Blog Archives

“STORIES IN SONG” SERIES 2019 – “CARROLL COUNTY, IN SAGINAW MICHIGAN” – By Des Kelly  Talk of “Stories in Song”, here are two beauties. Walter Browning’s son, Porter discovers the old man’s wedding ring in a little matchbox (circled by a rubber band), in the glove-box of Mary-Ellen’s car which was smashed up in an accident, which killed Walter & almost killed Mary-Ellen as well. Both were highly respected in Carroll County & both were married (but not to each other), so what they were doing together was anybody’s guess. Mary-Ellen testified that he’d flagged him down, saying he was sick & could she drive him into town, and she verified this. Porter, however did a bit of thinking and realizing what might have been going on, threw the little matchbox containing his dad’s wedding ring into a deep well, and the finale’ of this story is that the County ...

“STORIES IN SONG” SERIES 2019 – “ANOTHER DON” – By Des Kelly In Australia, the name Don immediately brings to mind, the greatest Cricketer (Batsman/Captain) in the World, Sir Donald Bradman, the head of the Italian Mafia was always known as “Don”, no matter what his original name was. Then, there was the late Don Knotts (Actor), the late Don Rickles (Comedian), & the not so late Don Hinds, only 25 years old & already an “You-tube” Star. Congratulations to the final Don. May you go onto greater things on You-Tube. Stop digressing Des, & go on with your “Stories in Song”, featuring, this time, the late, great Don Ho, a Hawaiian “great” who started very small, really. His first “hit” in fact, was  “Tiny Bubbles”, born Donald Tai Loy Ho on August 13th 1930, died of a heart-attack on April 14th 2007. Don Ho has the distinction of being, in just ...

“STORIES IN SONG” SERIES 2019 – By Desmond Kelly  “An elephant never forgets”, an amazing but true saying as regards this huge, still gentle animal, used for various manual labours, especially in Asia. While on the subject, I must make mention about the Pinnawella Animal Sanctuary in Sri Lanka, which tourists from all over the World, never fail to visit primarily to see many adult and baby elephants looked-after, with love, by the “mahouts”(elephant carers’) over there. This is exactly how it should be. Animals are also God’s creatures and must be looked after, because, as time goes by, their living areas keep getting smaller, forests are being stripped of trees mainly for the wood they produce, and robbing the homelands of fauna, in general.  “What has this got to do with  “Stories in Song”?, you ask. Well, let me tell you. We are in Thailand now. Paul Barton, an ...

“STORIES IN SONG” SERIES 2019 – By Des Kelly   I wouldn’t call him a great singer, especially as he was surrounded by some of the greatest “voices” in history, during this genre’ of Country Music, but Kris Kristofferson made up for this by being one of the greatest Country Music Songwriters of all time. Born on the 22nd of June 1936, into a military family (his father was once an Air Force General), and Kristoffer (naturally), also served as a helicopter pilot, after graduating as an Oxford Scholar, he decided that songwriting was his “calling”, came to Nashville and the rest is history.   Tall, ruggedly good-looking, with what is known as a gravelly voice, Kris was also an  “Actor” in great demand (It seems, that even in America, one needs more than a single string to their bow), or, in a word, “multi-talented”, and Kris Kristofferson was surely one ...