A compendium of musical delights by Alan and Margaret Ashworth
BACK to the ever-reliable Charles Wesley this week. I have already written about him several times including here, here, here and here. This hymn was written around 1744 while Charles (1707-1788) and his brother John … Continue readingRejoice, the Lord is King
Written by Bill Trader, the full title is (Now and Then There’s) A Fool Such as I, and it was published in 1952. Here’s a live performance the same year by … Continue readingElvis Presley: A Fool Such as I
IF I could come back as an animal, I would choose to be a ram. A month or two of work and the rest of the year hanging out with the … Continue readingRam raid
Keith was born James Barry Keefer in 1949 in Philadelphia and this was his only hit in Britain, reaching No 24 in 1967. It got to No 7 in America. … Continue readingKeith: 98.6
THIS is another hymn I remember as a favourite in daily school assemblies. The words were written by the Scottish clergyman Walter Chalmers Smith (1824-1908). He was born in Aberdeen, … Continue readingImmortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
IT IS 100 years today since the first Rupert episode was published in the Daily Express. Here it is: When I was a child my father worked on the Express and brought home the … Continue readingA century of Rupert Bear
WE lived for a few years in Southend-on-Sea in Essex. Many probably think of it as a ‘kiss-me-quick’ kind of place, and it is true that it has lots of … Continue readingArcades, kiss-me-quick hats and a wildlife spectacular
I HAD not heard of this hymn and when I came across it in a list, the title intrigued me. I looked it up and this is what I found. … Continue readingLet the Lower Lights Be Burning
This was written for Warwick by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and recorded in 1963. In January 1964, it reached No 8 in the United States and No 42 in … Continue readingDionne Warwick: Anyone Who Had a Heart
WHEN my children were small, they used to be amused by my tales of the old days before fridges, washing machines and central heating. I was born four years after … Continue readingThe Frost Report