Greetings music sloots, and welcome to another edition of Manor Music Monday. It's almost Halloween, which means it's time for all good puddytats to watch out, because they could be snatched by dastardly foes. This does not include witches, as they were once known, or gayelles, as they're known at present, since then and now, they feed, brush and generally spoil those puddys they grab before finding them a good home. Surprisingly, DJ Li'l Scratch has managed to evade capture all these years, from friend or foe, even though he's on his 6th life and spans the ages.  Speaking of spanning the ages - how's that for a segue! - the one and only Sophie Tucker bridged the eras from the 1800's to the 1900's, and like DJ Li'l Scratch, there's no reason she can't continue streaking toward infinity and beyond. When you listen to her sing, Sophie will take you back to vaudeville's and burlesque's earliest days, a time she lived through, when the g...

Greeting music tramps, and welcome to another edition of Manor Music Monday, today with a lovely songstress and a whiff of scandal. Speaking of the latter, DJ Li'l Scratch has had many lives, as you know, and let's just say that he's never been snipped. In other words, if you notice your own puddytat half-closing their eyes and grooving to cool jazz, then they're surely a descendant of the DJ. All cats love jazz, of course, but his progeny really and truly feel that backbeat rhythm. If you believe your cat is a scion of DJ Li'l Scratch, they may be entitled to compensation in the form of extra treats, hugs and gentle patty-butt spanks. So very groovy, right? Speaking of groovy, say hello to Miss Georgia Gibbs: Though she found success and love as an adult, Georgia's life began in tragedy. Her father died when she was six months old, causing her and her siblings to spend nearly a decade at an orphanage where they were visited by their destitute mother only once a...

I thought for sure this beaut was a Ford Fairlane, but apparently it's a 1957 Ford Tudor Sedan. But whatever it's called, it's gorgeous! A s always, please note my exceptionally professional job of obscuring the license plate.  In '57 there was a lot of great shows on tv, and some terrific movies too. For my money, "Witness For The Prosecution" is the most fun, suspenseful and ultimately satisfying 116 minutes you could spend in a theater that year (that ENDING!). Also, if your mom was driving you to elementary school or picking you up after, it's very likely you heard this song, and you could also see it on Ed Sullivan that year: So wake up, little Susie (and Sammie), wake up--after all, it's Open Post, darlings! Photo Credits: AK

  Did you know? Lots of important stuff happened in 1957, the saddest being the death of the great humanitarian and WWII hero, Raoul Wallenberg . But some good things happened also, like the establishment of the European Economic Community (the predecessor to the European Union). Also good, Americans got some of their first glimpses of great International Cinema, thanks to Akira Kurosawa's "Throne of Blood" and Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal," starring that dreamy Max von Sydow: Also, Jimmie Rodgers had a big hit that year with "Honeycomb," so hop in your Bel Air and head to Arnold's to watch "The Ed Sullivan Show," he's going to be on in about 10 minutes! Happy Open Post, darlings! Photo Credits: AK, The Criterion Collection

That was a TRAVESTY! And Jerry Lewis as emcee? He was even worse than Bob Hope usually is . Oh well, no point in crying over spilled half and half.  C'mon, hop inside my parents' new 1956 Mercury (it's painted in "2-Tone" colors!) and we can swing by the drive-thru and get a couple chocolate malts and split an order of onion rings while we watch Ed Sullivan. The Five Satins are going to be on, and we can watch and chat and laugh about whatever's going on in our lives at school or at work, just like an Open Post or something! Photo Credit: AK

Welcome, music sluts, to anther edition of Manor Music Monday, today with an added skosh of sass, brass and class - and heaps of talent, too, from a flirty dame who started out as a jazz songstress, then segued to becoming a fine actress, then segued right back to being a jazz songstress. You can hear her perform scads of delightful tunes tonight at the Manor's "Bush Diver" after-hours lounge and ramen dinette, so be sure to swing by. And get this: yours truly actually met this songstress. Can you believe? Lucky me! Can you guess who it is? If you guessed Monica Lewis, you win! When I met her, it wasn't long before she passed, unfortunately. She was in her early 90s, chipper as can be and attending an anniversary screening of the movie "Earthquake!" in which she appears. I nabbed her before she went inside. She was so delightful, so sweet, and surprised that I knew her primarily as a singer. "I thought everyone forgot about that," she said and rega...

Aren't you lucky! Tonight at Peckerwood's "Meat Whistle" after-hours club, DJ Li'l Scratch will be playing Teresa Graves. Who, you may ask, is Miss Teresa? Before we get to that, watch her performance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1971. And brace yourself. It's a wowza.  Phew! Can you believe? If you're an old, you may recognize Teresa from " Get Christie Love ," a groundbreaking 1974 TV series in which she played the namesake undercover agent. Teresa was only the second Black female actor to lead a series - and the first to star in a one-hour series - and though the show lasted just one season, that was enough to burn her image into the nation's consciousness.  The show was hoping to ride the wave of sassy, sexy Pam Grier movies, like "Coffy" and "Cleopatra Jones," but it was perhaps too hot a potato for many, including TV critics, who regarded the show's premise of a Black female undercover agent as "p...