Bobby Sherman – A Quiet Finale
By June 24, 2025, the world had fallen silent—not with the frenzy that once trailed him, but with a gentle stillness. Bobby Sherman, the sweet-faced teen idol of the late 1960s, died at 81, his final days marked by the same modest grace that shaped his life.
A milkman’s son from Van Nuys, Sherman was discovered at a party, singing Ray Charles to a room of Hollywood insiders. Soon, he was on Shindig! and starring as Jeremy Bolt in Here Come the Brides. His boyish charm and bubblegum pop hits like “Little Woman” and “Julie, Do Ya Love Me” made him a fixture on magazine covers—and in girls’ bedrooms. At his peak, fans followed him in such numbers that decoy limos were used to throw them off the trail.
But fame never held him hostage. As pop culture shifted, so did he. By the mid-’70s, Sherman had left the stage for something more grounded: emergency medicine. He became an EMT, trained police cadets in CPR, delivered babies in transit, and later served as a reserve deputy sheriff. In 1999, the LAPD named him Reserve Officer of the Year.
With his wife Brigitte, he later founded a nonprofit for children in Ghana, quietly channeling his fame into service. When he was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer this spring, she shared the news. On June 24, he died peacefully, hand in hand with her.
Sherman’s stardom lasted just a few golden years. His legacy—humble, lifesaving, enduring—lasts far longer. He left the spotlight early, not because he faded, but because he chose to shine somewhere else.
Lou Christie – The Voice That Pierced the Sky
To hear a Lou Christie song on Keener for the first time was to experience something more than sound—a kind of pop exclamation mark hurled through a world of four-part harmonies and teenage platitudes. In a musical landscape dominated by the earnest chin-stroking of folk singers and the tight, syncopated machinery of Detroit’s Motown, Christie’s voice arrived like a lightning strike, cutting clean through the Keener airwaves. It was a helium-soaked, heaven-scraping falsetto that didn’t so much sing as spiral—vertiginous, improbable, and entirely unafraid of absurdity. It sounded less like a young man’s croon than the internal monologue of adolescence itself: dramatic, operatic, always on the verge of a glorious crack-up. Continue reading “Lou Christie – The Voice That Pierced the Sky”
The Beatles’ EMI vs. Capitol Albums: How America Remixed the British Invasion
When Beatlemania exploded on Keener, it wasn’t just a cultural phenomenon, it was a marketing war. On one side of the Atlantic stood EMI’s Parlophone label, helmed by producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick, who shaped the Beatles’ artistic journey with a balance of studio innovation and British sensibility. On the other, Capitol Records, EMI’s American subsidiary, played the hits game with a nose for profit. The result? Two Beatles discographies: one curated by the band and their producer, the other chopped, shuffled, and rebranded for U.S. ears.
And those differences? They tell a deeper story about the transatlantic tug-of-war between artistry and commerce. Continue reading “The Beatles’ EMI vs. Capitol Albums: How America Remixed the British Invasion”
Remembering Brian Wilson
There was always a peculiar geometry to the music of Brian Wilson, a sense of vast, sun-bleached space being meticulously organized inside the four walls of a recording studio. To hear of his passing at eighty-two is to imagine the door to that studio finally closing, a quiet click after decades of miraculous, agonizing noise. Continue reading “Remembering Brian Wilson”
Keener Today – June 3
It was a rare moment in time when Steve Schram and I were in the same place without anyone demanding our time. We were both independent agents with a lot more resume paragraphs ahead of us. As was our practice during the days when we roomed together in college, we were sifting through my collection of 45s and reel to reel tapes. Around 3am on June 3, 2002, I threaded the PAMS Clyde jingle demo into the machine and turned up the volume. Continue reading “Keener Today – June 3”
Keener Today – May 24
Today in History:
- 1844 – Samuel F.B. Morse gave the first public demonstration of his telegraph by sending a message from the Supreme Court Chamber in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. to the B&O Railroad “outer depot” (now the B&O Railroad Museum) in Baltimore. The famous message was, “What hath God wrought?” Continue reading “Keener Today – May 24”
Keener Today – May 23
What’s happening:
Billy Joel has canceled all upcoming concerts, including a major stadium tour, due to a brain condition called normal pressure hydrocephalus, which has affected his hearing, vision, and balance. The 76-year-old singer is undergoing physical therapy and says he’s “sincerely sorry” to disappoint fans. More. Continue reading “Keener Today – May 23”
Keener Today – May 22
Did You Know:
The Stanley Hotel — famous for inspiring Stephen King’s The Shining — is set to undergo a change in management as Sage Hospitality Group partners with the Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority to oversee the historic property. The collaboration aims to preserve the landmark’s legacy while generating $45 million over 36 years to support cultural initiatives. Continue reading “Keener Today – May 22”
Keener Today – May 21
Did You Know:
Memory can start to decline as early as your 30s, but simple, science-backed techniques can help keep your mind sharp. From paying closer attention and saying things out loud to creating associations and challenging your brain daily, there are effective ways to strengthen recall and boost long-term memory. Here are some more helpful tips. Continue reading “Keener Today – May 21”
Keener Today – May 20
Did You Know:
How your new ID can make the Airport TSA Line move faster: Some U.S. airports now use Credential Authentication Technology (CAT), allowing travelers to pass through TSA checkpoints with just a photo ID instead of a boarding pass. While this streamlines security, you’ll still need your boarding pass at the gate since airlines don’t have access to CAT systems. https://dailypassport.com/you-no-longer-have-to-show-tsa-your-boarding-pass-at-some-airports/ Continue reading “Keener Today – May 20”
Keener Today – May 19
Did you know:
Zak Starkey, is out again. The Who proves once more that they are the most dysfunctional family in Rock and Role, firing their longtime drummer and son of Ringo Starr for a second time, just two weeks after being reinstated by the band. Though asked to claim he quit voluntarily, Starkey refused, saying he would never walk away from a band he loves. Pete Townshend confirmed the change via Instagram, announcing Scott Devours as the new drummer for The Who’s farewell tour. Continue reading “Keener Today – May 19”
Keener Today – May 18
Forget your algorithmically curated playlists, your anodyne audio streams. Let’s rewind the psychic tape to a time when the WKNR Music Guide chronicled something raw, something immediate, something that felt like the whole damn world was shifting on its axis. The week ending May 16, 1966 wasn’t just a list of songs; it was a cultural seismograph. Continue reading “Keener Today – May 18”
