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My Blackberry broke the other day prompting me to get another phone. I have three offices and my office seems to be on the phone anymore. I went to the mobile phone store and picked out a few phones. A Blackberry for my spouse and I got a Droid. We both spent our weekend trying to figure our phones out. Then when I had an emergency call on Monday, it got cut off three of four times; yep, got to love that Droid. So back to the store I went saying, “What gives?” Reid was very kind and after about an hour, he was able to save my contacts and sent me on my way with another Droid, but it got me thinking…

 What ever happened to the simplicity of phones? You know you hear a ring and answer it by saying hello. Now for those who do not know what a real ring sounds like it sort of goes like this; ringgggggggggggggggg, ringggggggggggggggg. Really it isn’t a top forty song or a rap, phones used to ring to alert you to a call.

 You know man always wanted/needed to communicate with one another. Really when you think of it, even before phones and we were able to communicate from afar. Man used smoke signals, drums, sounds, even animals that carried messages. So communicating from a distance is nothing new.

 However using a telephone is somewhat new if you look at history as a whole. In March of 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. The story goes that his buddy Thomas Watson made the device which was a wooden stand, a funnel, some copper wire and a cup of acid. (no not that kind of acid) But parts combined created the first “telephone call”.

 In 1877, construction of the first regular telephone line from Boston to Somerville, Massachusetts was completed. Then telephone service between Boston and Providence happened a year later and by 1882 service between New York and Chicago started. Time flies because by 1904 there were over three million phones in the US.

 Soon switchboards helped us place calls, and then we had party lines which are a story in itself. Then it happened. Weapon of mass distraction arrived in the form of cell phones! The first “official mobile phone” was used in Sweden by the Swedish police in 1946 and by 1967, mobile phone technology was available; however, the user had to stay within one cell area. Yep, you could not drive and talk. Back then you had to pay attention when you drove, gosh imagine that!

 Still these little devices of mass distraction did not make a huge impact until about 1983 when Motorola introduced the first portable cell phone. Well and as we know the rest is history. Well not quite yet; we still have to remember texting. Though I text occasionally, this country needs to pass a very harsh and strict law about texting and driving. If someone is texting while driving, they should be treated just as a drunk driver if not even more harsh. This whole idea of we need to just shoot the bull with people as we drive is about as immature as it gets.

 I wonder what Alexander Graham Bell would have thought that his invention has become an addiction? Still for me, my office is on my phone, when my Droid decides to work correctly and when it does work correctly, I can actually have my office in my phone. Not that it matters and I am in the process of deleting it, it came with Avatar.  I suppose that is so people can now watch movies while driving.

 Don’t get me wrong. I am glad the internet is at my finger tips and I can write and post articles when I am at one of my other offices and can do so from my phone (not from my car!).  I am glad important information is at my finger tips. I am also glad i am an adult and can use this tool responsibly. I am concerned that once again, we as humans took a great invention and abused and misused it by having parents spend over 400.00 a month in texting, or talking while driving, or allowing cell phones in school. I have no doubt that there will soon be cell phone anonymous soon.

I just love it when People Magazine comes out with the “sex symbol” or sexist people. Really what is that? Sure it’s fun to thumb through it at the super market to see who they claim is sexy. Most days, the Hollywood hoo-ha’s pick people that all look alike. Most of today’s stars or “sex symbols” are filled with crowns, plastic, Botox and a tan that is as fake as fake can get. We think this is sexy? Well of course this got me thinking…

 We do not have sex symbols anymore. They are gone! Let’s face it folks, you can fight it all you want, and I am sorry you were cheated, but we simply do not have pure sex symbols; well not like we did in the 40s, 50s and 60s where people were naturally sexy.

 So who were some of the sex symbols back then? I suppose the list could go on and on, however for the purpose of this story, I am going to write about the sex symbols that I recall.

 I think one of my all time “sex symbols” was Sophia Loren. She was an Academy Award winning film actress. I have to admit, I have named one of my guitars after her. Not only was she an actress in America, she was widely considered to be the most popular Italian actress of her time. For me, she showed women could have class.

 Okay next, James Dean who in 1955 starred Rebel Without a Cause where he played a troubled Los Angeles teenager. Dean became like this sexual icon to teenagers and he had a wild sexual history, which included experimental relationships with both men and women, which made him more mysterious and sexy. Speaking of sexuality, come on Rock Hudson was a sex symbol. Despite what his sexuality was; women adored him.

 Let’s look at Raquel Welch who has starred in over a hundred films and television programs. My goodness, she represented sexy and smart. She was not dingy, she showed women could be smart and daring.  So did Lauren Bacall and Audrey Hepburn. These ladies had talent along with sex appeal. They were able to show that women could get the acting job done, and look wonderful doing so. Other women considered sex symbols were Marilyn Monroe, Ann-Margret, Ava Gardner, and Rita Hayworth.

 Marlon Brando got his stardom A Streetcar Named Desire. He was an Academy Award winner and he had a style that introduced men to the term gentleman. His acting was superior. Warren Beatty was another male sex symbol. His fame came with Splendor in the Grass and Bonnie and Clyde. Other male sex symbols of times gone by include Cary Grant, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood and my mother’s favorite, Elvis.

 Today I am unsure what defines “sex symbols”. We have grown up as a nation. No longer do women faint when they see their favorite stars and we often do not drool in public places over Hollywood Hunks. Some say Pee Wee Herman is sexy, others say Hugh Jackman. I think anymore it is about personal choice, what is sexy to one personal can make another person gag. I am glad we outgrew sex symbols.

Okay folks who was your sex symbol?

Music is so incredible that many days I sit and wonder how music came to be. I love to listen to music of today, but the music of my listening ear and the music that helped me become a musician was the sounds of the 50s and 60s. The bands of that time literally gave birth to rock and roll and we never pay enough attention to the greats of our past and it got me thinking…

 Wouldn’t it be a great idea to start to talk to some of these older bands who helped mold and create the very core of rock and roll music of today? Well thanks to Stan Blitz I am able to pick up the phone and talk some of the people who played in the bands that shaped rock and roll.

 George Tomsco who is the leader, lead guitar player and composer for The Fireballs who had a number one hit in 1963 called Sugar Shack and then another top hit called Bottle of Wine was more than glad to share the experience of being in a top number one band. For me, it was an honor to talk to this great musician who broke records in 1963.

 I have memories of the band as well as both songs; however, I had no idea how impressive their story was until now. Basically the group started in about 1958 and they did a performance of “Great Balls of Fire” at the Raton High School talent contest in New Mexico. The crowd loved them so much they received a standing ovation. That’s not all they received, by the end of the year they had an audition with Norman Petty, musician, songwriter, and pioneer record producer.

 The Fireballs started off doing instrumental, and excuse the pun, but were quite instrumental in the surf music movement. They had no idea that their instrumentals such as “Torquay“, “Bulldog”, and “Vaquero” would land them American Bandstand on several occasions. They also had no idea Sugar shack would become a hit.

 “We had no idea,” George said. In fact, they were not so thrilled about the little “flute” sound in the background that penetrates your brain when you hear the song. Petty had put that “ditty” in and the band was not too thrilled about it. The record company was so thrilled either because they did not want to promote it. They just wanted to put it out because it was in the Fireballs contract.

 Mainly small radio stations picked up the song. Throughout time of course, word got out, big radio stations were spinning the record, and they were printing 50,000-100,000 copies of the record on a continuous basis. The song became the best selling song in 1963 staying on the chart for over 5 weeks.

 I asked George what it was like to have a number one hit. He said, “Well nothing for us changed. I still played the same old guitar and we stayed in the same hotels.” He paused, “What changed though was the way people looked at us.”

 He was right, the Fireballs were blazing the charts and they were a sensation. “We never got a big head over it,” George said, “We were just grateful it happened.” That was the way the Fireballs were. They were simply grateful they could use their musical passion to make a living and share with others. In fact, when they were not touring, they were the studio band for many artist in that time frame.

 Well where are they today? George still lives in Mew Mexico and in fact they still tour. They will be in Vegas next month. George has fond memories of the band and loves to play his music and make people happy, which makes sense, because after talking to him, you could tell music was a passion for him. He does not have a big head at all even though he is fully aware that his guitar playing shaped what we call surf music. He just loves playing.

 I absolutely cannot encourage you readers to pick up their album The Fireballs 7th Street Legends and listen to what help create the music we listen to today. There you can hear George’s smooth guitar playing. George says that Chuck Berry inspired him. He said many guitar leads came from the basis of big bands, but Berry “leaked his soul” into the guitar and George was clearly paying attention to be part of a number one band.

 Thank you Fireballs for giving us so much wonderful music to listen to.