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What do Muddy Waters, James Cotton, James Montgomery and Brian Keane have in common?
The 3 famed blues musician — and the Grammy and Emmy Award-winning composer/producer/1971 Staples High School graduate — will be inducted into the New England Music Hall of Fame. The ceremony is Saturday (November 27) in Mystic.
Keane has scored hundreds of films and television shows. His music has been hailed as “indelible and breathtaking” by the Los Angeles Times, “piercingly beautiful” by the New York Times, and “masterful” by Newsweek. He has been called a “musician’s musician” by Downbeat, a “composer’s composer” by the Hollywood Reporter, and “one of the most impressive musicians of the decade” by Billboard.
(To learn more about Brian Keane, click here. For more on the New England Music Hall of Fame, click here. Hat tip: Fred Cantor)
Brian Keane
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Happy 20th anniversary, TAILS!
The Westport group — which protects local cats from homelessness, while supporting felines in 9 area towns through spaying and neutering, with dozens of volunteers — earned tax-exempt status in November 2001.
TAILS — whose formal name is The Alliance In Limiting Strays — helps both dogs and cats. But they focus on where they see the most need: feral cats. One pair can easily turn into 40 cats in 2 years.
To learn more, click here or here; email info@tailsct.org; call 203-222-1992, or search Instagram: @tails_spay_neuter.
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Among the many yard signs promoting political candidates earlier this month, one of the most memorable urged “Write in Alma for Board of Education.”
Hers — and all the others — are gone. But a new sign has cropped up, plugging someone else by her first name only. It too starts with “A”:
(Photo/Matt Murray)
Matt Murray — who spotted this sign — says, with tongue (hopefully) in cheek: “I don’t know what office she’s running for, or what her political affiliation is, but I think she may have missed the timing for elections.”
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“Westport … Naturally” usually features outdoor shots. Naturally.
But this indoor-and-out image is too good to pass up!
(Photo/Wendy Levy)
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And finally … Philip Margo, an original member of the Tokens — best known for the mega-hit “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” — died earlier this month in Los Angeles, after suffering a stroke. He was 79.
The Tokens had other hits too. Click here for the intriguing back story of his, and his group’s, careers.
Former Westporter Neil Sedaka was an original member of the Tokens but left before their hit recordings.
It is amazing how many famous people lived in Westport. One time I sent a list to Dan Woog. The list separated the individuals by profession. For example, Fiorello LaGuardia lived in Westport, as did George Gershwin, James Thurber, Jack Backiel, and Dan Woog.
Wendy Schwam, Staples ’95, is daughter-in-law to Tokens lead singer Jay Siegel.