He couldn't sing, dance, or tell jokes, but he was television's greatest impresario. He was a stone-faced puritan -- America's arbiter of status quo -- but had a sly sense of humor , and in the segregation-tainted 1950's, welcomed blacks to his stage, and in the 1960's showcased rock n' roll's most anti-establishment acts. His show, the longest-running variety show in history, ran from 1948 to 1971. [more inside]
posted by terranova on Feb 7, 2009 - 46 comments

Sneaky Pete Kleinow, [Wikipedia | Allmusic] passed away Saturday, January 6 at the age of 72. In addition to being an incredible pedal steel guitar player, most notably with the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, he was also an accomplished visual effects artist who worked on films such as The Empire Strikes Back, Terminator I & II, and Army of Darkness.
posted by keswick on Jan 8, 2007 - 17 comments

Record producer Terry Melcher dies. Melcher, one of the creators of the 1960's Los Angeles sound produced the Byrds hits "Turn Turn Turn" and "Mr Tamberine Man" and he also played on the Beach Boys seminal album "Pet Sounds." At one time, Melcher also owned this house and, for a while, he believed that the murders that occurred there might have been in retribution for not signing this guy to a record contract.
posted by thedailygrowl on Nov 22, 2004 - 25 comments