annie1977 #annietok #andreamcardle #theatertiktok

It’s tough to deny why Andrea McArdle’s vocal performance has endured over time, but technical ability alone did not make her precocious performance so indelible.

Annie debuted at a time when television, film and theater were just beginning to represent young people with depth and emotion rather than simply as side characters trusted to deliver charming one-liners.

Little Orphan Annie was the star of her own world—and her own Broadway show. She encapsulated a range of emotions, from hope to longing, that had rarely been represented in such a young character onstage.

Annie was bold, charming, fearless and vulnerable. She was everything we wanted to be but couldn’t always show the world at a time when pop culture was just beginning to give young people’s full emotional lives more space.

No one was better suited to become the voice of a generation of young girls than a young girl herself who was bold, fearless and oh-so-talented.

“Maybe” hits differently now that so many of the children who grew up with Annie are parents and grown women. Some have even experienced the loss and loneliness that Annie once sang about.

That is what makes McArdle’s performance feel like more than a walk down memory lane. Her voice brings audiences back to who they were in 1977 while reminding them of how much life has changed since then. For the fans who once dreamed of being Annie, hearing McArdle sing again is a chance to reconnect with that hopeful, fearless child—and to realize that some part of her is still there.

Related: ‘One Day at a Time’ Sisters Reunite Decades After 1970s Sitcom Stole Our Hearts

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Christine McVie is one of the greatest singer-songwriters in music history. But even legends fangirl over other legends. Before she became one-fifth of Fleetwood Mac in August 1970, McVie was rocking out to a specific recording on repeat.

“My parents bought me this album for Christmas, and it was during Beatlemania,” she said on the BBC’s Desert Island Discs. “I was one of the Beatlemaniacs. I must have been about 19, 20; oh, I played this record until there was nothing left of it.”

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Released on Nov. 22, 1963, “Roll Over Beethoven” appeared on the Beatles’ second studio album, With the Beatles. With George Harrison singing lead, the song remained in the Fab Four’s set until the end of their North American tour in September 1964. A high-energy, fast-paced rock-and-roll track, it’s driven by electric guitars and a relentless beat. But as great as the Beatles sound on it, it wasn’t initially theirs.

“Roll Over Beethoven” belongs to Chuck Berry, who first released it in May 1956 on Chess Records. According to Songfacts, the genre pioneer wrote the song about rock’s takeover as a jab at his sister, Lucy, who played classical music. The song now serves as an anthem for the youth of the 1950s.

“I sang ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ for With The Beatles—it was a song I liked,” Harrison said, per The Beatles Bible. “I had the Chuck Berry record, and I used to sing it in the clubs.”

The outlet also shared that the band recorded the track in five takes, then added overdubs and the final guitar chord in August 1963. Though it wasn’t a smash like many of the band’s other songs, it did chart, landing at No. 68 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“It was all about the melodies, the songs, the harmonies,” McVie said about the song, which she called one of her favorites. “The voices were so upfront and crystal clear. I think their use of space was so crucial.”

Far Out, which originally reported on McVie’s favorite hits, expounded on the song, writing that it was “deceptively simple” when it first hit the radio back in Berry’s era. But rather than recording a carbon copy of the classic, “The Beatles transformed it through inspired use of melody, harmony and space. All things that she prided herself on in the Mac.”

In the 1970s, another legendary rock band covered the classic. Mixing some of Beethoven’s music into their rendition, Electric Light Orchestra released their version in 1973 and watched it climb to No. 42 on the Billboard Hot 100.

No band’s cover could ever best Berry’s, though. His original reached No. 29 on the U.S. pop chart and No. 2 on the R&B chart.

Originally released as a single, it was then included in the soundtrack album Rock, Rock, Rock! before appearing on Berry’s first studio album, After School Session in 1957. It would later become the centerpiece of his most famous early compilation albums, starting with Chuck Berry Twist in 1962.

And now, seven decades later, the song still rocks.

Related: ’80s Rock Legends Currently on ‘PWR/UP’ Tour Are Suddenly Climbing the Charts, 46 Years Later

Jaclyn Smith isn’t mincing words about the lack of critical success her celebrated series Charlie’s Angels received during the show’s heyday in the 1970s.

Speaking with Variety, the 80-year-old Smith reflected on the reasons she felt Charlie’s Angels never received any major awards or accolades during its time on ABC.

While the show did earn a fair number of award nominations, it routinely failed to win any significant honors at events like the Golden Globes or the Primetime Emmy Awards.

As per Smith, the biggest reason she believes the show never won any major awards was due to the “snobby” nature of the events’ organizations, who often looked down on the provocative tone of Charlie’s Angels.

“It would have been nice to have gotten Emmys, but there was a snobbism about it,” Smith explained. “They didn’t like all the glamor. They put us down. We were Barbie dolls. They didn’t see the weight or the depth of the devotion of the girls to each other. They thought it was fluff, and [executive producer Aaron Spelling] said, ‘It’s eye candy.’ But he also gave it narrative. He gave it mystery. He gave enough danger to keep you leaning forward. It had a little bit of everything.”

Airing in fall 1976 and running for five seasons until summer 1981, Charlie’s Angels followed Smith, Kate Jackson and Farrah Fawcett as the titular crime-fighting protagonists as they completed various private detective-based cases in Los Angeles.

While the show might have been popular among mainstream viewers back in the day, the show’s endearing legacy remains strong, as evidenced by the recent applause Smith, Jackson and season 2 addition Cheryl Ladd received during their recent Emmy appearance.

“There was a lot of love in that room for us, and I really appreciated that,” Ladd said of the trio’s Emmy appearance. “I could feel it.”

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What if we told you that you could replicate Martha Stewart’s exact interior decor palette? Thanks to Wayfair, you can shop for the television personality’s stunning home collection, which includes everything from this trendy woven rattan mirror to this elegant reversible comforter set. Now, we’re adding the Martha Stewart Lily Pond Philippe Round End Table to our shopping wishlist, while it’s nearly 50% off.

The brown end table originally cost $258, but has been reduced to $136 during the retailer’s epic fall sale. The furniture is made of manufactured wood with a natural wood grain detailing that looks like rich walnut. It gives off a moody seasonal vibe that’s great for this time of year, but is still perfect for all year-round. If you really want to dress up your home this autumn, we especially love the idea of placing a vase with fall-colored leaves on the tabletop, and even a few miniature pumpkins. 

Courtesy of Wayfair

The piece is 24 inches tall, 20 inches wide, and 20 inches long, which is a standard size for a round side table, so you can place it virtually anywhere you’d like. Put it next to your bed or by the sofa so that you can use the tabletop for food and beverages, or use it solely for decorative purposes in your entryway. The open bottom shelf is a great place to store books, picture frames, and any other decor that you’d like to display, since it can hold up to 75 pounds worth of items. 

The table itself is approximately 20 pounds, which makes it easy to maneuver anywhere, especially if you’re moving it solo. Plus, the four “very sturdy” legs offer stability. You will have to assemble the table when it gets delivered, but all of the necessary tools are included in your purchase and shoppers said it’s “super easy” to put together.

Our favorite aspect of this table is not only its durability, but its rounded spindle legs that will easily add character to any space. The style is perfect for farmhouse, cottagecore, traditional, and vintage-style homes, since its design is timeless and presents an effortless charm. Reviewers further described the high-end table as “beautiful,” “perfect,” and a “great value.” 

• Martha Stewart Bedford London Armchair, $310 (was $700) at Wayfair
• Martha Stewart Hutton Shaker Style Home Office Desk, $217 (was $340) at Wayfair
• Martha Stewart Mira Modern Heathered Anti-Fatigue Kitchen Mat, $42 (was $60) at Wayfair

Due to the affordable cost, some customers even purchased two of Martha Stewart’s stunning end tables for their home. You’ll want to snag yours soon though, because this unbeatable fall sale won’t last for long. Shop the furniture now at Wayfair, while it’s just about 50% off! 

Related: Wayfair’s ‘Space-Saving’ Armchair Includes a Matching Ottoman and Hidden Storage

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While the legendary rock band the Doors had quite a few notable controversies throughout its career, one truly iconic moment happened 59 years ago today, on Sept. 17, 1967.

The band had just achieved their first No. 1 song with “Light My Fire,” released as a single for the Doors’ self-titled debut album in 1967. With the chart success, the band’s manager was able to book them on the popular talk show, The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was well-known for helping rising artists become superstars, so it was a major opportunity for them.

As The Ed Sullivan Show‘s official website tells it, the band appeared at CBS’s Studio 50 for the show on Sept. 17. They rehearsed the two songs they were meant to perform, “Light My Fire” and “People Are Strange,” and about 15 minutes before the show started, they met host Ed Sullivan.

The meeting reportedly didn’t go as well as it could’ve, and after he left, a producer came to the band and told them they had to censor a lyric in “Light My Fire.” The show wanted the Doors to change the line, “Girl, we couldn’t get much higher,” alleging that the word “higher” was associated with drug use.

The band’s lead singer, Jim Morrison, got angry and didn’t want to do as they asked, and neither did the rest of the band. But they eventually told the producer that they agreed.

Related: 1970 Folk-Rock Song, Written in a Few Minutes in London, Became One of the Best-Selling Singles of All Time

As the story goes, as soon as the door was closed, Morrison said to the rest of the band, “We’re not changing a word.” When the Doors went to perform “Light My Fire,” the band kept the lyrics the same, stunning the producers.

After the show ended, an angry producer told the band, “Mr. Sullivan wanted you for six more shows, but you’ll never work The Ed Sullivan Show again.” Reportedly, the Doors weren’t too put off by this, and the band never made another appearance on the talk show.

Related: 1973 Rock Song, Written by Pete Townshend, Among ‘Greatest Rock Lyrics of All Time’

It’s difficult to argue that Pink Floyd has had a significant impact on the rock genre. Since the English band’s debut album, 1967’s The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Pink Floyd has released several revolutionary and still-celebrated hits, including “Bike” (1967), “Money” (1973), “Wish You Were Here” (1975), and “Comfortably Numb” (1979).

“Comfortably Numb,” penned by David Gilmour and Roger Waters, was featured on Rolling Stone‘s ranking of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.” The publication placed the track off the band’s acclaimed 11th album, The Wall, in the list’s 179th spot, complimenting Waters’ painful lyricism and Gilmour’s guitar skills.

In a 2011 interview with Absolute Radio, Waters noted that he and Gilmour had “a disagreement” about “Comfortably Numb” before it was released. He explained that he and the guitarist “had made a rhythm track” for the song, which he “loved.” However, Gilmour “thought it wasn’t precise enough rhythmically and recut the track.” According to Waters, when Gilmour showed him the recut track, he told his bandmate that he “hated” it. Waters clarified that he and Gilmour eventually came to a compromise about the iconic Pink Floyd song.

“In the end, the track that is on the record, the first verse is from the version I liked and the second verse is from the version he liked,” said Waters in the 2011 interview.

Rolling Stone reported that Waters’ ordeal with doctor-prescribed tranquilizers to quell cramping in his stomach prior to having to go on stage led to him writing “Comfortably Numb.”

“He gave me a shot, and to this day I don’t know what it was. But it’s not something I would ever recommend giving to a human being. It came out of a dart that felt like it was used to tranquilize an elephant,” said Waters during a 2010 interview, per Rolling Stone.

In a 2024 interview on the Useful Idiots podcast, Waters acknowledged that fans have deeply identified with “Comfortably Numb” since its release in 1979. According to Waters, whether listeners realize it or not, the track is a reminder to treasure all emotions, even despair.

“I run into people all the time who go, ‘You changed my life.’ And they have no idea why they were moved by ‘Comfortably Numb’ or something or other. But they were. And even if they can’t articulate it, it’s nearly enough. ‘Comfortably Numb’ says, ‘If you have feelings, treasure them,'” said the bassist, now 83, during the 2024 podcast interview.

Some songs were simply meant to be covers, with country and Tejano singer Freddy Fender bringing life back into his music career thanks to a track from 1967.

Ben Peters and Vivian Keith co-wrote “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” as a breakup track telling the story of a man still holding on to his ex, even though she’s moved on. He promises to still be there when her new boyfriend lets her down. The duo penned the track in the late ’60s when they both worked at the publishing company Fingerlake Music.

Fender wasn’t the first person to release a cover of the song, as Duane Dee released his version that same year. It had moderate success, landing at No. 44 on Billboard’s country chart early the following year. Linda Martell also tried her hand at covering the track in 1970, and it reached No. 33. In between both artists, Jerry Lee Lewis included it on his Another Place Another Time album.

It wasn’t until 1974 that “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” finally got some recognition high on the charts thanks to Fender. The Tex-Mex singer was on the rise to becoming a notable star in the ’60s until he was sent to prison for marijuana possession.

Fender’s career was put on hold for three years while serving time, and when he was released, he had no desire to revive his career. The singer known for the song “Don’t Be Cruel” ended up working as a mechanic until 1971.

According to SongFacts, Fender met producer Huey Meaux and signed a deal with Crazy Cajun Records. Fender mostly worked on singing demo tracks so that producers could pitch them to others, and “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” was one of them. Unlike previous covers, Fender decided to sing the second half of the song in Spanish and was convinced by Meaux to record it.

“English is my second language, and I made a super effort to pronounce my words, and that, along with the meaning and melody of a song, gave me my style,” said Fender, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Fender wasn’t too happy to record a country song or revive his career, as he once commented, “The recording only took a few minutes. I was glad to get it over with, and I thought that would be the last of it.”

He was proven wrong, as his version of “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” became a crossover hit that landed at No.1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. It was even once ranked by Billboard as one of the top songs of 1975.

“Before the Next Teardrop Falls” sparked a revival for Fender, who went on to release other well-known hits. The song was even chosen by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry. Other notable covers included Gene Stuart, Charley Pride, Loretta Lynn, and even Dolly Parton.

Related: 1970 Country Song, Written as a Lullaby by James Taylor, Became One of His Greatest Songs of All Time

A former reality TV star is at the center of a growing innocence campaign more than a decade after he was sentenced to 92 years in prison. And now, the filmmaker who helped make him a small-screen personality is working to tell his story.

Bradley Beesley, creator of the National Geographic reality series Mudcats and the documentary filmmaker behind The Fearless Freaks, Summercamp!, and Okie Noodling, may be taking true crime for a spin with his next project. According to a new investigative report from Slate, the director has already begun work on a podcast and is eyeing a potential documentary focused entirely on Winston Walters.

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Beesley met Walters through Mudcats. The show featured the then-17-year-old catfish noodler from Oklahoma and his cousin as hand-fishing athletes competing in the Okie Invitational Tournament for cash and honor.

The 2012 series captured Walters and the other participants braving riptides, snakes, insects, severe droughts, and sweltering temperatures as they attempted to snatch massive Flathead catfish weighing up to 60 pounds from the water with their bare hands.

According to the outlet, Walters and his cousin performed poorly in season one but were far more competitive in the follow-up season.

“I can’t believe these people are going to pay me a couple thousand dollars per episode to go fishing,” Walters said, via Slate. “I just thought that was the funniest thing in the world.”

In January 2013, however, Walters’ story took a dark turn. The rising star was implicated, along with an accomplice, John Oxford, in a brutal home invasion and armed robbery targeting Mark and Rita Roebuck in Comanche, Oklahoma.

According to court testimony, two masked men broke into the Roebuck residence through the rear entrance. When Mark went to investigate, he was confronted by an intruder pointing a rifle at him. A struggle ensued, and Mark was shot twice. The intruders then duct-taped Rita to a chair and forced the couple to open their safe. The intruders then fled the scene with $28,000 in hundred-dollar bills and several firearms.

“John Oxford stood there with a gun pointing right between my eyes,” Mark told ABC News.

Mark’s account of who shot him came after he and several other pieces of evidence initially implicated the Roebucks’ nephew, Jeramy Roebuck. In the end, authorities cleared Jeramy and focused on Oxford and Walters.

Oxford pleaded guilty as the second gunman and is now serving a 72-year sentence. Walters, however, has maintained his innocence to this day, denying any involvement in the crime. Still, he was convicted and sentenced to 92 years in prison, a sentence he is now more than a decade into.

“My brother didn’t do that,” Walters’ younger half-brother, Noah Collins, told Slate. “That’s what I believe. As a man of God, he still proclaims his innocence. It’s not him.”

Since his conviction, a social media campaign has rallied around the possibility that Walters was wrongly convicted. Per Slate, Beesley “took a shine” to Walters while he was on the show and was “stunned” by how his story turned out. After reviewing the case, the outlet said the filmmaker came away suspecting the noodler may have been wrongfully convicted, reporting also that he’s already begun work on a podcast and a possible film.

Because the two share personal history, the potential documentary becomes much more compelling than a generic true-crime adaptation. As does this next twist: Mark reached out to Walters in prison recently with a “strange” offer.

Delivered by message through a correctional officer named Ronnie Sloan, Mark said that if Walters agreed to a written confession accepting guilt in the attack, he’d consider supporting an effort to reduce Walters’ sentence. Walters wrote the letter, but he stopped short of fully confessing to the crime.

“I fully, wholly, and from the bottom of my heart apologize purely in a good way to you,” Walters wrote. He also apologized for befriending Oxford, and he signed off with a request to correspond and perhaps visit someday, Slate shared.

Despite the offer relayed by Sloan, Mark declined to read the letter, saying he didn’t want anything to do with it.

However, during his meeting with Slate, he went back and forth on whether he’d support an effort to reduce Walters’ sentence, saying, “If the jury came up with this [92-year sentence], that’s what they see fit,” only to contradict that with, “After really thinking about it and going through all this time, it’s hard to say. Yeah, probably, because … that’s a long time.”

The whole saga makes for an entirely fascinating story and begs the ultimate question: Could this be the next Making a Murderer? Though no finished documentary or announced release is on record yet, readers are captivated as the story unfolds in real time.

Related: Ed Sheeran Controversy Recalls 1969 Rock Legends’ Shocking Cancellation From a Major Festival

A new species isn’t discovered every day, and when it is, it’s usually something small and easy to overlook, like an insect, a microbe, or an obscure plant. Even rarer is the discovery of a new cat, smaller than a house cat, whose existence was first scientifically documented on Thursday in the journal Current Biology.

Living in the rainy, humid Bolivian Yungas mountains, the Leopardus tilcayo, or the tilcayo tiger cat, has spots similar to those of a leopard, with rounded ears and long whiskers.

In this region, the Amazon basin converges with the Andes Mountains, creating an extremely diverse environment where wild cats like the Leopardus tilcayo can thrive.

StreetFlash / Getty Images

Speaking to NBC News, Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, a co-author of the study, said that it’s rare to discover a relatively large mammal. Based in Bolivia, she also leads a local initiative, Programa de Investigación de Félidos Bolivia (Bolivian Felids Research Program), which is devoted to researching and conserving the country’s wild cats.

“We really don’t know how many cats are still in the wild. We need science, we need more studies to answer this question, which is actually critical for its conservation.”

According to National Geographic, in 2016, a local man brought a cat to the Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary, a wildlife rehabilitation center near Bolivia’s capital, La Paz. He had been feeding it noodles, rice, and eggs for about a year. When he realized he couldn’t take care of it, he brought it to the sanctuary, which then called Nogales-Ascarrunz.

“I saw this cat. It was really, really small, and I couldn’t believe how small it was.”

Thinking the spots or tail didn’t match any other known tiger cat, she ran genetic testing, comparing this cat’s tissue to that of another cat also at Senda Verde.

Working with geneticist Eduardo Eizirik of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil and co-lead author Jonas Lescroart of the University of Antwerp, the team pinpointed exactly where the cat fits on the feline family tree.

The cat, they discovered, isn’t a validation of a proposed species, nor is it a previously recognized subspecies being elevated to species status; it’s entirely new to science and redraws the cat family tree.

Thus, the cat that the local man brought in became the first-ever documented Leopardus tilcayo.

Although it was new to the scientific community, local communities in Bolivia had known of the species for generations. “This cat, they call it tilcayo,” Nogales-Ascarrunz explained. “This is a traditional knowledge that they have in the community. We want to preserve that knowledge and we didn’t want to give it another name.”

The 10-year-old male at the Senda Verde sanctuary, the first of his species to be scientifically studied, weighs just three pounds and measures 18 inches from his head to the end of his body.

Related: What Kind of Wild Cat Are You, Based on Your Birth Date

In 1964, The Moody Blues achieved a career milestone with the release of “Go Now,” which not only became the band’s first No. 1 hit but also established itself as an enduring classic in music history.

Written by Milton Bennett and Larry Banks for Banks’ wife, soul singer Bessie Banks, who released the song as a single in January 1964, The Moody Blues later recorded their own rendition and released it as a standalone single several months later.

What set The Moody Blues’ version apart from the original was the smooth yet powerful vocals of then-20-year-old singer Denny Laine.

The band decided to include “Go Now” on their debut studio album, The Magnificent Moodies, after Laine was drawn to the piano part of the song.

Chris Ware/Keystone Features/Getty Images

“It came in one of these suitcases full of records from America,” Laine told Gibson.com, as cited by Songfacts. “This guy, James Hamilton, he was a friend of B. Mitchel Reed, who was a DJ, and he would send this stuff across. So I picked that one out especially because Mike Pinder was a piano player. (chuckles) We’d always get the gig where the piano would be out of tune and we’d get the slow handclap because they were waiting to tune the piano… (laughs) Anyway, we did ‘Go Now’ because it was a song with a piano in it.”

The song helped the band rebound after their first single, “Lose Your Money,” failed to achieve commercial success.

Thanks to steady radio airplay, “Go Now” became their first Top 10 entry on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 10, while it reached No. 1 on the U.K. Singles Chart, marking the band’s first and only No. 1 song in their home country.

With their first major achievement, The Moody Blues sustained their momentum and later scored more hits, including “Nights in White Satin,” which reached No. 2, and “Your Wildest Dreams,” which peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.

After a decades-long career, following the band’s final touring period in 2018, “Go Now” continues to make an impact and resonate with listeners to this day.

In fact, Ultimate Classic Rock ranked the song No. 5 on the Top 10 Moody Blues Songs and No. 2 on Gold Radio, highlighting how the band transformed the song “into a lovingly pained ballad.”

Morever, the song has also continued to spark discussion among listeners, with Reddit users sharing positive comments about “Go Now” in recent discussions.

Related: 1970 Country Song, With Singer Nicknamed ‘The Cherokee Cowboy,’ Is Still a Powerful Hit 56 Years Later

Ke Huy Quan, the celebrated actor best known for his work as a child performer and later for his Oscar-winning work in Everything Everywhere All at Once, is making some shocking claims about a certain well-known actor who snapped at him during an awards ceremony.

According to People magazine, Quan wrote about the incident in his new memoir, Never Say Die. In said story, Quan mentioned that he saw a certain actor he had long respected and admired attending the 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards.

“I spotted a well-known actor I’d respected for years standing right behind me,” Quan wrote in his book. “Without thinking too much about it, I asked if we could take a picture together. I held the phone out between us, angled it back toward our faces, and leaned in. I pointed and made one of my silly faces, the same one I’d been making all season.”

Though intended as a light-hearted joke, the actor Quan posed with seemingly had a very different response to his facial expression.

“He looked at me for a beat, then said sharply, ‘Why did you make that stupid face?’” Quan wrote. “I laughed, a little surprised and not quite sure what to make of it. He shook his head and added, ‘You’re not going to win tonight with that stupid face.’”

Speaking with People, Quan reflected on the back and forth exchange, revealing he wasn’t entirely sure whether he should have included the incident in his memoir at all.

“I feel like there’s going to be so many people who ask that question, and I actually debated whether to share that story at all,” he said of the event. “I knew people were going to want to know who he is, but to me, who he is, it has never been as important as the lesson that I learned from it.”

If anyone knows what it’s like working with Hollywood royalty, it’s the accomplished dancer Christopher Riordan.

Having made a name for himself as a dancer alongside many famous faces from the 1950s onwards, Riordan appeared with some of the most popular celebrities of his generation, including Elvis Presley, Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor, among many others.

In spite of how many famous names he worked with, one notable celebrity Riordan wasn’t a fan of working with was none other than the legendary ’50s crooner, Frank Sinatra.

Appearing on a recent episode of the That’s Classic! podcast, the 88-year-old Riordan shared his candid memories of working with Sinatra in the 1965 films Von Ryan’s Express and Marriage on the Rocks.

“Honestly, let me just preface by saying I think he’s a wonderful musician,” he started by saying. “I play his music a lot.”

“But he was not fun to work with,” Riordan flatly admitted. “And yeah, I mean, he would show up in his helicopter, you know, that would land, and he’d get out and do his scene. And he wouldn’t do it more than twice, and then he’d get in his helicopter and go away, and that was it, you know.”

With his mixed experience working with Sinatra, Riordan said he was fairly uncertain when it came time to work with Frank’s daughter Nancy. However, Ol’ Blue Eyes’ daughter proved far more personable than her Rat Pack dad, leading to a pleasant experience for Riordan.

“Later, when I was choreographing at American International, I was told, ‘Okay, you’re going to be choreographing Miss Sinatra,’” he said. “And I thought, ‘Oh god, another Sinatra.’ Nancy Sinatra turned out to be one of the sweetest people that I ever worked with. At the end of the whole thing, she came up and gave me a kiss and thanked me for making her look good and so on.”