Category Archives: Memory Lane

Memory Lane: ‘Mr. Guitar Man’ Duane Eddy on uphill trail

Posted on May 12, 2013 by admin

A bit late, but to mark Duane Eddy’s 65th birthday in late April, here’s a story I wrote in 1970 when his career was in the doldrums. By Ray Bennett They used to call him the Guitar Man when his … Continue reading →

Posted in Memory Lane, Music | Leave a comment

Raymond’s Revue Bar and the music of Henry Mancini

Posted on April 28, 2013 by admin

By Ray Bennett For all I know, the late London land baron Paul Raymond might have been the “porn king” of Soho but what I recall is that he published innocuous nudie magazines and ran a strip club called Raymond’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Memory Lane, Music | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Gregory Peck on Abraham Lincoln: ‘A secular saint’

Posted on January 27, 2013 by admin

By Ray Bennett In 1982, Gregory Peck achieved a lifetime ambition to portray his idol Abraham Lincoln onscreen. It was a cameo appearance in the CBS miniseries “The Blue and the Gray”, which became the subject of a special issue … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Memory Lane, Television | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Recalling Charlie Rich, who would have turned 80 today

Posted on December 14, 2012 by admin

I interviewed Sam Phillips, the Memphis record producer who discovered Elvis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins, in the late 1990s and he told me what he told everyone who ever asked him: “Charlie Rich was … Continue reading →

Posted in Memory Lane, Music | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

David Bowie in Detroit – my early 1970s concert reviews

Posted on December 2, 2012 by admin

THE WINDSOR STAR, Oct. 10 1972 By Ray Bennett David Bowie. Remember the name. In rock ‘n’ roll there was Presley, the Beatles and now there is David Bowie. Bowie is a freaky young Englishman who writes, plays and sings … Continue reading →

Posted in Memory Lane, Music, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Learning about American English from Alistair Cooke

Posted on November 17, 2012 by admin

By Ray Bennett The BBC has made more than 900 of Alistair Cooke’s radio reports, Letter From America, available online and I am reminded of the one time I got to talk to him. Cooke was one of my heroes … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Memory Lane | Tagged , | Leave a comment

MEMORY LANE: The day I turned down Rupert Murdoch

Posted on July 16, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett Pardon me if I sound smug, but I’ve always felt good that I turned down an offer to work for Rupert Murdoch, and now I feel even better about it. I especially like the fact that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Memory Lane | 1 Comment