Adam Waller

55 years ago tonight, Rick Nelson was booed at Madison Square Garden and turned the experience into one of the biggest hits of his later career. The audience remembered him as Ricky Nelson, the teenage star of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet who had enjoyed a string of pop hits before Beatlemania. But by 1971, he'd grown his hair and moved into country rock. He played some of his old hits, including “Hello Mary Lou.” When he performed the Rolling Stones' “Country Honk,” boos broke out. That moment inspired Nelson to write “Garden Party,” which reached No. 6 on the pop charts the following year, his first Top 10 hit in nearly a decade. An audience that wanted the old Ricky Nelson helped inspire one of the biggest hits of the new Rick Nelson. Here he is performing that song in 1985, a few months before his death at age 45 on New Year's Eve in a plane crash while traveling to a concert in Dallas.

44 years ago today, Madness released The Rise & Fall, featuring “Our House,” their biggest American hit and one of my all-time favorite songs. Chas Smash began writing the lyrics on a flight home from the US thinking about the house in North Finchley, London, where he grew up. The rapid-fire bridge shifts from describing family life in the present to remembering it in the past. It is especially great. As James Brown would say, “Take me to the bridge!”

Art Carney was born 108 years ago today. Best remembered as Ed Norton, Jackie Gleason’s sidekick on The Honeymooners, Carney was one of television’s great comic actors, winning six Emmys over his career. His success extended to film. In 1975, he won the Best Actor Oscar for Harry and Tonto. But Carney once described the piano as his “first love.” During a 1973 appearance on The Tonight Show, he showed off his talents alongside two fellow comedy legends with musical backgrounds of their own. Johnny Carson had a lifelong passion for the drums, while Sid Caesar had once aspired to be a professional saxophonist. Here they are playing “My Blue Heaven,” with Carney on piano, Carson on drums and Caesar on sax.

With ‘Good Morning America,’ ABC tried something different. The network chose actor David Hartman, who had no journalism background, instead of a newsman. The show moved away from the traditional news desk in favor of a more conversational mix of news, interviews and advice. It started slowly, but within five years ‘GMA’ had overtaken NBC’s ‘Today’ in the ratings.

Grateful to The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration for featuring my story on its new website, EyeCanSeeAgain.org. As some may know, I had a cornea transplant in my early 20s. My sight was fully restored thanks to the generosity of someone I never met. More than two decades later, I’ve never taken that gift for granted. As November is Eye Donation Month, I’m especially glad to help raise awareness about the life-changing impact of eye donation.

Happy heavenly birthday to Jay Black, born 88 years ago today in Astoria, Queens. Before he became one of the most recognizable voices of 1960s pop, he was David Blatt, a twenty-something shoe salesman. In 1963, a musician friend recommended him to Jay and the Americans. Their original lead singer, Jay Traynor, had left after singing the group’s top 5 hit “She Cried.” At the audition, David Blatt sang “Cara Mia” a cappella and was hired on the spot. The one condition was he had to become Jay. “Cara Mia” became a major hit in 1965. Others followed including “Come a Little Bit Closer” and “This Magic Moment.” They called Jay Black “The Voice.” Listen to those pipes.