Happy Birthday Freddie!

Today would have been Freddie Mercury's 65th birthday.  The Google Doodle honors him.





I was lucky to see Queen at Nassau Coliseum during their Night At The Opera tour. He will always be one of the most charismatic front persons in music.  He was a great songwriter, singer and performer.  My friend Adrienne adored him. What's not to love?

John, Yoko and the Hongs

On the wake of what would be John Lennon's 70th birthday, The New York Times has an untold glimpse into the life of John and Yoko.  While in San Francisco they were treated by Yuan Bain Hong, a Shanghai-born practitioner of Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture for spiritual and physical cleansing and healing.  He was also the father of two girls who are now 49 and 48.  Yuan and his wife were Chinese immigrants and did not have much money.  John and Yoko sometimes stayed with them, brought them to New York to see him perform at Madison Square Garden and eventually the family allowed them to offer some financial support.  The Hongs were some of the first people to hear the song Imagine as he performed it for them in their home before it was release on record.

Google is using Imagine to honor Lennon's birthday with an animated Google Doodle.