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Wednesday Trivia Question

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Pop stars Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato were both cast members of what children’s series in the early 2000s?

You can be forgiven for thinking music superstars Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez have nothing to do with public television. The young recording artists are well known and critically acclaimed pop princesses who have over thirty Billboard Top 40 hits between them. They both got their start acting on television and became breakout stars in Disney Channel fare. Before that burgeoning success, both Demi and Selena appeared as child actors on a very popular PBS series. There was even at the same time (the ladies were born about a month apart) – from about 2002 to 2004.

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Wednesday Trivia Question

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What two pop stars hosted the MY MUSIC special 60s POP, ROCK & SOUL?

MY MUSIC is a brand of PBS pledge specials produced by radio host TJ Lubinsky. For over 20 years, Lubinsky has given us shows like DOO WOP 50; THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND; RED, WHITE & ROCK; 70s SOUL SUPERSTARS; THE BRITISH BEAT and MOTOWN: THE EARLY YEARS. He’s produced dozens of programs, many using the MY MUSIC title or subtitle, some featuring the songs of various artists like Aretha Franklin and Andy Williams, some showcasing various sounds or genres such as Big Band or Soul, some simply dedicated to a particular decade in music. These specials are primarily used during on-air fundraisers and have proven very popular, if not profitable.

One that always stands out to me is 60s POP, ROCK & SOUL. It debuted in 2011 and we have aired it across multiple services more times than I can count since then. Some of the recording acts featured are The Kingsmen, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Percy Sledge, Jefferson Starship, Smokey Robinson and ? and the Mysterians. The show was hosted by two English singers, both of whom gained fame during the Swinging Sixties. One was the front man for a British Invasion group, the other a member of a very popular music group in the mid to late 1960s. Both had multiple #1 hit songs on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts. These two pop icons of course did double duty by hosting and performing, singing a song or two for the appreciative audience.

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Song of the Summer!

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If, like me, you stopped listening to popular music in the late 1980s, you may have very little knowledge of the current pop charts. However, you have to live under an actual rock to be unaware of the 2017 Song of the Summer – a song that may well be the song of the decade!

Despacito by Luis Fonsi, featuring Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber, has been atop the US Billboard Hot 100 since May (in addition to hitting number one in 45 countries) and is the first single primarily in Spanish to top the charts since 1996 (remember the Macarena?). The music video has been the first to reach over three billion views on YouTube and has become the world’s most streamed song ever.

American Experience continues its online look at the Songs of the Summer with a take of this pop powerhouse crossover hit. Find out all you ever needed to know about Despacito.