I don’t know how Elvis Presley felt about St. Patrick’s Day, but he spent one particular St. Patty’s Day purchasing what would eventually become one of the most-visited places in the world. 

  March 17, 1957, was the day the King bought the Graceland Mansion.  It was named after Grace Toof, the daughter of the mansion’s builder. 

  The original structure had been a place of worship by the Graceland Christian Church.  When Elvis bought the residence from Ruth Brown-Moore for $102,500, it was on 13.8 acres, and boasted 23 rooms and 10,000 square feet.  Several weeks before he moved in, however, the mansion was expanded to 17,552 square feet of living space. 

  I often wonder if Elvis knew then how popular Graceland would become as a tourist attraction, or how wealthy his estate would be as a result, even well after his death.  I would tend to doubt it. 

  Enjoy the music! 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  I am sure you have had a lucky charm or two in your lifetime.  I have a luck Kennedy half dollar that my grandfather gave me years ago. I always make sure I have it when I travel.   I was looking at a list of the standard good luck charms and symbols and came up with one unusual one!  First of all the standard list is:

4 Leaf Clovers, White Elepant, gold coins, rabbits feet, wishbones and horseshoes!

Then at the bottome of the list I saw Lucky Pig!  That’s right a pig!  I had never heard of that so of course I had to google and find out more.  It turns out in the 18th century in Germany and Austria a “pig” was considered good luck.  It was said if you owned a pig you would never go hungry.  They also had a saying “A Pig in Clover”,  so clover played a part in it anyway.  Below are pictures of postcards from 1905 that show some very lucky pigs!!   The one on the right show’s that the pig means “Prosperite” or prosperity!  I think the whole country can use that lucky charm right now!  Enjoy your St. Patricks Day!!

I had the pleasure this past weekend of seeing a true music legend perform.  During my career I have seen hundreds of concert performances but only a few true legends.  The Austin Symphony put together a wonderful program featuring Charlie Daniels.  Charlie has been in the music business for just over 50 years now.  His performance with the Austin Symphony was nothing short of phenomenal!

Charlie does it all and makes it look easy!  I had the pleasure of interviewing and meeting Charlie and everyone he meets feels special in his presence, he is one class act!!  If you ever want to see a one of a kind talent see, Charlie Daniels.  He even has his own museum in Nashville!

I also want to thank the Austin Symphony who put together a wonderful presentation of music from classic western’s before Charlie took the stage.  We are so lucky to have so many talented musicians here in Austin!

Leaving Messages for God! — yep, there’s a phone number for that.
Did you know there was a phone number where you could leave a voicemail for God? It started over the weekend in the Netherlands, and those who call in will hear “Hi, you are speaking to God. I’m not in right now so leave a message after the beep.” 

The phone number in the Netherlands is: +316-4424-4901

Well, we couldn’t resist that. After a little trans-Atlantic tracking-down, we managed to get our hands on the voicemail code so we could find out just who’s calling in to leave messages for God!  (click here to listen)

She is looking good these days…no lipo or botox for this girl, and at 50 she has never looked better!!  Happy Birthday Barbie!  Mattel introduced Barbie on March 9, 1959 and she is still around to make each generation of young girls thrilled and happy!!  Here are a few quick Barbie facts:

When introduced to us in 1959 she cost just  $3.50!

That first year over 300,000 Barbies were sold.

The inventor of the Barbie doll named her after her daughter Barbra , who was not a blonde by the way!

Mattel has introduced an anniversay Barbie with the same black and white swimsuit, just an updated version.

Here’s a toast to Barbie who will most likely be around for another 50 years, may we all be so lucky!!

  I remember when the Disney film “Aladdin” came out in the early 90’s.  My daughter was very little at the time, and watch practically every Disney movie that came out back then. 

  To me, the music on the soundtracks of those movies was almost as special as the films themselves, and “Aladdin” was no exception.  Apparently, lots of others felt the same way, because the theme from the “Aladdin” sountrack, “A Whole New World”, sung by Peabo Bryson and Regina Bell, hit #1 this week in 1993. 

  The song replaced Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”, which had stayed at #1 for the past 14 consecutive weeks.  Peabo also did a duet with Celine Dion on “Beauty And The Beast”, from that Disney soundtrack. 

  Enjoy the music! 

  If she were still living, Karen Carpenter would have been 59 years old this week.  Born in New Haven, Connecticut, on March 2, 1950, Karen and her brother Richard had a string of top 10 hits as the Carpenters in the 70’s, including “Close To You” “We’ve Only Just Begun” “Yesterday Once More” and “Rainy Days and Mondays”. 

  Karen actually recorded one solo album, “Karen Carpenter”, in the late 70’s.  However, it wasn’t released until after her death. 

  I remember exactly what I was doing when i heard the news about her death in early February of 1983.  I was getting ready to go to work at my first radio job when I heard the news on the radio that she had died.  She had battled anorexia nervosa, and ultimately died of heart failure.  I was deeply saddened, as the Carpenters had been one of my favorite groups when i was growing up.  I always thought Karen had one of the smoothest, most distinctive female voices ever, and i still enjoy playing the Carpenters on Majic. 

  Enjoy the music!

This past weekend Majic 95.5 debuted out Super Songs of The 70’s Weekend!!  If you had a chance to listen I am sure a bit of nostalgia hit you like it did me.  Music and memories go hand in hand, and I had fun reminiscing while listening to the music of the Doobie Brother’s , Fleetwood Mac , my all time favorite Barry Manilow and so many more. I am now in a 70’s time warp and loving every minute of it!  Here are a few things year by year that happened in the 70’s!  Do you remember?

1970:  The World Trade Center is Completed , ABC introduces Monday Night Football and the ill fated Apollo 13 has us glued to our TV sets.

1971:  TV bans cigarette adds, the cell phone battery and floppy disc are invented , and Disney World in Florida opens!!

1972:  Bobby Fischer beat Boris Spassky, Fed Ex in introduced and George Wallace is shot on the campaign trail.

1973:   Nixon releases the Watergate tapes, Billy Jean beat Bobby Riggs in Tennis and The Sears Tower in Chicago is completed.

1974:  President Nixon resigns, Patty Hearst is abducted, the first pocket calculators become widespread!

1975:  Jimmy Hoffa goes missing, the disposable razor is introduced, and Squeaky Fromme and Sara Jane Moore attempt to assassinate President Ford.

1976:  Apple Computer is launched, Betamax and VHS VCR’s are introduced, America celebrates the Bicenntenial.

1977:  Red dye number 2 is banned, The Son of Sam murderer is arrested, The Alaskan Pipeline is completed.

1978:  The Jonestown Massacre, Atlantic City permits gambling, and Garfield the Cat is introduced!

1979:  The Three Mile Island partial meltdown, The Sony Walkman, ESPN and the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin are introduced,  The Shah flees Iran!

For more 70’s fun check out this website,  

http://www.stuckinthe70s.com/

This past weekend Majic 95.5 debuted out Super Songs of The 70’s Weekend!!  If you had a chance to listen I am sure a bit of nostalgia hit you like it did me.  Music and memories go hand in hand, and I had fun reminiscing while listening to the music of the Doobie Brother’s , Fleetwood Mac , my all time favorite Barry Manilow and so many more. I am now in a 70’s time warp and loving every minute of it!  Here are a few things year by year that happened in the 70’s!  Do you remember?

1970:  The World Trade Center is Completed , ABC introduces Monday Night Football and the ill fated Apollo 13 has us glued to our TV sets.

1971:  TV bans cigarette adds, the cell phone battery and floppy disc are invented , and Disney World in Florida opens!!

1972:  Bobby Fischer beat Boris Spassky, Fed Ex in introduced and George Wallace is shot on the campaign trail.

1973:   Nixon releases the Watergate tapes, Billy Jean beat Bobby Riggs in Tennis and The Sears Tower in Chicago is completed.

1974:  President Nixon resigns, Patty Hearst is abducted, the first pocket calculators become widespread!

1975:  Jimmy Hoffa goes missing, the disposable razor is introduced, and Squeaky Fromme and Sara Jane Moore attempt to assassinate President Ford.

1976:  Apple Computer is launched, Betamax and VHS VCR’s are introduced, America celebrates the Bicenntenial.

1977:  Red dye number 2 is banned, The Son of Sam murderer is arrested, The Alaskan Pipeline is completed.

1978:  The Jonestown Massacre, Atlantic City permits gambling, and Garfield the Cat is introduced!

1979:  The Three Mile Island partial meltdown, The Sony Walkman, ESPN and the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin are introduced,  The Shah flees Iran!

For more 70’s fun check out this website,  

http://www.stuckinthe70s.com/