Everyday Creation
This show has to do with different kinds of creation: human, divine, and a third kind that connects the two. Our human creativity is easy to talk about because clearly we're prolific creators. We make music, we write, we cook; we establish businesses, we design gardens, we invent things. The list goes on and on. Another kind of creation is divine. We feel its presence when, for example, we contemplate birth, death, our life purpose, or have a quiet realization that there's something bigger than us. The third kind is perhaps a little more difficult to grasp and yet, with a little practice, it's easy to put into action. This is the personal power each of us has to direct our thoughts, words and actions every day toward what we want in our life and world, rather than what we don't want.
This sounds heavier than it is. For me, this show is an acknowledgment that while we're all here to learn and grow and do our best, there's still plenty of opportunity to relax, laugh, love, and enjoy this playground we call life. So my hope is that you'll get some enjoyment and illumination out of these episodes. Here you'll find interviews with delightfully creative individuals; short stories about some who have passed away; and essays about personal power.
I'm Kate Jones, host and creator of Everyday Creation. Thank you for following my show.
Everyday Creation
Tribute to April Stevens, featuring Sheldon Zoldan
In 1951 when she was only 22, singer April Stevens had her first hit, and the hits kept coming. This tribute to Stevens is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023.
In the chapters, you can go right to the tribute by skipping my intro; feel free to skip my closing remarks too. Both are there to provide context for those who haven't listened to the other tributes.
All of the tributes were written and recorded by longtime writer/editor Sheldon Zoldan, who also is the creator behind Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. Here, you can watch Stevens and her brother, Nino Tempo, sing the Grammy-winning “Deep Purple" on YouTube.
To get on the Song of the Day subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
Audio engineer/musician Mike Villegas edited all the audio for this series. Hope you enjoy these intriguing glimpses into the lives of the people who made some of the music we love.
This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.
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Kate:
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Hello, and welcome to Everyday Creation. This is
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your host, Kate Jones, with one of 44
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tributes
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to significant figures in the music industry
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who passed away in 2023.
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My guest Sheldon Zoldan,
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a longtime writer and newspaper editor,
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wrote these short biographies
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and recorded them.
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Each one is an intriguing
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glimpse into the life and impact of someone
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who contributed
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to the soundtracks of our lives. Here's what
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Sheldon has to say in this tribute.
Sheldon:
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It didn't matter if she was singing alone
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or with her brother,
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April Stevens made hits.
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Stevens died April 17
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in Scottsdale,
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Arizona.
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She was a couple weeks shy of her
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94th
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birthday.
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Stevens was born
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Caroline
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Vincinette
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LoTempio
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before changing her name.
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It didn't take her long to record her
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first hit. She was only 22 years old
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when she recorded Cole Porter's
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"I'm in Love Again."
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The song reached number 6 on the singles
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chart 1951.
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Her next two songs reached number 10
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and number 27.
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Her song "Teach Me Tiger" in 1959
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only reached 86 on the charts
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but caused a stir because some radio stations
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thought the lyrics were too sexual.
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Times change.
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NASA played the song in 1983
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to wake up astronauts
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on a shuttle mission.
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Stevens had her biggest hit with her brother,
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Nino Tempo.
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They recorded
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our Song of the Day,
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"Deep Purple" in 1963,
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and it reached number 1 on the Billboard
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Hot 100 chart in November
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and won the Grammy for best rock and
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roll song.
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Peter DeRose wrote the music in 1933.
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Mitchell Parrish added lyrics in 1938.
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Bing Crosby had a big hit with
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it. Stevens and Tempo recorded it in 14 minutes.
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The song was supposed to be the B
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side,
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but radio stations liked it better than the
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A side single.
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Tempo didn't have a chance to memorize the
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words,
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so Stevens would recite the words and then
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her brother would sing them.
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The producer liked how it worked and kept
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it in.
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The duo had a couple of more hits
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in the 1960s
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early '70s,
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but Stevens retired from the music business by
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the 1980s.
Kate:
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This is Kate again. Please go to the
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description for more information and to hear the
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song that Sheldon referenced.
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If you enjoyed this tribute, please check out
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the rest of them. Although some of the
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names are not as familiar as others, the
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biographies
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are equally intriguing.
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Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation.
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Please share this episode with anyone who might
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enjoy it.
