Beck & Company

RIP legendary guitarist Jeff Beck, 78, who succumbed to bacterial meningitis infection. Born in London, he was six when he heard Les Paul’s How High the Moon on radio, his first influence. He played in several groups and did session work before he was recruited by the Yardbirds to replace Eric Clapton. Most of the band’s Top Forty songs were recorded with Beck on lead. He later formed The Jeff Beck Group, on which Rod Stewart did the vocals. Throughout his career, he played with many of the greats, as he was proficient in most genres. Although his record sales paled to those of his contemporaries, in 2015 Beck was ranked #5 in Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists. Nominated for 16 Grammys, he won eight. Much more is detailed in his Wiki profile, which does not mention my favorite of his tracks, from the album Flash, Ambitious, written by Nile Rogers, sung by Jimmy Hall of Wet Willie. It is one of the most underrated songs ever, and one of the best videos, as a host of performers were allowed to perform and speak over the track. It features many celebrity cameos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaGfW2Ifuts After all these years it still gives me the shakes. Thank you, sir.

RIP Heisman Trophy winner Charles White, 64, who succumbed to cancer. His coach at USC, John Robinson, described him as the toughest player ever. He led the Trojans to the 1978 National Championship and won the Heisman the next year. He is the school’s all-time leading rusher. In ’79 he was UPI Player of the Year and Sporting News Player of the Year. He was Pac-10 Player of the Year twice as well Unanimous All-American twice. USC retired his #12. He was selected in the first round of the 1980 NFL draft by the Browns, the 27th pick. His pro career was hampered by substance abuse. He was the NFL Comeback Player of the Year in ’87, also First-team All-Pro and the league leader in rushing yards and TDs that season. After retirement he served as USC RB coach and worked as a computer consultant. Well done, sir.

RIP actress Carole Cook, 98, whose career spanned 1960–2018. There are 66 titles under her name at IMDb, most in TV. She appeared in 23 episodes of two of Lucille Ball’s shows, and at least two of many other primetime shows. Her big screen highlights are: The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964), The Gauntlet (1977), American Gigolo (1980) and Sixteen Candles (1984). She also did cabaret and stage work, often with her husband Tom Troupe, who she married in 1964 and precedes in death. Well done, madam. Thank you.

A nypost.com article by Jane Herz reports an eerie circumstance concerning minor leaguers who share the same name, Brady Heigl. One, 32, pitches for the Long Island Ducks, the other, 27, hurls for a Vegas team. They began being mistaken for each other. Each is six-four. A DNA test revealed they are not related. They are simply doppelgangers. Aren’t we all supposed to have one somewhere in the world?

Also from NYP: “Michigan town’s council approves animal sacrifice for religious purposes.”

Eye-opening headline from NYP: “US births continue to decline as nearly half of women under 45 are childless: study.”

Excerpt from an NYP editorial: “Wealthy people and corporations simply hire expensive lawyers — often former IRS agents themselves — to get them out of jams.”

Seems like the swamp will be tied up by nothing but investigations. Maybe that’s a good thing, as it might pause the spending that fueled inflation. Then again, those humanoids are a different breed. This morning, talk radio host Mark Simone suggested Dems are behind the Biden documents scandal, given that the mainstream media is actually covering it. Makes sense. Recall that only a week ago Quid Pro Joe announced he will run for re-election, which makes almost no one happy.

Here’s the latest in PC silliness, headline from newsmax.com: “USC Stops Using Word ‘Field,’ Citing Racist Connotations.” Journalist Luca Cacciatore explains the reasoning: “…phrases such as ‘going into the field’ or ‘field work’ may have connotations for descendants of slavery and immigrant workers…” The school will substitute the word “practicum.” Can you say elitist?

My thanks to Mother Nature, who provided a wide rainless window that allowed the floating book shop to operate on this raw day, and to Alice, who bought The World of Count Basie by Stanley Dance.

My Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Vic-Fortezza/e/B002M4NLJE

FB: https://www.facebook.com/Vic-Fortezza-Author-118397641564801/?fref=ts

Read Vic’s Stories, free: http://fictionaut.com/users/vic-fortezza