We remember Beny More (1919-63)

Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré Gutiérrez was born in Santa Isabel de Las Lajas on August 23, 1919 and died February 19, 1963. We were still living in Cuba and his death hit my parents very hard. I learned later that my parents had attended several of his performances.

More’s music is found in every Cuban household in the US.  I remember that my parents ordered some Beny More LP’s when we finally got a record player in Wisconsin.  More’s music was exactly what my parents needed to survive those cold Wisconsin winters.

He started singing as a young man and eventually joined Perez Prado, the big Cuban orchestra of the 1950’s.  More eventually started his own band and enjoyed tremendous success until his death.

The bad news is that he died young.  The good news is that he left a huge archive of music and much of it is available in the US. Click here for “Santa Isabel de las Lajas“, a song that he wrote about his hometown!

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We remember Rev. Jerry Falwell (1933-2007)

We remember Rev. Jerry Falwell who was born on this day in Virginia on this day in 1933.

In 1985, Rev. Falwell came to Dallas for an anti-abortion rally. He spoke for about 10 minutes and shook many hands later. I was lucky enough to meet him and chat for a bit. I was impressed with his sincerity and willingness to chat with anyone.

Jerry Falwell started preaching in 1956 in Lynchburgh, VA.   Later, Dr. Falwell founded Liberty University in 1971.  Today, there are 15,000 students on campus and over 90,000 taking courses on line.    

In 1979, Dr. Falwell founded "The Moral Majority" and became a huge player in the politics of the 1980's.    

Falwell died in 2007 but his influence continues.   He lived a wonderful life and we miss him.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.