Larry Kinging Through the Week

Can someone please define for me what a hash brown is? I recently ordered some at Burger King and what I was served seemed to me more of a huge tator tot. Is there no difference? I say we must be careful when we mix genres, even if it is in the fried food area.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I didn’t get enough of Barbra Streisand last week (Pete N’s poster girl). MORE BABS PLEASE! Her rendition of "God Bless America" sent tingles through parts of my body I didn’t know still existed. Let’s hope the Academy doesn’t snub her again! Her return to the public eye was even more exciting than the one we can only hope for: Fast Freddy Toliver.

Point to ponder: How did record albums pick up the nickname "wax"? Were they once made from the stuff? Will candles one day be made from vinyl?

In the biggest rock merger since Guns ‘n’ Roses, it is reported the group Cinderella (performers of that classic, "Don’t Know What You’ve Got ‘Til It’s Gone") were so swept off their feet after hearing Adam and the Ants, "Prince Charming" that members of both groups have begun to record together (reports indicate their first session ended around midnight). I can hardly wait to hear the results.

I’ll never get tired… of seeing our new President blow his sax with some other funky musicians. I hope we see and hear a lot more in the next four!

Just a Thought… What groups or singers qualify as "R & B"? While perusing the stacks at our friendly neighborhood Landfill Store, I saw several albums that either had rhythm, or they had blues but most only had one or the other (is Prince blue?). Maybe we should re-title the section Rhythm or Blues. Just a thought…

News from the past… Forty five years ago, CBS President William Paley lured comedian Jack Benny away from NBC radio, where he had been a fixture since 1932. A top draw, the comic felt NBC was taking him for granted. "Getting Benny away from NBC seemed like getting Quebec away from Canada, so fixed had he been, and for so long, in the heaven of that richer and bigger network," wrote one CBS radio writer at the time.

To sign Benny, CBS did more than pull a few violin strings. His $4 million package would be worth more than $23 million today. CBS even helped Benny avoid high personal income taxes by buying his production company, leaving the comic to pay only capital gains taxes. While the IRS fought the arrangement for years, Benny eventually won. Meanwhile, CBS wanted to keep its new star from seeming too money hungry and played with an ad line: "Benny is coming to CBS for the free parking".

Future Rolling Stone Cover? By far the most prized and precious moment from the inauguration festivities: Bill Clinton standing next to Stevie Nicks. Isn’t that what makes this country great?